Ryland Bouchard: Poetry of the Natural World on 16 mm Film

To work with nature means to fully immerse yourself in the elements – not only by photographing out in the field but also by letting the love for the natural world completely absorb you. Through this bond, artwork can be elevated and truly speak to the heart. The work of Ryland Bouchard does just that and we are pleased to have the chance to speak with him.

Ryland, welcome to Lomography Magazine. Tell us a bit about yourself and your background with photography.

At a young age I found my grandfather’s old SLR camera and began taking photos of plants and flowers. Although I studied photography briefly in school it was just a hobby. After college my main focus was music and I didn’t get back into photography until 2008 when I filmed a collection of Super 8 music videos for an album titled “Seeds”. The beautiful quality of Ektachrome film on Super 8 brought me back to analogue photography. I continued to film on Super 8 until Ektachrome was discontinued by Kodak in 2012, and started up again with Super 8 and 16 mm a few years ago when it was reintroduced.

The last few years of 16 mm filming has been an experimental phase before I start work on a full-length nature film through which I hope to promote sustainability, environmentalism, and compassion for the natural world. When I was 10 years old I watched a nature documentary that showed animals in their natural habitat hunted and killed. I was so moved by this footage that I no longer wanted to consume meat and became a vegetarian (now vegan). When properly executed cinema can be a powerful and effective tool to promote positive change.

Your main subject is nature but not the classical landscape images. Your work is mostly macro immersion in the natural world, an intimate close up of a scene. What's the most important element for you when composing an image?

When filming nature you are a subject of nature. By this I mean, you cannot control the light or any other aspect of the composition. You have to be patient for filming at the ideal moment, be open to your environment, and act quickly and instinctively when the conditions are just right. In these moments I try to capture a variety of images that can either tell a story or capture details of a subject.

For example, if I film a landscape I will try to look at the plants, insects, or wildlife that inhabit the landscape. If you only focus on the overall image it’s very difficult for your mind to connect with a subject in a meaningful way. Small details connect us much more than a wide view of the world.

Music plays a big part in your work. What is the relationship between your images and sound?

Although I have used music in the past, this year I have been more focused on using field recordings as a way to transform images. Music has a way of dominating an image and evoking an internal emotional response, whereas field recordings transport you into the image and outside of yourself.

Can you describe your creative process? What comes first, images or sound?

The subject comes first. An isolated image or sound by itself is generally only compelling in relation to a very specific subject. A photo or sound recording may have meaning to you, but will mean nothing to someone else. The beauty of cinema is that you can take these isolated images and sounds, and combine them into something universal. The challenge with non-narrative work is that there is no added dialog to provide meaning or context - your only tools for expression are the way a scene is filmed and then edited together with sound.

For example, imagine a tiny caterpillar trying to cross a field of tall grass. Filming this caterpillar from the ground level and filtering out certain audio frequencies emphasizes the change in perspective from that of a human to that of a caterpillar on a difficult path. Filmed from ground level the grass appears very tall and the leaves gigantic. If instead you film this caterpillar from above with full frequency audio it would represent the perspective of a human looking down at this caterpillar crawling across a field. From above the grass and leaves appear flat and easy to navigate. As humans we have a tendency to view time and space through our own perspective and I think it’s helpful when documenting nature to consider other viewpoints.

What are the challenges of filming in analogue when dealing with delicate subjects such as insects?

Filming small and delicate subjects on a bulky cinema camera in nature is very difficult. In addition to requiring professional equipment you need to be precise and work almost perfectly to obtain satisfactory results. The depth of field using a medium telephoto lens in macro is often only a fraction of an inch. An insect may be in a particular location for just a few seconds so you need to be able to position the camera, focus, calculate and set the exposure (including adjustments for macro) very quickly and hope the subject is still in the frame. Any camera movements that aren’t perfect, including vibrations from the camera motor or shakiness due to bad registration (or environmental factors like wind) will be amplified in macro or telephoto and ruin your footage.

With still photography you can increase the shutter speed to compensate for environmental factors like wind, but with a cinema camera you are stuck with a shutter speed that corresponds with your frame rate. Additionally, with a lens stopped down on a reflex camera, like a Bolex H16, it may be difficult to see a small subject clearly that is being filmed once the lens is stopped down as the viewfinder only receives a fraction of the light that comes through the lens. It’s helpful to study subjects you intend to film, prior to filming, so that you can try to anticipate their movements.

How long does it usually take to film on location, and for a project to be complete?

For the short films I’ve published so far they are normally filmed in a span of one or two days. Film footage is the most cohesive if it is filmed during a short period with consistent weather and lighting conditions. Field recordings are completed either at the time of filming or at a separate time at the same location. Editing is simpler with film since there is not much color grading or post-production to worry about, so that is the simplest part of the process. Overall a short film can take a few days or a couple weeks to complete (not including the time necessary for processing/scanning).

What kind of equipment do you use?

Super 8/16 mm/35 mm cameras, prime/zoom lenses, digital light meter (with a cine scale), motorized slider, time lapse controllers, and a fluid head/tripod. For my work I use cameras which are anywhere from 40-70 years old so reliability can be a serious issue. Finding a camera that has been recently serviced and fully tested is the most important consideration if someone wants to experiment with shooting cinema film. The make or model of a professional camera plays very little part in the final image as long as it is functioning properly.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next projects about?

This year I’m working on several short documentaries as well as starting work on a full length non-narrative film. This film will be a combination of 16 mm and 35 mm footage and will focus on the understated beauty of nature. So many films about nature capture remote destinations that, while interesting, are not within reach of everyone and tend to glamorize the exotic.

I believe conservation and sustainability starts with appreciating the nature around us and not by longing for some far away destination. Completing this film will be a long process, but I’m looking forward to applying everything I’ve learned so far to hopefully contribute something positive and beautiful to the world.

You can follow Ryland Bouchard work here.

written by eparrino on 2023-07-23 #people #videos #analogue #super-8 #storytelling #video-making #16mm-filming #bolex-h16 #35mm-footage