Shoot Film Co. — Interviews

In The Frame: Photographer Benedetto Manzella

In The Frame: Photographer Benedetto Manzella

black and white photo of Amenra guitarist by Benedetto Manzella

All Photos © Benedetto Manzella

 I was born and raised in San Pedro, California. Typically if I'm traveling, I might just say I'm from Los Angeles since San Pedro is a suburb of LA county but I feel like my perspective would be different if I grew up in what could be considered "Los Angeles" proper. While being a musician is my primary artistic pursuit(I've played drums for 15 years), I began an intentional pursuit of being a photographer about 9 years ago. My primary source of inspiration when making photos is concerts; I haven't been able to find a group of musicians to consistently work with over the years, and photography has allowed me a way of being more connected to the music I love. I make photos both out of a pursuit to document the concert for fans to relive the night after the fact, as well as a service to the artists who performed to possibly use for promotional purposes or as a keepsake/memory of a special time in their life. I also enjoy making photos when I travel, particularly in cities, and using my work as a way to show my observations of the world around me.

Black and white photo of The Great American Music Hall's marquis by Benedetto Manzella

Film is a lovely reminder that nothing is guaranteed in life. There is more room for error than you'd like to admit, but there is equal potential for capturing a photo in a way you never thought you would. In a time where the primary camera that people look to is in their cell phone, the joy of a film camera is endless. It disconnects you from the wired world and offers you a way of embracing a wonderfully aging tradition of documenting life as it happens.

My primary film camera is a Pentax K1000 and I love mine dearly. I hope to soon own a medium format camera, ideally one I use at shows but I'm still undecided as to what is the best camera for my creative goals. I mainly shoot black and white film and have grown to love motion picture film such as Cinestill's BWXX. There is a rich stillness in the photos I've made with this film that feels as close to what I intend to, and hope to, show the viewer.

Black and white photo of band Amenra by Benedetto Manzella

The three photos I've shared are from 3 days I spent with the Belgian "metal" band, Amenra. Along with listening to their music for the past decade, I've had the fortune of developing a friendship with the band starting back in 2016 when I was able to meet their guitarist Mathieu while I was studying photography in a short-term study program in Germany. I was able to take photos at 3 of their concerts in California while they were on tour and spend time with the band. While I believe all music has value, I am particular about the bands I work with and take photos of; bands such as Amenra are musicians that have influenced my approach to art as well as provided a soundtrack for a number of years in my life. With that in mind, my photos are an act of service and gratitude to my now friends who I hope to continue documenting for years to come.

In The Frame: Photographer Daniel Alvarez

In The Frame: Photographer Daniel Alvarez

football player kneeling by Daniel Alvarez
All Photos © Daniel Alvarez. All rights reserved.

I'm a photographer born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I got into photography at a very young age. My father was a photographer through the 80s doing portraits, weddings, and fine art photography. I remember spending time with him at a young age in the dark room. In highschool I took a photography class my school offered and played around with photography. Then when college time came around I decided to pursue a bachelors degree in media arts. Media Arts is just a fancy term for learning a little bit of everything art related. While in college I again took photography courses and sort of fell in love with it then but once college was done I stopped and was a bit burned out on the arts. It wasn't until I was in my late 20's that I came back to my first love. A friend of mine passed away in that time and I realized that I only had on shitty cellphone picture of he and I. That bothered me quite a bit and I decided to not ever let that happen again. I wanted to document everything, so I went back to photography and never looked back.

Man from back, staring at colorful balloons by Daniel Alvarez

There are different tools for different jobs. That being said I use several different cameras. My go to set up is my Leica m6 with a zeiss 35mm lens. I would say that I use the set up 90% of the time. I also have a Canon EOS 1V with a variety of different lenses depending on what I'm shooting. I also have a Yashica Mat 124g, an sx 70, a 600, and a land 100. All of these cameras were bought from my friends at Glass Key Photo in San Francisco I typically shoot Tri-X pushed to 1600, and portra 400. I do however love to experiment with different films. It just depends on my mood and what I'm shooting. I also love shooting expired film.

black and white photo of two people in masks at sporting event by Daniel Alvarez

The photos I've submitted were all shot with my Leica and a 35mm lens. Some are from working sporting events and some are from my every day life. My goal is always to tell some kind of story. For me, I think its important to try and have some kind of story, some interesting composition, or interesting light. Sometimes I nail it, some times I'm lucky, but I always try to do better the next time around. Thanks for looking!

Talking Leica and Getting Coffee with KingJvpes on YouTube

Talking Leica and Getting Coffee with KingJvpes on YouTube

 

Look who came through and paid a visit! It's Jonathan Paragas, aka "KingJvpes" on YouTube.

We grabbed some coffee, met some great folks, and talked about our Leica M2, M6, and chatted about film.

He's been sharing his experience with film and bringing us along for the ride in his videos. We definitely need more young, enthusiastic voices willing to share what they learn with the community.

Thanks Jonathan!

