NOVEMBER WRAP

Recapping this month with assisting on set, first time printing in the darkroom, shoots, testing lights, and more.

We’ve reached the end of another month, which means we’re calling "wrap" on November with a summary of the smaller and often overlooked steps taken in the creative process. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the going-ons in my process, from scouting locations to analysing job proposals and the more technical side of photography. At the end is a Grocery List of things I need to look into in the following month and really shouldn’t be putting it off any longer.

How close to the holidays we’re getting, and things seem to be getting busier. I’m really enjoying reflecting back on the month and seeing all I’ve done, and this one’s a hectic one.

ENTERING THE DARKROOM

I had a colour dark room session for the first time and took on a one-on-one workshop with the photographer who runs it. The whole experience was immensely exciting, rewarding and, in the end, satisfying. In the past, I’ve had to reference images to my lab and without my knowledge they end up being handprinted jobs (so they tell me). To this session, I brought along with me two rolls of coloured C-41 and printed four final images, plus lots of test strips. I’ve been eager to print selected projects in the darkroom, and after this session I've decided to handprint my personal project, Homebody, in the colour darkroom. The colours the chemicals produced were so lush and creamy, and it all fits the mood of the story perfectly.

If you’re ever passing through Sydney, I highly recommend Colour Darkroom, owned and operated by Lula Cucchiara. Amazing photographers in Sydney print their work here, like Anna Pihan, Brydie Mack and Rob Tennent. Next month, I plan to write a newsletter on this session in the darkroom, and it’ll be a very “beginner” entry, but let me know if there’s something specific you want to hear about. In the meantime, you should all check out Alicia Waite’s darkroom newsletter, which includes a video of her setup.

ASSISTING

It’s a month of new experiences, it seems. I assisted one photographer on two different days: one shoot was a campaign for a very cool brand, and the other for an editorial. This is my first assisting job and I loved learning in this way, plus it was a nice change to not feel the pressure of the client. For both shoots I changed rolls of films, numbered the rolls, grabbed lunch for us (on the first shoot only), and sat with the clothes and gear as the creative team moved from location to location without having to haul everything every single time. For the campaign I brought along some extra gear, like a bi-colour light, a small power station, and reflector. As it was my first assisting job, I wasn’t sure how much I needed to do, or if I was doing things the right way or wrong way. I myself only had an assistant for the first time on my shoot on an editorial I just shot. If you guys have any pointers to how to properly be utilised on a shoot I’d love to know because I’m planning to take on more assisting roles.

EDITORIAL SHOOT

I’ve just come off an editorial shoot. A long day, a strong team, about nine looks, averaging one look per roll. I passed through the location on a random walk months ago and knew I wanted to shoot there. Once the team was assembled, the looks pulled by the stylist, and the shoot date set, I did a proper scout, taking phone snaps of interesting sandstone walls and backdrops. We began at 12:30 and called wrap at about 6:30. Everyone on this shoot was new to work with except the model (who had been the model on the campaign I assisted on — a wonderful coincidence). On this shoot I had an assistant helping me move my gear, and having him around was so helpful to me. It’s been five months since I shot anything besides flowers, bees, and landscapes around my neighbourhood, so I was really excited for this day and am keen to get the images scanned, developed, and submitted to a magazine.

LIGHT TESTS

Now that my personal project has wound down (for the most part, I still plan to handprint it) I’ve been able to test new technical equipment. While my favourite source of light to use is sunlight, the Sydney weather has been all over the place and I can’t bank on consistent clear skies in the summer. I’ve recently been testing my Canon 600ex (shooting my boyfriend’s band in rehearsal and the shots came out blank, so I need to see what I’m doing wrong here), and an Amaran f22c (using my home interior as the subject). Back in June when I had been shooting my personal project Homebody, I used a 300D with a lantern, and for someone who knew next to nothing about lighting. I pointed the lantern upwards at the ceiling and it up the whole room brilliantly. I’ve been thinking of renting a profoto flash just to try something different and new, but the lighting I really want to master is continuous light as I can use it as I shoot super 8.

GROCERY LIST

• Test more lights

• Rest

  

  

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