During my last film session at my studio I had a little bit of a lighting issue. So today I wanted to do a test shoot to see if my suspicion of the issue was right. To test the roll, I decided to setup several different still life scenes. My brain gets pretty random when I do still life photography. So I put on Sierra Ferrell on my iphone (I just discovered her music and am loving it.) and then started going through some of my props putting some scenes together. The lighting turned out better than I expected.

I shot a roll of Kodak Tri X 120 film on my Mamiya 645 camera for this. On that roll you can expect to get somewhere between 13-15 shots per roll. When I do still life sets I generally take 1-3 shots per setup from varying angles/lighting movements. Out of 14 shots that came out, 12 of them were good solid usable shots. These were just my favorites of the setups. I’d love to hear what you guys think of these.

Baseball Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography

Da’ Bears - Football Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography

Dark Academia Skull Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography

Eat My Heart Out - Dark Art Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography

Picture a place where you pull up to what appears to be a forgotten apocalyptic hellscape of vehicles left behind from a civilization that just vanished. After you go through the entry building and pay your $30 fee to explore and take photographs, you emerge into a land of rusted old cars and trucks. Everywhere you turn there are more cars and trucks, and then signs spreading “wisdom”. You start walking into the woods, and you find row after row after row of more antique cars and trucks, not to mention hidden surprises along the way like abandoned tricycles, old coca-cola coolers, gas pumps, etc. It’s a paradise for people that love history, love old cars, love nostalgia, or love to take unique photos.

Old Car City USA - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography of Chattanooga, TN

I have visited Old Car City USA somewhere around four to five times now. It’s located down in White, GA, which is right around an hour south of Chattanooga and an hourish north of Atlanta. It’s the oldest junkyard in America and has over seven miles of trails for you to explore. To be completely honest it is very easy to get overwhelmed. On this trip I went specifically wanting to shoot film. I shot around six rolls of Kodak Tri X 120 film and these shots are just the beginning of what I captured on this trip.

Myself, I’m not really a huge car guy. I love the aesthetic of old cars and trucks, but I’ve never been one to know it’s this year or what motor it is. My mind just never really worked that way growing up. My dad was a huge car guy and loved going to the rod runs and seeing old card. I had tried talking him into going with me to Old Car City many times before he passed in 2020. I never could quite talk him into it. Each time since then that I’ve gone, it’s been a little heavy, but a little therapeutic as well. Walking through silent woods surrounded by these machines that my dad loved. It’s been something that has helped me to heal a little bit and come more to terms with things I think.

In closing, if you ever get the chance to go check it out, I highly recommend it, even if it’s just to go out and try to take it all in. Depending on the time of year, take plenty of water as well as bug spray. There were quite a few mosquitoes out this time, which I’ve never dealt with before. The owners had cans of bug spray you could use, but just plan ahead with that in mind. I did not and my legs are covered in mosquito bites. Ha!

Until next time…enjoy the rest of these photos.

Ricky

Kodak Tri X Test Roll Results... Still Life Work at the Studio

Old Car City USA Photographed on Film

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