Surrender to the Medium With Cinthia Baseler and the Diana F+

Argentinian photographer Cinthia Baseler is based in the UK and has been exploring film photography for many years. She talked to us about shooting with the Diana F+ and how embracing the limitations of film can lead to a more creative approach, with some surprising and welcome results.

Hello Cinthia, please tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi! I’m Cinthia Baseler and I’m a photographer from Argentina based in Manchester, UK. My work revolves around the themes of memory and identity and is heavily influenced by my family’s passion for documenting the everyday.

How did you get into film photography and what's the appeal of 120?

I was given my late grandad’s Minolta XG9 when I was a teenager as I used to sneakily steal my dad’s digital compact camera to take portraits of my friends and to take self portraits as I was starting to become really interested in makeup and portraiture. That was over 10 years ago now, I don’t think he could have ever imagined at the time that I’d end up shooting film consistently for this long and making a career out of it.

Especially then when film wasn’t popular and was pretty much deemed obsolete by most. Once I tried film I never wanted to use his digital camera again. Aside from the aesthetics of the medium and some of the gear that allows me to shoot 120, I enjoy the challenge behind working with the limitation of only having 8 or 15 shots per roll. I also like working with different aspect ratios every now and again to switch things up.

How do you find shooting with the Diana F+? Does it change the way you approach your work?

As a working photographer, I like using the Diana F+ when I want to take a break from carrying multiple heavy cameras with me, but also to relinquish a bit of control and surrender to the medium. You may get an accidental double exposure, a bit of a light leak here and there, and achieve a bit of a different look. I find it pretty refreshing and it encourages me to try things I wouldn’t normally do.

What tips would you give for someone wanting to try out 120 film and the Diana F+?

For 120 film I’d say go for it! Keep in mind the limited amount of frames and enjoy working with different aspect ratios. If using a Diana F+, you may get a few extra frames because you can wind the film manually with no clear limitations. Experiment with different techniques like overlapping frame edges or creating multiple exposures, tape the whole camera to avoid light leaks or let them surprise you.

To see more of Cinthia's work check out her website.

2023-12-30 #people #uk #diana-f-plus #medium-foramt #shoot-120 #120-is-not-dead #cinthia-baseler