Adventures with 35mm photography

[Ava]

posted on my new blog: http://www.peacetakescourage.com/blog/?p=50


I’ve taken photos with a 35mm camera before. I still love to play around with our Canon Rebel 2000, and when I went to DC to march against the war in Iraq with 400,000 people I chose to take photos with the Rebel, not a digital camera. I haven’t taken photos with a fully manual 35mm camera though, and in preparation for Frame & Sequence(a course I’ll be taking my first semester at NYU) I purchased a Nikon FM10. I have a much greater appreciation for photographers now. I’ve been experimenting with the camera, trying to learn as much as I can before starting school in the fall. Unfortunately my small Alabama town doesn’t have a photo developer, so I must send the film off and wait 7 to 10 days before receiving the prints. Below are some of the first photos I’ve taken. Trying to improve…

[SacredCow]

1. I was wondering the other day where/if you could get 35mm film processed anymore...

I still have my old Nikon FA stashed somewhere (though it has a small electronic problem- supposedly easily-fixed). I just can't imagine lugging that thing around in lieu of my little Olympus shock and waterproof camera!

[ghostsofgiants]

12. Most supermarkets still have one hour photo developers.

I've been shooting 35mm lately myself, it is fun.

[Ava]

13. not in alabama they don't

i've looked everywhere in my town. several places mail it out, but none develop the film themselves.

[ghostsofgiants]

18. Really? Wow.

St. John's isn't exactly big city lights or anything and I could probably find a dozen places around town to develop it. Maybe not black and white, that is a different process than colour prints, though some B&W film uses colour print chemicals instead of B&W chemicals. I wanna learn to develop shit myself, though. I know a couple places where I can rent a darkroom.

[Chan790]

24. I realize this is a dumb question...

because you almost certainly did check, but not even the local chain drugstore? Every CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade and Rite-Aid I've ever been in has on-site film processing.

[Ava]

29. yes, i checked there to

they don't not in alabama. i checked everywhere

[Ava]

14. digital cameras are great

my brother is a camera and also has an olympus. :)

my film class uses the old 35mm cameras to teach us about exposure and focus.

[old mark]

26. I have been using my old Konica and get the processing and film

at any CVS. I have 2 digital cameras, and am still not comfortable with them after using film cameras for over 50 years, from 35mm to 4x5".


markO8)

[gmoney]

2. Nice shots!

Kodak makes a black and white film that can be processed E-6, so any Walgreens or whatever can process and print 'em. It's not fantastic, but might suit in a pinch.

[Ava]

15. thanks

[Richardo]

3. Back in covered wagon days we just called it 'photography'

:D

Those are great pictures, Amy - love the B&W :thumbsup:

[Ava]

16. who is amy?

:P

thanks

[Richardo]

25. Did I mention geezer-onset dementia?

Sorry Ava - long week. :blush:

[Haole Girl]

4. Thank you for sharing these

I especially like the top one. I've clicked on this thread a couple of times trying to put how I feel about it in words. It's a great shot. The softness, whether intentional or not, adds to the mystery of it.

Ava, I know you will be a great success. It's been a wonderful experience seeing you "grow up." I put that in quotation marks because you've always been grown up to me. :hug;

[Ava]

17. thanks! when i saw her eating that lemon i knew i had to grab a few shots

this was my favorite :)

[trof]

5. Wow! With ACTUAL fillum in a little box?

How quaint.
;-)
I have one or two single lens reflex 35mm cameras in a cabinet.
Want em?

[Ava]

28. ah! don't know how i missed your post last night

you don't want 'em? i'd love to have them!

[Moondog]

6. I've heard it said

by those who do this for a living that one needs to understand film-based photography before one can really grasp digital photography.

I'm not sure I believe that, but then I first explored photography when there was no digital. If you wanted instant feedback you shot black & white (negative) film, and you developed and printed it yourself. If you wanted color and you were a self-respecting photographer, you shot (positive) chromes, period. In other words, my learning period was when there was no such thing as digital imagery.

There were two revolutions that changed all of this. Adobe's Photoshop program, and digital imagery as a medium of image capture; and in the latter term I would include high-end scanners. To be instructed in the art and craft of imagery in today's world is an enviable thing. You are about to embark on a wondrous journey. I would give a great deal to once again be in my late teens, knowing what I wanted to do with my life, and heading off to be an undergrad at a major university in a major metropolitan area.

Make the most of it. I would. Life is too short to waste your time doing otherwise.

[MajorChode]

9. I'm not sure I believe that either

Digital darkroom techniques are much more robust, powerful, and complicated than film processing ever was, even though the basic principles might be the same.

The only reason I can see for schools teaching film is because you can still get a fully manual film camera relatively cheap, and a digital camera that's fully manual is really only available on a practical basis with medium format cameras that have digital backs.

What is vitally important is that aspiring pro photographers know how to expose photographs manually without any of the auto modes available on most commercially available cameras these days. That is simply a function of the camera itself and has little to do with the medium on which you're recording the images.

[dysfunctional press]

7. i'v parted ways with all my 35mm and darkroom equipment...

but i kept the bronica, for now.

i've got a nikon d200, but i'd really like to find something like a medium-format digital camera, that could be held at waist level for taking shots.

the main reason i love digital- now that the resolutions have gotten to the point of respectability, is how you can just shoot and shoot and shoot, and not worry about running out of film, or worrying about how much it's going to cost to develop, or how long it's all going to take if you do it yourself.

in some ways, it's almost strange that a university still uses film in what i assume is a fairly basic photo course...?(you said that it was your first semester,:shrug:) i can see the 'artistic merit' in it in some respects- but in general it's ultimately the image that matters- not the equipment that was used to obtain it.

[Ava]

19. i'm not taking a photography class

i'm studying film & tv.. we use 35mm fully manual cameras our first year while we experiment with focus and exposure.

[NJmaverick]

8. very nice

:thumbsup:

[Ava]

20. thanks

i'm still learning :)

[LynzM]

10. You have a nice eye, Ava...

Something about each of these draws me in, but not in a way that's easy to explain. Nice. :)

[Ava]

21. thanks LynzM

:)

[ghostsofgiants]

11. Dunno if you saw my comment on Flickr, but what film stock were you using?

[Ava]

22. the film came with the camera.. i got a package deal from b&h

i don't have the box near me now.. but i believe this was it -
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/29122-USA/Kodak_8292443_TMX_135_24_T_Max_100.html

[ghostsofgiants]

23. Neat.

I need to shop around for some good black and white stock.

[edbermac]

27. Your pics look pretty good to me.

I used to shoot a lot of color slides as it was all I could afford, but now I've gone digital. I don't think I've shot on film in about 2 years.

The nice thing about film is that you're forced to 'think' about your shot; composing, lighting etc. In digital you can just fire off 20 shots and get a few decent pics that you'll tweak in Photoshop.

[Duppers]

30. great pics!

Ava, they came out bigger & better here on DU than they did on FB. Perhaps it's just my settings or something.

:hug:

-d

[Auggie]

31. Very, very nice lighting

Composition too. Well done.

[KamaAina]

32. I'm definitely on a photography kick of late

my new all-time favorite human being has been posting some quite good digital stuff on her FB page. And she's not even in the field!

Yours, though, are superior. Mahalo (thank you). This way I can stop obsessing over her for a few minutes... :cry:

edit: speaking of FB, you have had a friend request pending for some time now...