Chris Sista - Images and Things: Natalie Pt. 2: Period

This was the experimental part of the shoot. My wanting to try this was a direct result of two things.

First, I had watched a documentary about cinematographer Henri Alekan on the "Wings Of Desire" blu-ray. In it, he talked about how he gave that film and "Beauty And The Beast (1946)" their dreamy look.

Second was a viewing of the film "Everlasting Moments". The movie takes place during WWI, and it's about a woman who discovers photography, using it as an outlet from a bad marriage. I loved the look of the old photos that she took with the camera. (Wish I remembered what kind of camera it was.) It's a Swedish film available through Criterion. Based on a true story. I highly recommend watching it for any photography fans out there.

It turns out, Alekan used a fabric from his mother's leggings that he turned into a custom filter. For me, I just bought a cheap pair of pantyhose at the grocery store, stretched them over the lens, and held them in place with the lens hood. This came with some difficulties. When I first tested it out in my kitchen, I could see through the fabric, and was even able to autofocus. During the shoot, however, I was basically shooting blind. I had to manually focus on a highlight on her shoulder, which was the only crisp thing shining through. Light source and direction are apparently a huge factor in this. I'm sure I could have done it all with a simple photoshop plug-in. Or on that Hipstamatic app for iPhone that everyone seems to love. But it's much more fun to do it in camera.

I'm very happy with the outcome. As I said, this just an experiment. Now that I know the results, I want to use these newly learned techniques for something bigger. The plotting has already begun...