At the Appleby Horse Fair to try out shooting colour film as its been a while, for reasons of cost, concept and control I've been sticking to black and white for personal work. Not delighted with the colour so I might need to keep to black and white for the solstice as the varying light is going to be a bit of a challenge. As somebody said (Meyerowitz?) you have to think in colour too, and I don't understand how the film will react. I have time to get a handle on one film if I was to shoot constantly over the next few days but the range of light means that I will have to change film speed and then I reckon it would make more visual sense to use a range of films rather than having two and pushing.... but I want to shoot colour... its a quandary. I think I need to seek advice from somebody old school who really knows film....
Gypsies are of course photogenic, almost as much as war, although the atmosphere was rather more chav than Koudelka. There were a couple of camera clubs and a few pros taking the classic shot of the horse splashing out of the river. Most people who I know will wonder why I don't have a lovely picture of a horse coming out of the water if I were to show them these pictures, and would think me a better photographer if I did. This gives me vague anxiety and also pisses me off. But then am I just achieving a simulacrum of a more elite aesthetic- kids with toy guns, moments of contemplation amidst the bustle? Enough theorising- as it was certainly some strange and memorable experience, a bit like a Friday night in the city centre- too much beer and a feeling that it is about to kick off only with galloping horses thrown into the mix. And the girls were wearing outfits like a crop top and matching hot pants made out of orange lurex, and everyone was getting really bad sunburn and throwing beer cans in the river. My boyfriend said that somebody had just had a shit in the sink when he went to the pub toilet. I should really make it clear that this isn't aimed at gypsies as most people there had, like me, come to watch or shoot horses.
