Travel Prints || Portland, Oregon Film Photography
In the span of my first three trips to Portland, I shot five rolls of film. On this past trip, I shot five rolls of film.
Street photography has become meditative for me. Since I’m shooting only for myself, it allows me space to try new things while developing my style, to continually train my eye to find the story. It’s also a time for me to “unwind,” to let everything else on my mind melt away for a couple hours while I focus solely on the sights around me.
So, I made sure to schedule some time each day to do nothing but walk around with my camera. On a trip where I spent almost every other minute photographing for or meeting with someone, this was a really great way to maintain balance while work-traveling. And it reminded me that I’m working towards a point in my business where I have time to shoot film every day.
Ilford HP5+ on Holga
I brought my Holga with me because I knew I’d have the opportunity to get some gritty city shots - especially in the rain - and wasn’t disappointed. I used the second half of the roll at the end of our Halloween portrait session with my cousins, taking a couple personality portraits and then creating this in-motion panorama of sorts of Stella play fighting with her dad.
Fomapan 400
These days, I bring a film camera wherever I go. Even into the bathroom. You never know when you’ll have the opportunity to show your true millennial hipster side by taking a mirror selfie with your tween-age cousin on a 35mm camera as a random stranger looks on.
This was my first time shooting with this film, so I wanted to test it in a variety of lighting and subject matter scenarios. Though it didn’t retain quite as much detail in the middle grays as my go-to Ilford Delta 400, I’m still quite happy with the results.
Ektar 100
When planning what film to shoot at Cannon Beach, it was really a no-brainer. Nothing captures dreamy, muted seascapes like Ektar (as I learned in Ireland.) The only 35mm camera I brought with me was my Nikon 75 (since it also uses my DSLR lenses so I can pack less gear.) My trusty Vivitar v3800n hasn’t had a functioning light meter for years so I’ve learned to shoot without it, but this newer Nikon has that plus autofocus, so I found myself relying on the meter more than I normally would. Note to self: must remember to underexpose on the Nikon to get those deep blues from Ektar that I love.
Cherise and I both had fun playing with the prism. Since Cannon Beach felt like another world - beautifully unreal - I wanted to add to the fantasy by playing with reality, using the prism to show multiple storylines going on at the same time.
Kodak Ultramax 400
While browsing Ebay for good 35mm deals, I found a 10 pack of this Kodak for $3 a roll. Hard to pass that up. I’ve shot most of it now and have really come to appreciate its color integrity, capturing the hues almost exactly how I saw them.
I’m low-key obsessed with St. Johns Bridge, so I decided to spend my Monday film time walking around St. Johns neighborhood capturing the last vestiges of fall color amidst the vivid architectural landscape.
JCH StreetPan 400
Shooting with this film has been a long time coming. I picked up a roll from Blue Moon (my go-to Portland camera shop) last year and shot it while in New York, but developed it in old developer (I only discovered it was old after I’d already begun processing) and lost the majority of the roll. I knew I needed to give it another shot. I wanted to shoot this film somewhere that would showcase its high contrast nature, and downtown Portland seemed like the perfect place.
I wasn’t wrong. The last third of the roll especially, those near the Morrison Bridge when we enjoyed a rare glimpse of sunlight which created even more of a stark contrast, really showed the streetpan’s ability. If I’m going to shoot high contrast, I don’t want to just do it halfway, so these images where most of the scene is underexposed save for the bright highlights are some of my favorite street photos to date.
