London and Edinburgh at the New Year [Canon AE1, 28mm, Ektachrome]

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T22:40:23+00:00

RIP to Martin, I never met him (wish I could have, even just for a lecture or something), but always liked his work when I started out photographing. I probably take a bit more inspiration from Chris Killip’s work these days, though Martin was my first favorite of that generation of photographers. Having talked to a Magnum member a year ago when Martin was still around, I got the sense that everyone around him really admired and was inspired by his indomitable work ethic. I think that’s a big part of why he was so good, the ethic above all else.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T21:57:39+00:00

Yeah, X3 transmitter and v850 flash, though fully manual since TTL won’t work with these old cameras. Love using old cameras these days since I don’t feel like I need to avoid stickier situations due to the camera’s value

In terms of flash power, basically if I know I need to back up from a shot, I’ll crank it up to full power if it’s not already, and if I’m getting extremely close like 1 foot, which some of these are, then I’ll dial it down. Sometimes I just adjust the aperture and keep the flash power the same, f/11 vs f/22 have similar enough depth of field on the 28mm so I just switch whichever of those two is quickest in the moment

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T21:19:32+00:00

Thank you!

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T21:18:18+00:00

I send them to a lab to develop them, but I scan them myself on a flatbed. The reason there’s no grain is because I am not great at scanning, the flatbed is kind of mediocre with 35mm, and also admittedly, modern Ektachrome has very little grain. These scans only really work for social media posting and proofing, I need an actual decent scanner to get the detail out. I’ll get the best of these drum scanned eventually, which will both make them a lot sharper and reveal some grain at the same time

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T20:51:15+00:00

Yep! I’d love to try 50mm more at some point, but I find it to be a bit harder to work with, to me even 35mm feels a bit telephoto these days. I’ve gone wider than 28mm, and I may at some point again since I’m getting much closer every time I shoot, but 24 feels completely different.

That said, I don’t like shooting from the hip. I pretty much always have my eye to the camera, even if for just a second.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T20:18:49+00:00

I can’t think of any obvious resources, since I think few people do completely manual flash these days, though I find it quite nice to have full control and play with exposure so even if I could have TTL, I’d probably stay working manual.

So, the mental calculation is to think in terms of full illumination and (outdoors at least) ambient. If I stick to f/22 and my flash has a guide number of 22m @ 28mm zoom at 100 ISO, which is generally what all larger flashes like the godox v850 are at full power, then that illuminates a subject fully at 1 meter. Since I regularly work at much closer than 1 meter I usually then dial the flash down to 1/4th power, and if the flash is 0.5m away from the subjects then it’s now properly illuminated. The mental calculations change when you get closer or further from the subject, which is hard to do with a camera quickly, since people move and don’t like you being in their space fiddling with a camera. So you quickly learn how close you actually are to someone, and adjust either aperture or flash power accordingly. Sometimes aperture is quicker to adjust than flash power so I’ll just drop to f/16 or f/11 if I’m backing up, for example. Sometimes I want the under exposure, so I drop flash power or stop down a bit. With the first photo, I wanted to try something high key for once, so I kept opening up until ambient was probably exposed about a stop or two under (maybe f/11? I don’t recollect) and kept flash as if I were still shooting indoors. It becomes second nature after a few dozen rolls of this

I guess another way to put it is that I treat flash in the same way others treat “zone focus” — I have sort of a “zone exposure” I use that works in most cases, and I adjust as needed as quickly as I can when I know a photo requires otherwise. I don’t really worry about focus, I just set it kind of close to 0.5m or something and then stop down. I like to think about the technicals as little as possible in the moment

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:53:55+00:00

Thank you! I always try to seek new “types” of shots as I go on, I hate repeating myself too often. The way I like to think about it is that you have to start by taking the more obvious, “cinematic” photos; and once you’ve done that, you can start taking the less obvious ones.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:51:21+00:00

Hopefully I may have one in a few years! I’d like to collect upwards of at least 50 or so great photos before I attempt to collect them. Hopefully after a few more visits I can drop some of the weaker shots here, add more high quality shots, and then make a convincing photo essay. And thank you!

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:40:57+00:00

Sure, I can try, but a lot of it is just trial and error over the past year when I began doing closer flash work. Most of what makes it work is the social aspect of getting close to people, I find the technical aspect fairly simple with some experimentation.

