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Can we talk about film?
- Thread starter mollyc
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I have a darkroom in the attic and haven't set it up in years. B&W only and my attempt with color was a joke...and very expensive. Probably the biggest issue is shelf life of chemicals, not only unused, but when mixed, one roll won't cut it with the remainder wasted. This thread did get me to thinking though...process the film and scan rather than the full enlarger/paper process. Could still do the paper/chemical process as accumulate enough "quality" negatives to make it worthwhile.
I do have a decent camera shop locally that sells chemicals, paper, and premium film. Really enjoy the unique darkroom chemical smell as I walk in...which is lost to so many unaware of what it is. They also have a mini-lab but I haven't used it as I have an even better custom lab locally. Did enquire about converting my mother's entire slide collection to digital but by the time I calculated the price, it paid for me to buy a scanner and do it myself.
I do have my Canon AE-1 and some FD lens sitting on the shelf and may have to run a roll or two through. Would process the B&W and send color off (or perhaps the local camera store does it). The scanner can handle negatives and slides.
But the real reason...I really want to try this camera that my son gave me. I think it is funny that is called a "Pocket Camera". Must have had big pockets! Assume that is in good repair but really don't know. Casually enquired about processing 120 film at the local camera store, but was thinking full prints and would hate to find out that had a light leaking bellows or some other issue. But I can process 120 B&W film...then scan. May be worth a roll or two and walk around and have fun. Would be even more fun if the local camera club had an outing and I showed up with it. An outing there limited to one lens - either prime or taped zoom - would be ideal!
I do have a decent camera shop locally that sells chemicals, paper, and premium film. Really enjoy the unique darkroom chemical smell as I walk in...which is lost to so many unaware of what it is. They also have a mini-lab but I haven't used it as I have an even better custom lab locally. Did enquire about converting my mother's entire slide collection to digital but by the time I calculated the price, it paid for me to buy a scanner and do it myself.
I do have my Canon AE-1 and some FD lens sitting on the shelf and may have to run a roll or two through. Would process the B&W and send color off (or perhaps the local camera store does it). The scanner can handle negatives and slides.
But the real reason...I really want to try this camera that my son gave me. I think it is funny that is called a "Pocket Camera". Must have had big pockets! Assume that is in good repair but really don't know. Casually enquired about processing 120 film at the local camera store, but was thinking full prints and would hate to find out that had a light leaking bellows or some other issue. But I can process 120 B&W film...then scan. May be worth a roll or two and walk around and have fun. Would be even more fun if the local camera club had an outing and I showed up with it. An outing there limited to one lens - either prime or taped zoom - would be ideal!
Oh oh oh!!! Mine is different, but I also have a pocket camera! But I need new bellows for it as they disentegrated. I have taken it to two different camera shops in the past three days but no one knows how to fix it.
I will also need to convert it to take modern film, but I think that is a relatively easy process. But I need the bellows fixed.And mine I think was a more limited release so finding new old stock for it is virtually impossible. It was my grandfather's camera and I am determined to figure out a way to make it workable. I think mechanically it's in good shape....I just need bellows.
I wish my mother hadn't apparently given away the folding Kodak camera she used when I was a little girl and was considered an "old" camera back then, as she'd had it for years.....it looked a lot like this, and had the bellows. I have no idea what year it was, or which model, since it has been long gone and as a kid I wouldn't have paid that much attention to specific details.
The magic word with B&W is CONTRAST. Look at the subject in terms of how it will appear in B&W and whether or not there is already an inherent contrast offered, but of course you can also tinker with the contrast in post-processing editing later, too. Shapes, Lines, Shadows......Patterns, sharp contrasts already showing in the scene before you ever take a shot..... B&W is more about clear delineation of lines, shapes, patterns, texture, and distinct contrasts of light play with gradations of shades of grey, black or white than what is seen with images shot and processed in color, so subtle out-of-focus stuff that works in color may not pass muster in a B&W image. Contrast also works well in color, too, of course, but usually that is approached differently.
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It can take a while to look at something you're about to shoot, which of course is in full living color since that is how our eyes see things, and try to translate it in your head to B&W in order to determine if it will be an effective B&W image. Sometimes people slip a filter on their lens which will help them to better "see" in B&W. Can't remember now if it's an orange filter or a red one..... I never did that but those who did said that this was helpful to them, at least in the beginning.
I remember years ago taking one of my first photography classes and thinking at the first couple of sessions, "oh, yuck! I HATE B&W!" Going out to shoot the assignments really was a lesson in developing patience, nudging a tiny, innate seed of creativity from within that I didn't even know I had, and overall in retraining my brain to think in terms of how something would look, not the way I actually was physically seeing it at that moment, but rather as a B&W image. I'll warn you right now, you'll be frustrated as heck for a while!
