Making a Moment: A Rare Capture in Color by David Smith

In our article series, Making a Moment, we’re asking photographers to share one of their favorite photos that they’ve taken. We want to know the story behind the final image and everything that went into making it.

This time it’s the turn of David Smith (@davidrsmith), a biology professor and film photography enthusiast from Ontario, Canada. David admits that it was the mechanics of analogue cameras he fell in love with first. He tells us - “I was more interested in handling, collecting, and curating antique cameras than I was in actually using these marvellous machines.” That was until he started also using these cameras to photograph his family.

Today David shares with us a playful shot of his young son, and ponders his preference for black and white photography.

David: When I started analogue photography two-and-a-half years ago, I was immediately drawn to black and white film. The dark shades, the bright whites, the sharp contrast, the palpable grain… it all felt so timeless. They are still my favourite films, especially T-Max 100, which gives such creamy images that one could eat them with a spoon.

Color film just didn’t feel right — like I’d put the wrong kind of dressing on my salad. I almost gave up on color film after my first few attempts, but seeing the beautiful colour images of photographers I’d admire kept bringing me back. I wish I could say that I eventually got the knack for it, that the beautiful rainbow tones won me over. But that wasn’t the case. I remain on the dark side of film, team black and white.

I haven’t given up. Every now and then, I still pop a roll of color into my camera and pray for the best. There are a handful of photos I’ve captured in color that I truly love. This one, titled “Stained Glass”, is my absolute favourite.

It was taken in London, Ontario, Canada in October 2024. It was late on a Friday afternoon. My seven-year-old son, Kipling, was outside the front door waiting for me to come out and take him to a friend’s house for a play date. He was getting frustrated waiting for me and eventually glanced through the window of the front door to see if I was coming.

I looked down the hallway and saw Kip’s face squished against the glass, his eyes and nose perfectly aligned with the frosted pattern in the window. I grabbed my camera (a Leica M6), which was sitting on the kitchen counter, took the lens cap off the 50mm Summilux, and ran towards the door.

I didn’t have time to meter for the light or focus through the rangefinder. I just guessed the distance and exposure and then released the shutter. A moment later, he’d moved from the window. There was no second chance at capturing the moment. When I eventually got the roll of Portra 800 developed, I was amazed to see that the photo turned out. Kip’s eyes were in perfect focus!

The question remains: Would this image have looked better in black and white? My eyes say no, but my heart says yes, which I guess says a lot about me as a photographer.

Thank you to David for sharing this moment with us! To see more of his photography be sure to follow him at his LomoHome

Check out our previous Making a Moment articles! Interested in being featured? Email alex.gray@lomography.com with the subject line - Making a Moment.

written by alexgray on 2025-03-07 #making-a-moment #portra #community #leica #making-a-moment Share Article