Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got into film photography?
I work for Kamerastore for VALOI and amongst other things care for customer support and relations and take part in social media content, if you ever receive a customer support reply from a Sara, that’s me :D
I’ve always had a special love for photography and photos, I remember starting off as a kid always admiring my grandparent’s or basically anyone’s old photos and wanting to flip through albums and hear stories about the people and places in them. I loved (and still do) how the old photos and different films look and how the prints look and all the people and places portrayed, the stories.
I always wanted to have a camera with me on special occasions, as a kid it meant a family film point-and-shoot (we had a Minolta AF-E). Growing up I shot on-off with different age appropriate family digitals, later on got my first own digital compact as christmas present (a pink Mju Mini). I started shooting film on the side when I was in high school if I remember right. My first ever own film camera was a Minolta X-300 I thrifted probably in 2010-ish for 20€. Film was always there but could have taken me a year to finish up a roll or two, always lab processed.
About 4 years ago after wrapping up my own business and starting at a new job, I figured I need a new hobby to have a creative outlet, I created an IG account for my film photos just to share with friends and learned there’s a huge global community I had no idea about. Got really into film and different cameras, I thrifted many great film cameras and tried different film stocks and formats, eventually started developing and scanning myself. The community and film swept me away and here I am 3 years later.
What drew you to shoot with the Canon AE-1 and the Canon 55mm f/1.2 S.S.C. Aspherical?
(Tuomas brought them to me?? xD)
Having been a Minolta user for ever, in addition to the X-300 I had, I’ve got x-500 and x-700, I wanted to try the famous Canon AE-1 to see how it delivers, a 55mm lens was something we had in stock at Kamerastore. 50mm is probably my go-to length, I usually always have a 50mm macro on my Minolta for the macro, but it’s a f3.5. Widest MD lens I have is a 50mm f1.4, I wanted to see how bonkers the Canon 55mm 1.2 would be.
Why did you choose Kodak Portra 400 for this shoot, and what do you like about this film stock?
Kodak Portra 400 is probably my fav color film. As good seconds come Ektar, CineStill 400 and Lomo ‘92 Sunkissed. I shoot mostly Black and white, and not color that much, but when I do I go for the warm tones and wide iso latitude. I love Portra for the softer tones, suits better for portraits than Ektar for say, but gives a warmer and softer look then CS400, and is more true to real life the Lomo ‘92 Sunkissed. Depending on what where and when I’d be shooting, every stock has it’s place. For this walk I wanted to go with the softer Kodak Portra 400 tones than what Ektar would have done, to really dwell in the dreamy fall color, light and landscapes. ISO400 was the most convenient choice, there’s no guarantee how dramatically and quick the day light can change up here these days :D
How would you describe your approach to making photographs — do you plan your images, or do you shoot more intuitively?
Depends on what is it that I’m photographing.
If it’s client work, we usually plan the outcome a little to achieve a desired result. Often clients have ideas of their own, but I encourage my them to plan more of a feeling of what they wish to convey or capture through the photographs rather than detailed images of final results. In my client work the best results come by following the subject, letting them do their thing, with a little guidance to achieve the best technical outcome. For example, letting kids be kids and fool around and have fun, guiding couples to certain light an pose but letting them laugh together and have fun, following professionals at work to capture the knowing hands and concentrated looks at work. That’s my take on getting the most authentic insight out of clients in what might even be a little exciting and nervous photography situation.
For the sake of funsies and for personal projects, I keep sort of a photo journal just of everyday life too. I always have a camera with me everyday wherever I go. I’ve learned to notice a reaction in myself that’s giving “I want to capture this”, let it be sparked by something that catches my eye, I want to remember or not to forget, is dear to me, is beautiful etc. I’ve learned that just by looking at things, keeping an eye on my surroundings, being present, slowing down there’s a lot of things worth capturing around you everyday. In my photography that’s just for me, I don’t think about achieving a certain look too much, I just let the observations guide and in the end what I find and how I manage to capture creates the final result. And I don’t photograph just for myself but for my friends and loved ones, their lives becoem captured too through my photo journaling. I like to consider myself as the official photographer of all, of my life and my closest people’s too, it’s just the way I am - Sara comes with a camera.
