Film photography has always been an integral part of my life. Capturing angles and details that are always overlooked by others gives me the sense of uniqueness, given that I can see things that others can’t. Not to mention the vintage and ancient aspects of film photography is something that I feel has become of lesser value today. Photography has allowed me to express my artistic flare through art shows at my high school as well as galleries in Chicago. At these galleries and shows, teachers, peers, and fellow artists have fortunately praised my artwork and me. I’ve gladly accepted all of their compliments and positive remarks, however I can’t help but feel empty in the end.
The process of film photography is incredibly intricate and complex. For example, after pictures are taken one must first develop the film, which then could be used to make prints. To begin with, one must take out the film from the camera; then place it in a light tight sleeve bag to take the actual film out of the canister; then wrap the film around a reel; then put the reel of film in the film development bucket; then take the bucket of film out of the light tight sleeve bag; then poor multiple liquids into the bucket for different times to develop the film; then finally pull out the negatives to dry for one day.
That is only the first half of the process. Once the negatives dry, prints can be produced in a dark room. Once inside a darkroom, a negative must be placed inside a negative carrier; then exit the dark room to clean up the negative and remove any dust; then go back inside the darkroom and place the negative carrier in a big, mechanical enlarger (which produces an image by shining light through the film); then adjust the f-stop for the right amount of light; then adjust the enlarger so the image is clear, then expose the paper to the right amount of light for a specific amount of time; then place the paper in several different liquids to make the image show up and become permanent; finally, place the print in a water wash to clean off any remaining chemicals.
In a photograph, all that is seen is a memory that was captured in that one specific moment. What cannot be seen, is the struggle one experienced trying to grasp the process down. They can’t see the hard work that went into mastering the skills necessary for the print to be produced. They can’t see what really matters. For me, it’s always been about the journey, not the destination. So little is taken away from the journey because we feel only content when we finish something. However, I like to take as much as possible from it. I use the process of my artwork as a way to build off of my strengths and improve on my flaws. However this is entirely due to the lengthiness of the journey. Making prints can consist of hours and days. Yet I take more from each and every second I have in the process than I do when I am finished. This luxury of time is not available when one is simply focused on the destination and is trying to “just get it over with”.
Some may ask, “Why would you keep trying to achieve something when you have failed on previous attempts?” Some believe that after you fail once, there is no need to try anymore. The reason to keep trying is because each time you try again, the higher the percentage of you succeeding becomes. This happens because many people learn from their mistakes and make changes to better themselves. Although, you may not succeed on the first try, you still can gain knowledge or experience during that process. You also gain knowledge about what they could do to improve themselves on their next try.
In our band, there is a quote that sums up the claim to keep trying even though you may not succeed. That quote is, “It’s the journey, not the destination.” This quote means that as you go through these experiences, it’s about the experience you had to get to your certain destination, not the destination itself. For example, our band went to High Stepping Nationals to compete with other bands across the nation. Although we did not win, we gained the experience of being there and also gained knowledge of what we could do to better prepare ourselves in the future so we can win the next try. At first, the loss was very heartbreaking, but it motivated us and gave us a drive to do better and prepare more for the next season. Now we can correct our mistakes, and try to improve them to give us a higher chance to win the next time.
