Running on Film with the Hasselblad XPan: A Creative Journey
In the world of photography, pushing boundaries and exploring new territories is what keeps the art form exciting. This editorial photo shoot with my friend Maud was a perfect example of that. The question of whether a running sequence shot on the Hasselblad XPan could create an editorial story in just a few frames sparked an adventure. It was a technical test, a creative challenge, and an opportunity to explore a different side of my photography.
The XPan, with its slow and deliberate design, presented an interesting contrast to the high-paced nature of sports photography. I wanted to capture the essence of running, the layers of movement, clothing, and mental space, while also showcasing the urban landscape. The Barbican in London, with its hard geometry and concrete surfaces, provided the perfect backdrop for this visual contrast.
The creative direction focused on sunrise, stillness, and the tension between soft movement and hard architecture. I wanted to suggest motion through gesture, implied intention, posture, silhouette, and the rhythm between frames. The panoramic frame of the XPan helped the sequence feel more like a series of film stills than a set of product images. It was about capturing the story of one person, one place, and one run at sunrise.
The technical setup was minimal, with one camera, two lenses, and one main film stock. The 45mm lens provided context-driven frames with a natural sense of space, while the 90mm lens isolated the subject and cleaned up the background. I chose Kodak Portra 400, expecting the sunshine to be enough. Limiting myself to a single roll meant every frame had to earn its place.
The day of the shoot, I arrived at the Barbican at five in the morning. We walked a quick loop to understand the spaces we might use. The light shifted quickly between the buildings, creating narrow pools and streaks of sun. I looked for locations where I could place Maud in the light and keep the surroundings mostly in shadow. The camera was slow, and so was I, with many moments of repetition to get the exact shot.
At the beginning, my nerves were high, but as the shoot progressed, they calmed. We found a rhythm together, and I accepted that it might or might not turn out as expected. In total, I shot twenty frames, and while not all of them were perfect, a few stood out as the backbone of the series.
The first key image was a wide contextual frame with Maud to the side of the track, her upper body lit by the sun and her shadow falling sharply on the wall. The second was a mid-distance image where Maud stood still, looking into the distance, while a curved track led up and away out of frame. The third was a close-up, with Maud reaching for her glasses, adding structure and presence to the frame.
Looking back, I realized I had stayed close to the images I had planned, sometimes at the expense of experimentation. I didn't explore motion blur as much as I should have, but it's a lesson I've learned. The shoot reminded me that an editorial series is not about one perfect moment but about a small narrative built from several images that all serve the same idea.
This project confirmed how much I enjoy creating concepts with people while still leaving room to improvise. Planning is essential, but if I lock in every detail, my joy of creativity through discovery can disappear. I am happy with what we created that morning, and there are things I will do differently next time. That's exactly why portfolio shoots like this matter; they create room for growth.