What do you look for when photographing outdoors, especially in natural light or forest environments like in Tampere?
Well for example on this photo walk, I wanted to make a little story of the afternoon. One roll tells the story of the little walk that took place in the forest path: how did it look like out there, how was the weather, what were the details that give a good full picture of the afternoon and surroundings? Relax and let the nature and surroundings draw your attention. Is there any people, animals, sounds, colors etc. Follow anything that catches your eye and shoot a little report of the afternoon walk. Outdoors you get very little control over light and surroundings, you have to go by what you get, I feel it gives the freedom to just adventure and try all kinds of things, have fun and enjoy.
Can you briefly explain the advantages of manually inverting RGB curves Adobe Lightroom Classic?
I don’t know about advantages, it just might be the hard way like I mention in the video :D I do it because I want to go through the roll one by one - I might end up not even converting all the frames, just the good ones. It’s the slowing down of the process all the way for me - focusing on every exposure one by one. I also have this personal agenda of learning to do the conversion “by hand” to the extent that I can be totally happy with the result. Once I’ve mastered it, I can possibly move into having my negs lab processed and starting a new hobby with the time I’ve been left xD
You mentioned not using Negative Lab Pro — what are your tips for color correcting film scans directly in Lightroom?
Keep an eye on the blacks, whites and greys, too much of adjusting in any direction shows there first. When fine adjusting temperature and tint I know my eyes at least easily get a little color blind, take breaks, don’t keep staring at one photo for too long, switch between exposures and color palettes. Take your time, don’t rush <3
What do you think makes scanning your own film rewarding compared to lab scans?
The things you learn! Just about scanning, possibly even developing, taking care of your own work and negs and the precious exposures. Also of your photography in general, I feel like when I scan and convert my own negs I look at the actual images differently too, it let’s me think of the capturing moment again and again and analyse the outcome, technical aspects and details in a more in depth way and differently in all the different steps on the way. Also with the amount I shoot it’s faster and more affordable than having lab processed.
How do tools like the VALOI system and a well-maintained vintage camera setup influence your creative process?
When it comes to photography gear I’m more of a quality over quantity type of person. I have a few favorite film stocks, a couple of well working cameras and lenses I learned to know through and through and are dear to me, and the gear needed for processing. I’m planning on using them for as long as they work and an be maintained. Well working quality gear is important for me because I don’t only enjoy the effortlessness end reliability they bring to the actual photography work, but also the look and feel of using them.
VALOI makes the scanning part easier. I had the craziest DIY setup before the VALOI easy35, I was taping my film on a ceiling lamp and using that as diffuser and let me tell you the results were not good. The VALOI easy35 gives a convenient setup to scan easily but with amazing results at home so I can get to the fun part and not have to wait for lab processing times and get to save a little money as I go, or at least that’s how I reason it with myself, maybe all the saved money eventually goes to even more film I dunno xD
Finally, what advice would you give to someone starting out with film photography today — from choosing their first camera to scanning their first roll?
When choosing the first camera I’d consider what is it that you want to do and possibly learn with it. If just kind of journal shooting, quick, easy and enjoying the nostalgia - go for automatics and point-and-shoots. If you’re more interested in the technical side of picture making and the functions of a camera - SLR and why not even a medium. Compare the most usual features and functions, read and get in contact with sellers, ask questions. Don’t be afraid to mess up (you probs will at some point, I know I have broken my heart over leaked rolls and poorly loaded films too may times), it’s a learning journey. Don’t be concerned about wasting film, shoot and analyse and share, then shoot some more.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. The first roll can be intimidating to develop but it’s very simple in the end. There’s a lot of instructions and videos so you’re not alone. If people say something is hard I’ve found in most cases it’s not. Lol.
Join the community! The analog community is one of the most encouraging corners of the internet I’ve come across - I’ve gotten to know a lot of people and made friend through this shared passion.
Watch the YouTube episode here: Shooting Portra 400 with Sara
