Up & coming analog photog

sajianphotos · Nov 11, 2005

Not sure this is exactly the right spot but I'll give it a try. I have an up & coming 13 year old photog in my photography club (film only) that was given an old Zenit (she loves it), a roll of technipan film and an assignment to look for contrast and shape and use the f16 rule. All her pictures have been good but this one struck me. I don't know what setting she used but she developed the film in Xtol 1:1 for 5.5 min (her first attempt at developing) and scanned the negative.
Any photogs out here that have a suggestion or praise or two? I'm sure she would love it. She's all analog. Chelsea is her name.

ann · Nov 11, 2005

tell Chelsea she has one new fan. Great start, keep up the good work.

PhotoPete · Nov 11, 2005

That's a pretty sophisticated picture for a thirteen year old to have taken. It shows intellectual savvy since the image is mostly about the implied existence of what isn't in the frame. She's also clearly not afraid to work the edges and use the whole frame well, although I think composition might be improved slightly if the chair were a little further off center. The out-of-focus table on the left makes good use of selective focus to direct the viewers' attention. Most people don't get that concept until they have shot a lot of film, and even then most folks only let the background drop out of focus. Letting the foreground do so, especially when it contains such a strong compositional element as the black table, is very effective here. Really a very good image. It would be nice to see more of her stuff.

medform-norm · Nov 11, 2005

sajianphotos said:
Not sure this is exactly the right spot but I'll give it a try. I have an up & coming 13 year old photog in my photography club (film only) that was given an old Zenit (she loves it), a roll of technipan film and an assignment to look for contrast and shape and use the f16 rule. All her pictures have been good but this one struck me. I don't know what setting she used but she developed the film in Xtol 1:1 for 5.5 min (her first attempt at developing) and scanned the negative.
Any photogs out here that have a suggestion or praise or two? I'm sure she would love it. She's all analog. Chelsea is her name.

Interesting composition. Why don't you show us more of her work?

clogz · Nov 11, 2005

Chelsea has a good eye for tonality and composition.

pentaxuser · Nov 11, 2005

There is a light and airy feel to this print which is difficult to achieve in an indoor photo. You can almost feel the texture in the wall. Sometimes a print's content is not even the sum of the parts. This is much more. If you'd said to me "Here's an interesting picture of a chair and table with a wall in the background, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it. It somehow fits together.That's the great thing about someone with photographic talent: recognising what constitutes an interesting picture and then capturing it.

Pentaxuser

sajianphotos · Nov 11, 2005

medform-norm said:
Interesting composition. Why don't you show us more of her work?

Here is a picture she took last year. I had just given her the Zenit and ran through it's functions. We had already had a couple of days of "classroom". I gave her a role of Fuji superia 400 and we went down to the park by the river for some practice. After following me for a while (while I was pointing out nice shots) she sad she had an idea and told me she wanted to go down to the dock.
Well, the rest of the pictures I so nicely pointed out were ok, but she invisioned, set, framed and shot this one by herself on that dock.
Mind you it was the first role of film she ever shot in an old manual $12 Zenit.

pentaxuser · Nov 21, 2005

I and I assume those others who commented on the young girl's work in this thread got a thanks from her via her photography club mentor? Its refreshing that we have a 13 yr old who has this much talent and interest in analogue photography.

It has caused me to wonder what APUG's policy is on younger members and by this I mean those in their early teens upwards.

As I understand it anyone can enter the site and look at the threads and this I am sure will be helpful. However full subscriber status confers benefits such as gallery and would presumably make such young persons feel part of the analogue community.

If we don't capitalise on analogue enthusiasm when we find it in the young then our future demise and that of analogue photography is assured. It may be anyway but new blood can help to keep away or at least postpone the appearance of the digital reaper.

Pentaxuser

vet173 · Nov 21, 2005

I think were gettin a ringer here. Just kidding. I want an autographed copy of her first book. John

ann · Nov 21, 2005

Why would anyone have an age policy?

I sure hope not.

