Light Leak Chronicles

I’m a librarian, which means I can’t help but keep records even when I’m shooting film. Whether I’m loading a Holga, experimenting with pinhole photography, or finally putting a “new-to-me” Nikkormat through its paces, I take meticulous notes on every roll I shoot. Not because I think I’m precious about my process, but because film photography rewards attention, patience, and memory and I don’t always develop my film right away. This post is a look at the system I’ve built to track my rolls, organize my notes, and make sense of what actually works (and what definitely doesn’t). Let's start with what information I gather and the system I used to keep track of film rolls. Here is where I have landed as far as keeping up with what I've shot, when, and where. This, I have already learned, helps because I don't always develop in the right after I shoot. #brokelibrarianmoney  DATE STARTED: When I start the roll DATE ENDED: When I finish the roll DEVELOPED: When I finally get it d...

Before I knew what I was doing, I bought a Zeiss Ikon camera that had been converted into a pinhole and started shooting. Quickly I found it's big brother, literally, on eBay and got to experimenting. Given that pinhole photography is technically a light leak, I'm including it here.  What you see here is from, at least according to my notes, the first roll I took, thus my first attempts at pinhole photography. Using a the smaller  Zeiss Ikon , I shot a roll of Arista EDU Ultra 400 Black and White film at various exposure times on the bulb setting using a shutter plunger.  My notes read " THE USUAL SUSPECTS", which is a corner table I have in my room. On it sits two watercolors (a shrimp boat which you see, and a creek side which you don't) my grandmother did and a pothos plant, which you see sticking up. I have used these as a testing photo trying different angles, exposure times, and lighting. Thanks to some awesome folks on Facebook, I have learned the heavy vig...