Analog Road

Took a drive out to Montauk with a roll of Portra 400

January was quiet. Weather was incoming. I texted Geoff to see if he wanted to take the 997 out to Montauk to give the engine a good run before snow and bad weather was going to set in. I love driving in winter - a lot less cars on the road, open skies, bare trees that allow for better site-lines through corners - but there’s a limit where too much salt on the road is too much salt… particularly without a warm(ish) day to rinse it off in the foreseeable future. So we were keen to get a drive in before Salturday.

So out we went for a little midweek 996 / 997 vacation…

I feel like my go-to parking strategy is "anything but parallel" and then tend to find something in-camera that works

I'd usually use a longer lens than a 50mm to jam two cars in a shot, get some compression, alas, my EF-mount lens alternatives were not with me

I don’t think I shot any film last year. I was clearing out some things in January and I found about 10-15 rolls of various film types across 10-15 various locations in the house. So it’s now become a 2026 thing to try and burn through it all. I’ve got a few rolls of Ferrania (a temperamental iso80 Italian B+W) that I bought years ago, maybe 5 years ? it’s been in the fridge. Probably expired. This roll of portra was found rolling around the external pocket of my Billingham bag which I don’t really use anymore due the ease of a roller bag through the airport.

Typical vacation pic, except it was about -5C out.

Couldn't decide focus. Something wider than a 50mm would have been helpful I think.

Missed the top right corner.

After the ‘minimal’ and extremely windy parking lot scenario we headed for the dock. I didn’t intend on driving on the dock, but before I knew it I was following Geoff right up there, front row, bewildered by a sudden bout of boldness as he reversed into place.

Scrimmy light was nice but had to watch a flare off the front of mine.

Portra400 really warms things up... I’ve never shot cars on film, I was inspired by Aryton Cinco’s 996 photos he shoots all the time. I think I need to find a film stock that doesn’t warm things up too much. Warm is nice, but, glacier white looks more like carrara white if I’m going to be particularly car-nerd about it. I think I have a roll of fuji-something here somewhere.

Had to get the Dream Warrior

Shot a lot at f8 which is a little “off brand” for me apparently but the 50mm 1.2 is still really nice even when it’s not wide open. I keep telling myself that. I’m finding that I’m liking a little more depth in film too instead of mooshing it out too much. I want to see a bit more if the scene is worth seeing.

After the dock we were hungry. I didn’t want to overshoot it. Great selection of gluten free / vegan / dairy free bakery treats at Naturally Good for those wondering. Perfect excuse for a drive that’s far enough but not too far.

That was our day. I did end up going out a few days later to finish the roll. Was extremely cold out, went to southampton solo. Prefer the digital ones I took on my Ricoh to be honest…..

NB. This is not a guarantee or a pre-cursor that suggests that I will write this much ever again, but I have been reading substacks and finding them more interesting than instagram so that’s why I’m here. Shout out Michael Williams and John Peabody for the inspiration.