Yue and I drove up from Maryland for the Brooklyn Film Camera Winter Gathering. It was our first photography event since moving to the East coast from San Diego, where we’d been regulars at local photowalks. We stayed at a very electric converted laundromat in Brooklyn, spent the afternoon walking Manhattan, and ended the day at a packed gathering in Bushwick.
Film Stocks and Happy Accidents
I packed a ton of film for this trip. The black and white photos were shot on bulk-loaded Arista Edu on my Olympus XA2, and ended up with several light leaks due to a faulty film loader. I also tried out Revolog Lazer, an experimental pre-exposed film that gives a green light-leak effect – I originally intended to use it redscaled, but that didn’t quite work out (more on that later). Finally, given that it was a Brooklyn Film event, I had to bring my Polaroid SX-70, which ended up being a lot of fun for portraits.
Morning at Samson’s
Our host Samson had turned a former laundromat into something between an apartment and a cabinet of curiosities: vinyl records, thrifted art, a stop sign, a piano, an organ, guitars, mannequins. We couldn’t not shoot it.
Arista Edu 100, bulk-loaded; Olympus XA2
Polaroid SX-70
Photowalk through Manhattan
We took the Subway from Brooklyn into Manhattan. Walked Chinatown, Times Square, Central Park. The bulk-loaded Arista Edu grain and light leaks came in strong here; perfect for a moody NY vibe.
Arista Edu 100, bulk-loaded; Olympus XA2
Kodak Gold 200; Olympus OM2n
Brooklyn Film Camera Gathering
The gathering at Wyckoff Windows Studio in Bushwick was pretty packed. Huge line out the door and around the corner, we were lucky to be among the first in. The Revolog Lazer was loaded on my Nikon. I’d originally planned to redscale it for the morning photowalk, thinking the green streaks would contrast against the red shift, but I accidentally ended up flipping the film one too many times (it can happen when you fumble around in a darkbag in the middle of the street).
Revolog Lazer; Nikon FM2a
Polaroid SX-70
Photo by our friend Kenny Yokoyama; Rolleiflex