35mm Photos Have Arrived!

[DBAlex]

YAY!

My 35mm photos arrived today, and ive been busy scanning and editing the contrast/colour/crop and have put together my favourite photos that I took, I would like c+c on them but remember these are my very first 2 rolls of film with a manual camera (or for that matter any SLR camera!) (and there is no light meter, no auto focus etc)

Theres were taken with a Praktica Super TL 1000 camera with Kodak Kodacolor VR Plus ISO 400 (36 exp) although most were shot at 250 iso...

(I havent given captions because im lazy... )

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Thankyou for any comments... They'll help me improve!

 

[ksz]

Let me get this straight...

No light meter
No auto focus (this could be a good thing)
Hand crank
Good old fashioned film

And you've produced images that would put many digital camera users to shame.

Did you use a handheld light meter? Did you simply guess the exposure and then digitally correct it after scanning?

Some comments:

1. The first five are very well done!
2. The fallen leaves and yellows impart a very autumn-like feeling.
3. The deep black in the first picture is astounding. This is my favorite in the series.
4. You're using a very very narrow depth of field, which works well except in pictures 6 and 7, where it seems the entire scene is OOF.
5. The red sky in #8 is a bit grainy, but the composition is still pleasing. Did you apply a red filter?


I still enthusiastically use film (Fuji Sensia and Provia slides) which I scan on a Nikon Super Coolscan. Glad to see I'm not the only one!

 

[DBAlex]

Let me get this straight...

No light meter
No auto focus (this could be a good thing)
Hand crank
Good old fashioned film

And you've produced images that would put many digital camera users to shame.

Did you use a handheld light meter? Did you simply guess the exposure and then digitally correct it after scanning?

Some comments:

1. The first five are very well done!
2. The fallen leaves and yellows impart a very autumn-like feeling.
3. The deep black in the first picture is astounding. This is my favorite in the series.
4. You're using a very very narrow depth of field, which works well except in pictures 6 and 7, where it seems the entire scene is OOF.
5. The red sky in #8 is a bit grainy, but the composition is still pleasing. Did you apply a red filter?


I still enthusiastically use film (Fuji Sensia and Provia slides) which I scan on a Nikon Super Coolscan. Glad to see I'm not the only one!

hehe, thanks for the comments! Don't know about putting digital camera users to shame though

Yes I guessed the exposure on most of them and only really shot in very strong light, for fear of under exposure. Although on most all I edited was the colouring (the processing was very poor quality (Thats what you get for using a budget processor I guess (£2.80 a roll for prints))

The main problems I faced was realising if the film was winding on or not, Im not used to using 35mm film (Also the exposure counter is broken)

The last photo (red sky) was taken in very low light, the print was very poor quality (nothing like the photo taken) so I edited the colour and levels and colour (and im pleased with how it came out)

And im still experimenting with the depth of field etc I think some of the focus was down to camera shake on my part.

And thanks for the nice comments about my pictures again, im flabbergasted here! hehe

Btw im 16, and the camera used to be my dads... I think its from the 80's? maybe someone could help on that

 

[pulsewidth947]

Woot! Another 35mm manual shooter! I agree with the above posters comment, except I would have liked pic 5 to have a wide DOF. Hasn't your camera got a light meter at all? My Pentax K1000 has, its a needle on the right that lets you know how over or under you are.. its a life saver.

I mostly shoot slide film then get that cross processed (develop the slide positive film as if it was regular negative film). This usually gives you some pretty wild results - really messes with your contrast and colours. Check out my flickr page for examples.

Even when I'm not taking pictures I like to touch my camera - I just love the sounds it makes when you crank the advance winder, or the clunk when you press the shutter

 

[ksz]

Btw im 16, and the camera used to be my dads... I think its from the 80's? maybe someone could help on that

The camera dates back to 1980, so you're correct. I got my first SLR just before turning 16. It was a Minolta X700, manual everything, but with a light meter and Program Mode. As I recall, I was writing Assembly Language programs on my Apple II by age 15, so I've never felt that age was an issue (unless you're barely able to speak). Kids are often much smarter than we give them credit for.

So, sorry for the unsolicited advice, but even though you're 16, don't think you're "only" 16.

