Film Phases

[sara]

Does anyone find themselves in film phases?

I used to shoot a lot in black and white, then I went to a colour phase which I'm currently on, but recently I feel like shooting black and white again?

Maybe because I feel like photographing portraits instead 🙂

 

[tunalegs]

I've never really enjoyed the results of B&W, but I do I enjoy the process.

When I got rid of all my darkroom stuff I thought that I probably wouldn't be touching B&W film again, and after that I shot slide film almost exclusively.

I was happy shooting slides for several years, but the departure of Kodak from E6 production left things rather more limited as well as expensive. When I got into medium format the expense and lack of options sent me back into C41 film. But as for 35mm I still mostly shoot slide film.

I may well get back into monochrome at some point in the future.

 

[John Bragg]

Hi Sara. I rarely shoot colour film being firmly a mono guy. You can do an awful lot with one type of film and one versatile developer. I do however have phases with different mono films. I used Tri-x for a long time but then moved to Fuji Neopan for a while, until Fuji killed it off. Then back to TRI-X and currently very satisfied with Ilford HP5+ . It has become apparent to me that whatever film I choose to use, my photos always look like "my photos" ! Technique seems to override the materials in use and we adapt accordingly. Good luck with your mono phase, you never know, like me, it may well prove more than a passing whim and may be a long term thing.

 

[michaelwj]

I just bought a 10 pack of Portra 160 to shoot during the day after shooting 99% B&W over the last 4 years. It's a bit change for me, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[valdas]

Color/BW phases, format (35/120) phases, grain/no grain phases, focal length phases, AF/Manual phases - you name it... That's why photography is never boring 🙂

 

[znapper]

Yes.
But it depends on GAS ^^
Generally, I shoot mostly B&W during winter and also print on the enlarger.
During summer, I can shoot color for a while and change to B&W for a while, so yes.

I also have the same tendency concerning 35mm and 120, but that depends on GAS; If I have acquired a new camera, I tend to shoot that format for a while.....until I get tired of it and change to mix things up. ^^

 

[jarski]

my phases are more divided between digital, then film, then digi again.

am not big fan shooting both mediums same time, as they look different and I end up shooting doubles from same situation, "just in case" 😱

when traveling, its far more convenient to use digital. now am planning for another film phase, as traveling is coming to an end.

 

[newfilm]

on film i'm B&W all the way, colour film some times (very rare) during summer, besides, for colour, my phone pictures are wonderful enough.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I use bw film 99%. I like to print bw under enlarger. Digital is my color phase. I have now pigment inkjet printer at home. I like to print by this one as well.

 

[taemo]

I started with B&W then for a couple of years went C-41 color.
Stopped with color as developing was getting expensive and was never happy with the color scans I was getting at home.
I decided to switch to E-6 but unfortunately in our city no one process E-6 anymore, 35mm E-6 gets shipped in their Vancouver office but they dont do 120 anymore.
Have one E-6 kit left to develop my few remaining 4x5 then I might throw the towel and go B&W again 100%

 

[Bill Clark]

I've returnd back to my roots. I started making photos with film, a long time ago, and I'm doing that again. I now have an analog darkroom for making a contact sheet of each roll of film and prints, when I decide, with my old enlarger, an Omega B-22 XL with a color head that I can use with variable contrast paper. The largest print I have made so far is 16x20 inches.

For color I'm 100% digital. I capture with Canon, process with iMac and Photoshop and view in various ways.

The last few years of my business, with weddings as well as portraits, I offered a session using black and white film and had takers.

 

[charjohncarter]

I don't know but maybe all of us have gone through this/these phases: even William Eggleston. For me, I look at old photos of mine from the 60s etc., and I think why wasn't I shooting B&W or Color at the same time when I was shooting these. Now I always have color and B&W in my cameras: possibly it is too late now but I still try.

 

[De_Corday]

I was just thinking about this. my bread and butter is Tri-X or HP5, and I'm happiest there. But lately I can't see anything in black and white and I just want to be shooting chromes. And I know its a phase -- I know I'll be pulling more tri-X out of the fridge in a few weeks. But right now I just want to see in color.

 

[robert blu]

Just back from a 10 days road trip, during which I shot 8 rolls of 120 colors film and 3 of B&W 135

Why? Because I wanted to shoot the trip itself (roads, petrol stations, hotels, parking places...) with the M7 in B&W and the places we went (ost see north germany) in color with the old Rolleiflex (which was my father's camera).

So different moments, different attitudes, different films...

robert

 

[rfaspen]

Of course Sara. My film phases range through BW and color, but also 35, 120, and 4x5. Having said that, its 35 BW most of the time. Exception is my recent interest in cyanotypes -- so I've been shooting a little 4x5 to get the big negative.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Black and White is for people. Color is for people's clothes. Or flowers.