Shooting Film
- This topic has 27 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated Nov 15, 2008 at 10:36 pm by
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So let me ask you guys this…
How many of you still shoot B&W film or Chrome as opposed to Digital?
How many folks here have ever banked time in a darkroom?
Do not get me wrong I love my digital but sometimes I would rather send the time in the darkroom then at the computer.
Hey Jason.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the darkroom, and I love to develop b+w film and manipulate and make my own b+w prints. Unfortunately, I don’t own an enlarger of my own and have moved away from the enlarger I had access to, so I haven’t developed much lately.
Zach and I shoot digital nearly exclusively for all but decorative shots, and we’ve had a real hard time finding a place to get our black and white film developed well and at a reasonable price.
Perhaps I should ask for an enlarger and other accoutrements for Christmas or birthday. 😉
Lauren
I used to do a lot of work in B & W for record companies and for the Australian version of People magazine.
Spent a lot of time in the darkroom on both.
Now though the only B&W film I have left is 10 packs of Polaroid 665 Pos/Neg.
They don’t make it any more and there’s nothing else like it.IMHO digital makes better B&W then film in most cases and gives the option of doing either, but i sure will miss these borders..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
Hey Jason.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the darkroom, and I love to develop b+w film and manipulate and make my own b+w prints.
Film or as I like to call it “photograpy unplugged” is a totally different experience and I would highly suggest you give it a try just for the experience. I started in the photography business as a lab rat printing large quantities of 8X10 contact prints and it was a great way to learn photography. Fine print making is a real art and a totally different way of relating to your images. If you are going to shoot B+W film I would process and print it. You might give large format B+W photography a try! I have a 8X10 BXW film portrait I shot of my father and the quality is spectacular.
Check out APUG the Analog Photographer Users Group http://www.apug.org there are still quite a few people shooting film.I miss the time in the dark room, but I don’t miss the costs! Blowing through film and paper gets expensive. But nothing beats a beautiful silver print with a range of shades and tones that give the image a 3 dimensional look. You know the ones, where you feel like you could reach into the paper and touch what you see.
I’ve been shooting film here and there on my holga 120 and 135. But not much black and white. The only reason i don’t is because of darkroom access/time. Plus it would take some practice to get back into the swing of that work flow.http://society6.com/grainfarmer Fly Fishing and Landscape open edition Photography prints.
http://grainfarmer.vsco.co/ iPhone photos
http://instagram.com/chad_simcox InstagramLauren – You can pretty much count on having to ship film to have it developed with that word “well” attached. BWC here in Dallas, Tx., uses dip-and-dunk machines to process film and could be worth a look. They are essentially the last best pro lab left standing after the “revolution”.
I spent years printing all day, every day, for one photographer in Dallas, and finally got out on my own (a long time ago) and was still printing my own in my own home darkroom until the “revolution”.
Now, I have to agree with another’s post there really is nothing like a Silver Gelatin print, but there are other prints / papers / methods that I find appealing. Specifically, I use Hahnenemuhle – German Etching for texture, and have gone crazy for their Fine Art Pearl (285gsm.), which is as close to air dried fibre as I have found so far.
Ahh, but I do miss the darkroom and the coldlight glow.
shannon
I hear the new Epson Fine Art Paper is really close to a gelatin silver print but I haven’t seen it yet. The darkroom was a pretty cool sanctuary where you could really spend time with your images and really get a depth of understanding that is just about impossible to replicate on the computer.
Maybe if you set aside a “dark room” with your computer printer and a well lit viewing area and some good speakers and you might be close. Add the scent of acetic acid and a running water sound track and maybe a pretty girl with long blonde hair, navy bell bottoms and a tie dyed tank top and it would 1970 all over again… far out man!
I don’t know how many of you print at home, but a big part of the ‘revolution’ is in printing.
I have a Canon 5100 printer that does awesome A2 prints in color or B & W, it’s also very easy to use and fairly cheap to run when you consider what we used to pay for big chemical prints.
The range of papers you can get is staggering, with everything from watercolor papers to high gloss being available.
Compared to a darkroom it’s a very clean process as well and very easy to do yourself at home.
Price wise the cost of the printers has come way down in the last few years, not long ago to do an A2 Dye sub you needed to spend over 100K on a printer, now they’re about 3 grand (Australian prices).
For B & W the range of options on contrast, levels and tone are endless.
While I do miss a lot of the old processes for film and hanging out at the labs shooting the breeze with other photographers, I don’t miss the bills and expenses and always owing the shop heaps of money for film.