 

[DBAlex]

Woot! Another 35mm manual shooter! I agree with the above posters comment, except I would have liked pic 5 to have a wide DOF. Hasn't your camera got a light meter at all? My Pentax K1000 has, its a needle on the right that lets you know how over or under you are.. its a life saver.

I mostly shoot slide film then get that cross processed (develop the slide positive film as if it was regular negative film). This usually gives you some pretty wild results - really messes with your contrast and colours. Check out my flickr page for examples.

Even when I'm not taking pictures I like to touch my camera - I just love the sounds it makes when you crank the advance winder, or the clunk when you press the shutter

LOL! Im exactly the same, Even when im practising I click the shutter and wind on... Its an addictive sound!

And yeah I think it does have a light meter I didnt really use it tho, I just had it set on the brightest one... You hold this button and then turn one of the cylinders on the camera and it goes darker or brighter? (Yes im a super noob )

 

[DBAlex]

The camera dates back to 1980, so you're correct. I got my first SLR just before turning 16. It was a Minolta X700, manual everything, but with a light meter and Program Mode. As I recall, I was writing Assembly Language programs on my Apple II by age 15, so I've never felt that age was an issue (unless you're barely able to speak). Kids are often much smarter than we give them credit for.

So, sorry for the unsolicited advice, but even though you're 16, don't think you're "only" 16.

Hehe, No probs, Its just the way some people treat us in real life (E.g Macrumors people excluded!), Not every young person wants to beat you up for your mobile phone and batter your granny for her pension money... sorry just had to get that off my chest!

Yeah ive allways been pretty up on things... I was writing BASIC and HTML at 11... But assembly at 15 is very impressive, I could never get the hand of ASM, learning C++ is my biggest achievement... Im moved over from programming to more arty things now though... I might take it up one day though... (edit: oops I sound like a big head now... ;P)

Edit: Just realised the first image has lines down the right hand side (Scanners fault) so im gonna rescan it... Ill just leave the original here for now though.

 

[ChrisA]

I think you have proved a couple points...

(1) 1960's vintage camera technology from Eastern Europe can stil outperform today's DSLRs in terms of image quality and certainly in terms of cost

(2) the vision and creativity of the photographer is what really matters.

Just for fun, look on eBay or at garage sales for a slide projecter. Then buy some good slide film, (Fuji Velia wouild work well for your style of images) and then project the images. Projected slides, if you do it right with a good screen, the projector up tall on the screen's center and a dark room the slides will blow away any high def TV set and color is so much brighter on the screen then on paper. This is one thing a DSLR just can't do

 

[DBAlex]

Heh, Thanks, My grandad has a slide projector, its something im not really interested in to be honest though, The only thing I really need is a negative scanner and to learn how to develop! (These were processed at a crappy envelope-in-the-post service)

One thing I do need to use is better film (The ones I used here were £2 for 2!)

 

[ksz]

learning C++ is my biggest achievement... Im moved over from programming to more arty things now though...

And all this time I've connoted programming with writing. A computer language is stricter and has fewer words, but it can still be expressed in countless ways. Heard of Software Arts Corporation? At least they were thinking about it the right way.

 

[rjphoto]

Check out Fuji Velvia. Slow and saturated.

Get a tripod for those really tight, slow shots.

You said, "I just had it set on the brightest one... You hold this button and then turn one of the cylinders on the camera and it goes darker or brighter?"

There are 2 parts to your exposure. The shutter speed (the dial on top of the camera with numbers going from maybe 1000 down to say 1 (1000, 500, 250, 120, 60, 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1). Those number represent 1/????th of a second (1000 = 1/1000th of a second, 4 = 1/4th of a second.) The lower the number the longer the shutter is open, the steadier you need to hold the camera.

The Aperture (the ring on the lens closest to the body, not the Apple Software) (also called the f-stop) controls how big of a hole there is in the lens during exposure. The bigger the F-stop number the smaller the hole. Seems backwards but it also represents some sort of fraction.

So, put the 2 together and you get your exposure state in terms like "f16 at 1/60th."

They can compensate for each other. If you want more speed from the shutter you open up the aperture a little. 1 click on one equals one click on the other in the opposite direction.

