Around and Around (andaroundandaroundandaround)

Around and Around (andaroundandaroundandaround)

When we shot film, taking every shot was an expense, so with limited resources it meant the first one had to be right, or the second one for sure. Then it became apparent that leaving a film in the camera caused a slight kink in it, where the rollers allowed it to pass smoothly into the film gate. Also, the early 35mm film canister designs had a kink in the exit path from the cassette, also causing a mis-shape in the film. This meant that some shots would not be as sharp because the film was not lying flat. Cassettes were eventually redesigned to allow for this.

Fast forward to digital and we no longer have that focusing glitch, but we do have AF and that does not hit the spot every time. Usually maybe, but some shots are sharper than others. One thing that does remain though is the actual composition, and that can be worked around at our expense with film, but for free with digital.

Hence the title, and the reason to shoot around and around a subject to fine tune the composition and make a shot the best it possibly can be, upfront, in camera and minimising the amount of time we spend in Photoshop afterwards. This is different to making a sequence, and the difference between shots can be minimal. Today I've chosen a set around the slaughter house at Dunham Massey and I'm showing you all the shots I made at the time, good and bad, from which the final version was chosen. At the very least I tend to take two, just to make sure that focusing is perfect, but when a subject excites my imagination I may go rather further than that.