“Mixed-Media”
I wanted to get something off my chest… creating compelling content is hard. There are no shortcuts, at least no shortcuts that actually save time. Most of the techniques involved with creating a final image or video are actually a series of distinct, time-consuming layers that compound the complexity of the entire project. The “shortcuts” I use don’t magically make a particular image or video clip an instant beauty. They usually make everything more complicated (frustrating?), and more prone to needing to conduct multiple iterations before achieving a final product, but ultimately these techniques result in a more powerful end product and a better mastery of my craft. The reality is that almost every piece of content has touched at least three pieces of software and often times many more individual edits. I wanted to discuss a recent unique workflow of mine to better address the unseen complexity of creating a STEEP visual.
I recently rediscovered the joy of my original 35mm film camera circa 2001. As I should have expected, this opened up a specialized new nerd-world for me to dive into. Fast forward a few weeks and I am now the proud owner of a more advanced 35mm camera (thanks Ebay!) after mine died during its re-birth trip to Montana (I don’t think it liked the cold), and a shockingly expensive collection of professional-grade (and hard to find) film stocks. When I wanted to experiment with a new method for creating wide-angle images using a 50mm lens that I’d read about (50 & Stitch), I figured I’d take it one step further and try to achieve this effect using my newly delivered Nikon F100 35mm camera and my first ever roll of Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film stock (known for its super fine grain and great colors). I’d been exclusively using my 50mm f/1.8 prime lens on the 35mm cameras to really embrace the non-flexibility of the film-world, and this merging of projects seemed only natural.
Fast-forward to a few days later and I find myself taking the scenic route in the hopes that the sunset is worth making a pit stop for somewhere along the coast during my drive North. It is the rainy time of year in San Diego, and we’d been getting some huge midwest-style rain clouds that are rare for Southern California. Everything lined up perfectly for me to test out my new camera, film stock and stitching methodology when the sunset was an absolute BANGER with lots of well-defined clouds to provide a unique contrast. The hight contrast of sunsets can make them difficult to photograph, with many photographers relying on creating High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) images which are a series of differently-exposed images overlapped together (your iPhone does this automatically these days). Film is actually very good at naturally capturing a wide dynamic range within a single exposure, so I was excited to capture this stunning sunset on my fancy new film stock. I tried to get a variety of shots to test the limits of the film and camera, but paid special attention to my attempt at the “50 & stitch.” Unlike with a digital camera where I would have made as many attempts as needed to feel confident that the individual frames would work together, I really only had one chance on the 35mm camera to nail the setting and get the shot (#GTS). After all, I’d only brought one roll of film and no backup cameras (gasp!). I set the exposure to what seemed like a happy medium for the entire scene, locked in the focus, and took a deep breath before snapping the frames handheld - trying to keep the horizon level.
I dropped off the film at a local high-end film developer, North Coast Photographic Services, that I am very lucky to be able to drive to (my understanding is that they are primarily a mail-in business, processing film from all over the world). One day later I raced through rush-hour traffic to retrieve my prints and scans. I then spent a few hours merging the images in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. One aspect of film developing is that the developer typically “corrects” each image if needed to achieve proper exposure, so I had to deal with some slight differences in exposure in each image. Additionally, there was a fair amount of vignetting (dark edges) which is also characteristic of 35mm cameras. I adjusted each image for image warping imperfections caused by the specific lens I was using using a Lightroom Profile. I had trouble getting the water in the images to merge perfectly (unlike famed landscape photographer Peter Lik, I didn’t have a custom-built rig to hold three cameras to take three simultaneous pictures, and I had to physically turn my body and take the 4 separate images which were then subject to a delay between shots during which the waves moved a few yards) and decided to use an effect that I’ve been using recently where I subtly blur the water portion of the image using a Motion-Blur effect in Photoshop. This creates the impression of a long-exposure and is really quite something. A few final touch-ups (very little color adjustment thanks to my impressive film stock and the desire to keep the image as natural as possible as to not defeat the purpose of using a film camera in the first place), and I exported my baby from Lightroom - a 50 Megapixel yet-to-be-named gem.
All this is to say that, yeah, a little more goes into the work over here at STEEP STUDIOS than a quick iPhone panorama and an instagram filter. Thankfully, I love the work. It’s a combination of vision, preparation, spontaneity, and lots and lots of problem solving.
Cheers!
Update: My friend thought of a fitting title for this piece… “Thy Kingdom Come”