Look for a set of needles on the side of the viewfinder. If there are 2 needles you use the dial on top and the ring on the lens to match the needles up…that is your proper exposure. You learn to compensate from there for your camera and the lighting of each shot.

Another trick is to take several shots and change the f-stop from over to under what you think the exposure will be. That’s called bracketing your shot. It’s very useful with slide film.

Good luck. Post some more shots.

 

[DBAlex]

@rjphoto:

ok, I thought the aperture was the light thats let in? thats correct right? so I twist that until what I see is the brightness I want? If im in broad day light then I just leave it on 250 shutter speed, for the autumny shot I changed the aperture to make the picture darker, is that right or wrong? (The needles on the right are broke I think, the camera needs a new battery.

Thanks for the help though, One thing i know now is, however crazy it sounds, I dont think I want to get a digital SLR! (the costs in film arent too bad anyway, I got 72 exposures developed for £6... not bad imho )

 

[pulsewidth947]

If you want to develop film, I'll pass on the advice given to me. I seriously recommend learning to develop black + white film. It's relatively easy to do - I find its like cooking: looks difficult but really all you need to do is follow instructions.

I find it brilliantly rewarding, especially when developing prints. Nothing quite as exciting as watching your image appear in the dev bath! If you use a good b+w film like Ilford HP5 you'll not need to be as strict over dev times/chemical temperature. This makes it ideal for home processing.

As far as colour processing is concerned, this a whole different kettle of fish. For starters you can have even less light than you have with b+w. You also need to keep your chemicals at a constant temperature, and you need to be much stricter over dev times.

What I do is develop my own b+w film at work, then either print in the darkroom or scan the film. I send all my colour film to a pro developer to be processed and printed. While I would find it rewarding developing my own colour films, I'm using my labs years of expertise and equipment to develop my prints to exactly how I'd want them done.

Hope that helps, sorry its so long!

:EDIT: I notice you are in the UK. The lab I use is Spectrum Imaging in Newcastle. Colour dev + prints is £4, xprocessing is 50p extra, p+p is 50p plus £1 for each film. Very quick turnaround, great service.

 

[DBAlex]

@pulsewidth947:

Thanks for the advice, Everyone in my family keeps telling me that I should learn how to develop, its something im not interested in though, I dont think id save that much money, even if it was rewarding... Its also sounds tricky... (I have trouble loading the damn camera, nevermind developing it)

So for now ill just use normal processing, im not that dissapointed, and I can edit them in my digital darkroom anyway.

Wow, Just saw your post edit, Yes I am in the UK, I used truprint (worst processor ever probably) for these prints just for the sheer cheapness, ill give that company a go, I was going to use jessops seeing as they have a very good reputation but ill give that one a go, they gotta be better that Truprint! Lol!

Btw, What size prints is it for £4? (I got something like 5 x 3 with Truprint (That was the standard tho...) (How awful is that!!))

Thanks for all the help and advice!

 

[Lau]

:EDIT: I notice you are in the UK. The lab I use is Spectrum Imaging in Newcastle. Colour dev + prints is £4, xprocessing is 50p extra, p+p is 50p plus £1 for each film. Very quick turnaround, great service.

Ooh, just to poke my nose in as a fellow Pentax manual SLR user – thanks for the recommendation. I just moved cities, and until I find somewhere local, a good mail order service is very useful. Cheers!

 

[rjphoto]

Sounds like it needs new batteries. Turn it upside down and see the dime sized cover on the bottom with a slot in it right in the center of the body. Use a coin or a screw driver to open it and see what size battery it needs. no biggie.

As for the image getting brighter and darker, your aperture may be locked or messed up. It should be bright all of the time unless you push a button on the body next to the lens. If not, focus with it bright and then stop down to where you want to take the shot. When it is stopped down you can see the Depth Of Field.

Check out http://www.butkus.org/chinon/praktica_super_1000/praktica_super_1000.htm

for some info on your camera. See number 2 in the first photo. That's your meter button.

For some tutorial stuff check out New York Institute of Photography's web site.

 

[Mike Teezie]

Very nice DBAlex. It's great to see a roll of film.

