![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bahamas2.jpg\")
\t\t\tShot for Harvey Nichols in Nassau. Kodak Portra 400 on the Pentax 67II<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
He didn\u2019t think the pictures looked as good as the ones he shot on film, but it was what clients expected and they seemed very happy with what he had produced. He wasn\u2019t happy though, so he decided to step away from digital photography altogether and only accept commercial work that could be shot on film.<\/p>\n
He must be mad, surely? Putting his artistic sentiments above making a living and logical commercial sense would surely lose him all his clients. You might well think so, and so did he, but the outcome has been a little different and very satisfying.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was worried that going down this path would alienate me from my core clients, but my agents said the opposite would happen. They told me commercial clients want to see editorial and personal work, they don\u2019t want to see your commercial work.<\/p>\n
They are interested in if you can take good pictures that represent you, and the commissions follow. \u2018The pandemic has lent itself to this monumental shift into film. I\u2019ve had the time to work at my processes, and really look at what I was doing \u2013 and my clients have been doing the same. Things are different now. The lockdown has changed everything.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/TeddyBoy_6BF6.jpg\")
\t\t\tHarry Westcott wearing Paul Smith and Grenson shoes, Kodak Portra 400<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Turning away from pixels<\/h3>\n
\u2018I was shooting all my editorial work on film, but I had two commercial jobs in the last month where the client has specified they want it on film. I think clients want to be current and film is very much on-trend at the moment, as is going back to analogue ways generally and stepping away from heavy digital manipulation.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a new wave of film photographers and film photography, and a degree of regression from shooting digitally for professional work. It\u2019s quite amazing to see such a resurgence of film. If you\u2019d asked me a couple of years ago I would probably have said it was a fad and that the industry would quickly revert to the way things had been before. But film use is growing and it seems it is here for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Wonderland_Dior_3BF5.jpg\")
\t\t\tDior, for Wonderland, Summer Issue, Kodak Portra 400<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
\u2018This new surge is reflected in my own work and the jobs I\u2019m getting, but also in the growth of film labs. The lab I use, Rapid Eye, can\u2019t expand fast enough. They\u2019ve gone from one floor of a building in Leonard Street in east London to taking over the whole building, and now adding space in another building to have a caf\u00e9 and new entrance. They have brought together this huge community, and they aren\u2019t the only ones.<\/p>\n
\u2018Shooting on film is a way for photographers to stand out from the crowd, and a reaction to the boredom that years of digital-manipulation and over-processing has brought with it. It repulses me when I see pages and pages of over-done images on Instagram. I can\u2019t help it, but digital photography bores the crap out of me now.<\/p>\n\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Schon_EddieMarsan_8B06.jpg\")
\t\t\tEddie Marsan for Sch\u00f6n! magazine. Shot with the Mamiya RZ67<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n
Clients of course want what is considered the coolest thing \u2013 which happens to be film. There\u2019s an acceptance that shooting film is hard to get right, but that you get a unique look for the effort. When you stamp your own style on that your personal look becomes more obvious. For the past year I\u2019ve only been promoting the work I\u2019ve done on film and my agent has really supported that idea.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to be a jack-of-all-trades any more \u2013 I want to master film photography<\/strong>. \u2018When I look at other photographers\u2019 work I\u2019m always drawn to the images that have been shot on film, and feel that I can tell straight away. My eye is attuned to it. Shooting on film isn\u2019t the be-all and end-all though, of course, and I see plenty of work shot digitally that I admire.\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t Idris Elba shot on Ilford HP5 film with the Mamiya RZ67<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n \u2018I did a job a while ago for a magazine on location in Venice. The trip was amazing and we were put up in a lovely hotel, and everywhere I pointed the camera there was a picture. I\u2019d just got the Canon EOS-1DX Mark II and machine-gunned every opportunity. I ended up with over 1,000 frames for every picture we needed.