Frugal Film Project – Dan Marinelli

Signs are one of my favorite subjects. If I picture is worth 1000 words, how many words is a picture of a sign worth? Signs can tell stories, they can tell time, they can tell you where you are going, they can change your behaviors, they can serve as boundaries both real and imaginary. Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs, breaking up the scenery, breaking my mind. Signs are one of the first things I look for whenever I am out shooting, so I was pumped on this month’s theme…

One of my favorite aspects of shooting medium format film is the fact that there are only 12 shots per roll. While this may be a drawback to some, it allows me to focus on only taking the shots that really matter. That being said one of my goals when starting out on The Frugal Film Project with my Zeiss 120 folder was to make a contact sheet of all 12 shots on the theme. For the first two months, I failed at this and found myself taking shots that were more or less off-topic. But given my interest in the theme and having had 2 months to figure out the nuances of the camera, I was confident I could pull it off. I took pictures of signs around town, signs out in the desert and a few more signs around town. I even managed to grab a few shots of some of the COVID 19 signage that began emerging as the month wore on.

To make a contact sheet, I put the images into Lucidpress (which I use to do all my graphical layouts) and then assembled them into a mock contact sheet. Here it is presented in order from the beginning of my end of the month I hope you enjoy. I will feature some of the individual images on my regular Instagram account as well.

Thanks and have a great day

PS – I’m really looking forward to shooting some color film now that Spring has sprung and Lomo 800 is one of my favorites.