Tag: film

In the 1970s, we use ‘film’ – a fashion shoot in Reno

by Mike Higdon on October 3, 2018 in Photos

What’s the point of shooting 365 photos for a year?

by Mike Higdon on June 28, 2017 in Photos

#NoFilter: The best 26 photos from the first 6 months of my 365 project

by Mike Higdon on January 3, 2017 in Photos

The first six months of my photo project have changed the way I approach photography, both technically and artistically. But there’s more time to talk about that in the next few months. For now, let’s just all enjoy a bunch of photos from 2016.

For those of you just joining me, a quick recap: I’m shooting one photo a day on film. The goal is to photograph my life experiencing Reno and to get the photos displayed in a gallery at the end of it. The project started July 1, 2016 and will end June 30, 2017. Here’s a link to the #NoFilter blog tag to read more.

There are only 26 out of 216 pictures here. Think of what you’re missing out on.

Best of 2016

#NoFilter: On photography’s metaphysical relationship between time and shape

by Mike Higdon on December 9, 2016 in Photos

In November, a new photographic theme emerged: repeated shapes and revisited narratives. In November, I changed my approach and it illuminated new ways to capture images. But I couldn’t have done that without October. November marks the fifth month of my 365 photo a day on film project that started July 1. On June 30, 2017, I will take my last photo.… Read more →

#NoFilter: 4 lessons in 4 months of my first 365 photo project

by Mike Higdon on October 22, 2016 in Photos

Taking one photo a day on film for 365 days is an emotional roller coaster. But I’ve learned a few lessons so far. Lesson 1: It’s OK to suck Some days, snapping a fantastic moment or meeting an amazing person is deeply rewarding. Some days, I cannot wait to drive around town to find one great shot. Other days I’ve been writing news… Read more →

#NoFilter: 5 FAQs about my film-only 365 photo project

by Mike Higdon on October 9, 2016 in Photos

When I tell people I’m taking one photo a day on film for 365 days, I get a lot of the same questions. So here’s the answers that all seven of you are dying to know. 😉 1. Are you developing and printing your own film? No. I never developed my own film despite opportunities to take classes in high school… Read more →

#NoFilter: Shooting 365 photos of Reno life…on film

by Mike Higdon on September 4, 2016 in Photos

What did I just get myself into? On July 1, I started taking one photo a day on film. I will continue taking a photo a day until June 30, 2017. My goal is to tell the story of life in Reno over the course of 365 days. But, maybe I’ll only end up telling the story of where I’ve been and… Read more →

Illuminati Ball on black and white film

by Mike Higdon on April 22, 2015 in Photos

Illuminati Ball in Reno, Nevada. Photo by Mike Higdon

Illuminati Ball in Reno, Nevada. Photo by Mike Higdon

I spend so much time in a digital world, particularly in my job at Swift Communications managing technology, that sometimes it feels good to step into another world. For the first Reno Illuminati Ball, I brought my Minolta X-570 film camera to Reno Provisions to shoot the event, for myself, on black and white film.

I wanted to capture the candid, up-close shots of people’s faces or in this case, their masked faces. I particularly love the shots of people breaking out of character to check their smartphones. It kind of proves the point I was trying to make by bringing an analog camera. The best irony is that I attended an event hosted by Reno Instagrammies and used the slowest form of photography possible. It took three weeks to receive the developed prints.

The event environment and camera presented some interesting challenges. I knew the event would be incredibly dark and the costumes colorful. Nonetheless, I chose the black and white film for two reasons, both practical and accidental. Practically, I wanted to eliminate the distraction of color and focus on faces. Accidentally, Gordon’s Photo Store only had 3200 ISO film in black and white and not color.

Another challenge came from the camera and flash combo. The camera has an internal light meter, just like modern DSLRs, and allows you to set the film up to 3200 ISO. However, the flash meter only meters up to 1000 ISO. This meant the two devices wouldn’t communicate with each other very well. Nonetheless, I shot wide open on a 50mm f/1.7 lens, set the flash to auto distance, pointed it at the ceiling and hoped for the best.

I really enjoyed what I got. The scans, unfortunately, are pretty low res and add a lot more grain to the digital images than what appears on the nice, creamy prints.