Flexibility and a willingness to go beyond what is comfortable and familiar in terms of shooting and subjects will be important here, and an ability to see the possibilities in something which at first glance doesn't seem worth shooting at all.
That, and the whole concept of contrast took me a while to really grasp. I'd be in the darkroom working at the enlarger and then at the developing trays, then would wait a little while for the print to dry and take it out to my instructor for his scrutiny. Time after time after time he'd nod and say, "nice composition, good subject, meets the assignment parameters really well, but it needs more contrast." By the end of the semester I finally had it drilled into my head: Contrast. CONTRAST. C O N T R A S T. Somewhere along the line, too, I also picked up an ability to more-or-less ascertain what would or what would not make a good B&W image, too. Keep it simple, keep the lines and pattern(s) predominant, play with light......
I remember years ago taking one of my first photography classes and thinking at the first couple of sessions, "oh, yuck! I HATE B&W!" Going out to shoot the assignments really was a lesson in developing patience, nudging a tiny, innate seed of creativity from within that I didn't even know I had, and overall in retraining my brain to think in terms of how something would look, not the way I actually was physically seeing it at that moment, but rather as a B&W image. I'll warn you right now, you'll be frustrated as heck for a while!
Flexibility and a willingness to go beyond what is comfortable and familiar in terms of shooting and subjects will be important here, and an ability to see the possibilities in something which at first glance doesn't seem worth shooting at all.
That, and the whole concept of contrast took me a while to really grasp. I'd be in the darkroom working at the enlarger and then at the developing trays, then would wait a little while for the print to dry and take it out to my instructor for his scrutiny. Time after time after time he'd nod and say, "nice composition, good subject, meets the assignment parameters really well, but it needs more contrast." By the end of the semester I finally had it drilled into my head: Contrast. CONTRAST. C O N T R A S T. Somewhere along the line, too, I also picked up an ability to more-or-less ascertain what would or what would not make a good B&W image, too. Keep it simple, keep the lines and pattern(s) predominant, play with light......
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Interesting to see it was made in Toronto. I was not aware Kodak manufactured in Canada.
Many decades ago I took a photo class that presented the Ansel Adams Zone System film exposure and development - that was technical.
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I love folding cameras! Recently I inherited a Voigtländer Vito II, a folding camera from 1949 that takes ordinary 35mm film (it's actually a pre-war design—the original Vito—that had been updated to use 35mm sprocket film). It's such a nice little camera and the bellows are still intact; I love how it feels. I just put my first roll of film through the thing and was impressed with how the photos turned out.
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I understand all this. but I personally don't enjoy black and white. I rarely shoot it. I hate how it messes up my instagram feed (although admittedly this is an admittedly shallow point and not one I feel strongly about).
I rarely think a photo looks better in black and white than color, whether it's mine or not. I know about contrast and shadows, and most of my work would convert well to bw because I already shoot for contrast.
As the mother of a color blind son, it is likely that I am a tetrochromat and see extra colors. I am always describing colors differently than my family and see shades that they don't see. I believe this is why I have such a disdain for black and white. I like color and I am genetically programed to see extra colors. For me it's not a matter of retraining my my thought process or learning to like contrast. I already see those things. But I like color. In the way that some photographers choose to shoot only black and white, I choose to shoot only color. I don't want to see the world without color because I find it boring.
Now that said, yes, of course I will shoot bw film at some point. But it will never be a regular thing for me.
Molly there is a good reason I recommend that beginning photographers work with B&W. What it comes down to is learning to ignore the pretty colors and discovering the many elements that combine to make a good image.
You seem to have achieved that skill while skipping that step of the learning process. More power to you.
You seem to have achieved that skill while skipping that step of the learning process. More power to you.
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I've been shooting for close to 15 years. I'm not a beginner. I'm new to film specifically (and really not even that, given that I am nearly 50 years old). I didn't skip any steps, it's just that I wasn't on this board as a newer photographer.
You're lucky to have one in 120. A lot of the old Kodak folders use oddball film sizes, or at least oddball to us.
The "120" designation came about because Kodak started with roll film type "101" and kept incrementing every time they developed a new format. 120 was the one they developed after 119 and before 121, and has no meaning beyond that(I often see it called "120mm", which is about twice as wide). Of all of those sizes Kodak developed, 120 really stuck since a lot of European brands adapted it as a nice compromise of image quality and size. 127, which is 40mm wide, hung on for a while too but went away in the 90s.
