Movie Monday and A Photo Dump
I have to return some videotapes. —Patrick Bateman
Welcome, one and all to another instalment of Movie Monday. This past weekend, I wanted to take it easy, so I chose two comedies to watch. American Psycho, and Minions.
Who doesn’t love Minions? They are all bananas!
If there’s one thing American Psycho taught me, it was that Christian Bale was a Brit. Knowing him through the dark knight trilogy and the American Hustle, I never gave it another thought that he’s not American. Silly me!
As for the movie itself, I love the darkly funny it is. The plot that got me good was when so many people swear they’ve met Paul Allen in London. And the lawyer bit towards the end broke me. I am not gonna spoil it for anyone who has not seen the movie. But just know that it’s been out for a quarter century now. One last thing, Christian Bale’s method acting really creeps me out.
On to today’s photo dump. I shot a roll of Ilford PanF which had expired, but not for long. It’s not a bad film stock but I don’t think I’d shoot it again coz I can’t think of a specific use for an ISO 50 panchromatic film. I may change my mind in the future, who knows. Here’s a few shots from the roll.
Towards the end of the roll, I threw on a dark red filter. It was clear out, and I wanted to see how this stock works with filters, so why not. I am a sucker for darkened skies, and this one hits all the right notes.
Am I the only one who attaches meaning to their photos, sometimes more than what’s justified? When I saw this scene where the sign is dumped and stuck in the bushes between the overpass where I stood and the railway tracks, I had to stop and take this photo. It might be just a photo about littering, but it reminds me that we now live in the world that had been forever changed by COVID. This sign might be cleared away soon-it’s Dublin, so I’m not counting on it-, but the ghost of COVID will continue to haunt us. This might just be me going through therapy out loud. But this type of forcing meaning into what I shoot is how I rationalise paying for gear, film, and development, etc. Otherwise, why the hell?
I don’t know why I shot this. I just kinda like the shadow in the top right corner.
I don’t have to justify every shot.
I shot this at the photo museum of Ireland. Since I’m attaching meaning to photos, …. Nah, I can’t even do this one. I had my camera, and I took the photo.
I am gonna stop here. Thanks for bearing witness to this utter nonsense. Have a good week ahead! See ya!
Can't really comment on today's movies in your post (I've seen American psycho, but a very long time ago), but the photos, and more specifically, your comments about them, make me wonder why you seem to have doubts about the meaning of your photos and revealing that meaning. I absolutely understand your comment on the 'two metres' image, but as you say yourself, there is no obligation to justify each shot. I like the photo with the shadow in the upper right corner because of the somewhat confusing lines in the foreground, competing for attention with the person walking by. Whatever feels right for you to say when presenting photos, can only help us who look at them more aware. I've used Pan F relatively rarely, but I remember using an orange filter. Regarding the use of a ISO 50 panchromatic film: I used to like the lower sensitivity negative films because of their rendering of fine detail, but I preferred Kodak panatomic X and Agfapan 25 in that respect, especially the Agfa. I don't even know if it's still on the market.