Film Friday - A Whole Roll of Black and White, Mostly Montreal

An interesting exercise today. I thought I'd share with you a whole roll of medium format film (I only get twelve photos per roll with a 6x6 camera), and I decided to share it all in the order I shot it.

A couple of things you might learn from this: I almost never photograph any scene twice. Film is precious to me (and expensive!) so I try really hard to get it right the first time. If I don't get it right, I don't get the shot. That's okay; that's life.

I'm also, especially with the square format, really attracted to symmetry. I love shooting down streets and alleyways, and I always feel like I have to be dead center. I'm sure there are some photographers who feel like such symmetry is boring. Maybe so - for me, it's calming.

I love this little parklet! It's like an oasis in the middle of Montreal. This day was so hot and sticky. It was refreshing to walk into a green spot, even if only for a few moments.

As I recall, these flowers were orange. Hard to tell now!

I just loved these little window vines.

Nothing better than a gelato on a hot afternoon.

The next morning we stopped into this little bakery for breakfast. Out of habit, we tried speaking French to the guy behind the bar. Turned out he was Australian, and his French was pretty much nonexistent! The coffee was great, though.

That concludes the Montreal photos. The last three are just me trying to finish up the roll so I could get it developed already! I started with a classic mirror self portrait.

Then a little still life of my dresser. Should probably cut off that made in China tag!

And last, my favorite (and almost only) purchase in Montreal: my glass water bottle. I just love drinking out of glass. It's so much more comfortable than plastic or metal, and I can't explain exactly why.

So there you have it! Twelve photos, one roll.

*Interested in a film or digital portrait session? Please contact me for details!*

*Want to see more film? Check out all the Film Friday posts!*

Film Friday - Montreal in Color

Next week, black and white. But this week, color. I think this was a roll of Fuji Reala, which I decided to buy purely on a whim (I like trying new films). I have to say I'm not overawed by it, and so I don't think I'll buy it again. But despite my lukewarm feelings about the film, I still feel like sharing these photos with you.

I love photographing green things. Maybe you've noticed? These first three photos are from our trek up Mont Royal, the tallest hill in Montreal, and the one that the city is named after. I spent so much of my life in that park, especially the last summer I spent in Montreal before I moved back to California. It's a place like no other, with all kinds of activities happening there regularly, mostly on the weekends. (To see some great medium format film images of the park in action, check out Kate Hutchinson's blog.)

We, however, hiked up it on a Friday, and so it was pretty empty except for joggers.

And then we got to the top and saw the city in all its glory.

As I travel more, I'm beginning to realize that San Francisco, while it's an excellent place in so many ways, has pretty terrible clouds. We pretty much never have such fluffy, cheerful clouds as these in our skies. (Cloud experts: what are these? Nimbus? Cumulus? Cumulonimbus? Omnibus? Just kidding about that last one.)

And then we visited that hallowed spot: the McGill campus. What memories we revisited there! I loved that school, and it was a great four years. It's also a pretty great campus.

Next week: more Montreal (mostly) but all black and white. Get ready!

*Interested in a film or digital portrait session? Please contact me for details!*

*Want to see more film? Check out all the Film Friday posts!*

Film Friday - Montreal, Part 1

One of the things I always forget to take into account when considering film is how much time it really takes me to scan it all. So even though I've been back from Montreal for two weeks now, I've only managed to scan one roll from the trip.

So there will definitely be another blog post next week, that's what I'm saying. These are a few photos from the old port, a really lovely part of the city. While we were there the weather was just perfect - 75 to 80 degrees and balmy the whole time. It was lovely.

Next week, part two!

*Interested in a film or digital portrait session? Please contact me for details!*

*Want to see more film? Check out all the Film Friday posts!*