One image per film

1 of 36! "One good picture per film is a very good ratio." I can't remember who said this. When I started shooting analogue on small film over thirty years ago, I always had this quote in the back of my mind. And it has stayed with me to this day.

On Sunday I was out and about again with a 35mm film after a very long time. With my buddy Marco at my side, I wandered through the streets of Hamburg in search of light and motifs. Not only has he been back into analog photography for a long time, he is also much more knowledgeable about street photography than I am. So I was able to pick up a lot of good tips. Thanks for that, Marco. And even better: Because my Leica M6 is currently in the workshop, he lent me his camera. Only real friends do that. Thanks, Marco.

At midday we went under the railway overpass to the Sternschanze stop. At this time of day, the popular corner was still relatively uncrowded. The sun cast harsh shadows through the thicket of tracks above. I stopped. And watched the lights on the morning faces of the few people around us. I looked for a place that would give me a distracting foreground, set the aperture to 16 and the exposure time to 1/30s. I wanted to dare to have a slight move with one of the passers-by. I waited. Until a cool looking man approached me. I aimed my camera and waited for the light to hit his sunglassed face. Panned the camera with his direction of movement and released it at the same time. Once. Then he was gone again. I got up.

"If you have it, you can go home," Marco said to me directly afterwards. He had watched the scene from a distance. I had no idea whether I had it. So I didn't go home yet. It was only when the sun went down that we parted ways after a very nice day.

I now know: I captured the scene. A good image with 36 negatives. Suffices. I am happy.

By the way, another saying is said by: Ansel Adams “Twelve pictures in a year is a good quota.” Let’s see if it’s enough. But 2015 is definitely off to a good start.