Film Scans from Spring

The first hints of spring start in mid-February when the temperature gets above 50 for the first time and I strip off a layer to sit in the mid-afternoon sun. In the foothills of the Cascades in Washington State, spring and winter fight a battle from mid-February to mid-April for control. One week it will be highs in the 50s and sunny; the next it’s on the verge of snowing and raining until the grey gives way to darkness shortly after six. In an area where the annual rainfall exceeds 120 inches and there’s often snow on the ground for 6 weeks each winter, this period of climatic battle is full of small wins and crushing defeats. The arrival of swallows circling the treehouse on a warm morning in March marks a win for spring. This battle usually starts to taper in early April with tree budding and daylight extending each evening 4 hours past its December low mark. Every now and again, winter stages a counteroffensive, depositing sometimes as much as a foot of snow at my house in the second half of April.

While it’s happening, it’s hard to tell who’s winning the proverbial arm wrestling match, but with hindsight, especially visual ones, the points of demarcation become obvious. This is one of the main reasons I love shooting 35mm film. The delay between when I take the photo and when I get the scans back often gives me the shift in perspective needed to realize what was really happening. Here are some scans from spring, shot on my Olympus XA with Portra 160 pushed a couple stops.