on being challenged

You may have noticed (unless you've been living under a rock) that I've gotten more focused on photography these last few months. I've really enjoyed this new project of mine, working with this old film camera. I have so much less control than I do with the digital camera. The first reason for this being that I don't really know how to use this old film camera. I'm slowly figuring it out, but I'm always expecting more than a couple overexposed/blurry/nonexistent prints each time I pick up my developed film.

I've been working on being a bit more focused and intentional when taking film photos because there's a sense of preciousness that just doesn't exist for me (or for most people, I think) with digital. And with polaroid, well, that's just the essence of precious in my opinion. In any case, when I first heard of The Photo Trade, organized by the amazing Jen of Nectar & Light, I was intrigued. I missed the sign up a few times and finally made it in time for the June trade: Into the Light.

It's been really helpful and fun to have a specific challenge for my photography, this theme to focus on. I spent some time really thinking about what I wanted my photograph to be and taking different versions. I had, of course, assumed that I would use my digital camera for this project. Mostly because I felt it gave me more control and I would be more likely to produce a photo I really wanted to use. However, as I've mentioned here, that ended up being impossible after that fateful slip on a wet hiking trail. So I was left with film. I shot photo after photo as the deadline approached and I was really worried that nothing good would come back from that roll of film.

I was quite thrilled to have four photos come back that I was really happy with. Even though the trade only requires one photo, it became immediately clear that I had two very fitting diptychs on my hands. I hemmed and hawed for a few days about which one I liked better and ultimately chose the outdoor shots. Like I said, it was really fun to have this challenge. After doing my photo a day project in April, I realized that it really is quite helpful to have a goal or specific project or theme when taking photos. At least for me, at this point in my photography, it provides a focal point that I really appreciate. I've learned a lot from these projects, from other bloggers and fellow flickrers. To be more thoughtful about my photographs, and about everything that I create.