APH 202: Fall 2007

The first time I ever used a film camera. 35mm film, black and white. I hand-developed and printed all of these myself. This was for a class – before I ever knew I’d be going to school for film, or collecting cameras with a passion.

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of my photography class partner, a young man with short curly hair, in front of trees, vegetation, and glowing lights, with a slightly haunting quality to it all.

photography partner

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of a park bench sitting quietly near an arched trellis, a person walking in the distance, with trees and shrubs, and overexposed soft light.

out my window

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of a ghostly layering of two different exposures, half and half split vertically down the middle during development and printing, of a parked car and a driving car, in front of the same background of a house with a tree.

printing experiment

my desk

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of myself, Ethan, behind my dad's old Petri camera, a selfie in a mirror.

my first mirror film shot

ryan

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of a graveyard memorial statue with a mother and two children, intricately carved with flowing robes in stone. The grave monument is labeled HIXON. Bushes in the cemetery surround the scene.

i spent most of my time in the cemetery

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of a long corridor of a library with rows of bookshelves on either side leading to a wall in the far distance, illuminated by regularly repeating overhead lights that are reflected in the polished floor.

or in the library

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of a sign that has an up arrow and the word AIRPORT, with the sky in the background plus the tops of some lights and buildings. A chemical developing accident gives the whole image a rose-sepia hue.

not sure what chemical accident happened here

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of stems and leaves in a close-up shot, with circular points of lights (bokeh) punctuating the dark backdrop.

my final project consisted of three photos

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of dense trees and foliage from my backyard in Spring Valley, WI, with sunlight breaking through in soft gradients; the middle portion is much darker, due to burning and dodging.

two of them were plant-based

A black and white (or greyscale) slightly out of focus 35mm film photograph taken in 2007 of Spider-Man (on a poster), crouched in a dynamic pose; parts of Sandman and Harry Osborn as the Goblin are behind him.

and one of them was spider-man

This was my introduction to film photography. Sometimes I forget that I really developed and printed all of these in a darkroom in La Crosse, WI, like–I really did that. I do remember the spiral film contraptions and the dark film loading areas and all the different chemicals we had to use. Most were taken on the UW-L (University of Wisconsin, La Crosse) campus, but some were in Baldwin or Spring Valley, notably Ray’s Truck Stop (RIP).

I was young and trying to capture the world around me, and trying to figure out what was worth taking a photo of at all. I don’t think this class helped me find my vision, but I don’t think it was meant to; it was meant to focus on the technical details. I don’t think UW-L offers a darkroom photography class at a basic level anymore. All digital now. That’s a shame.