interview: James McManus

For this weeks interview we catch up with one of our Sydney based members, James Mcmanus.

A Leaf About Town by James McManus

how long have you been shooting film?

I was bitten by the film bug back in 1969 at the age of seven when I got my first camera a Kodak 126 Instamatic and have been shooting with film ever since. There was an eight year period from 1993 where I gave up on photography after I lost everything including all my work and cameras in a house fire. An overseas trip in 2001 saw me take up the addiction again and spending large amounts of money to support my habit. In the last nine years, I have owned a couple of those dSLR things as well but never seem to keep them for that long …. give me a film camera and I am happy with my photography.

Boats by James McManus

do you prefer colour or black & white? do you have a favourite film, camera or technique you like to work with?

There is something other than colour …. . I don’t mind black and white but prefer colour for my abstract and shallow depth field stuff. Normally you will find Fuji Reala and Kodak Ektachrome 100VS in my camera bag and I am always on the look out for expired C41 and E6 films to put through the Mamiya 6 or Pentax 67II.

show us one of your favourite shots and tell us a bit about it – how did you take it? is there a story behind it?

Dad’s EH by James McManus

My dad passed away at the end of 2005. While at home a few months later cleaning up for mum, I found a box of his old cameras with a Polaroid SLR 680 amongst them. I went out the next day and got two packs of 600 film to see if it worked. This was the first shot I did of the EH and the last time I saw the car. Brings back a lot of good memories not only of my dad but the many trips made in that car.

show us a favourite shot from the MSM pool. what do you enjoy in other peoples’ photos?

Photos that jump out and grab my attention and make me want to come back to check out more of their work.

Thriller by AAGCTT

question from the previous interviewee: I’d like to know what you do with your photos, aside from putting them on flickr. Do you make prints? Digital or wet prints? Do you hang them on the walls, give as presents to your friends, show into exhibitions?

The only time I seem to get anything printed these days is for an exhibition and that last happened back in 2007. I do have two digital prints under way at the moment and again for an exhibition, this time for Unsensored10. Some of my polaroids get framed and giving away as presents.

please give us a question to ask the next person:

If you could bring back one film that has been discontinued what would it be and why?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimagery/4203329244/

Thanks so much James. If you would like to check out more of James work you can find him on flickr or on his blog.

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