In the spring of 2014, Oklahoma City was electric with playoff energy. The Thunder were deep in the postseason, and downtown was packed with fans celebrating outside the arena before the game. Sensing an opportunity to capture the excitement in a different way, I grabbed my Toyo VX-125 4×5 large format camera and my Pentax 6×7, loaded up with Kodak TMAX 100 black and white film, and headed downtown.
Shooting film, especially large format, in a fast-paced environment like that is a challenge—but one I love. The Toyo VX-125 is the definition of slow photography. Every shot requires careful composition, precise focus, and a moment of patience to get everything just right before clicking the shutter. It’s not the kind of camera you can shoot quickly, but that’s exactly what makes it special. The people I photographed—decked out in Thunder gear, waving rally towels, and buzzing with excitement—were often curious about the big metal camera on my tripod. The process of shooting 4×5 film is as much an interaction as it is an image-making tool.
The Pentax 6×7, on the other hand, is my go-to for medium format film work, and it was the perfect complement that night. Shooting it wide open with a long lens gave the images a dreamy, almost cinematic look, isolating subjects against the busy backdrop of the playoff crowd. That creamy depth of field on 6×7 film is something digital still struggles to replicate.
While I shoot digital most of the time for the speed and flexibility it offers, I always come back to film when I want to slow down and be more intentional with my photography. There’s something deeply satisfying about the entire process—loading the film, metering the light, carefully composing each frame, and later, developing the negatives by hand. Film forces me to think differently, and the results have a timeless quality that I never tire of.
That night in downtown OKC, surrounded by roaring Thunder fans, film felt like the perfect way to document the moment. Even now, looking at those negatives, I can feel the energy of that playoff run all over again.
