Shoot in inspiration from Calin Jones

Shoot plan-

The ideas behind this shoot it to capture images inspired by Calin Jones and his unique compositions. He explores using shadows with the curvature of the skatepark concrete to create contrast and abstract shapes in his work. I am going to explore shooting on 35mm film using a vintage canon camera, to capture grain and the interesting tones film captures. I would like to experiment with developing my own film in collage to see the process of using the chemicals and techniques to develop film. I am intending to shoot on a sunny day so I can capture shadows and bold contrast between light and dark areas like Calin does. His work is effective because he mixes the old school cameras with modern skating- I like the contrast of styles which is something I would like to explore in this shoot. I would like to shoot a range of photos on black and white including some behind the scenes/ portraits, I will be shooting at St Ives skate park as it is new concrete and has interesting abstract shapes incorporated into the ramps. I have not yet conducted a skate shoot so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I have experience with shooting surfing so its a similar idea- all about timing the trick right. I would like to experiment with lots of different angles to try to create minimalistic compositions for example, from below the skater as they go around the bowel, close up tricks and further away angles. I have shot in black and white on digital cameras- the contrast created is really effective so it will be exciting to see the difference of using an analogue camera. I am going to try and capture candid scenes and for the images to radiate a calm and serene atmosphere. the shoot will probably take around 2 hours to conduct with setting up and shooting from lots of different angles. I will be shooting some friends skating as my main focus. My equipment list is: analog camera, black and white film and tripod incase.

Thumbnail sketches-

Contact sheet- (as this shoot was shot on film I did not have a contact sheet)

Editing- I did not edit these images because they were taken on film and it didn't want to change the lighting or contrast in them. Even though most are over exposed I didn't want to ruin the process of film by editing it. 

Final Images-

Evaluation- 

This shoot was inspired by Calin Jones and his creative compositions and unique angles capturing surfers and skaters in a spontaneous style. I felt inspired by the collection of candid images he takes in black and white and his use of direct sunlight and shadows to create contrast within an image. This shoot came out not as I expected, I didn't check the manual settings on my film camera therefore the images had a slow shutter speed and were overexposed. However I like the motions blur effect created and the brightness of the images. As this was one of my first skate shoots I was learning a lot about were to stand to get the correct angles and correct timing of the tricks. Due to the weather conditions I didn't manage to get the direct light and shadows in the images which is something I wanted to explore however I will definitely re-do this shoot and explore the use of natural light. The successful techniques were the unexpected speed blur which worked effectively in some of the images, I needed to hold the camera more steady to get a better motion blur so most images turned out very distorted however this effect looks abstract and is quite interesting. The other successful areas are some of the compositions created which I really enjoyed capturing such as the seascape and surfers in the foreground. The less successful tenches were the over exposed outcome of some of the images, to improve I need to check the manual settings and ISO of the film I'm using to make sure the lighting is better and also using the light meter on the camera to know which settings to change. Overall I am pleased with the work I have produced and it has showed me how much I enjoy shooting on film. I enjoy the process and excitement of shooting on film of never knowing what outcome you will get whether its successful or not. For this shoot I didn't develop my own film in the dark room as I didn't want to mess up my first roll. However, next time I would like to develop my own film using the collect dark room to experience the whole process. I have learnt a lot from this shoot which I will bring into my future shoots. I will explore using film again especially colour and different styles of film cameras.