An Hour Was Enough

Slowing Down in Brighton with the Fuji GW680 III

I’m an avid reader, but lately I haven’t had the headspace for a book. By the time I sit down, there’s very little concentration left. The desire is there. The capacity seems to have gone elsewhere.

It’s been that sort of year.

I was made redundant in May, and in many respects the summer felt like a write-off. There was an unexpected upside: the opportunity to go to New York with my children. Eighteen years in the waiting, and an extraordinary experience when it finally happened. But New York is sensory overload, particularly when you spend your days looking for photographs.

Since returning in mid-September, I’ve started a new job. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s also full on, with plenty to learn and think about. Enjoyment and exhaustion seem perfectly capable of occupying the same space.

Today, I wanted to get outside for a while.

Eight Photographs, No Hurry

I recently bought a Fuji GW680 III, a medium format film camera. This was our first outing together, with a roll of Fomapan 400 black-and-white film loaded and some thoroughly uninviting Brighton weather waiting outside.

There had been a storm. It was hardly the autumn afternoon you might choose for a leisurely walk with a new camera.

But I went anyway.

I spent an hour looking for little nooks and crannies: corners I hadn’t properly noticed, details I’d walked past, familiar places worth another look. Without a route to complete or anything particular to bring home, I could take my time.

The Fuji helped. With eight photographs on a roll, there’s a reason to pause before pressing the shutter. To look around the edges. To move a little. To decide whether this is the photograph you want to make.

For that hour, those were pleasantly manageable decisions.

A Little Room to Look

I’ve enjoyed film photography before, but today I appreciated what the process could give me when my head was already full.

Each photograph asked for a little attention. There was enough to occupy me without feeling like another demand. I could look at a building, find a position and make an exposure, then carry on walking.

Brighton helped too. After twelve years here, there are still things I haven’t seen properly. It’s easy to become familiar with a route and stop being curious about what sits along it. Taking the camera out gave me a reason to be curious again.

And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Had it been a lovely autumnal day, I’d happily have stayed out for another couple of hours. The weather put paid to that. An hour would have to do.

As it turned out, an hour was enough.

I came home having enjoyed a walk, made eight photographs and found a few new things in a city I thought I knew. After the last few months, that felt like a very good way to spend an afternoon.

Until next time, keep snapping.