Here’s A Different Kind Of Challenge For You

For all of you photographers who have only shot with digital cameras, have you ever wanted to challenge yourself, test yourself or try something different to jumpstart your creative juices?  I have something for you to try.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the challenge to photograph with only one lens, one focal length.  That exercise is relatively common.  I’ve written about it before, here and here.  Some say using a single focal length is beneficial to your creativity, others say detrimental.  I see both sides of the argument.  By doing so, you either learn to fit everything in your photographic world into that one focal length or walk away.  As an aside, it is quite different and I am experiencing some of that with my Fujifilm X100VI.  More on that in the near future.

I have a slightly different challenge for you.  My challenge to you is to photograph with only one ISO.  Not a high ISO where you can manipulate the controls on your camera to capture an image in almost every situation.  No, a relatively slow ISO.  Nothing over ISO 400.  Just one.  For everything.  Day and night.  Bright light and low light.  Better yet imagine you can only shoot with Kodachrome 64.  That is the real challenge.

For most of my film days, I shot 35mm Kodachrome 64 for slides, either Kodacolor 100 or 120 Kodak Vericolor III (in my medium format camera) for prints.  For black & white, I normally used Tri-X and Panatomic-X film.

Here are the ISOs, or more properly the ASAs (film speed) of those films:

-Kodachrome 64                 ASA 64 (but often shot at ASA 50 so as to not blow out the highlights as well as have more saturated colors)

-Kodacolor 100                   ASA 100 (sometime 80 to ensure robust shadow detail)

-Kodak Vericolor III           ASA 160 (but often shot at ASA 125 for full shadow detail)

-*Kodak Tri-X                      ASA 400 (often shot from ASA 200-320 for more shadow detail and less film grain)

-**Kodak Panatomic-X          ASA 32

If you are a color shooter, pick one of those color films.  If you really want to challenge yourself, pick ISO 64.  If you are a black & white shooter, pick one of those two films.  Now, set you digital camera’s ISO dial to that ISO and shoot with only at that ISO.  No ISO 1600, 3200, 6400, Auto ISO, etc.  Not even ISO 800.  See how doing this will stretch you photographically and challenge you to capture images and create your photographs using ‘slow film’  like your analog forefathers.  Try to overcome how a ‘slow film speed’ reduces your options for shutter speeds and small apertures and see if you can find ways to beat the limitations you’ll encounter.

I think it would be fun.  See what you can do only shooting simulated Kodachrome 64 as the Life and Look magazine photographers did.  Shoot, even on the brightest of days, as if you only had Tri-X at ASA 400 in your camera like the majority of photojournalists did and see what you can do when the light is low.

Try it and then come back here and let us know your experience.  I think you will find the limitation frustrating but enlightening at the same time.  I think this could help you be a better photographer as it will make you think and solve new problems about which you haven’t had to previously worry.

*Tri-X was also often ‘pushed’ by underexposing, say ASA 1600, then over-developed to get adequate density in the negatives in very low light.

**I also shot Pan-X at ASA 50 when using Fred Picker’s Zone VI developer.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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