In Focus – Shima Rastin Posted On 5th August 2020 To Magazine & In Focus

For interview number 18 in our Lockdown Sessions / In Focus series we are delighted to introduce you to Shima Rastin, a passionate film photographer from Iran.

BACKGROUND

SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU?

© Shima Rastin, Ilford FP4, Hasselblad 501C, Lavasan, Iran

If we have not confronted the Covid-19 pandemic, and this question was asked before this era, it was probably a hard choice to make. Although, now that I experienced such an idiosyncratic period, my favourite image belongs to the FP4+ roll which was shot on my last trip with my three best friends to capture the winter nature of north of Tehran before the Covid-19 outbreak.

Since I had to move to my hometown immediately after they declared the lockdown, I left my developing tools behind. Following, the negative was developed, scanned, and delivered to me by my analogue photographer friend Masoud Nasiri, whose work I admire a lot, during the very beginning of quarantine and made my week. The cropped view (as displayed below) reminded me of haunting landscape paintings of towns by my favourite painter, Egon Schiele. I remember crystal clear how I was stunned by the power and magic of analogue photography (even years after my first roll) and could not get enough of the details in the frame.

A Cropped View of my favourite shot © Shima Rastin, Ilford FP4, Hasselblad 501C

JUST IN CASE ANYONE DOESN’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU DO CAN YOU GIVE US THE OVERVIEW?

My name is Shima Rastgordani, known as Shima Rastin, and I’m an Iranian photographer based in Arak, Iran, where my passion for mountains originates from.

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD Pan400, Canon AE1, Arak, Iran

I’m a ten-year-analogue photographer, also a mechanical engineering M.sc graduate who tries to prove to the world around her that we have enough time to be (or at least try to be) great at two completely different fields. Believe me, as a woman living in a third-world country, the effort has to be quadrupled.

HOW AND WHY DID YOU GET STARTED SHOOTING FILM?

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD HP5, Rolleiflex 3.5F, Arak, Iran

“It happened when I held a camera at 5, 8 or 11 years old, in my teenage years, or in college and etc.”, No, not for me.

My parents always opposed all sorts of art. My father always looked at me with a reproachful look whenever he caught me holding a camera or even a photo book. However, in the end, I turned out to be that nerdy art fan that everybody was shocked held this much enthusiasm for paintings, cinema, photography alongside literature, and philosophy yet could still pursue a mechanical engineer career.

The path to this exquisite life experience initiated from my obsession to record as much of a moment as I could. As a way to postpone the Amnesia, photography seemed the right way. Analogue photography was the best approach to it due to its potential to make you patient and critical, and appreciate the value of details, colours, and composition all at once.

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST PHOTOGRAPHIC INSPIRATION TO DATE?

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD Pan100, Canon EOS5000, Tehran Central Railway Station, Iran

I would like to use the opportunity to respond to this question and discuss the fear that photographers face these days around here:

As Iranians, we are living in a very peculiar and severe era since we face an every-day raise of the dollar/Euro rate due to sanctions, and it is going to be even harder. We wake up to the news that spread thoughts about war daily. Regarding my field of interest, I don’t think that it is far from us to confront that day that film photography is an impossible job to do. As Giorgio Agamben asks, “What is a society that has no value other than survival?”. What could be done? I’m at the point that “Nothing, except what you are best at. Better today than tomorrow. Even by our last roll of film, we’d better at least get these days framed.

It might be strange but “Fear” in an “Unextensive Continuum”* has been my biggest drive and inspiration probably!

What Abbas  did with his photographs or what Maryam Ashrafi has been documenting in Rojava in our history are outstanding samples of how one’s work could be the collective memory of his/her nation. The unforgettable trembling that I felt after watching Salgado’s “The Salt of the Earth” is always a part of me. *[ Unextensive Continuum: a translation which comes from a Duleuzian concept related to “general potentiality” of a society which stands against the Platonic receptacle. General potentiality is the pure possibility, without restriction or limitation, given by the multiplicity of eternal objects. In an “Unextensive Continuum”, you are banned from all above mentioned rights. The term which I believe describes the situation we have in Iran properly.]

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHY TIP OR ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?

