Since moving here and first visiting our shopping mall, I’ve felt the need to photograph the desolate, near liminal space. Something about the empty hallways interspersed with skylights and (real!) foliage brings on a certain type of melancholic nostalgia. I recently made a trip there for the purpose of shooting some of the areas that always seem to grab my attention.
I decided to start slow. I thought exterior shots would be easier, considering there was no one else there, but it actually felt a lot more intimidating once I got out of my car. Although the mall is pretty empty, there was still security doing rounds and I was right next to a fairly busy street. I was relieved to see that security didn’t seem to mind my walking around and taking photos and I eventually got comfortable enough to really get into the swing of things.
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The tattered paper on the inside of these doors unsettles me, yet I can never look away. |
With the mall being as empty as it is, I was really self conscious on this outing— a lot more self conscious than I normally am when shooting in public. And because I was shooting film, the camera I was using wasn’t the most inconspicuous, either. In more crowded spaces I’m able to melt into the crowd. However, I was one of the few people walking around in that big, open space. I felt as if I was on display as I composed each shot. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I suppose I just want you to know that I’m proud of myself for not skimping out and forcing myself to take my time in getting the photos I wanted to get. (Though I was really tempted to spray and pray and call it a day.)
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| The mall may be dead, but these plants are not. |
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| We’re always sure to grab a slice at the local pizza place inside our mall. It’s genuinely great pizza and it feels like an appropriate nod to my adolescence, hanging out at the food court with my friends or on family shopping trips. |
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I don’t remember why I chose to shoot black and white on this day, but I’m happy with how it turned out. There isn’t much color in our mall to begin with, and I knew that the angles and shadows were what I was aiming to capture. Although I’m happy with the photos overall, if I had to do this over I’d choose an orthochromatic film stock instead of panchromatic.
These photos were taken on a Canon 35mm SLR with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. My film stock of choice was, as the title suggests, Kentmere Pan 400.
This batch of film was processed and scanned by State Film Lab.
I have quite a few rolls of film that I’m in the middle of working on, and another batch about to be sent out, so look out for more regular posts on here in the near future!
