My detour into film photography

[Dogman]

Thanks to those who replied. You are a very kind, understanding and generous group.

I love photography. It's a real joy to practice it with each of you.

 

[Godfrey]

Dogman: The annual Pride t-shirts I get every year from Under Armour sports equipment say it best for me:
"United We Win"

That's why I usually buy three or four of them every year and wear them nearly all the time, only retiring the oldest ones when they are worn out... 😀

G

 

[das]

I never really stopped shooting film. I never gelled with digital. I tried a Nikon DSLR and then a Nikon Z. They just became depreciating assets -- and I found that using a mobile phone (whose photos are ultimately easier and faster to correct than the RAW files from any mirrorless or DSLR) was sufficient for what I needed digital for.

I used to develop at home, but no longer because it was not worth the time, expense, exposure to chemicals, and the relatively short shelf life of mixed chemicals. Although many enjoy the "process," I never did -- and losing or getting suboptimal results from about 1 out of 20 rolls from poor developing was the last straw.

Before the massive spike in color film prices, the 35mm workflow was pretty easy. Bulk roll Ilford XP2 for b&w and get whatever cheap Fuij/Kodak 3-packs from any store, occasionally splurging for Portra 160 or 400. Drop them off for develop only at a local lab, and then scan with a high quality dedicated scanner at leisure. When shooting only 6-12 rolls per month, the whole process is cheaper than the upfront price + depreciation on a new-fangled digital camera and my "keep" rate is around 70%.

 

[Freakscene]

Dogman: The annual Pride t-shirts I get every year from Under Armour sports equipment say it best for me:
"United We Win"

That's why I usually buy three or four of them every year and wear them nearly all the time, only retiring the oldest ones when they are worn out... 😀

G

A good soft well washed t-shirt is a great thing. Hard to argue with the message.

 

[Dogman]

My favorite t-shirt has the cover of Thelonious Monk's "Underground" album on it. It's not Monk's best album but that cover photo is outstanding.

 

[Rayt]

While I prefer the look of well exposed and developed b/w film either scanned or traditionally printed I still choose digital because the high iso thus ability to shoot in very low light and at very high shutter speeds mean the difference between getting or not getting the shot. Ultimately that‘s what matters in the end. That said I still enjoy large format since the mentioned benefits do not necessarily apply and tonality matters the most. Medium format is sort of borderline. The Rolleiflex TLR isn’t going anywhere.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Started out with film in the early 1970's and still love the experience of shooting a few old film cameras, the Canon F-1n, the Nikon F, the Leica M4 & M6, and a couple of old Leica IIIc babies, but what makes me use them less and less is the shutter speeds, especially the higher speeds, are just not accurate. Even after servicing, within a short period of time the high speeds will be off by up to a stop or stop and a half. Got to the point where I had a list taped to the bottom of each body, showing what the actual shutter speeds were at different settings. I've still got two film bodies that have very accurate shutter speeds, the Nikon F6 and Nikon FM2N, but neither of those bodies feel as nice in the hand as the classics from 50 to 70 years ago. So not much film is being shot.

Surprisingly, I don't mind the experience of processing film that I've shot, probably just nostalgia from the old days, but putting my hands in a changing bag and loading stainless steel reels with film I've just shot, excited to see the results, I still get a kick out of that.

Best,
-Tim

 

[sojournerphoto]

I still shoot film, and digital. Not as much of either as a few years ago. But, it ebbs and flows. At one level I don't care, but I do enjoy (digital) printing from film negs. James Ravilious talked about the image etched in silver, which I like🙂

My girls - 18 and 21 - each have an Olympus Mju2 - one zoom an done fixed 35. They use these as they will and mix it with their phones. They asked for the cameras from my box. The younger, who is more visually aware, also has an Instax camera she enjoys.

My older daughter's boyfriend recently was looking for a film camera on the evil auction site and I found him a Practika TL2 for £10 with a 50mm lens in a local charity shop. He's already made some good pictures on a couple of rolls of HP5. He also has a phone, of course.

If we are fortunate to enjoy we can count ourselves blessed.