© Shima Rastin, Ilford FP4, Hasselblad 501C, Dizin,Tehran, Iran

During this journey, I was so lucky to get familiar and consult with great masters and technicians that all have got great tips. Although, three of them I appreciate the most:

My very first instructor in analogue photography, Hossein Khalili, used to repeat that “Your camera is your weapon, the time and place are your primitives, choose wisely then shoot.”

Another piece of prodigious advice belongs to Mr. Kianoosh Jafari, an expert, who has always got all the answers in our little film camera club. When we started to shoot in medium format, he always insisted that “Carrying a tripod is not an option, but an obligation.”

Last but not least is from my Spanish analogue photographer mentor, who is a friend of mine now, Fernando Pastor. He’s got excellent knowledge in chemicals, reversal developing, and is working on the limits of pushing process (100,000 iso is his ideal record!). He once told me that “Analogue is all about the trials. Don’t be afraid to test and fail”, which was daring advice for a naïve and conservative photographer that I was.

WHAT FILM PHOTOGRAPHY RELATED PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON (OR ARE IN THE PIPELINE)?

I am working on a project called “City Toys” for almost 4 years now that is dedicated to how the capital is devoured by skyscrapers and gigantic cranes. I hope that after Coronavirus days, I’ll be able to display the prints of this project on the walls of one of these sites in downtown Tehran.
Besides, I’ve had plenty of time to oversee what could be problematic for the elderly in quarantine and captured some storytelling photos on ILFORD Pan400 of my uncle’s life in Covid-19.

WHAT / WHERE IS YOUR NEXT SHOOT AND HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT FILM / KIT YOU WILL USE?

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD Pan100, Nikon FM2, Hawraman, Kurdistan, Iran

One thing I am sure about is that I won’t take any moments for granted after the lockdown is over, and I would seize every day to snap new frames. However, recently we are facing a shortage of analogue photography equipment, particularly films due to the sanctions. Consequently, I won’t have many choices except for my last box of HP5+ which I’ve been suggested by a dear analogue photographer, Naser Zomorodi, to push to 1600 and 3200. So, my next shoot hopefully would be some storytelling portraits of people who are leaving cities, and going back to countries and suburbs while trying to run small businesses (even re-planting their ancestor’s gardens), and survive in such hard economic situation. I will shoot the rolls with my Hasselblad 501C as soon as I could plan some trips (which I miss the most).

WHAT ARE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC GOALS GOING FORWARD? (CAN BE BUSINESS OR PERSONAL).

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD FP4, Canon AE1, Tafresh, Iran

I always have this urge to learn more and dream about becoming an international photographer, and having my own darkroom/studio/even film-photography school (eventually) somewhere “safe”. Apart from the Covid-19 situation, economic collapse and difficulties in Iran's political relationships with the world made every step an impossible act.
I proclaim that photography is universal enough that everybody could have their pick and be satisfied (photojournalism, sports, portrait, nude, documentary and etc.), but above all, it could be a great platform standing against poverty, war, climate change and convey the message of peace and alteration simply by being in that critical time and place and displaying/shouting (as Benjamin aforesaid) the phenomenon.

Currently I am working on my website and portfolio, and am trying to apply for a master’s course in fine art in Europe. Also, I am open to collaborations and assignments worldwide.

SHOUT OUTS

We all need a bit of inspiration and love so this is your chance to tell the community about yours – from the film photographers whose work inspires you, the labs you trust with your film, your ‘go to’ film photography stockists, your favourite community darkrooms or just anyone in the community who you feel deserves a special mention.

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD Pan100, Canon EOS5000, Arak, Iran

GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILM PHOTOGRAPHERS (NOT PHOTOGRAPHY HUBS) CURRENTLY ACTIVE ON IG OR TWITTER AND BRIEFLY TELL US WHY OTHERS SHOULD FOLLOW THEM.

Choosing only three is hard as I’ve a long list of great film photographers in my mind, but I'll try:

Cato Lein -  Who taught me that you should train your eyes for photography. When this phenomenon occurs even with a Holga, you can make an eternity of a scene.

Ebrahim Mirmalek - “The sun under the shade’ which is an excellent project on film, documenting the people, mostly children with Albinism in Africa, was the first collection that I saw from Ebrahim. The photos were so captivating that I could not take my eyes off them. Now imagine, years of similar great documentary projects internationally.

