When I started shooting images for a stock photo agency in 1987, I quickly realized I couldn't rely on serendipity to take excellent as well as marketable pictures. I had to make good pictures happen. That's what I did in a village in Rajasthan, India. I saw the blue wall and steps and thought to myself how amazing it would be to have a woman in a beautiful sari walk up or down those steps. Instead of waiting forever for that to happen or leaving disappointed that I wasn't able to get the shot that I'd pre-visualized, I offered to tip a woman who was willing to be my model. I chose this particular lady because of the color she was wearing. Blue and yellow are complementary colors and they always look great together. I had her walk up and down the steps five times until I was sure I got the shot. I shot this with a medium format film camera, the Mamiay RZ 67, and Fujichrome Velvia 100 film. Knowing the settings I used to use, this would have been taken with 1/250, f/11, and a lens equivalent to a 125mm focal length. Velvia 100 was 100 ISO speed film.
4 Comments
Aug 9, 2017, 7:22:15 PM
Jim - Thanks, Lorraine. I am setting up another photo tour that goes to south India and Sri Lanka for 2019.
Aug 9, 2017, 3:43:21 PM
Lorraine Piskin - Love this shot! Makes me want to go back to India! The lighting was gorgeous in this shot!
Aug 8, 2017, 11:50:54 PM
Jim - Thanks very much, Bob. In my opinion, film is no longer relevant. Digital offers so much more. I took this shot in 1998 when no one was shooting digital. I would never, ever go back to film. Compared to digital, it's like photographing with one hand tied behind your back. It might be fun to do for those into nostalgia, but that's it.
Aug 8, 2017, 10:46:21 PM
Bob Vestal - This is so beautiful, Jim, in its simplicity and vivid color! In this digital age, Is there still a role for film and medium/large format cameras?