I have my brother's Canon 35mm film SLR while he's off training for SF, and every few days, I take it out of the bag and shoot something with it.

Prime lens, available light, black and white film. I've had the same roll in for a few months. Not getting in any rush, just want to get a strong roll back to play with.

I'm taking it with me to a wedding I'm shooting this month, loaded up with IR film.

Viva la Film!

 

[GoCubsGo]

Don't bother developing your own color film. I've done it and it's super toxic and hardly worth the trouble.
BW can be done in the bathroom in 20 min. Color is a whole other issue.
I usually take my slide film to my buddy and do it on his jobo.

 

[iHao]

^I've heard the same thing about color film. From experience, black and white film is easy to develop, but the chemicals can be a tad annoying if you have a sensitive sense of smell.

But with that behind us, good shots man!

 

[DBAlex]

Thanks again, Well ive just shot another roll of film, lol, 200 ISO this time (Should be less grainy right?), cant wait to get it developed! (Ive taken some macros of insects and some sunsets, hopefully they turn out right!)

@all:

I dont think Im gonna try colour developing then... I don't even know whether ill try black and white, its no use to me, I dont have a negative scanner or enlarger and these things cost a lot! (I don't have a job yet...)

And also im pretty pleased with the results of the scanned pictures, so I don't think I really need a slide/negative scanner at the moment.

@Mike Teezie:

Heh, Im exactly the opposite, once theres a roll of film in I HAVE to finish it... I dont know whether its because the exposure counters broken or just because im addicted... (Or a bit of both)

 

[pulsewidth947]

Yeah I find B+W rewarding, and cheap as I use my works chemicals and facilitires for free!! Shhh dont tell them.

Fair enough if you don't want to do it, but its not as hard as you think. The hardest part is loading your film onto a spool (circular plastic thing), which you have to do in complete darkness. Last time I did that it took me 20 minutes and 5 attempts

If you go to College at some point in the near future, it might be worth asking if they have a darkroom, that way you can see if you like it at virtually no cost to yourself.

I was going to say about changing your battery for your light meter, but looks like others got here first. The batterys are those small watch/hearing aid type batterys. I bought mine from Jessops for about a fiver, and they last aaaages!

Mike Teezie - your taking IR film to shoot a wedding? Thats a brilliant idea! I've only seen IR be used on landscape, so that sounds really interesting.

All this talk has made me want to go out and shoot. I got about 35 rolls of various slide film (Velvia, Ektachrome, Fuji 64T) that are just waiting to be used and xprocessed! Ooooh and it looks like the weather is getting nicer outside!! Awesome!

 

[DBAlex]

@pulsewidth947:

Yeah, the weathers awesome today! Get shooting!

BTW, All those pictures were taken in my back garden...

And about the battery, I looked in poundland for one but they dont have em (those big cards with about 50 batteries on) so Ill have to go to Jessops... I hate that shop though they charge over the odds for everything... Btw, If you want some cheap film go to Aldi, Kodak 400 ISO film £2 for 2 rolls Not bad imo!

Btw, Where do you work if you don't mind me asking? (Don't tell me jessops now I just slagged them off! lol)

 

[pulsewidth947]

I work at Jessops.....

..only kidding! I actually know what a camera is so I'd be far too overqualified to work at my local jessops! I work at a local College, I'm employed as an IT Technician, which is pretty soul destroying. I tend not to tell people I work in IT, just say I'm a Technician, at least I maintain a bit of dignity . No offence to any people out there that are happy being an IT Tech, I hold a degree in Music Technology, and I'm disappointed that the college could only offer me 10 hours a week as a music tech, so I took the 37 hour IT post instead.

</rant> bet you wish you hadn't asked now! My dept is right next to the darkroom so I'm responsible for that while the Photo tech is off having a baby.

You asked earlier what size the prints are from Spectrum Imaging - the £4 dev + prints lets you have 6x4 (pretty much standard print size), but they'll do any size for extra cost. You could look round your area for a photo store (not Jessops!) and ask in there where the best place to get films developed. The main reason I use Spectrum is that they Cross Process, which is something incredibly important to me. If you just want regular development and prints, you can probably find somewhere decent near you.