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You go for a night shoot. You make it film. Now that’s difficult.
Jing and I packed a Hasselblad 500CM and a Mamiya 7ii and headed out without thinking too much about it. No test roll and no sending anything to the lab first. We just loaded up three rolls and went straight in, trusting that we would figure it out along the way.
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Film loves light but we shot anyway. The sun got off work by 7:30 pm so we worked with whatever was left. Street lamps, petrol station lights, the soft glow bouncing off walls. Most frames sat around one or two seconds. It meant setting the camera, pressing the shutter, then quickly moving into position before the timer ended. After a while, it felt normal. We slowed down and kept things fun.
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I’m not much of a night crawler but I’m glad I was out that day. At a petrol station while we were photographing, a group of young guys pulled up in an F10 BMW M5. They came over, curious and friendly, just wanting to say hello. They were out making content too and enjoying the night in their own way. We spoke for a bit, shared a few laughs and before we left, I told them to keep doing what they do. It felt good seeing people out there doing something together.
The next day, we brought the Cayenne out to join the Carrera. Two cars made things a little more exciting. I said to head home by 10 but the Carrera’s battery died just before that. No lights, windows down and the car could not be locked. It looked worse than it was but we just laughed at our misfortune.
We turned to YouTube, then called an old friend who showed up with jumper cables and a calm demeanour like he's done this before. While the 911 was being charged up, we finished the shoot with the cables still attached. By the time we got home, it was well past 2 am for the second night in a row. We were tired but in a quiet, satisfied way. Not much went according to plan but those two nights gave us something real. Sometimes that is how memories stay a lifetime.
When the scans came back, most frames worked but some disappointed us. The Mamiya roll was the most honest of the lot. It could have been shot on everyone’s favourite medium format camera or something disposable like a Kodak FunSaver.