<\/p>\n I had to go through more than 30,000 pictures to edit that story. It seemed ridiculous and obscene, and I decided that I was going to shoot the next job on film. I managed to find a pair of Pentax 67II bodies, and started to limit myself to three rolls per shot. I found that I could tell when I\u2019d got \u201cthe shot\u201d \u2013 which is something I couldn\u2019t tell with the digital camera. I still carry my digital camera for insurance, but those shots end up on a hard drive somewhere and don\u2019t get used.<\/p>\n\t\t Fernanda Kinder for Harvey Nichols in Nassau, on Kodak Portra and shot with the Pentax 67ll. Below is the marked-up test print with Simon\u2019s printing notes<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n \u2018I first realised I needed to make a change after I did a week-long job in an amazing location and took the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. When I got back and looked at the pictures they just looked plastic and dull. Nothing I did to them could make them look any better. The client was happy with them, so that was okay, but I wasn\u2019t happy. Trying to change things, I bought a Hasselblad 503 with a PhaseOne P30 digital back.<\/p>\n That back uses a CCD sensor and produces images that look a lot more like film than the CMOS sensor of my Canon EOS. I\u2019d found the process of shooting with a DSLR a little bit dull too, so working with the waist-level finder of the Hasselblad was refreshing. I\u2019m a big fan of anything that changes the way I work because it gives me a fresh perspective and makes me rethink things.<\/p>\n \u2018When I look down into a waist-level finder I can look up again at the model and down again, and am able to have a conversation with the model at the same time. The camera isn\u2019t between me and the model, and it all feels more natural.<\/p>\n When I press the shutter I\u2019ve already focused and framed, I\u2019m looking up at whoever I\u2019m photographing. With an SLR there\u2019s a barrier between me and the model, and when I\u2019m shooting loads with a digital camera I seem to stop communicating other than for basic instructions.<\/p>\n\t\t The view from a deserted service station on the way down to Tarifa. Kodak Portra 400 in the Pentax 67ll<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n I have an all-singing Canon EOS R5 that has amazing AF and stunning detail, but it\u2019s so quiet that the model doesn\u2019t know when I\u2019m taking any pictures. However, when I shoot with the Pentax 67, everyone hears the shutter firing! Models respond to that. The process is so much more engaging with these film cameras, for me and the model. The R5 is great for specific jobs, but when I don\u2019t need to use it, I don\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Shooting film is expensive, and every time I hit the shutter I can feel the money emptying from my wallet. I try to keep my costs down though by using an Epson 1000XL scanner to make contact sheets to send to the art director. That way I don\u2019t have to get each image printed. This saves about \u00a310 a roll, and all I have to pay for is the film and processing. Although this is a more costly way to work, the switch to film is beginning to pay off.<\/p>\n \u2018I used to shoot transparency film for myself as it was cheaper and it didn\u2019t need to be printed, but now I only ever shoot on negative. \u2018For colour work I use Kodak Portra 400, which I push to ISO 1600, and for black & white I use Ilford HP5 \u2013 also pushed to ISO 1600. \u2018The latitude of Kodak Portra allows you to go a bit wrong with the exposure and still get a fantastic result. You can still print successfully from really thin negatives. Also the film allows you to retain lots of sky detail and shadow information without the images looking flat.<\/p>\n\t\t Emory Ault for Sch\u00f6n! magazine, on the Pentax 67ll<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n There\u2019s plenty of contrast in the mid-tones but the whites and blacks are beautifully moderate. \u2018When I\u2019m working in black & white I use Adox Rodinal developer with the HP5, and use a stand-processing method that involves using a really diluted formula and leaving the tank to stand for hours. Expect a lovely grain integrity that works well even when you push an ISO 400 film to ISO 1600, and a unique look that makes black tones and skin really deep. If you print on high-contrast paper, or scan the negative and add contrast via a curve, you end up with something so beautiful. I love it.<\/p>\n \u2018When I use other black & white developers, or when I send my films to the lab, they just look flat and grey. Ilford HP5 handles this process so well, and when you make a big print it looks glorious. Highlights don\u2019t burn out and skin tones look lovely. It\u2019s worth all the extra pain and effort to get that dramatic feel in the pictures. It makes such a huge difference.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve started doing hand printing too now for most of my work. Whenever I scan a negative I feel as if I\u2019m only doing half of a job. There is so much that happens at the printing stage. I love the process so much \u2013 it feels complete, and a challenge, like when I was a student. I feel like I\u2019m learning again. It feels much harder. \u2018I use Paul at Second-Hand Darkroom Supplies for my darkroom kit. He has this endless Aladdin\u2019s cave of other photographers\u2019 equipment.