23 January 2012

down south







i've never been to the south. i've been to florida, plenty of times (my grandfather used to live there and jared's parents live in orlando), but i don't really consider that to be the south. florida is kind of its own little world. i've never really loved going there, except for the people who are there. orlando in particular feels mostly like a mass of strip malls and amusement parks. this trip, however, we took a couple of excursions to new spots (the beach, a trail right in my in-laws' backyard, and a forest trail close to their home) that were just beautiful. the forests in particular, with the live oaks and spanish moss, really reminded me of what i think the south would look like.

in any case, i had my trusty yashica mat 124 with me and shot a bunch of film. have i mentioned how much i love that camera? i really really do. there were some true gems on all the rolls of film i shot (kodak portra 400, kodak ektar 100, and kodak tmax 400), but the black and white roll pretty much blew my mind. as i was scanning in the film yesterday, i kept thinking of brian's post last week about photographs that look like paintings. it's not that the photographs are blurry like a painting, but something about the perspective and depth of field here makes the scenes look almost fake. in fact, they remind me of the dioramas at the museum of natural history. i can't quite put my finger on what it is about these photos i'm finding so interesting, but i do know that i love them. i'd love to hear your thoughts.

8 comments:

  1. they're amazing, julia. there's something in the way that film captures light that you can't get digitally. the highlights and the depth are stunning. these shots remind me of joann verburg's olive trees.

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  2. those black and white photos...incredible! they all are special. they remind me of the museum of natural history, too.

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  3. oh, julia! those black and whites are so striking! they look like etchings. beautiful.

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  4. i agree with erin- they look like etchings! really amazing. film never ceases to amaze me with its unexpected beautiful surprises.
    so glad you had a good time in florida. i wish i had been there to see you! soon, i hope. xo

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  5. ps i think it's really in north florida that you feel like you're in the south... climate-wise, culturally, all that. so different from central and south florida, which are their own thing altogether. tallahassee felt so southern; it really surprised me! and gainesville feels southern sometimes, and also like it's own strange florida thing :)

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  6. i love the black and white shots. they have a timeless feel and remind me of photographs by ansel adams or edward weston. just gorgeous.

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