A blog re-launch AND a follow up post all in one month?!

LOOK OUT WORLD, SHE’S DOING THE BARE MINIMUM!

In all seriousness, when I made my triumphant return to The Jones, I wanted to be sure not to let history repeat itself. I didn’t want to lose sight of why I was blogging. I didn’t want to feel pressured to post. If I’m going to blog, I’d rather post what I would want to see and read myself.

In the last year of my life, I’ve had a lot of beautiful ups and awkward downs. Most recently, I’ve found a new jolt of inspiration in film photography. It’s been an extremely exciting endeavor for me that has jumpstarted my creativity and imagination.

Since that’s what has been most inspiring to me as of late, I feel like there’s no greater subject to expand upon here at The Jones.

To quote every youtuber ever, “Let’s jump right into it!”

Earlier this year, I had felt a bit burnt out on photography. I either had ideas that I didn’t think I had the means to accomplish, or had the means right in front of me with no ideas to be found. The tumblr feed of inspiration inside my mind started leaning more and more towards the grainy, nostalgic tones that film cameras capture so well. The idea of film felt like a faint flicker in a dark tunnel. It excited me. But with money as tight as it has been this year, it felt like a far off dream that wouldn’t be a reality for quite some time. For an early birthday present this year, my boyfriend completely surprised me with a film camera, and if my parents weren’t also in the room I would have jumped on him right then and there. People: get yourself a partner who pays attention when you speak about things you love, and supports all your weird hobbies.

I was like a child with a favorite toy all over again. I can’t tell you the last time I was this excited just to fail at something if it meant I’d learn a little bit more. Inspiration was at an all time high.

And then an opportunity presented itself, as they always do when you need them. Our good friends, McKenzie and Reilly (of The Hound + The Fox) are wildly talented musicians and at any given time have a full list of upcoming tunes they are working on written on a white board in their house. Luckily for us, one of those upcoming tunes was one of my boyfriend’s favorite songs, “Hurt,” the Johnny Cash rendition of the Nine Inch Nails original.

I hadn’t seen Adam more excited about a musical project maybe ever. And that’s really saying something because he is living his musical dreams. He was so amped about recording the song and music video, that he suggested we document the entire process on black and white film. I was honored he thought of me in this way, and touched that he trusted in my capabilities as a photographer.

My first task was to finish up my roll of color film, which was mostly used on Reilly and McKenzie’s son, Rowan, because how could you not?

One of my favorite things about shooting on film is the patience that is required. You could shoot 2,000 photos of someone in one session on digital if you wanted to. Film forces you to be deliberate, and wait for the shot. It’s challenging, and so rewarding. I couldn’t snap a burst of photos of Rowan jumping up to reach for the leaves. I had to wait for the exact moment I wanted to capture. And that obstacle makes it so thrilling to me.

Lately, I’ve been trying to pinpoint why I want to capture the things I do on film, and why it’s different from what I want to capture digitally. I haven’t totally figured it out yet, and I’m sure you’ll read a lot more on this as I discover more. For some reason, knowing I’m shooting on film makes me look at the world in a different way. I don’t care to capture the most obviously beautiful aspects of life. Shooting on film makes me want to capture the in-between. With the rise of technology allowing us to escape reality, I think we forget how beautiful our reality really is.

Now, there are so many wonderful benefits of shooting digitally. You can basically turn the most mundane photos into something spectacular in post. You can check your work and fix your mistakes immediately. You can have the photos instantly. There is no doubt that shooting digitally is a completely different ball game with it’s own set of awesome advantages. However, there is just something romantic to me about working harder for the shot in the moment and trusting your talent, knowing you won’t be able to edit the raw image in post.

All of these photos were taken in real time, while these guys were rehearsing, discussing, recording, and working. Some photos didn’t work, because of the settings I had. But that’s all part of this learning process. Receiving this roll back was literally like Christmas morning for me. I’m so proud of them. And if I do say so myself, I think I nailed it. I feel like you can feel how much fun we all had working on this project through the images. That’s what I feel like is sometimes missing from digital photography that you just can’t fake. Real moments captured truthfully.

Scroll through and leave a comment down below on which photo is your favorite!

Okay okay, I know I said none of them were posed. This one was. Don’t they just look like they know more than you?

Right before I started shooting McKenzie’s recording session, I realized I had only met her the day before and already had a camera in her face. I was worried I was going to be a disturbance or an annoyance. She quickly made me feel at ease and was just a joy to shoot. This quiet moment before they started might be my favorite capture of her.

And so, the song was recorded. One roll down.

The next day was the video shoot. We had one more roll of black and white so I really had to be choosy with what I shot. It was a magical afternoon in the mountains. The conditions couldn’t have been more perfect. We were working with a dream team. And as we wrapped the sun began to set.

Here are the photos from shoot day!

We begin with this one, which is not during the shoot. It was during a side of the road pee break while Kenz and Reilly made sure we were going the right way.

The last shot on the roll. After we wrapped, I mentioned I just wanted one photo of all of them that would be semi-posed. I didn’t give them anything specific to do. I just said, I want the image to feel like “we did it!!!” And I can’t recall what was said to make everyone laugh, but everyone started to laugh and I decided that was it! And it’s probably my favorite photo from the entire process. You can see how much fun we were having. You can see the thrill of having just created something beautiful.

It’s healthy and so refreshing to be a part of something like this. And I want more of it.

The next day was spent just hanging out with our friends.

And I, of course, took more photos.

It was such a great time that Adam and I still talk about. Not that this is what this blog post is about, but Reilly and McKenzie are some of the best people that have come into my life in a long time. They are family to us now. And to get to create amongst talented people who support you is the greatest feeling.

If you haven’t yet, head to The Hound + The Fox to check out “Hurt,” and while you’re at it just watch all their videos because they’re wonderful.

Thanks for reading! I’d really love to hear from you what you think of these photos, if you think there’s something I can improve on, if you have a favorite photo and why, etc. Scroll down to the comment box and talk to me!

Happy November! xo