When we think of a typical “travel photographer,” we tend to envision National Geographic shooters encumbered with piles of gear and a single photographic objective that they pursue with neurotic devotion. Bill Weir, however, uses travel photography differently. It’s a part of the multi-discipline creative process involved with creating his CNN TV show, The Wonder List. It’s a combination of TV, social media, and online photo galleries all designed to tell a single story. We asked Bill for some insight about how he approaches his photography and some tips for traveling the world with cameras in tow. (Season 2 of The Wonder List premieres Sunday, March 20th at 10 PM on CNN.)

You have been doing broadcast news for decades, but how long have you been interested in photography? My dad gave me my first camera when I was twelve, but in those days I could afford maybe two rolls of film a year [laughs]. I wasn’t getting the reps until everything moved to digital. I’ve always really loved photography, but there has never really been a place for it in my previous broadcasting gigs. Part of the concept of this show was really to expand the concept a little bit, beyond the actual show, using other creative chaels.

Has your photography evolved since it became such a big part of your job? A lot of it just came by soaking up as much knowledge as I could from Philip Bloom, my director. When I first got the show, I knew I wanted to find the best DP I could. I was one of his fanboys. I loved his site and his tips. I called him and told him about the show and a couple days later we were having gin and tonics together. He knows more about camera gear than I’ll ever know, so just to lea at his elbow along the way is a real gift.

Ultimately, it’s just like anything else in life, it’s the reps. Every trip out, I take exponentially more photographs. Now, I’m averaging two to three thousand frames per trip. You almost can’t help but get better each time when you’re getting that much practice.

**What kind of kit do you typically bring with you on an expedition? ** I use Canon gear. This season I’m shooting with an EOS 5DS R. I was on a 5D Mark III last year and now I’ve switched over to the new camera. I like to be able to carry everything on, so I typically bring as much gear as I can possibly fit in one bag. I usually bring five lenses: A wide-angle, a 50mm prime, a macro, a telephoto, and a standard zoom like the 24–105mm.

Many travel photographers I talk to like to choose the smallest possible camera they can, but on the show, I see you with a giant zoom lens slung around your neck. Do you find that the flexibility is worth the added bulk? I try to mix it up as often as I can. I’m not covering breaking news and I can take my time in a spot. I’ll try a shot with three different lenses. Some of our episodes are about people. I went to Iceland and it wasn’t just about the landscape, but I wanted to get stories about people. Namibia and Botswana was all animals while on safari. I find myself going toward the big lenses.

You don’t get sick of carrying all that stuff? I found this amazing lens bag made by Hold Fast. It’s a suspender-type leather strap that lets the bag rest out of the way. I keep my main camera on a sling so it’s always right there and three lenses behind me.

How do you decide on the locations for your shows? And once you have picked a place, what is your research process like? It usually starts with the germ of an idea. For example, I wanted to tackle the ethics of big game hunting, so we picked a country based on that storyline. Botswana has baed hunting altogether in its public places while right next door they use hunters as part of their sustainable-use conservation. I do as much research as I possibly can on all the angles of that particular story.

Then we find the characters. We find the people in these places that help take us through these global issues. We’re doing stories about population growth, climate change, and species extinction; these are big existential questions, but they only work if we see them through the eyes of a single character.

With all that plaing, are you still discovering new angles when you arrive or are you sticking to a rigid structure and schedule? The joy of my job isn’t anything like I’ve ever experienced covering news at the network level; they give me time and space to explore. I go to these places for two weeks. There are always characters and story angles that we discover after we arrive. There’s no way we could know until we get there.

The Wonder List TV show is at the center of it all, though. My priority has to be the show. If I’m going to sit down and interview the president of Iceland or the king of Bhutan I know what I’m talking about. We have a vision for how the TV show should go visually, but it’s all the spaces in between where I have my camera at my hip and I’m looking to capture the experience as it unfolds. That becomes something that works on a different level than the show. It’s great for an online experience and for social media. It really adds to the experience of the show.

Are you shooting video for the show as well as the photos? We have a very tight, small crew. Everybody has to do everything. There are times when I’m actually shooting video that’s going to end up in the show, or I’m setting up my own time-lapse shot to show a scene. A lot of times, if we’re in a location and I know my guys are focused on getting B-roll and I can wander, I’ll go out and shoot as much for myself as I am for CNN.

**It sounds like you’re really committed to using all types of imaging tools that are available to you, which is something I personally wish more people would embrace rather than getting locked into one discipline. ** We want to use every possible tool. We use drones whenever we can, but it’s not always allowed. Those creative constraints really make you think about how to make something sing in other ways. We use super-slow-mo and hyper-lapse. We’re trying to create timeless love letters to the planet as it exists today. After doing years of sort of disposable breaking news television, I feel like I’m creating something that’s much more permanent that people can look at years from now and it will still hold up.

Do you think this multimedia approach is going to become more prevalent in the TV world? I would hope so. The thing that I try to impart to the photojoualists in the news business that I have worked with forever is giving themselves the creative permission to try these things. In certain genres, you get stuck in ruts. People think “Oh, that’s for documentarians to play with,” or “A Steadicam is a feature filmmaker’s tool—why would we ever use something like that?” I’d love to break that. The problem is that a lot of times in newsrooms, the photojoualists aren’t given the time to just go lens-hack and come up with their own signature visual style. Usually it’s about crashing it and getting it online or on the air as fast as you can. Quality be damned.

