Places I Won't Forget

This collection of photographs was taken by PhotoLounge customer Cooper Reichwein. We always enjoy seeing the photos he posts to Instagram so we asked him if he had a collection of photos that he was working on or had just taken. Lucky enough, he had just got back from a recent trip and shared with us this series of photos. Scroll down to see all of the images and read our interview with him. 

Q: What do you enjoy most about photography?
A: My favorite part of photography is taking photos and wondering what will be captured. Film has a lot of mystery to it in my opinion, and I love how simple the idea of shooting film is. You can take any type of photo on film, and no matter what it is, it has an aura to it that can’t be matched with digital photography. I view taking photographs as a puzzle, and I try to capture what is in front of me, or turn the photo in my head into reality. Being limited by the number of shots on a roll of film makes me think if the picture I am going to take is a good photo. 

Q: What type of camera do you take pictures with? And what type of film do you use? 
A:  I use a Nikon N2000 Camera and usually I use Kodak Ultramax 400. 

Q: Which is your favorite photo and why? 
A:  My favorite photo is the wave breaking on the Great Head in Acadia National Park. The rocks are so much bigger looking in person, and the waves are menacing. I was just attempting to capture the enormity of the rocks, and saw this area where waves were really crashing. I was able to capture the action of the wave with the dense forest, and I really just enjoy the contrast in energies and ecosystems in this photo. 

Q: Many of your photos are ones of a natural landscape. Is landscape photography the type of photography that you like to shoot most? If not, what is? 
A: When it comes to film I really enjoy taking pictures of not just landscapes but other parts of nature. However, my favorite subject to shoot is snowboarding which I almost exclusively do on my digital camera. 

Q: There are a couple of photos within this collection that are black and white. What are some qualities that you like in either color or black and white film? 
A: I have not had great luck with black and white film. Although, something I really love about it is how much more I focus on lighting and how it affects my subject than any other time I am shooting. I love using color film though because of how the colors look and feel. Color, to me, is also much more versatile to use than black and white film. I just feel like I have more freedom when using color. 

Q: Now that you are back from your trip, do you have any goals or ideas for future photos you take? 
A: I want to continue to travel around the United States and the world and be able to have film photos of each trip. I want to be able to put together a larger collection when I get older with at least one photo from each trip I have gone on. I am not sure if it will be a simple scrapbook or a lifetime photo journal essay. Regardless, I think it will be fun to look back at the shoots I thought were important and study my photographs as I get older and more experienced.