On a recent trip to France, I took my film camera and two lenses, a 35mm and a 50mm. That’s it. I bought some slow-speed, high-resolution black and white film in Paris and used that on the trip. I did also use my phone for some snapshots in color, but photographed all the scenes I thought had promise with the film camera. I shot a total of eight rolls, or about 250 photos over the 16-day trip. That’s not a lot; if I’d been shooting digital, I’m sure the total would have been much higher.
Here are some favorites. I’m including many more photos than I usually do in a post, but they were all taken on the same trip, so it makes sense.
This is Mont St. Michel—crowded, but unique. I waited a while for the sun to come out and shine on the monastery, but it never really did.
Jumièges Abbey—falling apart for centuries in a picturesque way. Overcast skies meant soft light with no strong shadows or highlights, which suited the subject.
Longues-sur -Mer Abbey on a sunny day with a cloudy sky for background.
In Brittany: The back side and grounds of the country estate of a wealthy 18th-century shipowner from St. Malo.
In the resort town of Dinard. I was working on a compostion when this man walked out of the building into a ray of sunlight just as I was about to take the shot—so I grabbed it.
We ate raw (still alive!) oysters in the seaside town of Cancale, where they pluck the oysters right from oyster beds in the shallow waters just off the shore.
The train station in Rouen. All throughout the trip, skies were cloudy, and I was often waiting in front of a scene for the light to change. Here, I waited a while for the sun to light up the train station, and it finally did.
From the balcony of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
A road we hiked down in Normandy. The skies were filled with clouds almost every day of the trip, so I took advantage with an orange filter and compositions that included lots of sky.
I was out taking photos in the early morning in the seaside resort town of Honfleur, and this man commented on my camera, so we struck up a conversation. It turns out that he’s a fairly well-known photographer named Philip Adam. We talked for a while, and I asked to take his photo.
On this day in Honfleur, it rained and cleared up several times within a few hours. Once again, I waited until the rain stopped, the clouds cleared temporarily, and the sun came out to illuminate the scene, which on this occasion was boats in the harbor.
The carousel in Honfleur: I waited for someone interesting to enter the scene, and this man and his white dog finally came along.
Early morning in Dinard.
The iconic French car—a Citroën deux chevaux—in Honfleur.
Before the trip, I thought hard about whether I should bring a digital camera or my film camera. I decided on film, because I knew I’d want to make darkroom prints, and shooting film would make that possible. Of course I missed some shots on the trip, and came away with no color photos to print, but I look forward to making sliver gelatin prints of the best images in the darkroom.