Do you think this kind of things gives amateurs and enthusiasts more opportunities to try something like this? We live in a golden age of image gathering right now. You can buy equipment off the shelf that was unattainable when I was a kid. When you see Kickstarter videos that have higher production values than the stuff on TV, you know you’ve reached a point where the audience isn’t going to settle for sloppy B-roll. Every year our eyes become trained to expect even more.

None of it matters unless you have a compelling story. Visually speaking, there has never been a more exciting time to live in this world.

I have spent a lot of time on this site defending Instagram as a cool platform that allows photographers and viewers to share and discover work that may otherwise go unseen. Today, however, I’m a little hurt. Instagram has aounced that they’re abandoning the chronological steam for displaying your Instagram feed and will switch over to a mysterious algorithm that will decide what photos should live at the top and bottom of your feed.

The official pitch from Instagram is as follows:

“You may be surprised to lea that people miss on average 70 percent of their feeds. As Instagram has grown, it’s become harder to keep up with all the photos and videos people share. This means you often don’t see the posts you might care about the most.”

So, the official party line is that you’re missing out on all this great stuff because of the way the photos scroll and this algorithm is here to save you from yourself. In reality, it’s hard not to jump to the conclusion that this is ultimately a much better opportunity for Facebook (who own Instagram) to make money by compelling brands and even individuals to pay in order to get their images back up top.

Let me be clear that I don’t begrudge a company for trying to make money on a product that many people really enjoy. But, this is a fundamental change in something that has become really important to some people, not only on a personal level, but a professional one as well. And while some changes have been for the better, I'm less optimistic about this one.

One of the really awesome things about Instagram was how much like Twitter it was when you’re consuming it. If there’s an event going on, you get a real-time view of it from a bunch of different people. I don’t care about the Oscars, but I enjoyed seeing pictures from a bunch of Oscars parties to which I wasn’t invited. And when a big news event happens, there’s a certain collective reaction that we have all grown accustomed to. Twitter and Instagram shine in those situations specifically because of their chronological display. Now, not so much.

The Twitter Mobile app actually does a pretty good job splitting the difference on the presentation issue by giving users a full chronological stream, but also carving out a space down the page to show you things that happened “while you were away.” It’s just a small segment of tweets from people you typically interact with so you don’t miss them. Smart and it doesn’t fundamentally change the overall Twitter experience.

The number of words I have already written about this seems kind of silly, but this kind of thing really can make a difference in real world scenarios. Early on, Instagram decided to help push the National Geographic brands along on the platform (a natural fit, really) and that has tued into a seriously enormous new audience for them that has had tangible effects on their business. Many photographers rely on large Instagram followings (or even smaller, more focused followings) for marketing purposes. Now, they have to worry if their Instagram engagement is going to suffer the same fate as the crushed reach numbers doled out by the confounded Facebook algorithm.

I’m still going to use Instagram and I’m sure I’ll get used to it after a while, but I’m genuinely bummed in anticipation of this change. Here’s hoping they exceed expectations and we’re all awash in photos we actually want to see instead of random posts from our weird ants and vaguely insulting ads for jeans with stretchy waistbands.

Shane Wheel captured this breathtaking scene while exploring the Vatnajökull Glacier National Park in Iceland. The park, home to one of the largest ice caps in Europe, was the perfect setting to create an ice-cave self-portrait. “I wanted to capture the color, texture, and size of the cave in a way that created a sense of space and perspective,” Wheel explains. To truly give a sense of scale, he needed to place a figure in the scene, and with no other options he knew the figure would have to be he. By marking the spot where he would stand, the photographer was able to set the exposure and a self-timer on his tripod-mounted camera to capture the shot. This was the first time Wheel had photographed himself in a landscape and it proved to be a very successful technique.

TECH INFO: Nikon D810 with 20mm f/1.8 IF-ED AF-S Nikkor lens on Manfrotto 190 tripod; 1/8 sec at f/11, ISO 100. Edited in Phase One Capture One Pro 8.

If you’re shooting film already, you know that you need to develop a tolerance for uncertainty.

Film can be fogged, or wrecked in development. Your shutter might drag or the mirror not swing up correctly. Without an LCD screen built into the camera, you have no way to check whether you got the shot—you’ve put your faith in your camera, your skill, and your film.

It’s like doing a trust fall every time you release the shutter.

Using expired film compounds the uncertainty, like jumping from an airplane with a parachute you just bought at an army surplus store. You don’t know who packed it or what it may have suffered in all the years since then. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad—there is a lot less to go wrong with a roll of film than a parachute, and a lot less riding on it—hopefully.

What do you mean by ‘expired?’

Short of being run over by a truck, a flash card is going to work more or less the same no matter when it was made. Not so with film, which uses chemical reactions instead of semiconductors to capture images.

To make film, a gelatin paste full of silver salts is smeared onto strips of thin plastic and wound into rolls—pretty much. What’s important here is understanding that the silver halides are modified by a chemical reaction when exposed to light or other forms of radiation.

