If, like me, you love photos and the stories they tell, this blog should be of some interest. I hope to take you on my journey learning 35mm film with all the mistakes and errors that come with it.

My name is Alex, 26 years young, and I have been producing and film making for the past 5 years. I work in the corporate arena, I am a trained cameraman and I have to date produced and filmed hundreds of corporate films. I have worked with and been trained by very experienced camera operator’s, DOP’s, Director’s and Producers, to whom I owe a big debt of gratitude too. I do therefore have an understanding of film making and wish to transcend that into my journey of soul searching through 35mm photography.

I guess the need to know facts about me is that I have seven kids and am happily married, and although not all the children are mine biologically, I love them no less. And my wife, she is the reason I do what I do, she supports me and creates the most amazing environment for everyone to grow, develop and be themselves. My story telling revolves around my family. The art of capturing our family dynamic and the beauty that comes with that is something I will always want to capture and share. I am a very proud father and husband.

“The art of capturing our family dynamic and the beauty that comes with that…”

Now on to the photography and why I am doing this…

I have always loved photography, the art of telling a story in an image is not to be underestimated. The challenge to photo and represent the thoughts, feelings and emotions of any given time, and for that moment in time to last with you forever is an amazing feeling. Growing up in the world of digital I have always took for granted the flexibility this gives you in both production and post-production. The constant ability to view your images on the spot and re-shoot if need be can make you lazy in the preparation and execution. When it comes to post production, I mean let’s be honest, how many times have you heard “it’s okay we can save that in post” or “don’t worry that is rescuable in the edit”.

“it’s okay we can save that in post” – we have all heard that before!

The reason for my adventure into 35mm film is to strip my images down to the core components of what works. The inflexibility that 35mm gives me will in turn make me a better story teller and improve my knowledge of lighting. I will also discover as a person what type of photographer I am.

Anyway, let me not bore you too much with my first post. I do however hope you find some enjoyment and education through this journey and I look forward to sharing my successes, disappointments and family stories with you.

Ta for now – Alex

Picture in this article is of my daughter Dolly, shot on a Minolta SRT-202 with Ilford XP2 Super 400 black and white  35mm film