The Warehouse in Film, Part 1: Random Row Books

I have begun a personal project to document the warehouse where my studio is housed, in good, old-fashioned,  film.

I’ve been incredibly inspired by film of late. While professionally I’ve always been a digital photographer, I’ve been looking for ways to slow down my art a bit. A while back, I painted my first oil painting with the same inspiration in mind. However, oil paint takes forever to dry. Like, weeks and weeks. I’m not sure I want to be THAT slow.

I’ve turned, instead, to film, by breaking out a few of my old cameras, and acquiring a few at yard sales here and there. It’s a great time to be into film, with inspiring photographers like Jose Villa and Jonathan Canlas hosting workshops and encouraging people to rediscover their film side. Further, there is Richard Photo Lab, who scans in your negatives as they develop your film. This completely changes everything! It lets me shoot film and not worry about how to get it into my computer (and into the 21st century).

Film has mainly been a fun diversion of late, but after posting a few Polaroids on the blog a while back, I’ve had a couple brides ask for a film supplement to their wedding. I’ll still be shooting in digital, but I’ll also be capturing some key shots with the dramatic colors that film allows, and a feel that digital photography just doesn’t possess. I’m very excited!

Also inspiring to me is the warehouse: from my own light-filled space, to the eclectic bookstore next door, to the gritty basement areas with soaring steel beams. I know that I’m lucky to have this space, and I want to be able to remember it years down the road.

Below is Part 1, a series of photographs taken in Random Row Books, the bookstore next to my studio. The camera: Canon AE-1. The film: Fuji Neopan 400. I’m loving the deep blacks, the bright whites, and the enveloping glow of the window light!