The Driveway

On a whim I decided to dust off my ancient Mamiya RB67 Pro-S and shoot a few rolls of film last weekend. Perspiring in the humid Memphis air and dodging unpredictable cloud bursts I made a few tentative exposures on Ilford PanF Plus film. I worked without much creative intent, but found myself pleasantly surprised by how engaging it is to work with an instrument that requires as much technical as physical as creative effort. The same applies to the exacting film development process that followed working with the camera. Even mixing the chemistry felt gratifying. There’s something to all of it that I didn’t realize I missed in the last decade of exclusively digital shooting.

It will take a while to adjust to a hybrid film-to-digital workflow. I’ll have to resurrect long-dormant skills in scanning negatives, and seeing in black and white, but I can already tell that the RB67 Pro-S is going to spend some time on my tripod this summer. This is fun.