Film has expiration dates for several reasons. Over time, the sensitivity of the silver halides can begin to degrade. Cosmic and background radiation (as well as fallout from nuclear testing) may also cause the unmodified silver salts to be modified in random—and usually somewhat even—distribution, which reduces the number of available unexposed crystals and introduces noise. This is called fogging.

In color films, there are multiple layers of silver halides interspersed with dyes and color masks. Dyes break down more quickly than the silver halides, and the multiple layers may degrade at different rates.

Most films have an expiration date about two years after their month of manufacture. It’s more of a “best if used by” date. Some films even label it with something like, “for best results, develop by.” The manufacturers are protecting themselves from complaints about the ever-increasing unpredictability of film as it ages, but there’s no reason you can’t still use film well past that date.

Where do you get expired film?

You can get it all over the place. There might even be some in your parents’ or grandparents’ attic.

Independent drug stores, gas stations, and convenience stores might still have unsold film that’s been on the shelf for decades. Thrift stores sometimes have old stock that was donated by warehouses or retail chains. Estate and garage sales might have the film from the top of someone’s closet. Antique stores can be a good source of extremely old film, but the prices may be unreasonable.

Any place that deals in film cameras likely has a supply of expired film that came in with lots of equipment. Craigslist and other online classified sites may occasionally tu up small quantities. The Film Photography Project sells some expired film stocks, too, which have been tested and will include the recommended speed rating in the description.

You can even look on eBay if you’re brave enough, although it’s usually among the most expensive options.

Does it matter how it was stored?

It really, really does.

Film stored cold—especially frozen—tends to degrade much more slowly. This is especially useful with color films for keeping the dyes from deteriorating. Frozen film is often just as good, or almost as good, as fresh film. Heat is film’s worst enemy and can cause increased grain, color shifts, and in some cases, brittleness.

“You can take a new roll of Fujicolor out in July, leave it in the car for one day, and it’s just awful,” says Steve Frank of Old School Photo Lab.

Fogging from background radiation isn’t a big problem, usually, until a film is more than a few decades old. If you find something 50 or 75 years old that was stored in a lead container or bomb shelter, it may well be considerably less fogged than if it had spent those decades in an attic or closet. Anything that was on the shelf before the spate of nuclear testing in the 1950s and early 1960s may be considerably more fogged than film just a little bit younger.

Because everyone’s film is stored differently, even the same film stock with the same or similar expiration can behave in a wide variety of ways. One photographer’s results with a certain emulsion can be stuing while the another’s are unrecognizable.

What kind of effects will you get?

The primary effects of age on photographic film are decreased sensitivity and contrast, increased grain, and color shifts.

Color shifts may be subtle or extreme, depending on both the age and the storage conditions. Different emulsions may shift different ways, some moving toward the blue and others toward the magenta or the yellow, because different dyes age differently.

“All those layers just don’t want to grow old colorfully, and people frequently just don’t know how it was stored,” says Frank. “Pushing might help some, but I don’t think it’s a savior.”

In many cases, with or without color shifts, saturation will be reduced. This can range from slightly muted colors to extreme desaturation bordering on selective color.

With all films you can get a variety of uneveess—mottling or spotting, streaking, inconsistent grain, and so on.

With paper-backed roll film, occasionally backing paper marks can soak into the emulsion where they come in contact, affecting how the film exposes and causing localized color shifts or increased grain. Basically, you can read the markings in the finished images.

Any other special considerations?

The older you go in terms of expiration date, the more factors you need to consider. In addition to expecting fogging, you’ll want to be aware of the required developing processes.

It’s no longer possible to develop Kodachrome (K-12 or K-14 processes), and may not be possible to develop color films designed for other defunct methods, such as the C-22 negative and the E-2, E-3, or E-4 transparency processes, since the chemicals no longer exist. It may be possible to recover images from some of these by developing them as black-and white or consulting experts like Film Rescue Inteational or Rapid Photo.

Pay attention to the film speed—slower films tend to fog less. High speed films (ASA 800 and up) may age very rapidly and even be unusably fogged after only a few decades.

Some formats may be harder to develop at home, requiring vintage developing tanks, reels, and the like. The format may also affect the longevity.

“Old color rolls, wound tightly with paper backing, seem to suffer less,” advises Frank, adding that he suspects reduced oxidation is the reason.

Both film and backing paper can become brittle after 50 or more years. To avoid breaking them, you may want to use a camera with a smooth and simple film path (not too many sharp tus), and be gentle when advancing the film.

As with any film, let it come slowly up to room temperature if it’s been in the freezer or refrigerator before loading. Any age-related brittleness will only be compounded by the additional brittleness all films experience when they’re still cold.

Compensating for lost sensitivity

Film speed is just a measure of the sensitivity of the emulsion on the film: The faster the film, the fewer photons required to modify the silver salts and produce an image. To compensate for lost sensitivity, it is possible to simply rate the film slower. In setting your exposure, you can pretend the box says ASA 25 instead of ASA 100, for example.

The rule of thumb for color negative film is to rate it one stop slower for every decade since it expired, assuming you don’t know the storage conditions. Every expired roll is its own unique beast, so results may vary.

