16 frames per second

My grandfather (on my mother’s side) was probably the earliest influence for my budding interest in film. He did not do anything intentionally to motivate me, but some of my earliest memories include his hovering around the rest of the family with a home movie camera. Years later, after he died, I was given his movie camera; my family figured out I’d probably be the only one with any use or interest in it.

I had no idea what kind of film this camera took, or really if it still worked after 40 years. Thankfully, some online sleuthing led me to the fantastic folks at the Film Photography Project. There I learned the camera used something called 8mm magazine film; sort of like Super 8 on steroids.Taking advantage of their film / process / scan service bundle, I decided to roll the dice and shoot a cartridge of film to see if the camera still worked. Lo and behold…it did!

My interest in moving images has blossomed over the past couple of years. I’ve been working with public domain footage and actual 16mm educational films to create new work via collage and re-photgraphy. The chance to shoot actual movie film myself seemed the logical next step. I’ve long been drawn to the film work of Robert Frank, and I particularly loved how he would print collages from his strips of movie footage. I have the luxury of doing my post-production work digitally, with Photoshop and Lightroom being my main conduits for manipulating and assembling my collages.

By picking and choosing which frames I want to use, I am able to juxtapose the 16 frames per second to provide ample “moments” to cull and combine with other frames. These images then get stacked into (currently) quadrants that I hope make some kind of connection for the viewer. The certainly keep me engaged and curious about what might emerge when you release one single image from it’s sequence and force it to work in another context. In essence, I am forcing moving images to act more like still photography. A challenge and a game of chance that I have thus far been intrigued by and motivated to do more of.

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Blue Line Swinger: a short film

I took a trip to Marfa, Texas back in March. It is one of my favorite places to visit. There is something about the wide open spaces of the high desert of West Texas, mixed with the artistic, bohemian vibe that speaks to me. I am comfortable there. I popped a hit of sunshine and wandered the empty streets as the sun started its descent to the western horizon. This film was shot on my grandfather's old 8mm magazine camera. It was basically a test roll to see if it still worked. Lo and behold... Music by Yo La Tengo, used with only the utmost honor and respect.

2022: 39 Twenty Four Frames Per Second

The line between moving pictures and still photography is thin, and vast at the same time. So much in common, and so much much unique to each. I have played with moving imagery throughout my life, in parallel yet separate lanes from my still photography. This week, some of those lines bot blurred, some of the lanes got crossed.

I took a film workshop this past Sunday, run by the cinematic renegades at Basement Films. I got to play with old 16mm movie film, culled from an archive of educational and industrial films. A few arms-lengths of old film, hand manipulated, then spliced to create a loop. Think of it as a handmade animated GIF.

There is something magical about film: the feel of it, the look of it, the tiny replications of reality. Even more so when laid out in strips, 24 frames making a second of moving imagery. Each frame its own sliver of time. Each frame its own still photograph.