FrankS
Registered User
i don't think i ever claimed to be doing it all myself, just that i find a greater degree of involvement in photography and bread, more satisfying.
me and film
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gns
Well-known
semrich
Well-known
I like this thread, FrankS has so elegantly expressed how I feel about this topic starting from the disclaimer, and all of the rest of it.
I have grown to like the process of shooting and developing film so much that I've now got collection of vintage gear both 135 and 120 that are toys or should I say tools, either way, and i consider films, developers, cameras and lenses and what I want to shoot when I go out. I like looking at the negatives on the light table, selecting what to scan, seeing it come up on the monitor, and (no laughing) I even like doing the minimal amount of dust spotting required. I just like it, and my R-D1 and M8 haven't been out in almost a year now.
I dream of a day when I could have the space for a darkroom so I could learn and do wet printing.
Another aspect of my process is I like going and getting my supplies, here in Istanbul I buy from little mom and pop shops, know the guys at the Ilford dealer, and spend time sitting and chatting with the local guy who can repair all of my gear, from MF folders, Hasselblads, all Leica M's, Nikon RF's, Rolleiflex, Lenses, etc, etc. at very reasonable prices.
I have grown to like the process of shooting and developing film so much that I've now got collection of vintage gear both 135 and 120 that are toys or should I say tools, either way, and i consider films, developers, cameras and lenses and what I want to shoot when I go out. I like looking at the negatives on the light table, selecting what to scan, seeing it come up on the monitor, and (no laughing) I even like doing the minimal amount of dust spotting required. I just like it, and my R-D1 and M8 haven't been out in almost a year now.
I dream of a day when I could have the space for a darkroom so I could learn and do wet printing.
Another aspect of my process is I like going and getting my supplies, here in Istanbul I buy from little mom and pop shops, know the guys at the Ilford dealer, and spend time sitting and chatting with the local guy who can repair all of my gear, from MF folders, Hasselblads, all Leica M's, Nikon RF's, Rolleiflex, Lenses, etc, etc. at very reasonable prices.
vrgard
Well-known
Not to dispute the simplicity of digital, I find that there's a different kind of simplicity with film cameras. While I can use a digital camera in a point-and-shoot mode, which argues for the greater simplicity of digital, in practice I often find that shooting with a film camera to be a simpler process. With a film camera, the number of mechanical controls points is wonderfully limited (aperture, shutter speed, focus) which means I can focus more on the picture taking process rather than camera operation. Or the other way to look at it is that I can more easily confirm intended/desired camera settings and move right to picture taking. While I could say the same about shooting in point and shoot mode with digital, in practice I often find that I need to go through various menus to change settings or, worse, discover that I should have changed settings to deal with the current shooting environment. As much as I enjoy both digital and film, there's still something special about shooting film with an all mechanical camera. Maybe I'm fooling myself but it just feels more focused on the picture taking process rather than the camera operating process - which now that I've read what I wrote I find rather ironic since I've frequently stated how much I like the feel of an all mechanical camera.
-Randy
-Randy
NickTrop
Veteran
1. "full frame" without having to pay thousands of dollars.
a. All the optical image advantages, thereof
b. full frame in a tiny package (depending on camera, of course)
2. Affordable fast lenses
b. the "look" of these old primes
3. The fun of using old manual cameras
4. The fun of developing and printing black and white
5. Being forced to know the relationship between f-stop, shutter speed, ISO
6. No clipped highlights, better dynamic range
7. Tactile bliss of advancing a frame and the snap of a real shutter
a. All the optical image advantages, thereof
b. full frame in a tiny package (depending on camera, of course)
2. Affordable fast lenses
b. the "look" of these old primes
3. The fun of using old manual cameras
4. The fun of developing and printing black and white
5. Being forced to know the relationship between f-stop, shutter speed, ISO
6. No clipped highlights, better dynamic range
7. Tactile bliss of advancing a frame and the snap of a real shutter
MCTuomey
Veteran
I'll take your advice and try it. I buy asian varieties because my local tea seller offers it rather than indian. Any favorites 🙂?
Back to topic: the choice seems to be more a matter of user temperament than technical differences b/w film and sensors, doesn't it?
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Dave, you are certainly not alone, stepping up to darkroom printing is almost as satisfying as discovering film all over again to me 🙂
I think a lot of people who like film think that darkroom printing is way too complicated or messy for them. That's why it isn't typically listed as one of the reasons people are still using film in this digital age.
