It has been I think, two years since I started to shoot film again. When I first started shooting digital I always used to say to my self, “I will shoot film again”, “I prefer film photography”, “I would like to shoot film rather than digital” and now, I actually started! It’s amazing, the passion that I feel for it… the texture, the way it feels to hold a printed photograph in my hand, the way of seeing a 35mm negative on a light box and the way it works! You actually don’t see anything when you are pressing your shutter; it’s just a feeling, but you don’t know what you have captured in the moment.
…but, how could I do something with my photographs? How could I create a story?
Sometimes I asked myself why I should take photos today…I don’t have any thing to shoot…I should quit and stop spend money on it.
And then I realized something: photography – for me – is something that I feel so deeply that it’s something could “happen” at any time and I don’t have to push my self to do any thing. I am actually already creating a story. Technically speaking it might be in a good way or it may be in a bad one but I’m doing it.
It’s amazing how much can you reflect of yourself in a photograph. It is a still moment of your own life.
 
 

About the photo: A sincere reality

Mie-ken Yokkaichi-shi, Japan 2017. Nikon F4s | Nikkor 50mm 1.4s | Kodak tri-x 400 (+1 stop)
Mie-ken Yokkaichi-shi, Japan 2017.

Nikon F4s | Nikkor 50mm 1.4s | Kodak tri-x 400 (+1 stop)


 
I remember it was a cloudy day. I been seeing this light through this window and had been thinking about a portrait the gentleman pictured above. This day was perfect, he was just getting done with his work and preparing to head back home. It’s difficult to interrupt a Japanese worker while his doing his job, so I decided to stay close to him and wait for the right moment to I ask him if he would let me to take a portrait.
He accepted with a kind voice. It was difficult…I was standing with my tripod on a very thin piece of wood. At first I thought about taking a closer portrait but then I realized that I should include the area around him: the big filtering containers and him holding his tool box; and I also noticed that the light was illuminating half of his body. It was the perfect moment. I thought later that the composition might not be that good but when I scanned the negative and saw the photograph, I thought “well actually looks alright”. I felt a kind of sincere feeling to it all, hence the name.
Japan has marked my life deeply and is still doing so. This photograph is part of an episode, it is a part of a moment:
It is a part of a sincere reality of my own life.
Thanks for reading.
~ Allan
 
 

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2 responses to “Photo story: A sincere reality”

  1. I have really enjoyed reading this story.
    Thanks Allan for sharing this moment, I loved your account and truly appreciated the beautiful portrait.
    Cheers,
    Mauro

 

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