I usually round down from the 1-stop-per-decade standard, meaning that I would expose ASA 400 for that expired 35 years ago as ASA 50, which is three stops slower. If I knew it had been frozen all that time, I’d probably rate it down one stop to ASA 200. If it was stored in a fridge or other cool, dry place, I’d split the difference and rate it at ASA 100.

Black-and-white film holds up much better since it has only a single layer of silver halides, and no color dyes. I would rate it down one stop for every two decades, meaning all of the above is basically halved. Under 20 years old, I’d likely expose it only one-third of a stop over or at box speed (the manufacturer’s recommended speed) if I knew it had been stored cold or frozen.

Slide film has less latitude than negative film, generally speaking, so nailing exposure is even more important for fresh or expired film. While I have had good luck with expired slide film, most avoid it.

“The blacks go to nothing. You can push it, you can pull it—it’s just bad,” says Frank. “I would steer anyone away from it if its origins and storage are unknown.”

Trial and error can help, though. If you can get multiple rolls of the same expired film, (same source, similar age, likely to have been stored together in the same conditions) you can experiment with one roll and refine.

Bracketing your shots on the first roll may give you a better chance of getting pleasing results on subsequent rolls. For expired film, bracket around the speed you plan to rate the film, or use normal, one stop over, and two stops over (instead of one over and one under).

When in doubt, overexpose. Negative films can handle quite a lot, and slide film generally tolerates overexposure better than underexposure.

Can I compensate with developing?

You sure can! Instead of overexposing the film, you can push it in development, and especially with extremely old film, you may want to use a combination of overexposure and push processing. Extremely old film is likely slow to begin with—ASA 50, 25, or even lower—so rating it down more than a couple stops might be difficult depending on your meter or camera.

Note that pushing can exacerbate grain and the effects of heavy fogging. Using developers with strong restrainers, such as HC-110 or Microphen, can help reduce the effects of fogging. Microphen may also be able to compensate for a half-stop or more of lost sensitivity.

The active ingredient in Kodak’s discontinued Anti-Fog No. 1 was benzotriozole, and if you can get your hands on some from a lab chemical supplier, you can mix a 0.2 percent solution and add 10–15 milliliters per liter to your developer to boost its restraining characteristics.

Some photographers swear by Diafine for very old films. Diafine is a two-part, self-arresting developer that will protect highlights while continuing to act on shadow detail. The effect is similar to that of stand developing in very dilute developer, but faster. Both techniques may increase grain and decrease contrast.

Presoaking your film a minute or three may also help developer penetrate the emulsion more quickly and evenly. You may also want to do a clip test on a thin strip cut from the end of the film.

All of the above applies to black-and-white film or to developing color as black-and-white. For C-41 or E-6 films, you can ask a lab to push process, though most labs will only push by one or two stops. At home, consult your kit’s guide for push processing.

Lastly, cross-processing (developing color slide film as color negative and vice versa) may be an option. Color shifts are guaranteed (even with fresh film), but cross-processing can add contrast, particularly to expired slide film.

Why shoot expired film?

There are two main reasons for using expired film: economy and enigma.

Expired film, especially things that aren’t particularly old or unusual, can be dirt cheap. Lots of consumer and even professional color negative film that’s been well-stored and expired just a few years ago can be had for between 50 percent and 10 percent of the price of comparable fresh films, and still produce excellent results.

Older films, particularly consumer films from the 1980s and 1990s, can be found for $1 (US) per roll or even less. That’s where enigma comes into play.

For many photographers, using film of unknown provenance offers an unpredictability full of fun surprises. You may even get a variety of different effects on a single roll.

What’s the best expired film?

Whatever you can find!

There’s really no right answer here. Ask other photographers, or Google for hours, and you’ll find adherents to every emulsion, fresh or expired. Likely the most specific answer you’d get would be along the lines of “400 speed,” or “Kodak.”

Some classic emulsions, though, may fare better or offer more unique results than others. In general, the higher the silver content, the better— long-established brands like Kodak, Ilford, and Agfa are likely to degrade the most gracefully.

Many much-loved emulsions have been discontinued, such as Kodak Portra NC or VC, Panatomic-X, or Ektachrome E100VS, Fujifilm Professional 160 VPS or Reala 100, and Agfa Optima. Finding them expired is the only way to experience the unique qualities of these emulsions today.

Some films have been substantially the same for decades, and using old versions can give the same quality as fresh for a fraction of the price. This would include standbys like Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5. For example, both Old School Photo Lab and Film Rescue Inteational report that Kodak Verichrome Pan often produces very good results with little to no compensation, even when it’s 50 years old.

Tungsten films haven’t been made fresh in years (discounting motion picture films, which are now available, fresh, in 35mm cassettes, from CineStill and others). If you want to see what Portra 160T or Fujichrome T64 look like, you’ll have to find them expired.

Consumer films, such as Fuji Superia and Kodak Gold, may fare worse than professional films as they age. Grain, especially, can be very pronounced, and you may find you need to compensate by even more than the 1-stop-per-decade standard.

And in a nutshell?

The most important thing to remember with expired film is that you never know what you’re going to get.

