I have always been fascinated with how the same thing can look so different when taken with different cameras – everything from what’s included or discarded by the size of a lens, to the way colours come out, or just a different atmosphere. But I think I’ve hit a new high in compare-and-contrast, and it’s making me laugh.
I tend to take photos of the Avon when I cross the footbridges, so one night last week we were walking home from town over Gaol Ferry Bridge, and the river was full, so I took this on my phone, looking east:
Moody, dark, and I like that it still shows the wind on the river. At the same time I took one on my Olympus XA2 – my 35mm point & shoot. I used the edge of the bridge as a tripod, because it would have a longer exposure. And here’s how it came out:
Yeah, I laughed out loud when I saw it!
Now, I know what’s going on – the longer exposure means the light’s coming in differently, and the phone colour balances one way, and the film (and the scanning) balances another. And because the bridge vibrates as people walk across it, there’s a slight movement in the film version. But still, this is what keeps me loving photography, and I’m grinning, remembering that neither looked like real life either!
Avon Stories 