Tanya · Nov 21, 2005

To Chelsea

Chelsea,

This a very good photograph. By this I mean that your tone, as far as palette (lights to darks) is very even and well balanced. But what really interests me is the treatment of the subject. You see, often people who can not create a succesful composition ( Not you, obviously) find it important to get ALL of an object(s) in a photo. You have cut the "usefullness" out of these objects by visually cutting the legs off the table and chair and the glass out of the window and the lenght out of the curtain. I like this a lot!!! Also, the invisible line you created by following the left side of the edge of the table through the middle of the photo (implied line) into the window sill, makes this photo easy to read because your eye travels this line.

Keep being so intuitively creative!!!!

Tanya

medform-norm · Nov 21, 2005

pentaxuser said:
I and I assume those others who commented on the young girl's work in this thread got a thanks from her via her photography club mentor? Its refreshing that we have a 13 yr old who has this much talent and interest in analogue photography.

It has caused me to wonder what APUG's policy is on younger members and by this I mean those in their early teens upwards.

As I understand it anyone can enter the site and look at the threads and this I am sure will be helpful. However full subscriber status confers benefits such as gallery and would presumably make such young persons feel part of the analogue community.

If we don't capitalise on analogue enthusiasm when we find it in the young then our future demise and that of analogue photography is assured. It may be anyway but new blood can help to keep away or at least postpone the appearance of the digital reaper.

Pentaxuser

Should we have a Junior Gallery? But one with a better name than that....

Curt · Nov 22, 2005

"The Early Eye"

Mick Fagan · Nov 22, 2005

Chelsea, to envisage the colour picture as you did, tells me you understand colour on it's own can sometimes make an image work very well, as it has with that one.

The B&W one taken a year later, tells me that compositionally, you have thought hard about just what you do and don't want in the frame. It is a very succesful picture, considering the brief you were given.

The fact that you have a very old and cheap camera is not important. The fact that you are going out and taking pictures by focusing your skills on the actual final image, is the most important piece of stuff you are doing.

I wonder what your prints will be like, when you get a basic darkroom going?

Mick.

sajianphotos · Nov 22, 2005

medform-norm said:
Should we have a Junior Gallery? But one with a better name than that....

I am Chelseas (and a couple other kid's) mentor. As I have pm'd some others, I am reasonably experienced at photography but, for sure, not a great photog. I know what this site has done for me, not only in the knowledge I have gained, but the sheer challenge of looking at the photos that come across and the positive (mostly) direction of discussion. What I'm trying to say is that it's been a great "you can do it" site for me.

I think our very young people (my group is 12-14) have a great deal of excitement and open minds to offer the art with a little mentoring. Personally I don't feel there is as much true photog mentoring around as there used to be. I remember going into the photo shop with my mom in the 50s and feeling like I was in heaven. Mind you I was blind at that age. But the owner would let me feel all the cameras and stuff. My Mom taught me to feel the emulsion of the film and she taught me to do the darkroom work, which was right up my ally. I learned to load the old Kodak 127 and then listen to noises and take pictures of the noise, go into the darkroom, develop the film, and then my Mom would enlarge the picture. It wasn't until years later, after surgery, that I was able to look at my pictures.

I think, in some ways, there's a good analogy. Todays kids have a lot of talent to draw upon. The problem is they're "shooting" blind. The new way is to look through the digital screen, take the picture, and if it doesn't work out, dump it and make a new one; then go home, download it, and let Photo Shop automatically fix it. They can even do some "unsharp mask" to sharpen it :O (yeah!?!). They can do it with their minds shut.

Intellectual savvy, openness, vision, and satisfaction is a direct result of the challenge of the process of film photography. Why not support our young people into this challenge. Also I know that the peer pressure toward digital gismo is strong and to be carrying around an old film thing is out of vogue. (Heck, we've all experienced that feeling). It's just as hard for the youth.

Pertinent questions are: are there other mentors out there with ideas? What are the general experiences with our youth and their photographic drives and talents? Is there even a large enough base of youth to justify a forum? Does there need to be? And finally, how can we as photographers of all levels, yet passionate in our art, pass on our experience and passion through personal mentoring as well a through the web?

