Capturing The Essence

Scan-tastic!

Those who have been tracking my recent twitterings will know I recently purchased a Nikon Coolscan 5000 ED film (slide and negative) scanner.  I did this not only to save cost on having the negatives scanned by the Pro Lab, but also to give me full control of the output and quality of the scans produced.

In the week since the scanner arrived I confess to having the odd tantrum as I just couldn't get anywhere near the quality of scans I wanted. The simple truth was that I had a LOT to learn about film scanning and a steep learning curve ensued. To make matters worse the negatives I first picked up introduced two common problems:

• Large graining of high-speed films (Ilford HP5+ 400).
• Scratched and damaged negatives.

Since that time I can't tell you how much I have learnt, not only about the functional operation of the scanner, but factors such as grain aliasing, q-factor, lpi & dpi, etc.

Just a little 'bravado'

Despite one of my preferred genres of photography being street it is one that I most struggle with due to the simple fact that I lack the confidence not to be challenged as to my actions, or worse still arrested.  This may seem terribly paranoid but in the UK especially the freedom to take pictures in a public place is under serious threat.

As I'm this week on a project to take a roll-a-day this has become all the more prevalent in my mind, in-particular on Monday when realising I was nearing the local primary school, and again yesterday when taking photographs of the market stalls and traders in Thame.  Ironically when attending the National Climate Change march in London on Saturday, and despite being photographed and video-taped by more police than I could count, I didn't feel at all threatened and snapped away happily.  I expect this was due to the fact I wasn't alone in this respect and therefore felt reassured of my rights and position.

Yesterday whilst at the market, and thinking about the likes of Cartier-Bresson, I felt it was time to push myself and tackle the fear. In fact whilst walking around the market I found myself continually playing a video clip of himself chasing and photographing an unknowing loving couple with his Leica.

Time to take some pictures?

It sounds like an obvious thing to do as a photographer, although something I've found increasingly difficult to do since tackling some life-changing bereavements in the fall of 2005.

My initial reaction to what seemed like loss of photographic ambition and focus was to surround myself with an ever more impressive working environment and expensive gear to go with it.  Unknown to me then had been that it was not the lack of focus or ambition that had stifled my output, but a mere loss of confidence to enjoy something for which I held such passion and importance in the fear it might abandon me without return.

Three years of patience and retrospection has now brought me to a point were I feel confident enough to take a chance, enjoy photography, and relish the results with anticipation and excitement. With this I must accept the most difficult (for me) lesson of all - to tackle disappointment with objectiveness and pragmatism.