A Quiet Day in a Loud Place Thanks to Film

I spent a day working at Fashion Week, handling both video and stills, and somewhere in between the schedule and the noise of the event, I ended up shooting a few black-and-white frames on 35mm film. There wasn’t any special plan behind it. I just wanted a calmer way to look at the day.

Black and white removes a lot of the extra stuff you normally associate with these events. No loud colors, no distractions, nothing pulling your attention in different directions. It shows the environment the way it actually feels when you’re working there: big open rooms, people moving in and out, short breaks, and equipment scattered around.

Most of the job is simple, repetitive work—setting up, adjusting gear, checking batteries, making sure everything runs. There’s a steady rhythm to it. Things move fast, but you try to stay clear-headed. Taking a few stills on 35mm during those small gaps feels almost like making quick notes. Nothing fancy, just a way to mark the day.

These frames aren’t meant to be dramatic or overly polished. They’re just small pieces of a workday—honest and straightforward. Shooting them on 35mm helped me slow down for a moment, even when everything else around me was moving quickly.

Trying a Different Perspective

The New York City subway system is one of the busiest in the world. Despite the constant flow of people, buzz, and stimulation, it can also be a place of profound loneliness. I feel this picture represents a small part of the impersonal and anonymous nature of the subway experience.

A picture with a certain level of intimacy and a bit of tension or unease coupled with a spontaneous unposed subject can draw the viewer into the moment being captured in the photograph. I took this shot with a 35mm camera from my waist and did not place the camera at eye level, this help me take it at a low angle and add a different perspective.

Overall, capturing unplanned moments can add a sense of spontaneity, authenticity, and visual interest to your photography. So, next time you're out with your camera, try to be open to the unexpected and see what kind of unplanned moments you can capture.

“Black and white photography is the abstraction of reality, a purified representation that reveals the essence of the subject ”

— Javier Arres