{"id":76975,"date":"2026-10-28T13:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rudenko-photography.com\/?p=76975"},"modified":"2026-10-28T13:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:48:41","slug":"portraits-fomapan-amsterdam-canals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rudenko-photography.com\/en\/portraits-fomapan-amsterdam-canals\/","title":{"rendered":"Portraits on Fomapan 100 Along the Amsterdam Canals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Black<\/figure>

Nora flew in from the US for a week in Amsterdam, early in spring. She grew up with her grandmother\u2019s black-and-white prints and wanted portraits on Fomapan, a real black-and-white film. We met by the canals on a sunny afternoon in March.<\/p>

A walk like this is what my analog photoshoots in Amsterdam<\/a> are about: one small part of the city, a vintage film camera and time to look. She prepared nothing; I chose the streets and guided her through every frame.<\/p>

Where<\/dt>
The canal belt, Amsterdam<\/dd>
When<\/dt>
March, mid-afternoon<\/dd>
Session<\/dt>
B&W Film Photoshoot<\/a><\/dd>
Light<\/dt>
Clear sky, low spring sun and long shadows<\/dd><\/dl><\/div>

March Sun on the Canal Belt<\/h2>

The roll in my camera was Fomapan 100<\/a>, a classic black-and-white film from the Czech maker Foma. That afternoon the sky was clear, and the trees along the canals were still bare. As a result, the sun reached all the way down to the bricks. On this film, light like that becomes a play of deep blacks and bright whites.<\/p>

\"Woman
The canal belt on a clear March afternoon<\/figcaption><\/figure>

By the water, Nora leaned on the iron posts along the canal, her long coat open, while a small boat slid past.<\/p>

One Frame at a Time on Fomapan<\/h2>

Film asks for a slower rhythm. I take one photograph at a time, so at each click I asked Nora to pause for a moment. Then she could move again. Mostly, though, I simply gave her somewhere to walk: across the street, around a corner, back into the sun.<\/p>

\"Woman<\/figure>
\"Woman<\/figure><\/div>

Between frames, the camera came down and we talked. A short video from the same street shows what a session on film looks like from the side.<\/p>

In front of the canal houses, mid-afternoon<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Backlit Portraits in a Side Street<\/h2>

Some of my favorite frames from this roll face straight into the sun. In a narrow side street, her face fell into shadow while the houses behind her glowed. By a tall facade, the sun flared over the windows and stretched her shadow across the pavement. Then a beam of light crossed her cheek and hair, and I pressed the shutter before it moved on.<\/p>

\"Backlit<\/figure>
\"Sunlit<\/figure>
\"Black<\/figure><\/div>

Her long leather coat with its fur trim did half the work. She swung it open and let it fall again, a movement that comes across better in a few seconds of video than in any still.<\/p>