In any case, I could resist giving it a shot, but then I also shoot a lot of 120 film. IMO, it's honestly easier to process than 35mm film.
One thing, though-it looks like yours is missing the ruby plastic on the window. There's no film advance stop on these-you advance by looking at numbers printed on the backing paper that you can see through the window. The ruby window honestly doesn't do much with panochromatic film, and it can still be a source of light leaks. I'd suggest covering it with electric tape and then uncovering it when you advance. This isn't unlike what some more modern cameras do-I have a couple of Hasselblad backs that require watching for the first frame in the window and then manually starting the film counter. Cameras that work this way, though, generally have a door to cover the view port when you're done using it for the roll.
I love just about anything with the Leica name. Just can't justify the cost.
OTOH if anyone wants to donate their Leica to an old timer it will be gratefully accepted.
OK..... For some reason I had the impression that you were going to be trying something really new for you by using film and shooting in B&W, developing your own film, etc. etc. I guess I got thrown off by the mention of wanting to set up a darkroom in your home. Yes, B&W is a somewhat different thinking process and also a different shooting strategy, and one from which a photographer, especially a beginning one, can learn, as has been mentioned. I assume your daughter shot only B&W film and developed her film as part of her class this past year, along with working with the negatives under an enlarger. There really is a mystique and something magical about standing there in the dimness gently rocking a tray with the photo paper in it and watching the image come to life......
So basically you'll just be shooting color film, taking it to one of the local camera shops (not a custom photo lab which serves professional photographers, which I don't think we have around here any more, although there are some online) for processing, and then working with the negatives by scanning them in at home (or having the camera shop scan them for you) and putting them into the computer and editing them as you already do in PS and LR. ?
Anyway, have fun with the shooting!
OTOH if anyone wants to donate their Leica to an old timer it will be gratefully accepted.
I'd like to also join that list
I’m pretty sure most of you didn’t even read my original post or my subsequent posts.
I was very clear from the outset about wanting to learn about different color film stocks, lab scanning, and different film formats.
I did not ask about home development (although did ask a follow on question once it was brought up) or the process of learning photography from scratch or the best way to shoot black and white.
I am not sure how my very specific questions about film in the first post got extrapolated to meaning shooting black white or how Leica is the best for that digitally.
I will just find a different group to ask questions. I had hoped since this group is diverse in terms of age, genre, and location that it would be a good topic for discussion.
Thank you to those of you who actually addressed my questions and offered links to sites and shared your own photos.
I was very clear from the outset about wanting to learn about different color film stocks, lab scanning, and different film formats.
I did not ask about home development (although did ask a follow on question once it was brought up) or the process of learning photography from scratch or the best way to shoot black and white.
I am not sure how my very specific questions about film in the first post got extrapolated to meaning shooting black white or how Leica is the best for that digitally.
I will just find a different group to ask questions. I had hoped since this group is diverse in terms of age, genre, and location that it would be a good topic for discussion.
Thank you to those of you who actually addressed my questions and offered links to sites and shared your own photos.
I will stay on point. Are you considering Lomography color film?
Lab scanning - cost will vary based on the quality you want, basic jpegs or a higher dpi (if you plan on having large prints made)
Attached is a digitizing service I will have some slides processed at
Lab scanning - cost will vary based on the quality you want, basic jpegs or a higher dpi (if you plan on having large prints made)
Attached is a digitizing service I will have some slides processed at
Professional Photo Scanning Service and Video Transfer Services
Preserve your precious memories with DigMyPics' professional photo scanning and video transfer services.
www.digmypics.com
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I worked in the Photo lab business for almost 30 years. Most of the 80's and 90's I shot Kodachrome. Is was a amazing film and the slides have aged very well. In the late 90's and 2000's I switched to color negative film because part of my job was evaluating film scanners for the photolab workflow. Fuji made and stills make excellent color negative films and they scan very well. You may want to give them a try.
I know this may be off topic but IMHO developing color film in a home lab is not worth the time or money, leave it to the pros.
I know this may be off topic but IMHO developing color film in a home lab is not worth the time or money, leave it to the pros.
Having owned and managed photo labs for many years I heartily agree with this sentiment. The only exception being larger format, and even then if there is not a pro lab nearby, your darkroom has great positive airflow ventilation, and cost is of no concern.
I did like an earlier suggestion of creating a good light box and carrier set-up, and using a good digital camera macro set-up as opposed to scanning. Since Molly already has the camera gear this approach could prove quite feasible, whether shooting slides or negs.
Anyways my original sentiment stands. Have fun with it!
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