Things aren't so simple in Black and White
As Stephen King once said "Time takes it all whether you want it to or not". While traveling and studying in America, it's been a struggle to find time to dedicate myself to my photography. Studying has become very demanding, and finances are heavily declining. We all love living on a college budget (as I take another bite from my dinner of ramen and frozen veggies). In saying this, nothing should stop you from following your passions. Do what you can with what you have. For those who know me, I'm rarely one to turn down opportunities, especially if they're related to my goals and passions. While studying at my college in Jackson, MS, I was given the chance to do some freelance work with a Canon AE1 from the head of the photography department.
Ultimately, I wanted to take an 'introduction to photography' course at college. The class was overpopulated and all non-art majors were advised to drop the class. I respected this and dropped the class. My professor then emailed me and informed me about a 'photo history' class that was available if I'm still interested in learning more about photography. In this class, the professor showed thousands of slides on an old school projector. It was incredible, I never thought those things were around anymore. Topics covered Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and many more influential artists across the lifetime of photography as an art-form, I took taking particular interest in Walker Evans, Man Ray and Margaret Bourke-White; and began reading more into their history. I managed to find an old copy of Walker Evans' biography, written by Belinda Rathbone. This fuelled my interest into the older style photography and the origins of the camera.
A week later, my professor called me and said that 3/4's of the students in the introduction to photography class had dropped (both art and non-art students) due to the heavy work load and expectations. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to add the class., but my professor allowed me to borrow her Canon AE1 film camera to go out and capture the world around me. I was so overwhelmed and grateful for such an opportunity. I turned up to some of the introductory to photography lectures even though I wasn't enrolled. From that day on, every class, gig, bar and trip, I had my film camera by my side.
Carrying this Canon AE1 everywhere sparked such an immense sense of curiosity in my regular life. The smallest details on the side of the road meant so much more to me after developing this mindset. I had discovered how to view the candid nature of everyday life. My curiosity drove me to travel and see as much as possible while I spent my time studying down south. I ended up in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis, and many more historic sites of the southern states of America. From the river walk in San Antonio, to the classic French Quarter in New Orleans, my new film camera and I were on a roll (get it). Documenting all these amazing places was fun and insightful, but I found my passion in capturing the unique aspects of everyday life. An empty bottle of wine that was half covered by orange and yellow leaves on the side of the road would catch my eye and take 10+ mins out of my day. In these situations, I would experiment with light and angles to capture an exposure that could never be retaken. It was an profound feeling to take an images of the world that could not ever be duplicated. A painting can be repainted, but a black and white film exposure can never match another.
Exploring the method of black and white film photography is something that must be experienced by all up and coming photographers. Whether being a wedding photographer, or a world renowned photo journalist; the careful, precise, and patient nature of black and white film photography elicits such profound knowledge and experiences that will come to be beneficial later on in a photographers career. Furthermore, the necessary skills adopted in the dark room will stay with you for life. For me, capturing the world in black and white created an unique atmosphere that colour images have yet to match.
