‘horses for courses…

Both the images above of musician, Mae Challis, were made using a digital Canon EOS 5DmkIII and 50mm f1.0 lens – a lot of people think I’ve got this whole ‘anti-digital’ thing going-on – I haven’t, if I shot all my work, personal and commercial, on film I’d be bankrupt within about a week! I think people mistake digital and film photography as being the same medium, but it’s like saying pens and pencils are the same – they look very similar and they’re handled in exactly the same way, but both have their own uses – you wouldn’t fill-out a passport application with a pencil… although I’m sure there are some people who have.

Personally, digital photography to me says “precision”, which is why I shoot 90% of my commercial work using digital – clients want perfectly exposed, pin sharp and consistent photographs, and these days they want to see what you’re shooting, as you’re shooting it. So that’s what they get. But working this way I’d never have got the two bottom images of Beckii Cruel, which I shot on film, especially the bottom one – on digital I’d have zoomed in on her face, seen that it wasn’t quite in focus and deleted it – which would have been a tragedy, because I love it.

The first image below was made using an old Canon LTb slr and 50mm lens. I’ve deliberately taken the foam seals out of the camera (which were pretty dead anyway), a notion some people may find odd, but I love light leak on celluloid. The second shot was made with a Fuji GW690III and, as I’ve said, the image is slightly out of focus, but it works some how, adding a strange ethereal, ghostly feel to the image. Film in both cases is Kodak Portra 800.