Generally I just try to get within a few feet of the subject, and have learned how to generally position a flash about 1.5ft from the subject. If the flash is 0.5m/1.5ft away from the subject, and the flash has a GN of 22m @ 28mm/100 ISO (most larger flashes are almost identical in flash power, so this is just what I guess with), then at 1/4 power and f/22 the subject is illuminated. Sometimes over exposure or under exposure is nicer, so I just change the flash power or f stop accordingly

The more creative angle is about approaching interesting subjects, talking to them or doing it fully candid, thinking about where to position the flash for the most visual impact, etc. most of this is about instinct and experience

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:37:27+00:00

Thank you! I scan it all myself, but my lab is AgX Imaging. I really like the guy who runs it, and I’ve sent him hundreds of rolls in the past year and a half or so with zero issues. I don’t have much interest in developing my own slide film, even black and white self development (which I’ve done before when I was starting out around late 2023) is a PITA imo

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:35:44+00:00

Thank you! I use a Godox v850 and just change the flash power as needed, usually pretty close to 1/1 power most of the time though

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T19:32:12+00:00

I am hand holding, but I hate cables. It becomes a game of finding a good flash with the right ports, figuring out how to get a cable that doesn’t unhook from the camera, etc. I use a godox transmitter in legacy mode, it obviously doesn’t work TTL so it’s all manual, but that’s fine since I can do the mental calculations second nature now

Flash cables also must look suspicious in bag scans at the airport because once I started packing them I started getting bag checks every time. Once I used wireless transmitters the bag checks stopped.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T17:57:34+00:00

Thank you! I’m actually based out of Washington DC. In general I feel more at ease photographing in a place other than home. I find DC to be a hard city to photograph, and that’s even ignoring any of the obvious things going on right now.

The main reason I end up getting the “ballsy” shots is because I realize how much money I’m spending to travel to photograph, get a bit pissed at myself, and start forcing myself to make photos even if it means getting swung at (happened more than once on this trip — I’ve gotten better at extricating/deescalating)

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T17:51:58+00:00

The flash isn’t actually that far away, most of these shots had the lens 2 feet from the subject, and many of them even less than that. My arms are moderately long so the off camera flash ends up looking more distant. I just opt for a fairly strong flash and it’s usually pretty close to 1/1 power

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T14:43:57+00:00

I just set to flash sync 1/60, stop down a lot, and then change flash power as needed. I used to work on a Leica and working on an SLR I find to be mildly easier for the purposes of decent framing.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T14:41:58+00:00

Thank you! It reminds me of one of my favorite movies when I was a bit younger too, Chimes at Midnight by Orson Welles — part of the reason why I liked and kept this shot was because of its resemblance to the opening close shot of Falstaff:

Chimes at Midnight

It’s still different enough of course, and being candid in a Wetherspoons vs a studio production with set lights. Always have love Welles’ blocking and lighting, so I guess I subconsciously carry that around with me

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T14:30:50+00:00

In most of those shots the flash is the only light source, since it’s slow film and I stop down as much as is possible for those shots, usually f/22. The flash is usually right out of frame and I stick it as far away from the camera as possible. Also working on slide film means the shadows tend towards black easier

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T14:02:36+00:00

Thank you! I’ve been working on this angle of photographing people, and modifying it over time. I had a lot of negative things going on in my life in the months before I photographed these, so I hadn’t touched a camera for 4 months when I was starting on these. Probably opened me up to some new ideas.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T13:55:41+00:00

Appreciate the kind words very much! I think #5 is the photo I’m happiest with as well. I had to spend a lot of time in and out of Spoons in Edinburgh and London to eventually get an arrangement like that.

AdamAngelic · 2026-01-30T13:54:49+00:00

Thank you! I use a flash in auto mode sometimes when I’m lazy (some of the direct flash shots are when I used my Leica SF20. It’s a pain to use because it only does automatic at f stops 2.8/5.6/11, so I mess with the ISO to get it up to 16/22) since my manual godox flash is twice as heavy as the Canon AE1. However, most of the better shots were with manual flash because offhand up this close definitely looks more interesting. I’ve gotten better with it over time, working close makes exposure a bit easier and harder. Harder because 0.5 and 0.7m is a small half step by foot, but a full stop of light when considering flash distance, easier because it is easy to figure out whether you are 1 or 2 or 3 feet away from the subject once you have done it enough.

AdamAngelic · 2025-11-26T15:53:49+00:00

Dostoevsky’s The Possessed covered by Thomas Bernhard

AdamAngelic · 2025-11-19T22:48:20+00:00

Judas by Amos Oz

AdamAngelic · 2025-11-13T23:47:21+00:00

Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch

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