A Man, His Muse And His Nikonosis - ISSUE 54
A local creative couple shooting film and being parents…sound familiar?
Housekeeping
Today we have a short and sweet interview with some new friends and people I have been, and hope to be, collaborating more with in the future. Before we dive in though I have some exciting news!
The name of my YouTube channel has changed!!
Don't panic guys, this is all good news! I'm ramping up the content here and film photography is still a huge part of my life. But.. I also am really passionate about content creation, like my YouTube channel and working with brands to make a living with a camera. I hope you can all find something you can gain value from and the channel can be a place to learn, grow, feel inspired to maybe start your own channel, side hustle, business or just keep having fun with your hobby!
I’m super confident there will be something for everyone on the channel now and the addition of monthly interviews is something I am really excited about too! If you have suggestions, definitely let me know.
I have teamed up with a local photographer and videography to host a brand new video podcast and the first few episodes are now live! Check out my channel update + the first episode below to get all the info.
If you have a question, or something you feel Sam and I as content creators could offer advice or share our thoughts on please reach out! We would love to involve others on this podcast and help offer info to as many people as possible. Don’t be shy, email or Dm us with your questions.
Now let's get into my interview with the awesome Calin Jones!
Hey Calin! Thanks for joining us here at Love Lucy. Can you give us the who, what, and where of Calin Jones, please?
Hey Lucy! Thanks so much for having me. I’m Calin Jones. I live on the Gold Coast, Australia, and I’m a photographer.
How do you describe your style?
My style! Yikes, umm, haha. I do get told a fair amount that my style is grungy, and I do like that; it’s definitely grown to that as I feel my style used to be very clean and simple.
Talk to us about your home dev set up!? Do you have much space, and how simple do you keep it?
So my home setup is quite simple; it takes up just one work bench in the laundry that has my enlarger and all my chemical mixing jugs. I also have a desk space in the lounge for my scanner, film, and chemical fridge. Basically, I have a dark bag in which I load the film by feel into the development tank and go from there with the chemicals. I then hang the film to dry all around the bathroom and wherever I can annoy Charlotte the most, haha, and finally scan and edit.
Your partner Charlotte seems to be a popular subject for you when shooting (reminds me of another couple I know) would you say she is your muse or source of creative inspiration?
Haha, yes, you guys are way too similar to us; it’s so great! Charlotte is just too damn cool not to shoot! I definitely annoy her way too much by putting cameras in her face, haha! I’m constantly saying, “Omg, that light! Wait there, I’m getting a camera”, haha, she’s so great about it though. She knows how much I love it!
You guys work together on various photography and video projects too! How is that process and do you both bring different things to the table in terms of skills?
Yeah! I love working with Charlotte on photo and video projects; we are just so in sync with each other that it flows so well. We literally don’t even have to speak during a shoot; we know exactly what each other wants. Charlotte is so honest about my work, and so am I about hers; if we aren’t feeling something, we tell each other how it is, and I feel that honesty is so important when it comes to producing the best quality work you can. We both try to edit together when we can, but usually, we both prefer to edit alone and then present our work once it is complete.
I see you have a couple of Nikinos cameras there, Calin? Are you mostly shooting film these days or is digi still a part of your set up?
Ahhh, my Nikonos’s!!! I love these cameras more than any other camera I own. I have a few! Haha, last year I brought three from Japan! I use two, and I have kept one in mint condition that I can pass on to my son one day. I can’t remember the last time I took my digital setup into the water. I find it way too easy shooting digital in the water; being able to hold the shutter button makes the whole process boring for me. I love shooting film in the ocean, as I’m so limited in how many frames I can shoot, and the anticipation of seeing the photos after I develop them by hand makes the shooting experience a lot more enjoyable for me these days.
What are your goals and future plans within photography and video? I would love to know what you dream about doing next!
My goals for the future are to just keep shooting and documenting life. I have plans to hopefully host an exhibition later this year or early next year. All images taken on the Nikonos and prints developed in my darkroom by me as one-off prints. That’s something I’m really excited to be working on.
Finally, where can people come see your work, say hi and follow along?
Come say hi on my Instagram @calinjones_
Thanks so much, Lucy! I really enjoyed these questions and absolutely love seeing the content you put out there! It’s great what you are doing for the film community. Yew!
Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us Calin and thank you to you for reading and being a part of the Lucy Lumen community.
See you next week :)
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haha twins!
Love the surfers silhouettes