I’ve been interested in trying to push process my film for quite a while but never got around to it. I felt like I was waiting for the right kind of low-expectations photo opportunity to come along, and of course, these kinds of opportunities don’t just show up for you. You need to take steps to put them together on your own. So late in the summer I got together with another photographer friend just to practice doing portraits with one another, in a low-light evening setting in a nearby park. I did about 1/2 the roll with Charles and then the reminder I did in my basement as self-portraits of myself. I feel like I learned a lot – what kind of lighting works for push processing, getting some more portrait practice generally (composition), and then to trust myself when I develop.
Honestly, the hardest part was deciding to share these. I like how they turned out. They look great, the portraits look interesting, both of myself and of Charles. But it’s hard sharing work that you feel vulnerable in. Self portraits, especially, but even these portraits of another person I feel like I’m showing my hand quite a lot in what I do and do not know how to do well. Photography has never been about chasing perfection, but at the same time, I feel like I should know better what I’m doing and in the end, I don’t. Plus, sharing photographs that I really meant to do only as ‘practice’ makes it hard. I waited to share these, I guess, is the long and short of it.
Camera: Minolta X-7A
Lens: Minolta MD 50mm 1:1.7
Film: Ilford Delta 400 Professional, pushed to 800
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