“It’s a real crap shoot,” says Frank.

Be prepared for things to tu out mediocre (or worse) sometimes and you’ll never be disappointed—but a lot of the time they’ll tu out fine. Once in awhile you’ll even get something really interesting or artistic. Now go dig through those closets and get out there!

For more, check out Daniel J. Schneider's official website. If you're feeling inspired to shoot old film stocks, participate in this year's Expired Film Day happening on March 15, 2016. You can also keep up with Expired Film Day on Twitter.

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Printing has been on a serious upswing lately in the photographic community, and Canon is carrying on their momentum from the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 with a couple brand new, high-end printers for making fine art photo prints. The imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 (24-inch) and PRO-4000 (44-inc) both use 11 individual ink cartridges while the imagePROGRAF PRO-4000S (44-inch) and PRO-6000S (60-inch) use an eight ink system.

The 11-color printers use Canon’s Chroma Optimizer system, which is designed for maximum print fidelity and cutting down on undesirable effects like bronzing and scratching. It also increases the total color gamut of the prints. They also now promise more efficient print heads (which is always a good thing) and reduced clogging.

The PRO-4000S and the PRO-6000S allow for bing printing, but with eight cartridges, which makes them better suited for things like posters and signage. The 60-inch printer also comes standard with Canon's new Multifunction Roll System, which can automatically feed the correct material into the printer to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.

All of the new printers use Canon’s L-COA PRO processing engine to help chu through the rather large files required to feed printers of this size and quality. The experience is designed to be very similar to that of the advanced consumer-friendly PRO-1000.

The printer bodies are made from a single-piece metal frame that makes them more sturdy and, as Canon claims, cuts down on the amount of wiggle you get from the printer as the print head moves back and forth.

All the printers have a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, as well as a USB port so they can print right from a drive. They’re powered by Print Studio Pro, which plays nice with common image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

These are meant to be high-end printers for studio-grade prints, so they come with pro prices. The imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 will start at $2,995 (or $3,795 with the Multifunction Roll System), while the PRO-4000 will start at $5,995, tacking on an extra $1,000 for the Roll System. The imagePROGRAF PRO-4000S will cost $4,995, while the big daddy PRO-6000S will cost a cool $9,995.

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My pets are truly a part of my family, therefore, I completely understand when couples want to incorporate them into their wedding and/or engagement portraits. While they’re always cute, animals don’t always behave, so here are some tips for making the most of a couple’s pet portrait.

Preparing for the shoot:

The more plaing a couple does on their own and in collaboration with me before the day of the wedding or engagement shoot, the less stress on their big day. I recommend a trip to the groomer for their animals at least five days before being photographed to help eliminate the possibility of shedding. This also helps the animal’s coat appear shinier in the pictures.

Delegate a family member or friend to take a dog on a long walk or run the moing of the shoot to help bu off some excess energy and keep things calmer in front of the camera.

Stuing wedding attire isn’t just for the couple. There is no forgetting the fashion for your pet as well. I collaborate with my couples and suggest getting a matching leash and collar or bow tie that will pop in the photos. What is more adorable than a dog in bowtie or a fresh floral collar?

Because close to half my clients hold destination weddings, I help them find a trusted and reliable local dog sitter for the day of the wedding. This helps alleviate the worry of who is taking care of their beloved pet.

How do you typically plan on the ideal time for the pet to be brought into the process?

The first thing you should find out is whether pets will be staying for the entire wedding or if they will simply be making an appearance for the photos.

When a dog is part of the entire wedding, this allows me to include his or her unique perspective of the wedding day. He or she can literally be treated like a member of the wedding party.

If the animal will only share part of the special day, you will likely really only need about 15 minutes. It is important to coordinate a time of arrival and departure with the sitter, which will help alleviate the stress of having animals impatiently wait for their time to shine.

Bring treats

Treats are a fantastic way to keep animals’ attention when you need them looking into the camera. I prefer soft treats since hard, crunchy biscuits tend to crumble and make a mess. I always bring backup treats as well, but double check with the couple in case the animal has allergies.

Get the animal’s attention Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself. I have been known to bark, whine, howl, or make any other dog noise you could imagine to grab a dog’s attention! My dog impressions not only coax an inquisitive and expressive and adorable look, they also sometimes coax some good smiles and laughs out of the couple as well. [NOTE FROM MIRIAM: I bet the cats go nuts, too.]

For horse lovers

If you are fortunate enough to photograph a horse at a wedding, be prepared. Most horses love peppermint candy. Therefore, I always suggest a family friend or bridesmaid crinkle peppermint wrappers behind me, which provokes the horse to put their ears forward and give its full attention to the camera. There is also a horse sounds app that is helpful. But ask the client first, as some of the horse sounds may spook the horse. Communication is key, as the owner knows their horse extremely well.

Don’t stop shooting just because the pet isn’t cooperating From the moment the animal is within camera range, I start photographing. It typically takes some time for a dog to acclimate and calm down, but if you wait for this to happen, you may end up missing your opportunity altogether.

The unpredictability of animals makes for the best pictures. Those offbeat moments tend to be the most memorable. A serious couple with a barking dog can look great. A laughing couple with a barking dog can look even better.