Pauline Alioua - A frame of her with her Rolleiflex in Yazd, Iran made me look for her. She is a very talented film photographer who knows perfectly how to extract details in shadows and make you notice, see carefully, discern, and have faith in Jean Baudrillard’s quote that “Photography is our exorcism.”

GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO YOUR FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHY YOUTUBE CHANNELS (APART FROM THE @ILFORDPHOTO ONE).

Sean Tucker, and About Photography for their vast technical information along with artistic views; Bazdid Podcast for a comprehensive review of photography history in Persian.

GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO YOUR FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHIC RETAILERS.

@Alvandicamera, for Mr. Alvandi’s (http://www.mr-alvandi.com/) exceptional talent in building large format cameras and also his fantastic job fixing our cameras over the years, especially my Rolleiflex when I was so desperate looking for a retailer.

GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO YOUR FAVOURITE LAB SERVICE.

Actually, this new wave of film photography established a competitive environment among the newly found labs and the older ones, which is a great thing. You see more accurate results, a better range of colours, and knowledgeable experts. It’s been quite a while now that I’ve been developing, scanning, and printing my rolls in my own little studio even for some of my friends lately. However, I would like to give a shout out for a laboratory expert, particularly for developing slides so professionally, as the representative of the young generation: @Armangolestaneh

FAVOURITE KIT

WHAT FILM CAMERAS DO YOU OWN AND WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

I own some 120 and 35mm cameras, which I hardly ever use, like a Lubitel2, a bunch of 35mm cameras from the USSR era, and my family heritage: some models of Yashica 35mm. However, the camera that I’ve been shooting with for 35mm photography is my Canon AE1.

A year ago, with the insistence of my partner in crime in analogue photography, we bought a pair of Hasselblad, which cost us all our savings, as well as some of our old cameras. Now that I look back, it was my best decision ever, since I experienced a whole new level of perspective as a photographer. So, if it was this time last year, the answer was a bit of a challenge, but I could say for now that my favourite camera set lately is definitely my Hasselblad 501C with a Zeiss 150mm f/4 Sonnar T✻ Lens, and a Zeiss 80mm f/2.8 Planar T✻. This set on a tripod helps me to focus on the subject itself and arrange the setup more freely.

ASIDE FROM YOUR CAMERA, LENSES AND FILM WHAT ACCESSORIES MAKE IT INTO YOUR CAMERA BAG?

It depends on what time, place, and film format I am going to shoot. Regardless of these, I always have my L-308S Sekonic Flashmate lightmeter, an old (lately tired ) Osawa tripod, a shutter-release cable, lens cleaning kit, and a flash.

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF PHOTOGRAPHY KIT YOU HAVE FOUND OR BEEN GIFTED?

On my 25th birthday, I got a Rolleiflex f/3.5, which was my dream camera for so long. That present made me the Vivien of the group (God bless Vivien Maier). Later that year, my great friend Ashkan Daneshmand, who is a professional analogue photographer, gave me a rare version of my Rolleiflex cap, also a Rollei Flash, which was a great surprise.

AS THIS IS AN ILFORD INTERVIEW IT WOULD BE REMISS OF US NOT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE ILFORD PRODUCTS. TELL US YOU FAVOURITE ILFORD FILM, PAPER OR CHEMS AND WHY?

I believe that we are so lucky that regardless of all situations with the U.S economic embargo on Iran, we can still have access to ILFORD products thanks to Range Systems (official ILFORD distributor for Iran) and @ILFORDPhotoIran.

I’ve been developing with stock “Ilfosol 3” for a long time, and that wouldn’t be fair if I pick any other chems.

Choosing between FP4+ and HP5+ is an approach-approach conflict for me as I might shoot a roll in different lighting conditions, and with both films, I've got great results. However, if I have to indicate only one, I would probably go with FP4+ as you declared it better: “Ideal for most shooting scenarios.”
In the end, from my measly experience with printing, I would choose ILFORD Multigrade IV RC Deluxe papers, as for its low water consumption in comparison to FB papers during the developing process.

© Shima Rastin, ILFORD Pan100, Canon EOS5000, Vakil Mosque, Shiraz, Iran

AND FINALLY…

NOMINATE ONE OTHER PERSON YOU THINK SHOULD FILL IN THIS FORM AND WE WILL REACH OUT TO THEM

I would like to nominate my favourite French photographer lately, Oswald Wittower. His startling, innovative prints, reminding me of Dada and Constructivism movements.