<\/p>\n I had to have my own darkroom because it\u2019s really hard to get booked into hire-darkrooms at the moment. \u2018I generally manage to get a print right after one test strip and two sheets of paper. Sometimes I can get it in one, and sometimes it takes a few prints. Hand printing makes a more complete job. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m great at printing, but plenty of other photographers I know say the same. I\u2019m never quite satisfied, but I still love it.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018My style is quite raw and a bit messy, and full of imperfections. I love imperfections. You might be looking at light leaks or uneven development which I think looks lovely. Not dust though \u2013 I never leave dust in the shot. The old lenses I use too are sometimes a bit soft and some vignette in the corners.<\/p>\n\t\t Class Of 1995, After so long pixel-peeping clinical digital images, it\u2019s fantastically refreshing. I had a light leak on a processing tank that left occasional marks on some negatives which I quite like. I replaced the tank, obviously, but I\u2019ve also used quite a few of the pictures that were affected. I also really love the shapes and quirks of each of the different camera frames. The corners and edges of each camera model have a specific individual character, and I like to leave them in the pictures.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I have a debate with a good friend of mine about kit. She thinks a camera is a camera and it doesn\u2019t matter what she shoots on. I agree with that, but the change of format can change the way you work the subject\u2019s response to you and the camera. The Mamiya RZ67 is great in the studio but when I\u2019m outside I use the Pentax 67II for the faster top shutter speeds.<\/p>\n I\u2019m just beginning to use a pair of Mamiya 645 AF-Ds as well because they are small, really portable and have decent AF. I had a Contax 645 for a month, but I paid so much for it I was worried about damaging it. It also couldn\u2019t autofocus. I\u2019m worried as the parts for these cameras are finite so things could become difficult in the future should the cameras go wrong. It took eight calls before I found someone to repair my Mamiya 645 (Hitech in Newcastle).\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t A selection of Simon\u2019s extensive kit<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n Simon has rather more gear than we have room to list here, so we agreed to talk about the kit he uses most. For the Mamiya RZ67 he mounts the 110mm lens most, but also makes frequent use of the 90mm and 50mm. His favourite for the Pentax 67II is the 105mm, but the 90mm gets used a lot too. He has a Mamiya 7 II for landscapes, and a Leica M6\u2026\u2018just because\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Each camera makes me feel very different, and each makes me shoot different work. Some photographers stick to the same camera for years, but I like to try different models as you get something different from each one. In the darkroom I use a De Vere 504 enlarger and the Nova Darkroom slot print processor, while scanning is done on the Epson V850 and the 1000XL.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I went to Bolton to do an art foundation course. The college had the most amazing darkrooms and kit room. I remember taking out a Pentax K1000 and sticking a roll of film through it, developing it and that was it. Since that moment I have been dedicated to photography.<\/p>\n So buy something like a Pentax K1000 with some Ilford HP5, a cheap dev tank and some Rodinol. Then scan or print the negs in a bathroom with some small trays. You can do all this for about \u00a3300 and you\u2019ll fall in love with it \u2013 like www.instagram.com\/silipman<\/a> Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n An introduction to medium format film photography<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Idris_01.jpg\")
\t\t\tA need for change<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/USETHIS_Bahamas6.jpg\")
\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADD_HNBahamas_DarkRoomMockup001.png\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/TarifaService1.jpg\")
\t\t\tThe film<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SCHON_FolkSinger_5BF12.jpg\")
\t\t\tWarts n\u2019all<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SCHON_VicPar_5AF12.jpg\")
\t\t\t
for Sch\u00f6n! magazine. Kodak Portra 400<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\nKit<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GearPic.jpg\")
\t\t\tTips for new photographers<\/h3>\n
\nI did, and so many have. It\u2019s a process beyond compare.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nwww.simonlipman.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n
\n