Even the most uncooperative pet can produce incredible images, and those moments become the couple’s wedding-day story. When all else fails, more treats, moving locations, or taking a walk break usually seems do the trick.

Don’t get hung up on posing

Since animals aren’t often keen to sit still, posing can be a challenge. Your best bet is to make suggestions, but to keep shooting as things naturally unfold. Ask the couple to plant a big kiss on their furry friend—it may actually distract the pet long enough to get a good expression. This helps the couple and the animal to relax and it creates sweet and fuy reactions.

Engagement Sessions It’s not always logistically possible for a pet to attend the wedding itself, so you might consider including the pet in the engagement portrait session. Not only is this simpler, but it allows you to capture the couple and their pet in a much more natural setting. When you photograph a couple and their animal engaging in activities they love, it will provoke natural images that are lighthearted and meaningful.

For example, the couple probably has a favorite park where they always walk their dog, or a couple with a horse may enjoy riding on their favorite trail. You can create thoughtful, emotional images when the couple feels at ease.

A wardrobe change is another important plaing tip to suggest to the couple for the engagement shoot. I usually start with the couple by themselves in an outfit that is dressy. When we switch gears to include the pet, I’ll have them change into something more casual and conducive to rolling around on the ground. Really playing with your animal is the best way to show that close and everlasting coection.

Gear Choices

The 35mm lens is always my first choice to use for storytelling. This focal length allows me to get very close to a dog and capture the scene from his or her perspective. Getting right down in front of dogs is an option, as well as mirroring their points of view.

For tighter shots of the couple and their pet, a 50mm lens works well, while an 85mm and 70–200mm are both great for portraits. They give you some extra space to work with and may make you less noticeable to the animal.

I always shoot with two cameras, one with a long lens and one with a short lens. This way I’m prepared whether something happens right in front of me or far away. Try different perspectives; shoot high or get down really low. Use negative space or layering to tell the story.

**About Tracey Buyce Photography

Tracey Buyce is an award-wiing photographer and owner of Tracey Buyce Photography in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her work has been featured in numerous high profile local and national publications and local television networks. She is an active member of the Wedding Photojoualist Association, Equine Photographers Network, Fearless Photographers, WPPI and Professional Photographers of America. In addition to her wedding photography, Buyce volunteers with Photographers Without Borders, ACTT Naturally, and CANDi Inteational.**

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If you’re shooting film already, you know that you need to develop a tolerance for uncertainty.

Film can be fogged, or wrecked in development. Your shutter might drag or the mirror not swing up correctly. Without an LCD screen built into the camera, you have no way to check whether you got the shot—you’ve put your faith in your camera, your skill, and your film.

It’s like doing a trust fall every time you release the shutter.

Using expired film compounds the uncertainty, like jumping from an airplane with a parachute you just bought at an army surplus store. You don’t know who packed it or what it may have suffered in all the years since then. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad—there is a lot less to go wrong with a roll of film than a parachute, and a lot less riding on it—hopefully.

What do you mean by ‘expired?’

Short of being run over by a truck, a flash card is going to work more or less the same no matter when it was made. Not so with film, which uses chemical reactions instead of semiconductors to capture images.

To make film, a gelatin paste full of silver salts is smeared onto strips of thin plastic and wound into rolls—pretty much. What’s important here is understanding that the silver halides are modified by a chemical reaction when exposed to light or other forms of radiation.

Film has expiration dates for several reasons. Over time, the sensitivity of the silver halides can begin to degrade. Cosmic and background radiation (as well as fallout from nuclear testing) may also cause the unmodified silver salts to be modified in random—and usually somewhat even—distribution, which reduces the number of available unexposed crystals and introduces noise. This is called fogging.

In color films, there are multiple layers of silver halides interspersed with dyes and color masks. Dyes break down more quickly than the silver halides, and the multiple layers may degrade at different rates.

Most films have an expiration date about two years after their month of manufacture. It’s more of a “best if used by” date. Some films even label it with something like, “for best results, develop by.” The manufacturers are protecting themselves from complaints about the ever-increasing unpredictability of film as it ages, but there’s no reason you can’t still use film well past that date.

Where do you get expired film?

You can get it all over the place. There might even be some in your parents’ or grandparents’ attic.

Independent drug stores, gas stations, and convenience stores might still have unsold film that’s been on the shelf for decades. Thrift stores sometimes have old stock that was donated by warehouses or retail chains. Estate and garage sales might have the film from the top of someone’s closet. Antique stores can be a good source of extremely old film, but the prices may be unreasonable.

Any place that deals in film cameras likely has a supply of expired film that came in with lots of equipment. Craigslist and other online classified sites may occasionally tu up small quantities. The Film Photography Project sells some expired film stocks, too, which have been tested and will include the recommended speed rating in the description.

You can even look on eBay if you’re brave enough, although it’s usually among the most expensive options.

Does it matter how it was stored?

It really, really does.

Film stored cold—especially frozen—tends to degrade much more slowly. This is especially useful with color films for keeping the dyes from deteriorating. Frozen film is often just as good, or almost as good, as fresh film. Heat is film’s worst enemy and can cause increased grain, color shifts, and in some cases, brittleness.

