Inside the Archive
Sunlight bursts through the branches of a leafy tree, illuminating the surrounding garden with warm rays and patches of golden light.
Hello everyone! I wanted to begin this experiment, “Field Notes,” to document the experiences, decisions, and photographic processes behind the finished archive. For this first entry, I wanted to provide a fuller picture of my photographic journey. I have been shooting 35mm film since January 2025, when I bought my first camera: a Canon EOS Rebel 2000. It continues to be the camera I use today, usually paired with a Canon EF 28–80mm f/3.5–5.6 lens.
The film stock I am most familiar with is Kodak Gold 200. I love its warm, nostalgic color reproduction and relatively fine grain. Apart from Kodak Gold 200, I also enjoy shooting with CineStill 800T and Ilford HP5+. They are very different film stocks, but each creates its own distinctive look. When I am in Riverdale, I use the developing and scanning services at Horn Photo in Fresno. While in Los Angeles, I use J&F Photo Lab Inc. After receiving my scans, I use Lightroom to correct color and clean up unwanted or distracting details.
Photographs, certificates, and small keepsakes gathered across my bedroom wall—one of the familiar spaces I photographed while learning to use my first camera.
I initially chose 35mm film because I was drawn to its nostalgic appearance, but I have grown to love its unpredictability just as much. I enjoy having to wait several days before seeing how my photographs turned out. That anticipation—and the separation between taking a photograph and finally seeing it revealed—has become an integral part of my process.
When I first began taking photographs, I captured many of the seemingly ordinary corners and objects in my room, whether that be small wall decorations or my graduation gown hanging on the wall. Photographing these familiar details helped me learn how the camera saw light, color, and composition.
Since the beginning of my photographic journey, I have felt drawn toward natural spaces, whether they are national parks, gardens, or pockets of nature found on college campuses. I enjoy exploring what makes these places beautiful and finding ways to preserve and share that beauty through photography. My artistic vision is closely connected to the conservation and protection of natural spaces so that they can remain available to wildlife and be appreciated by future generations.
A corner of my bedroom filled with music, awards, books, and personal objects, preserving an ordinary view of the space where my photographic journey began.
I also want to expand the boundaries of what film photography can look like within my own practice. I recently began experimenting with film soup and double and triple exposures, and I have several rolls waiting to be developed. I am excited to see which experiments worked, which ones failed, and what I can learn from both outcomes.
Beyond 35mm film, I hope to eventually explore 5×7 large-format and wet-plate photography. Through these slower and more deliberate processes, I want to become more present while making each photograph and continue refining my approach to composition.
These Field Notes will become a recurring part of the archive, although I have not established a strict posting schedule yet. Future entries may include notes from photography trips, experiences with particular film stocks, experiments that succeeded or failed, and updates about darkroom and alternative photographic processes.
Thank you so much for joining me at the beginning of this experiment!