Turtle
Veteran
Frank,
There is another factor which Winogrand commented on and I thought relatively little about until being immersed in a large long term project: Dissociation. While it is important to be emotionally engaged with the subject while taking the image, I have grown to feel that Winogrand had a heck of a point in advocating looking at the negs and doing the editing when the mood has long since departed. If you have a great time shooting the images there is a tendency to 'want to use one.' If you come back to them a month or two later, you are much more willing to dismiss every single image from a 'great experience' if they do not make the cut and be pleasantly surprised by images you forgot about entirely but find good reasons for including.
I have been editing and getting prints made for exhibition throughout, but am quite sure that a fair few will be dropped when it comes to the crunch. Today was a case in point. I looked through 8 rolls of 35mm and found images I forgot I had taken that I will use and scratched every single frame that I was 'looking forward to.' I guess this is all a simple way of saying the images has to stand alone for a stranger. You become that stranger if you allow time to lapse. I dont want to see images on a LCD not only for this reason, but also because it disrupts the flow. Its not about LCDs or real time. Its about engaging with the subject and to quote Austin Powers, "working it". The rest comes later. Preferably when you can no longer remember the details of taking the shots.
There is another factor which Winogrand commented on and I thought relatively little about until being immersed in a large long term project: Dissociation. While it is important to be emotionally engaged with the subject while taking the image, I have grown to feel that Winogrand had a heck of a point in advocating looking at the negs and doing the editing when the mood has long since departed. If you have a great time shooting the images there is a tendency to 'want to use one.' If you come back to them a month or two later, you are much more willing to dismiss every single image from a 'great experience' if they do not make the cut and be pleasantly surprised by images you forgot about entirely but find good reasons for including.
I have been editing and getting prints made for exhibition throughout, but am quite sure that a fair few will be dropped when it comes to the crunch. Today was a case in point. I looked through 8 rolls of 35mm and found images I forgot I had taken that I will use and scratched every single frame that I was 'looking forward to.' I guess this is all a simple way of saying the images has to stand alone for a stranger. You become that stranger if you allow time to lapse. I dont want to see images on a LCD not only for this reason, but also because it disrupts the flow. Its not about LCDs or real time. Its about engaging with the subject and to quote Austin Powers, "working it". The rest comes later. Preferably when you can no longer remember the details of taking the shots.
pachuco
El ****
I could not agree more with the OP and I do shoot for a living. I get to use the latest Canon and Nikon DSLR's and all I can think about when using them is how much I want to be shooting an M3 or something like it. I love looking at new negatives for the first time and even though I scan the negatives, the images just look different than digital images and I like that.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
By shooting, developing the film and then making the print I can learn from the process where and when something is right and when something is wrong...I do learn from my mistakes and continue to fine tune my photography...I'm not perfect but I am getting better and as long as I'm still learning, I'm a happy camper...
Plus, there's this "Control" issue I'm working on...
Plus, there's this "Control" issue I'm working on...
kemal_mumcu
Well-known
Well, film is cheaper in the long run...for me anyway.
Film is the best long term storage solution going for your images.
Affordable Leica!!! 🙂
Film is the best long term storage solution going for your images.
Affordable Leica!!! 🙂
pakeha
Well-known
my meagre vocabulary cannot add to the eloquent replies above, so , ditto,
gotta go and flip an LP on the turntable😉
gotta go and flip an LP on the turntable😉
Lilserenity
Well-known
I enjoy working in the darkroom a lot, I love making prints both colour and black and white. I know there are means of getting negatives from digital files but that is such a pullava and you're best off using the right tools for the job from the off.
Doing any commercial work, sports coverage, mainstream newspaper coverage -- use digital, it makes more sense.
Want to make prints in a darkroom, use a film camera from the off.
Doing any commercial work, sports coverage, mainstream newspaper coverage -- use digital, it makes more sense.
Want to make prints in a darkroom, use a film camera from the off.
robert blu
quiet photographer
I like film because it is what I learn from my father to use. I like the process and the "not immediate" results. When I put my slides on the light table and look at them for the first time after (the lab) developped them is an intense, great moment. In the sametimes it is exciting and relaxing (possible ?!). And when I look at my B&W contacts, selecting which is worth a bigger print (scan and inkjet) it is again if I live the moments a second time. Yes, I like film.
robert
robert
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