#007 - 36 Digital Frames Like Film - Part II

It’s Game Over and the eBook of this project

First let me start with a side note by saying that I made you a promise when I started my Substack account: once, or occasionally twice, a month, I’d send you a newsletter.

But this is already the second one this week! So what’s going on?

Well, it’s because I would like to share with you the final result of my 36 digital frames like film project. Since this is a winter project and spring is almost here—at least, that’s how it feels—I didn’t want to wait any longer.

Please forgive me and enjoy reading!

Okay, I’ll admit it—I’m not a fan of winter. At least, not the Dutch winter. Weeks of gray, dull, and mostly wet weather? Yeah, that’s not my thing. My photography usually takes a backseat during these months, and I embrace the rare moments when the sun makes an appearance to head out with my camera. And yet, ‘36 Digital Frames Like Film’ is a project I started this winter. I could have made it easier on myself by waiting for better conditions…

But no, I wanted to keep my camera from gathering dust and its batteries from draining without use. I needed to push myself to keep shooting, even when the circumstances weren’t ideal. Black and white was an easy decision. I choose the Kodak Tri-X film simulation for Fujifilm cameras. It was my first thought, and I never let it go. Black and white felt fitting for a ‘colorless’ Dutch winter. But that was just the easiest choice I had to make for this project.

For a light chaser like me, ‘36 Digital Frames Like Film’ was full of creative challenges. The lack of good light—or rather, an overabundance of flat light—was one of them. But where there’s no light, you can create light. Some of the photos were taken indoors using artificial light. And with black and white, I didn’t have to worry about unwanted color casts.

I still vividly remember the winters of my childhood, when snow would cover everything. My friends and I would play outside until it got too dark and too cold. And when I finally came inside, my mom had a cup of hot chocolate waiting, slowly warming me up again. Those were beautiful times!

These days, snow in the Netherlands is a rarity. A real snowstorm might happen once every ten years. But this January, it happened. Lots and lots of snow. The temptation to run outside and capture those winter wonderland scenes was huge (and yes, I did take some), but for this project, I focused on subjects that weren’t so obvious.

But don’t worry—I’m not here to paint a depressing picture of Dutch winters. It’s a matter of patience. There are still plenty of beautiful, sunny days. And when the sun does shine, I make the most of it. In my opinion, black-and-white photography truly shines on those days. The full spectrum from white to black, and all the grays in between, becomes beautifully visible.

Bottomline this wasn’t always an easy project. Sometimes, I was really tempted to shoot in color—but that wasn’t an option. Still, this project taught me a lot. First, with only 36 frames, I had only a limited number of shots¹. Switching to burst mode and picking the best shot later? Not an option. This forced me to slow down, observe more carefully, and compose my shots properly before pressing the shutter all the way down.

Taking my time to make each photo count was something I rediscovered during this project. What is worth capturing and how do I want to capture it? It felt like photographing film again... I also found myself thinking ahead about how I wanted to present my images as a series. That meant that sometimes, I chose not to take a shot. And that, too, was an important learning moment.

The final result? You can now see it in the eBook I created from this project.

This eBook and all future downloads are free for my Substack subscribers. You’ll find the link in the footer of my newsletter. If you are only a follower of my account then please send me a message to receive the download link (PDF or ePub)

Would I do this project again? Absolutely. In fact, I’m already thinking about a new theme: A Roll of Kodachrome Frames. But that’s something for later.

See you next time!

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LINKS

One roll of film. The 400 TX project

Tri-X – The Ultimate B&W

The best photographers working in black and white

1. The idea was to automatically stop at 36 frames, but thanks to a small miscalculation in the dummy.dat file, the game was over already after just 28 shots. If you want to make sure you get exactly 36 frames on your card, double-check the average file size per image!