Mamiyaroid 12
November 7, 2020
I just reached Grand Army Plaza around 11:30am on Saturday when I got a message from my groupchat. The media finally called the 2020 US Presidential Election for Joe Biden. Immediately Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza erupted into cheers and cars, trucks and buses honked their horns. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. So, that’s what joy and relief look like. Later that day my father, who’s from the Bronx, but lives in New Orleans, texted me asking if people in New York were dancing in the streets. I sent him videos showing just that. His response was, “Wow, the long national nightmare is over!!” He was depressed after Trump won the election in 2016. He’s seen a lot, and been forced to participate in some of the worst of American policy (the War in Vietnam, for example), but he likes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (proud that she’s from the Bronx), and this result is a relief to him.
I had my Canon Canonet QL17 GIII loaded with black and white film when the dancing began in Grand Army Plaza.
Here are results from that day:
This man sells shirts and tote bags, etc. at Grand Army Plaza on Saturdays. When the news hit he was ecstatic and shouting “Lock him up!” His name is Huworth Leonce and he’s @huworths_designs on instagram.
The first two are candid shots, but this 3rd one I asked him to pose for me. (You can see the first negative of him holding the “lock him up” bag is damaged, and if I was making prints in the darkroom I’d do dodging and burning to improve on my negatives that maybe aren’t developed as well as they could be…but I don’t have darkroom access right now so maybe one day I’ll revisit these images and make prints. It seems silly to edit film negatives in Lightroom, but I suppose people do it.)
And here is an unposed reference shot from my phone.
And here is a woman dancing and shouting “You’re fired!”
The experience taught me something. If I’m going to do this sort of documentary, or street photography, I’d rather have a camera with autofocus with me. The Canonet is a rangefinder and in certain conditions the finder isn’t very bright or easy to focus. I finally finished the roll I’ve been carrying around for months. When I returned home I took out my LabBox, a daylight film processing kit. I could have gotten regular tanks and reels but I wanted this so that I can eventually use it in school to show my students how to develop film without a darkroom. It’s pricey but super easy to use! This was my first time developing my own film at home. I’d done it a few times in a darkroom class but I felt rushed and didn’t want to ruin my film so I usually had it processed professionally. I used the Cinestill Df96 Monobath, which was easy—no mixing, etc.. I just had to check its temperature. I learned a lot from developing this roll. I forgot to check the exact timing for the film I used (Kodak Tmax 400). I now see I was supposed to double the time. AND I forgot to make sure the final wash water was the same temperature of the developer +/- 10 degrees, but miraculously I didn’t get any scaling, so the water must have been within that range. In the end I somehow messed up one of the frames, so I’m going to be much more careful in handling the film after processing (the emulsion is delicate!). Phew. Overall a good experience. I had some trouble scanning but I think that’s a computer issue (I’m awaiting the replacement my 2010 macbook. Yes, I KNOW).
Until next time…
Adalena
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My email: adalenakavanagh@gmail.com
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-Adalena Kavanagh