Retro 'selfies' with Crista Oiegas
Crista takes "selfies" to mark the camera used
First of all: how did you get the idea of taking one selfie per film and why
I don't usually take selfies with my phone or my digital camera, but I had this thing when i first saw my reflection in a mirror with my camera on my neck. So I took the first shot. Must say that i didn't do this with my first two films. I think it all started when I was on my 37th position of the roll and I took the first selfie with my Zenit 12 XP. People said afterwards that it's a good way to remember what camera you used to shoot the roll. I didn't think of that at first, but it's true! it helps!
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Crista Oiegas and i'm 24 years old. I've been living in Cluj-Napoca, Romania for the past 5 years and now I practically call it home. I'm a civil engineer, but right now I work as a QA at a software company.
When and how did the film journey begin for you?
I started shooting film one year ago, in September and haven't stopped since. Someone offered me a chance to go on a roadtrip and take pictures with his camera. I didn't think for a second that it would be a film camera. I shot my first roll in about 3 hours. I felt lost at first; had no idea what aperture, exposure time or ISO meant. I'll never forget the feeling I had when I took that roll to a Studio and asked for it to be developed. I could hardly wait a day to go back there for the photos. Half of me thought that it will be an empty roll, I didn't think I got any of them right. So I went back and came out with 32 photos! The joy! I think that in the first few days I looked at them every couple of hours, amazed that I got them right! This thing that you only have 36 shots, that you can't take black and white and colour shots on the same roll, that you have to do everything manually, consider each shot you take got me hooked on film!
What type of film do you usually shoot and what made you choose it?
I usually shoot Kodak ColorPlus ISO 200. That's the one I like most. So far I used Ektar 100, Fuji Superia, Portra 160, Kodak UltraMax, expired Kodak Gold and Fomapan for BW. I keep going back to ColorPlus, maybe because it's cheap and I can shoot as many as I want, but mostly I love the colours. They feel natural to me.
What camera makes you click?
Must say proudly that it's my new Canon AE-1 Program. I fell inlove with it the second I opened the box it came in! I own a Zenit 12 XP, that was my first film camera. I'll never forget the moment I held in my hands the little tank (because it really looks like one, and I think it also weights like one;)) ) and the sound of the shutter and how it made the entire camera tremble. The exponometer on this one is broken, but I got used to it and must say that it helped me a lot to learn and understand how a camera works. For Christmas I got a Canon Canonet28. Amazing camera! So small and beautiful. It's great to take on trips because it's lightweight and allows you to take amazing landscapes. I heard about this addictive need to buy more film cameras once you get used to film, but I think that I'll be using my Canon AE-1 P for a long while before switching to something else.
Between black and white and colour film which would you choose?
I'd say colour. If I were to shoot portraits, I'd use black and white, but I love to see the world on film the way I see it with my eyes.
What lenses do you use?
For my Zenit 12XP I use Helios 44M 58 mm 1:2, Canon Lens 40 mm 1:2.8 on Canonet28 and 50 mm 1:1.8 on the AE-1 P
Do you make any experiments on film?
So far I took some shy double exposures. I have a roll on which i shot the lower side using a home made splitzer and expect to exchange it so that someone else will shoot the upper side. I'm waiting for my first swap films from photographers I found on onfilm.photo community as well!
Next, I want to try to make a redscale film and see what comes out of that!