Mencel Surfboards, Digital & 35mm Film
This summer I had the opportunity to photograph Mr. Charles Mencel, of Mencel Surfboards as he crafted a fresh board from an unremarkable foam plank. As somebody who appreciates surfing, I was amazed at the efficiency and precision which he managed to sculpt the board. Sparing no attention to detail, and still managing to finish the project in what seemed like no time!
Beyond being a talented shaper, Mr. Mencel was incredibly kind. Despite it being our first occasion meeting, he instantly made me feel welcomed within just a minute or two. After inviting me in, acquainting me with the layout of the room, and giving me a summary of the process it was time to get to work.
^Canon AE1 + 50mm f1.8 lens & Ilford Delta 400 @iso400
Unsure of how spacious the shaping room was, I packed as light as I could while also trying to anticipate all the diverse shots I wanted to capture. I brought along my Nikon D750 & my Canon AE1program. I loaded the Canon with Ilford delta 400 black and white film so that the subject matter of the photos wasn’t competing with the distraction of the room’s bright key-lime colored walls. A Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 lens was mounted to the Nikon & I brought along my 50mm f1.8 & 28mm f3.5 for the Canon. Additionally I packed an off camera flash with a simple hotshoe trigger for the purpose of manipulating the light where needed, and to do so quickly between both digital & film.
^35mm film photo scans
I shot the film at box speed, rating it for iso400 & referencing my digital camera to see where the shadows & highlights were falling (especially when using the off camera flash). I developed the film at home using Ilfotec DDX & scanned the images using an Opticfilm 8200i scanner.