Capturing the land with film photography

Analog world.

(douglas fir, Pentax k2, high Sierras, California)

I have been increasing my use of analog photography for my projects the past couple years. I was gifted a Pentax film camera awhile ago, actually from an ex-boyfriend, who has let me use it over 10 years ago when we dated. I asked him about it recently, and he just gave it to me. It was his grandfather's camera, too. It came with a bunch of lenses, a stand. It can be a little funky sometimes, but this summer, I took it to a camera shop and they spruced it up a bit. This included finally putting a battery in there so that the light meter worked properly. I had been eyeballing it this whole time, and would get really good photos, and some that were too dark.

(some species of Live Oak, Sierra foothills, California)

I like the mystery that analog brings. You never know what you'll get. It used to be a normal thing to have a disposable camera or a simple film camera, and not find out until later what came out, and sometimes what you even took pictures of. I often take awhile before I develop photos, and it can surprise me what I ended up capturing. Because I've been traveling so much, I end up photographing a lot of different landscapes, and when the rolls come through, I'm like- where was that? I usually remember. My brain just works like that.

(35 mm film photo of Eric watching polaroids develop, also analog photography)

I like to photograph plants and the land. I like to do it in different ways. Photography is just one medium I use as a part of my ongoing work The Ground Shots Project It includes photography, drawing, writing, small batch-medicine making, printmaking, and now podcasting. I especially like how I can tell stories about the land with photography. Analog captures things in a kind of ethereal way that is hard to do otherwise, even with all of the fancy digital filters out there now.

(Creosote bush, Joshua Tree, CA, Pentax k2)

Sometimes when I travel to new places, I write. Other times, I photograph it, different parts of it, to take in what I notice. I use a digital DSLR camera too, but often I will gravitate towards film and take a whole roll and 'see' the place.

(live oak, sierra foothills, pentax k2)

There's a subtlety that I love. You can see the tendrils of mosses and other epiphytes, hairs on the skin, wrinkles on faces, the light in its truest sense. Digital pixelates our reality, and though both technologies have their own pros and cons, I like using them both. I like the slowing down of the old way, I guess I tend to gravitate towards that in so many forms in my life. Sometimes, honestly, the photos take my breath away. Other times they are so-so. Im still figuring out the photo triangle in both digital and analog, but for now, I'm enjoying what's been happening. Maybe I'll put it all in a book or zine one day? I have collected so many photos and scenes from the wide world.

(desert floor in joshua tree, ca, pentax k2)