We are thrilled to bring you another spotlight! This time we are featuring Rafael Hernandez. Check out his work and our interview below!

Hi there! Introduce yourself to the Negative Supply community.

“Hello! I’m Rafael Hernandez from Los Angeles California 😄✌🏽

I am a photographer and enjoy shooting film in my spare time and for my personal projects. I began my photography journey back in 2004 starting out with traditional black and white film/darkroom classes in high school and have been at it ever since. “

Q: How did you first discover your passion for photography?

“Growing up my biggest influences were my dad and brothers, my dad always had a camera either for video or photos to document everything we ever did and my brother took a photography class when he was in high school which I was very much looking forward to once I got to high school, I even got to learn from the same teacher and the rest is history.” 

Q: What do you enjoy most about shooting film?

“I’ve been at this for 17 years now and I still get the same excitement out of film that I did for my very first roll. Despite all the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years, it’s still a surprise, like magic, when I see the emulsion every time. Every moment in life, despite how familiar to any other experience is still unique, I feel the same way about the way film captures these memories. They might have a predetermined look for each stock but the results you get every time are always unique to the moment you captured.”

Q: What are some of your favorite film stocks?

“My longest relationship has been with Ilford Hp5, it’s been with me from my very first roll in my high school class and will be my go to for Black and White. Color is where it gets a little tough because I’ve been absolutely enjoying Fuji NPS 160 in 220 but I’m running low on those and as they’re discontinued (so sad 😢) I use it a lot more sparingly these days. Another staple is Lomo 800, it provides just the right amount of saturation and vibrance for my taste and it shines both in daylight and at night. There’s always room for cinestill 800t of course but it only comes out for special/specific occasions where it truly shines.”

Q: What inspires me most when it comes to your photography?

‘I’ve found myself to always be motivated and inspired by technique and how things work but in the last year I’ve spent inside, I've been inspired by life itself and how we can learn to document the days that feel exactly like the last, but I find these little moments that stand out and remind me why we’re here at all.”

Q: How has our Negative Supply tools helped your workflow?

“I’ve had my eye on Negative Supply kits for a while now but I’ll admit it wasn’t until I actually got my hands on one that I was fully convinced this is the future of film scanning. I came from a flatbed scanner and the workflow now is just a lot more fun and efficient this way, it also lets me take advantage of the mirrorless camera I have sitting around, so that’s a plus. Aside from the level of detail I can achieve, the latitude I gain by shooting raw files and the ability to color correct each individual image without it feeling like a chore in Lightroom proves a nicer overall experience than I was getting through Silverfast. “

Q: What camera are you using to scan?
“Currently, I am using the Eos R and 100mm 2.8 EF L Series lens, but I’m hoping to upgrade at some point to a higher resolution canon sensor and the new 100mm 2.8 Rf macro lens.”

Check out Rafael’s set up below!

Check out the tools Rafael used below used below! You can check ing out on instagram here. If you’d like be featured on our blog send us a email at contact@negativesupply.co