Darkroom 001 - The Newsletter is Back
Publishing my first photo book and a look at Rob Matthew's origin story
Hi friends!
Thank you for joining me for the first issue of Darkroom. There are quite a few of you here, a couple of O.G.s from Belgium (hi mum) and a whole bunch of you who I’ve been lucky enough to meet during these four years I’ve been living in Malta.
While we’re all slowly unwinding from the summer (heat) I used the last couple of weeks to dig deeper into photography by studying, organizing, and developing new projects - bringing back this newsletter being one of them.
However, the main project I am working on right now is my first photo book Island in the Sun. A little over a year ago I made this photograph of a nannu (Maltese grandpa) silently enjoying Xlendi on the island of Gozo, when I scanned this negative there was something that spoke to me. Something I didn’t figure out until a couple of months later… Much more on this next week!
Before we dive into what brought me to the idea of publishing a photo book I hope you’re all set and comfortable for this week’s conversation with Rob Matthew, the person who I turned to with my “okay so which film camera should I get” noob question back in September last year.
Beer infused chats and snaps with Rob Matthew
What is your name and where are you from?
My name is Rob and I’m from The Philippines. I’ve been living in Malta for around 6 years now if I’m not mistaken.
What are your thoughts on this Belgian beer I’ve chosen for us?
Before I try, look at my perfect pour though - but shoot, that’s good! I’m not a beer drinker per se, but I appreciate a good beer every now and then, I like it when it’s very malty.
If I would ask you to describe your photographic style in one word, what would it be?
Refined. It’s simple but it’s quite sharp on the personality of the subject. I believe there’s simple and bland; and then there is simple but it will make you feel something. You see it’s not just me making a photograph, it’s having a connection with the person and getting to know them before and during the time we spend together.
Could you tell us a little bit about your creative path as a photographer? How did you first get started, and how did your passion for photography originate?
It’s interesting because when I started doing camera work - I was a chef first - I was watching a lot of travel videos on YouTube with a friend and we wanted to be videographers and travel the world. We watched the Netflix show Chef’s Table and we wanted to be filmmakers at some point.
So then I bought a camera, the wrong camera, I bought the Canon 7D Mark II which I quickly realized wasn’t the ideal setup I had imagined for filmmaking. Then I thought to myself why not try photography, I was enjoying taking photos around Sliema and that’s how it all started for me.
How it developed, I started taking photos of people, portraits mostly and this put me in contact with a lot of different personalities which to me was almost the most interesting part. Having to coordinate outfits for portraits slowly made me shift to fashion photography, which has a lot of moving parts and a high skill ceiling which intrigued me. I took a deep dive into fashion photography and started noticing a lot of photographers using film, the inevitable “why are they using film, it seems like the most impractical thing ever?” question popped in my head. I think the colors of film are what lured me in, this is something you can never replicate with digital. I told myself that if I was going to shoot digital and then go in and edit the colors to get them to look like film, why not just shoot film and get that step out of the way.
I spent a lot of time shooting film and there was a lot of trial and error involved to get here, but I have always enjoyed the process.
You recently picked up a Leica M4 - how has this experience been for you?
That has been a big learning curve for me. The shooting experience and the mechanics blow my mind, but it’s not the right camera to bring with me for my fashion and portrait work. Because I picked this up during the pandemic I feel like I haven’t gotten the chance to use it for the reason I bought it, which was to travel around with it. On top of that, it’s my first rangefinder and that’s definitely an adjustment, but I find myself slowly getting used to it. I honestly don’t know how to feel about this camera yet, but I do look forward to growing with it.
I enjoyed seeing your work for the Tree of Life campaign by Luke Azzopardi. Did the safety measures change your approach on the day?
That was a great shoot. The measures weren’t much of a problem for me because I was shooting with the Mamiya RZ67 and a 110mm lens, so I was pretty far away from the model and I could instruct them normally as I would do.
If you would have to choose one lens and one camera for the rest of your life, what would that be?
I would have to go for the total in-between 35mm and 6x7 format and choose the Mamiya 645 with an 80mm lens. That can do everything; it would give me 15 shots per roll and it’s a great camera to work with. It will pull way more detail than a 35mm would and for some reason whenever I shoot 645 it comes out looking magical. My expectations when using the format are always low, but when I scan the negatives and see the results I’m always blown away.
I remember when I first started working with film I had my 645 and then at the time Willem Verbeeck had 100 subscribers and was working with a 645, so I felt like I was on the right track.
What’s your favourite part of the film process?
Definitely not the scanning, because that’s a love-hate relationship. I’d probably have to say buying your camera, in a way it defines what you do, a certain kind of camera will lead you down a certain path in photography. This because you will be dealing with certain limitations, the camera you bring to a shoot will dictate the pace and the way you move and compose a frame.
Researching and buying a film camera is like choosing your fighter - you have to catch them all.
Right now I’m looking at travel-friendly medium format cameras, so either the Mamiya 7 or the Makina 67. The Makina is German made and has a Nikon lens so you can’t really go wrong with that one, even the focusing with bellows is something I like. But then again the more moving parts in a camera the trickier it’ll get for repairs etc. which with film cameras is always something to keep in mind.
What's next for you?
If I have an opportunity abroad to further develop my skills then I would move, because art-wise I think Malta is still early in its development. Of course, I would prefer to watch the arts in Malta grow and get its recognition, and then I won’t mind sticking around to be part of that.
👉 see more of Rob’s work
Outtakes From Twitter
Thank you for making it to the end of this first issue of Darkroom, I hope you enjoyed it. See y’all next week.
Much love,
Lisse
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Darkroom is a publication by Lisse Wets.
Follow me at @lisse.wets