“You can take a new roll of Fujicolor out in July, leave it in the car for one day, and it’s just awful,” says Steve Frank of Old School Photo Lab.

Fogging from background radiation isn’t a big problem, usually, until a film is more than a few decades old. If you find something 50 or 75 years old that was stored in a lead container or bomb shelter, it may well be considerably less fogged than if it had spent those decades in an attic or closet. Anything that was on the shelf before the spate of nuclear testing in the 1950s and early 1960s may be considerably more fogged than film just a little bit younger.

Because everyone’s film is stored differently, even the same film stock with the same or similar expiration can behave in a wide variety of ways. One photographer’s results with a certain emulsion can be stuing while the another’s are unrecognizable.

What kind of effects will you get?

The primary effects of age on photographic film are decreased sensitivity and contrast, increased grain, and color shifts.

Color shifts may be subtle or extreme, depending on both the age and the storage conditions. Different emulsions may shift different ways, some moving toward the blue and others toward the magenta or the yellow, because different dyes age differently.

“All those layers just don’t want to grow old colorfully, and people frequently just don’t know how it was stored,” says Frank. “Pushing might help some, but I don’t think it’s a savior.”

In many cases, with or without color shifts, saturation will be reduced. This can range from slightly muted colors to extreme desaturation bordering on selective color.

With all films you can get a variety of uneveess—mottling or spotting, streaking, inconsistent grain, and so on.

With paper-backed roll film, occasionally backing paper marks can soak into the emulsion where they come in contact, affecting how the film exposes and causing localized color shifts or increased grain. Basically, you can read the markings in the finished images.

Any other special considerations?

The older you go in terms of expiration date, the more factors you need to consider. In addition to expecting fogging, you’ll want to be aware of the required developing processes.

It’s no longer possible to develop Kodachrome (K-12 or K-14 processes), and may not be possible to develop color films designed for other defunct methods, such as the C-22 negative and the E-2, E-3, or E-4 transparency processes, since the chemicals no longer exist. It may be possible to recover images from some of these by developing them as black-and white or consulting experts like Film Rescue Inteational or Rapid Photo.

Pay attention to the film speed—slower films tend to fog less. High speed films (ASA 800 and up) may age very rapidly and even be unusably fogged after only a few decades.

Some formats may be harder to develop at home, requiring vintage developing tanks, reels, and the like. The format may also affect the longevity.

“Old color rolls, wound tightly with paper backing, seem to suffer less,” advises Frank, adding that he suspects reduced oxidation is the reason.

Both film and backing paper can become brittle after 50 or more years. To avoid breaking them, you may want to use a camera with a smooth and simple film path (not too many sharp tus), and be gentle when advancing the film.

As with any film, let it come slowly up to room temperature if it’s been in the freezer or refrigerator before loading. Any age-related brittleness will only be compounded by the additional brittleness all films experience when they’re still cold.

Compensating for lost sensitivity

Film speed is just a measure of the sensitivity of the emulsion on the film: The faster the film, the fewer photons required to modify the silver salts and produce an image. To compensate for lost sensitivity, it is possible to simply rate the film slower. In setting your exposure, you can pretend the box says ASA 25 instead of ASA 100, for example.

The rule of thumb for color negative film is to rate it one stop slower for every decade since it expired, assuming you don’t know the storage conditions. Every expired roll is its own unique beast, so results may vary.

I usually round down from the 1-stop-per-decade standard, meaning that I would expose ASA 400 for that expired 35 years ago as ASA 50, which is three stops slower. If I knew it had been frozen all that time, I’d probably rate it down one stop to ASA 200. If it was stored in a fridge or other cool, dry place, I’d split the difference and rate it at ASA 100.

Black-and-white film holds up much better since it has only a single layer of silver halides, and no color dyes. I would rate it down one stop for every two decades, meaning all of the above is basically halved. Under 20 years old, I’d likely expose it only one-third of a stop over or at box speed (the manufacturer’s recommended speed) if I knew it had been stored cold or frozen.

Slide film has less latitude than negative film, generally speaking, so nailing exposure is even more important for fresh or expired film. While I have had good luck with expired slide film, most avoid it.

“The blacks go to nothing. You can push it, you can pull it—it’s just bad,” says Frank. “I would steer anyone away from it if its origins and storage are unknown.”

Trial and error can help, though. If you can get multiple rolls of the same expired film, (same source, similar age, likely to have been stored together in the same conditions) you can experiment with one roll and refine.

Bracketing your shots on the first roll may give you a better chance of getting pleasing results on subsequent rolls. For expired film, bracket around the speed you plan to rate the film, or use normal, one stop over, and two stops over (instead of one over and one under).

When in doubt, overexpose. Negative films can handle quite a lot, and slide film generally tolerates overexposure better than underexposure.

Can I compensate with developing?

You sure can! Instead of overexposing the film, you can push it in development, and especially with extremely old film, you may want to use a combination of overexposure and push processing. Extremely old film is likely slow to begin with—ASA 50, 25, or even lower—so rating it down more than a couple stops might be difficult depending on your meter or camera.

Note that pushing can exacerbate grain and the effects of heavy fogging. Using developers with strong restrainers, such as HC-110 or Microphen, can help reduce the effects of fogging. Microphen may also be able to compensate for a half-stop or more of lost sensitivity.

