Alternative approaches in photography - Zhouzhuang（周庄）, take three
Due to its proximity to Shanghai Zhouzhuang（周庄）has been one of my favourite destinations for trying new photographic approaches or testing photo gear. The first time around I mostly used a wide-angle zoom lens, which is your run-of-the-mill approach towards photographing the place; the second time I wanted to stretch the limits a bit and used a telephoto zoom only. On my third trip I decided to spend a couple of days photographing with a Hasselblad 503cw and black-and-white film (well, actually one day in total - the afternoon of the first day and then the morning of the second; I chose this approach because the summer sun realistically allows photographing between five and nine a.m. and then from four to seven p.m. only).
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The only. Colour. Vision.
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Fuji Velvia 100F slide film
As far as the choice of black-and-white film is concerned, it was, on the one hand, dictated by the technical consideration of having to deal with very high contrast (even during the early and late hours of the day) and, on the other hand, caused by a mere curiosity as to what boundaries the "old" medium would impose on - or lift from - the creative process. As to the use of the Hasselblad system, I simply wanted to see what photographic approach it would dictate as well as how the camera's relatively slow operation would influence my perception of the place and, again, the creative process.
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The classic picture of Zhouzhuang
Hasselblad 503cw, CFi 4/50 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
As it turned out using black-and-white film had two implications. On the technical side, the contrast was very high and the great latitude of black-and-white film was the only sensible choice to handle it - most scenes required six to eight stops of latitude to capture detail in shadow and not blow out highlights; as you know, most slide films' latitude is only about five stops whereas digital capture is slightly more forgiving (about six stops). Black-and-white film even allowed enough room to maneuver and use a yellow filter! The only caveat is that automatic dust removal (Digital ICE) cannot be used when scanning negatives and retouching digital files in Photoshop takes quite a long time.
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Rowing away
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 4/180 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
On the aesthetic side, I, naturally, was entirely ignoring colours and mostly considering what gradations of grey would be reproduced in the negatives. As a result, I bypassed some shooting perspectives that consistently drew my attention in the past yet lingered over some places that I did not even notice before. Also, I generally found that Zhouzhuang is much richer in possible gradations of grey than in colours and all of this, combined with the great latitude of black-and-white film, created quite a few new photographic opportunities.
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Chinese workers resting
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
Slower operation of the Hasselblad system had several implications, too. First of all, I found that I was looking hard for interesting scenes and looked through the viewfinder and set the camera on the tripod only when I felt I had found a scene that was worth taking a photograph of.
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Rural life
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
The really interesting part, though, was that I felt that just finding a nice composition was not enough - I felt that now that I had gone this far I might as well go one step further and try finding/including something that would make the photograph differ from the usual nice snapshots. Something tells me that had I been using a 35mm system (digital or film) I would not have had this drive.
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Gratification of simplicity
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
One obvious way to further improve a composition was including elements that would depict or, at least, hint at the character of the rural life. One such element, not only in Zhouzhuang but pretty much anywhere, is local people going about their day-to-day lives.
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Dream boat
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
Because of the number of tourists Zhouzhuang is a place where it is very, very difficult to avoid having travelers in photographs; including only local people in a meaningful way that would support one's creative intent is furthermore challenging. The slow operation of the Hasselblad stimulated my persistence, though, and, telling myself that the decisive moment was bound to come if I were patient enough, I simply waited. In a few instances I ended up waiting for quite a long time but the delight of the moment when I pressed the shutter release button exclaiming "Gotcha!" certainly was worth my time (see pictures no. 5, 7 and 9; as to the photo no. 7, I intentionally used a slow shutter speed (if my memory serves me well, 1/8 sec.) to blur movement).
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Have you ever seen how wooden buckets are made?
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
Talking about photographing people (environmental portraiture), it generally is easy to get lazy (or shy), pull out a DSLR with a 70-200 or similar zoom, turn VR (vibration reduction) on and shoot at 5 fps from afar remaining unnoticed - yes, I have done this a few times. This style, obviously, is not feasible with a Hasselblad - the system requires a totally different approach.
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Double bridge, Zhouzhuang
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
If you want to do environmental portraiture with a Hasselblad you have to get close to people and... blend in (have you ever heard of a white guy with a massive Hasselblad camera becoming invisible in a crowd of Chinese people J?). Seriously, though, my tactic was quite straightforward - I simply approached the people who interested me photographically, stroke a conversation (note that I was always genuinely interested in the conversation, too - you cannot fake it) and waited for the moment when everyone got comfortable with me hanging around and occasionally looking through the viewfinder and returned to what they were doing before I appeared. Was it challenging? Quite. But, again, I believe the efforts were worth my while as, hopefully, the pictures show more intimacy and closeness (see photos no. 4, 6 and 8).
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Extended family
Hasselblad 503cw, CFE 2.8/80 lens and Kodak Tmax 100 b&w film
I suppose at this point some might expect a sort of a conclusion or suggestions whether the Hasselblad system and black-and-white film are superior/inferior, suitable/inappropriate, etc. At the risk of disappointing you, all I can say is that it was just... different and a lot of fun!
