Jazzing It Up

Nikomat FTN, Nikkor C 35/2 O.C, Ilford HP5 Plus via dr5 reversal process

Back in August we attended a jazz concert by some friends of ours, this gig happened to be at a local church courtyard.  Part way through the concert an elderly lady was assisted to sit in the chair in front of me, and I thought her woven hat and silk shirt made for a nice foreground subject.

The trumpet player in the background isn’t quite as well defined as I would have liked, but I still think the lady, the musician and the tree round out the composition nicely.

I shot this with my old Nikomat FTN SLR and (then newly purchased) manual Nikkor 35mm lens.  I love shooting with a “normal” 50mm lens, but I find in tighter quarters a 35mm focal length is more flexible with its slightly greater angle of view and depth of field.

A few things of note (and very retro ones at that):

• If you have any love for film photography and appreciate the special role that Kodachrome played you must watch this short documentary (10 min) about Dwayne’s Photo ending the last available Kodachrome processing service, it will tug on your heart strings.
• The contact print isn’t as commonplace as it once was in the commercial photography industry but gives amazing insight into the photographer’s creative thought process.
• On a funny note, this photographer finds their young students puzzling over the small tupperware containers on their desk.