The active ingredient in Kodak’s discontinued Anti-Fog No. 1 was benzotriozole, and if you can get your hands on some from a lab chemical supplier, you can mix a 0.2 percent solution and add 10–15 milliliters per liter to your developer to boost its restraining characteristics.

Some photographers swear by Diafine for very old films. Diafine is a two-part, self-arresting developer that will protect highlights while continuing to act on shadow detail. The effect is similar to that of stand developing in very dilute developer, but faster. Both techniques may increase grain and decrease contrast.

Presoaking your film a minute or three may also help developer penetrate the emulsion more quickly and evenly. You may also want to do a clip test on a thin strip cut from the end of the film.

All of the above applies to black-and-white film or to developing color as black-and-white. For C-41 or E-6 films, you can ask a lab to push process, though most labs will only push by one or two stops. At home, consult your kit’s guide for push processing.

Lastly, cross-processing (developing color slide film as color negative and vice versa) may be an option. Color shifts are guaranteed (even with fresh film), but cross-processing can add contrast, particularly to expired slide film.

Why shoot expired film?

There are two main reasons for using expired film: economy and enigma.

Expired film, especially things that aren’t particularly old or unusual, can be dirt cheap. Lots of consumer and even professional color negative film that’s been well-stored and expired just a few years ago can be had for between 50 percent and 10 percent of the price of comparable fresh films, and still produce excellent results.

Older films, particularly consumer films from the 1980s and 1990s, can be found for $1 (US) per roll or even less. That’s where enigma comes into play.

For many photographers, using film of unknown provenance offers an unpredictability full of fun surprises. You may even get a variety of different effects on a single roll.

What’s the best expired film?

Whatever you can find!

There’s really no right answer here. Ask other photographers, or Google for hours, and you’ll find adherents to every emulsion, fresh or expired. Likely the most specific answer you’d get would be along the lines of “400 speed,” or “Kodak.”

Some classic emulsions, though, may fare better or offer more unique results than others. In general, the higher the silver content, the better— long-established brands like Kodak, Ilford, and Agfa are likely to degrade the most gracefully.

Many much-loved emulsions have been discontinued, such as Kodak Portra NC or VC, Panatomic-X, or Ektachrome E100VS, Fujifilm Professional 160 VPS or Reala 100, and Agfa Optima. Finding them expired is the only way to experience the unique qualities of these emulsions today.

Some films have been substantially the same for decades, and using old versions can give the same quality as fresh for a fraction of the price. This would include standbys like Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5. For example, both Old School Photo Lab and Film Rescue Inteational report that Kodak Verichrome Pan often produces very good results with little to no compensation, even when it’s 50 years old.

Tungsten films haven’t been made fresh in years (discounting motion picture films, which are now available, fresh, in 35mm cassettes, from CineStill and others). If you want to see what Portra 160T or Fujichrome T64 look like, you’ll have to find them expired.

Consumer films, such as Fuji Superia and Kodak Gold, may fare worse than professional films as they age. Grain, especially, can be very pronounced, and you may find you need to compensate by even more than the 1-stop-per-decade standard.

And in a nutshell?

The most important thing to remember with expired film is that you never know what you’re going to get.

“It’s a real crap shoot,” says Frank.

Be prepared for things to tu out mediocre (or worse) sometimes and you’ll never be disappointed—but a lot of the time they’ll tu out fine. Once in awhile you’ll even get something really interesting or artistic. Now go dig through those closets and get out there!

For more, check out Daniel J. Schneider's official website. If you're feeling inspired to shoot old film stocks, participate in this year's Expired Film Day happening on March 15, 2016. You can also keep up with Expired Film Day on Twitter.

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A sacred land of abounding beauty, the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota are distinguished by a landscape of sharply eroded buttes, piacles and spires that define the region. Join the Mentor Series and Nikon professional photographers Michael Clark & Reed Hoffma in South Dakota to hone your photo skills at Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park sign up today!

At Badlands National Park, capture the vast prairies and grasslands amidst the extraordinary badland formations that were carved by wind and water over time. This region offers some of the most amazing sunsets anywhere in the United States. We will set up for a sunset shoot at Yellow Mounds Overlook, where the earthly shades of pink, yellow and sand create a dramatic horizon line.

Mount Rushmore and the Needles of the Black Hills provide a vivid contrast to the badlands with their impressive granite pillars and towers. Mount Rushmore’s 60-ft tall sculptures rise dramatically above the dense forests and pristine streams below, providing a view that few will experience in their lifetime.

At Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, where more than 600 wild mustangs run free, we will photograph the wild horses close-up against the backdrop of the Black Hills and the Cheyee River.

Custer State Park will provide additional opportunities for improving your photo and lighting skills, including the stuing reflections across the beautiful Sylvan Lake.

Join us in South Dakota for a photo workshop that is not-to-be-missed – sign up today!

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Pricing Details

Workshop Fee: $1,525 Includes snacks and water on the bus, transportation to each shooting location, park permit and entrance fees, in-field instruction, presentations, and digital review sessions.

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Lodging Details

Coming Soon

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