It is awesome that Chelsea can be supported by photogs from around the world! I know how inspiring it's been for her.

hortense · Nov 22, 2005

Chelsea - Pinpoint focus (sharp), excelent contrast, and reeeelly good composition. Keep it up
hortense

sajianphotos · Nov 24, 2005

Another of Chelsea's photos

Here's another photo by Chelsea. Taken on technipan with a Zenit E developed in Xtol and scanned from negative.

sajianphotos · Jan 31, 2006

More Chelsea photos

Here's some more of my photo's
*Chelsea*

ErinHilburn · Feb 1, 2006

"I think, in some ways, there's a good analogy. Todays kids have a lot of talent to draw upon. The problem is they're "shooting" blind. The new way is to look through the digital screen, take the picture, and if it doesn't work out, dump it and make a new one; then go home, download it, and let Photo Shop automatically fix it. They can even do some "unsharp mask" to sharpen it :O (yeah!?!). They can do it with their minds shut. "

This is so true. I am in college and even our professor stresses the don't like it dump it method. It was this mentality that made me reject digital in regards to personal preferance. But on that note today in class a young lady who really enjoys the ease of digital photography announced to the class, " I found this company. You email them you photographs and they correct everything for you and print it out. I'm using them. It means I don't have to do anything."

She said it all herself I'm looking for a graduate school and am hoping to get away from this lazy I don't really want to learn my craft mentality. It is refreshing to know that you are creating future photographers that will know what they are doing. I am impressed.

pentaxuser · Feb 1, 2006

It would be interesting to know what Chelsea's views of her own photos are in terms of which she prefers and why and the sense of what she was trying to do in each case. I am not a flower person myself but I like the slightly painterly quality of each. 3 and 5 are the sharpest although I like the softness of 2. Was the softness of light combined with a diffused look intended? Doesn't really matter. If it was intended it has succeeded and the knowledge is there for a repeat. If not, then it has laid the foundation for the changes needed for pin sharp shots of flowers next time.These are not what you'd see in, say,a school textbook about flowers but these aren't technical flower studies and appeal on a different level.

Pentaxuser

sionnac · Feb 1, 2006

Chelsea, excellent work. You have some serious vision. Glad you have the tools, enjoy the experience! The fun is the learning part.

sajianphotos · Feb 1, 2006

sajianphotos said:
Here's some more of my photo's
*Chelsea*

Chelsea picked these from prints of the roll she took of the flowers and we scanned and uploaded them yestarday at photo club. I can't speak to what her favorite one was (next time we meet I'll have her do that herself) but I remember when she was taking them I showed her the difference between long DOF and sharpness as opposed to shallow DOF and softening. She really liked the soft effect. She was only 11 when she took these with my Nikon F with an old Vivitar macro zoom and small flash (I held the flash for her where she wanted me to hold it with a long coiled cord). If I'm good for nothing else I'm a good flash tripod

She also used a Cokin inspot filter on a few of them.
If I remember right we used Fuji Superia 400.
I gotta say I wish I would have taken a few photos of her, as an 11 year old girl, with that big ol' Nikon F and zoom taking these pics.

sajianphotos · Feb 1, 2006

ErinHilburn said:
This is so true. I am in college and even our professor stresses the don't like it dump it method. It was this mentality that made me reject digital in regards to personal preferance. But on that note today in class a young lady who really enjoys the ease of digital photography announced to the class, " I found this company. You email them you photographs and they correct everything for you and print it out. I'm using them. It means I don't have to do anything."

She said it all herself I'm looking for a graduate school and am hoping to get away from this lazy I don't really want to learn my craft mentality. It is refreshing to know that you are creating future photographers that will know what they are doing. I am impressed.

Thank you Erin. Glad you are keeping a good view of photography. Keep it up my friend. Your digital colleague is really missing out on some of the challenge and joy of analog photog. One of the things this world is taking away at an alarming rate is personal challenge. Yet we know challenges are as needed for emotional and even physical health as is food. The other thing we are losing is patience. Film photography, particularly in the manual equipment, offers a good source of challenge, patience and satisfaction.

Much wisdom and satisfaction is gained through one's ability to patiently encounter and succeed over one's challenges. May you encounter and succeed

BlueWind · Feb 5, 2006

Congratulations to Chelsea

My congratulations and encouragement to Chelsea. May she keep the good work going on. A good camera is not enough
Bluewind (owner of eight Zenits)

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