Film is not dead — just on hiatus. For me at least. Last week after a long separation from Ilford black and white film I picked up a camera in hopes of rekindling a project. Any project at this point.
With a Hasselblad at hand and a shipment of paper and chemicals delivered from B&H Photo I’m back in business.
What ever that is.
Maybe I’ll dust off the darkroom too…
Ah, so the Hassie is back in circulation. This is excellent!
A very basic box camera which did yoeman work for me when I was employed. Kept two
500C’s going with extra backs. Ideal for photographing the various classes and grades in 34 elemenary schools which i was responsible for when I worked. Then too those days were black and white, and thankfully had a reliable student assistant to keep the film backs loaded with film. Every year, individual and group photographs; the secondary schools had contract photographers. This was black and white; and we had a very reliable local lab that could process and deliver contact proofs within 48 hours.
As to restarting the darkroom; yes, at least for processing the film. These days most people simply scan the completed and dried negatives; as to final results you already have a neat new Epson colour printer although between thee and me, much prefer monochrome/black and white which the Epson will do equally well.
So where you took the header photograph (G16?) supplies your caffeine fix in press coffee container eh? Best way to do so IMO.
It’s slow going with the Hasselblad with only six exposures made so far. Mostly due to a hectic work schedule. I was hoping to finish early tomorrow so I can process some film. I still have a lot of exposed 35mm to soup.
The 500C body was a workhorse. I’m shooting now with a Hasselblad 500 C/M. Just some subtle differences. The plan is to process and print as before. It’s the silver print I”m after. They have a unique look and feel.
The photo was made is Saint’s Cafe with the Canon G15 and processed using the CameraBag app because I didn’t have access to Lightroom or Photoshop. The press is how they now present the Earl Grey tea I drink. It’s a nice way to start a morning.
I understand the romance of film and the darkroom, especially for someone like you. But I have put it behind me, and say good riddance. I don’t miss it. I like my medium format digital camera. I like I can take it out in the rain and not worry about it. I like that I can easily print my images as big as I like (thanks the the big printers we have at school). I like working color. I like that I can easily convert files to make a monochrome image. I can see no downsides for me, but that’s just me.
There’s no romance for me in the darkroom Frank. Honestly, I wish I was content working with digital. Unfortunately, while being supremely functional, the process leaves me empty. I can make good photos in the digital environment but they supply little spiritual nourishment. Or something. So I’ll see if a return to film fills a void or whether something in me is just gone or broken.
Always good to experiment right?
I was never happy with how my 2.25 prints came out of commercial labs, at least the ones I tried, no true blacks.
I was never happy with commercially printed black and white either. If I wasn’t printing I wasn’t shooting.
Let’s see. A water cooled, fuel injected, four valve per cylinders, disc brakes and heated grips on the scooter you ride in slush. A camera that’s too expensive to risk damaging and requires old fashioned development tactics to yield anything meaningful. Use your phone Steve. It’s lighter, cheaper and gives better results.
That camera was once expensive but now just a fraction of the cost of a good digital camera or even my iPhone. Using it has nothing to do with cost, weight or results. For me shooting and processing film was a ritual that had it’s own rewards — much like the experience the Vespa provides over a Ducati. Different strokes and all. And rational evaluation has little sway in the decision making…
No, film isn’t dead. Though it is a whole lot less convenient than digital. I like the Hasselblad though film must be challenging to find. And you probably can’t find any at Walmart or CVS…
Convenience isn’t an issue for use. Just different and calls on some patience. Film is easy — B&H Photo supplied the current lot and there are many suppliers who can deliver overnight. No more 120 film in town though that I know of. All the camera stores have closed. The campus bookstore may still carry film though — I’ll have to check.
Funny how timely your post is. As mentioned before, my Nikon P6000 met an ignoble demise after just a bit too much abuse. I’m starting a fund for its replacement (probably a P7800; even though I’m not crazy about its larger size, it does sport an EVF, among other niceties), but for the time being my film-burning Contax Tvs takes its place, with a roll of Ilford Pan F to start.
What makes this a bit easier for me, as opposed to someone who’s been shooting digital for years but wants to put a few rolls through a mothballed camera again, is that I’ve pretty much gotten the “hybrid” system (shoot on film, digitally scan & print) down cold over the last 18 years, with a great dedicated film scanner, plus a decent flatbed scanner with transparency adapter for batch scanning and digital contact sheets. Digital cameras are great in a host of ways, and I wouldn’t be without ’em, but they haven’t truly displaced film for me as much as augmented it: working with film-based cameras has always been faster and more direct, among other attributes. And, now that I have the room for it, there will be a darkroom, although initially I’ll be using the setup just for processing film.
As someone else said: film isn’t dead, it just smells funny.
Ilford Pan F — I never had the patience for the slow film. Decades ago I used Kodak Panatomic-X at ASA 25 processed in Microdol. I realized what I was seeking with the film was a large format experience and hence the view camera.
The Nikon P7800 looks like a great little camera. Good price too.
I’ve used 35mm film scanners but was never interested enough to work out the process. If I shoot film I want to make silver prints. Later this evening I’m going to mix up all the chemicals to hopefully process and print tomorrow. D-76, Dektol, and some sort of Sprint Fixer. Have a couple boxes of old paper in the darkroom. Hopefully they’ll still render an image…
I shot a lot of film for fun back in the day. I wasn’t a good photographer, still not, but it was interesting.
My first digital camera made pictures without all the necessary head scratching choices prior to the shot. Point….shoot.
But i learned very quickly that I could shoot all day and serendipidously get a good one…and not pay for processing the junk I ended up throwing away.
It sounds like you want to control the sorting process in your own processing domain….that sounds fun too.
BWB says there is a digital step now with scanners….
So you can still share the great pictures youtake…I hope….
I’ve certainly made a lot of bad photographs — with film and digitally. The digital camera is a powerful tool, one I would not ever abandon. For blogging it’s perfect. Working with film and silver prints is a different experience with different goals. These are unique to me and have little to do with conventional “improvements”. Maybe it’s like the difference between an acoustic and electric guitar.
Whatever I end up doing I’ll share them here. It’s always good to get opinions and critique.
Well, I for one eagerly await your results!
A cold has slowed progress a bit but I have some film waiting for a dunk in the Kodak D-76.
or is already dead. The reality is that film has never gone away, and in recent years has experienced a surging, renewed popularity
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