On Seeing
The telos of film photography is best illustrated by Annie Dillard's reflection on finding pennies.
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Our world is strewn with orphaned cents. Many catch sight of these copper coins and go along their way, entrenched in dire poverty, too malnourished and fatigued in their souls to stoop down and pick up the penny. But for those with a healthy poverty, a sweet simplicity, a patient and grateful spirit, finding a penny becomes a gift and surprise. A penny can be a single cent, a penny can be priceless treasure.
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Put simply, "what you see is what you get."
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As with pennies, so it goes with film.Â
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Analog photography does not gift the photographer with a thousand takes or an abundance of grace. The shutter clicks, time moves forward, the moment fades into the past. The gift and surprise of film photography is found in the eye of the beholder.
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Truly, what I see is what you get.
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That is, the faded moment, for all it was, with movement and life, closed eyes, open mouths, captured for all time by light and glass.
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Hi!
I'm Evie.
Film photography started as a small, creative hobby during my time studying Literature. The craft has evolved into a means of telling age-old stories, creating new art with passed time, and interacting with beauty all while engaging with the best part of it all: the PEOPLE.Â
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That said, I leave you with this:
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The medium really is the message.
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That which we use to relay information does, in fact, mold both the individual and the collective more than the actual content itself.Â
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A basic example would be scrolling through hundreds of short form videos versus reading, chewing on, and grappling with long form works of classic literature. The 10 second video may convey the same message that it took a 400 page novel to perform, but it is exactly in the performance that we learn, grow, and get lost in what one may call wisdom.
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Same for film.Â
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But what about the frustration of shooting an entire roll just for it to come back blank weeks later? Or the cost that goes into restoring and tending to these old technologies? Not to mention the precision and skill needed to focus, fix aperture, set the ISO, and switch lens speed all without seeing a single sample photo before the day's end?
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Ah, this is the whole point.
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It's in the performance, the intentionality, the wrestling, the losses, the wins, the perfect shot received after weeks of patience, the healthy poverty and sweet simplicity that gives film its greatness.
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The medium, film, sends the following message:
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Slow down. Be intentional. Every moment counts. Look. Notice. Pay attention. Try again. Imperfection is beautiful. Life is beautiful. And follow the light.Â
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Some call this the beginning of real art, of beauty.
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Me?Â
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The beginning of wisdom, or truth, that is.