 

In the Frame: Film Photography Interview with John Crane

In the Frame: Film Photography Interview with John Crane

Color film photography by John Crane

All Photos © John Crane, all rights reserved

I am a film photographer in Colorado, USA focusing primarily on travel, scenics, landscape, documentary, etc. It's difficult to summarize my involvement with photography and film because it's such an important part of who I am as a person and an artist. I've been shooting for many years - at times trying to figure out a way to assign greater meaning to justify the compulsion. I travel quite a bit, specifically the Rocky Mountain West, and always have a good many cameras of different formats and flavors with me.

Color landscape photography by film photographer John Crane

So many things, really - again, it's difficult to summarize but here goes: I think the core attraction is it's a tangible, analogue process. As a result of exposing a roll of film you have something in your hand transcending ones and zeros. If feels more like you've just created something new.

Color landscape photography by film photographer John Crane

The natural mechanics of shooting film force a more structured, thoughtful approach to each shutter release. There are consequences; costs associated with it, so one tends to pay closer attention to what's in the frame - which to me - is one of the primary reasons for being "out there" shooting in the first place. Being a student of the world, digesting it one frame at a time. There's much, much more behind it, but that's what comes to mind at the moment.

Color landscape photography by film photographer John Crane
I shoot color and black and white in both medium format and 35mm. An ongoing challenge (compulsion) is to see how far I can push 35mm film.

For my black and white work I've moved back in the darkroom to a more traditional silver wet print process. I gravitate towards the Ilford Delta films, Delta 100, 400, and of course Pan F. For my color work I'm still in love with E6 and have my first rolls of the new Ektachrome ready for the lab.

Color landscape photography by film photographer John Crane
I'm submitting a series of images made this past September in Badlands National Park. These were all made on Velvia 50 with my trusty Nikon F6. Usually I try to structure visits to such places to have more time, but on this day I was just passing through for an afternoon. As it happened conditions were favorable and I feel like I got the most out of a single roll of Velvia.

In this case a long lens was used to isolate various features within the landscape - something I tend to do a lot of. Finding compositions within compositions. With so much natural subject matter to work with it can be a little overwhelming. But scanning the land patiently in beautiful light is a delightful way to spend an afternoon/evening outside.

Color landscape photography by film photographer John Crane

In the Frame: Kir Lykkeberg Film Photographer Interview

In the Frame: Kir Lykkeberg Film Photographer Interview

Portrait by Film Photographer Kir Lykkeberg

Kir Lykkeberg's Website: http://www.klykkeberg.com

Kirk Lykkeberg's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klykkeberg/

All Photos © Kir Lykkeberg. All rights reserved. Published with permission from the photographer.

My name is Kir Lykkeberg and I am currently living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Although I like my Danish origins, I do seem to have a chronic wanderlust, and have, besides Copenhagen, lived in both Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Dublin and London within the last 5 years.

I have dabbled with film since I started photographing around 6 years ago. For the past two/three years I have been all analog, only using my digital gear for occasional video work.  

In 2017 I finished a BA in Visual Communication with a focus on Photography. Since then I have been trying to figure out what it is that so attracts me to photography, and somehow find my own visual identity.

Man in grey jacket and pink pants sitting in a chair, photograph by film photographer Kir Lykkeberg

At the moment I am mostly drawn towards portraits. I really enjoy the interplay between me, the photographer and the portrayed, regardless of it being a planned sitting or someone I stop at the street. Circumstances creates, and I very much embrace the fact that you can’t plan everything in life.

I choose to shoot on film out of a love for the medium, the slow pace it keeps me in, and the odd chances for unknown magic it brings.

Film photography by Kir Lykkeberg

Not having endless shots also makes me think more before I press the shutter, which not only comes in handy in the selection process, but also gives me more confidents that I actually know what I am doing, rather than just shoot away and hope something in there must be good.

I especially find film photography rewarding when it comes to portraiture. That fact that neither you nor the portrayed can see the image instantly, seems to keep both more present and in the moment, instead of focusing on the outcome. Also a lot of people find it fascinating with film. I actually had someone I stopped for a portrait, initially saying no, until I took my Rolleiflex from my bag, then he responded; “Oh if it is with that, then it is okay”.

Photography by film photographer Kir Lykkeberg

I mainly shoot medium format film, and occasionally polaroid and 35mm. If it is a planned shoot I bring along my Mamiya RZ67 with that incredible 110mm lens. On trips and everyday adventures I normally bring my Rolleiflex 2,8C.

For 120mm I am allover the place, shooting both positive and negative film, I do however tend to shoot in color, and have done so ever since I started shooting film.  

I absolutely love shooting polaroids, especially peel apart on my Polaroid 600SE. I was heartbroken when Fuji announced pulling fp100 of the market, and praying someone will bring it back. My stash is running dangerously low.

Photography by film photographer Kir Lykkeberg

When I go exploring a new city or country some of my favourite souvenirs are the pictures I take, especially of the people I meet. Shooting on a mediumformat camera makes it a tad difficult sometimes photographing people without them noticing. My solution therefore is simply to ask them. The first word I learn when facing a new language is usually ’photo’, and amazingly that is often enough.  

The photos here are from my latest trip to Paris, a city that will always be special to me, as it was the first place I lived abroad.

Photography by film photographer Kir Lykkeberg