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
i donated a pile of velvia and provia (did i get the names correct?) to one of my students a few years ago when tought highschool
gave my n6006 to a friend in idaho too
i wish digital cameras were around a long time ago. i’m still angered by carrying a framepack full of film to africa in ’98 when i could have just had a memory card
Don’t get me wrong, I love digital, but it’s easy to get nostalgic for something you spent so much time doing. To me it’s like reading xeoroxed zines or making mix tapes.
http://society6.com/grainfarmer Fly Fishing and Landscape open edition Photography prints.
http://grainfarmer.vsco.co/ iPhone photos
http://instagram.com/chad_simcox InstagramI’m with you, Chad. A couple of days ago, after this thread started, I was talking with Zach about setting up a little (play) darkroom here. He responded skeptically. I had to explain to him that now it’s a hobby like any other – unnecessary but very enjoyable. I didn’t mention the nostalgia, but that’s part of it too. There’s just something to be said for working with an image on such a minute and particular and concrete level. You can’t duplicate that process or the closeness that comes with it in Photoshop. :-/
Or at least I can’t. 😉
I used to do darkroom work as a hobby, in HS (82-86) and some in college. Once I finally got past my school debts, I was gathering my own darkroom equipment to get back in the game. I eventually had all the gear and was preparing to build a darkroom in the attic of my house. I gave up on the idea due to the cost of construction (walls, insulation, temp controls, electric and plumbing), and the declining benefit of a darkroom when digital became an option.
B&W darkroom work is/was great fun. Digital, however, has really brought me back to the hobby at an affordable price. They are not museum pieces or nearly as good as “real” B&W that pros and artists reach, but I can get a nice enough B&W effect through Photoshop.
And finally, who are we kidding? My darkroom work was never so great that it was “clearly” better than what I can do with PS (not that I am very good at PS, either). Talented people with great paper, great film and great equipment can beat PS results, but that is still a high hurdle for even serious hobbyists.
If young people get the chance to learn darkroom work, it is a great way to learn to see light in a different way. I appreciate the the opportunity to learn those lessons. However, I don’t ever see myself going back and probably won’t ever shoot my film cameras again.
I miss the “hands on” darkroom experience — working in the dark, seeing the image appear, dodging and burning, the smell of the process, a drying line of photos, etc., but all good things come to an end. The tech side of computers can be pretty cool, too.
I’m with you, Chad. A couple of days ago, after this thread started, I You can’t duplicate that process or the closeness that comes with it in Photoshop. :-/
Do you have a photo printer Lauren ?
Or access to one ?
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I was just going to comment that doing some printing gives digital back some of the hands on feel of B & W film.
It’s nice to hold a photo in your hand as opposed to just seeing them on the computer.
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I don’t know how many of you print at home, but a big part of the ‘revolution’ is in printing.
I have a Canon 5100 printer that does awesome A2 prints in color or B & W, it’s also very easy to use and fairly cheap to run when you consider what we used to pay for big chemical prints.
The range of papers you can get is staggering, with everything from watercolor papers to high gloss being available.
Compared to a darkroom it’s a very clean process as well and very easy to do yourself at home.
Price wise the cost of the printers has come way down in the last few years, not long ago to do an A2 Dye sub you needed to spend over 100K on a printer, now they’re about 3 grand (Australian prices).
For B & W the range of options on contrast, levels and tone are endless.
While I do miss a lot of the old processes for film and hanging out at the labs shooting the breeze with other photographers, I don’t miss the bills and expenses and always owing the shop heaps of money for film.
It’s pretty plain to see that printers are the needle and ink is the drug. The price of ink is oft ignored to a photographer’s peril. Replacing an entire ink set on, say an Epson 4800 (220ml. every color), would set you back something like … 1200.usd? No matter, it’s still cheaper than silver printing nowadays.
shannonNo, David, I don’t. And to be clear, there’s no way we’re going film or anything. I simply miss the tactility of processing and printing my own B+W film. 🙂
Yes, that tactility – my hands in selenium toner … my prostate probably misses it too. Darkroom humor.
ShannonOn my 5100 the cost of an A2 print is still much less then a cibachrome or (god, I can’t remember the term for color neg printing :-[ R51 ?) color print from neg in the same size.
Even with the commercial rental on my printer I’m way ahead.
The best thing though is that I can print stuff for my portfolio how I like it and when I feel like doing it..
Also, like when I first started printing B&W, it’s made me more aware of my shooting with a view to getting the best final outcome..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
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