There’s a beautiful nostalgia in shooting film, especially black and white film. The charm in the unknown, the waiting, the imperfection. In forgetting what all you even captured until you get your scans. The alchemy of discipline and discovery that draws you into the magic of a moment. As someone who carries a camera daily, I find it sharpens my attention not just to light and shadow, but to expression, posture, and presence.

I’ve long been fascinated with black and white photography. From Cecil Beaton’s profiles of Audrey Hepburn, to Leonard Nones cool and clean, editorial style, to Mark Shaw’s candids of Grace, Audrey, and Jackie. Inspiration has always flowed from these images, as evidenced from my site’s homepage. 

What draws me to this medium, time and time again, isn’t only the nostalgia. It’s the intention, the invitation to look closer, to be present, to see things in a way you wouldn’t normally see them. The final product, often imperfect and always better for it, becomes a masterpiece in it’s own right. Grain becomes swoon worthy. Silence takes your breath away. And the image, etched in grayscale, somehow feels truer with every story it tells.

* These were all taken using my Contax T2 with Kodak Tri X 400TX film. All linked below along with a more affordable option in the Olympus.