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Taking the plunge
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I’ve decided to take the plunge and shoot film for the first time EVER!
I’d like to stick with monochrome as this makes up the majority of the stuff I shoot. I’m going to be borrowing a 35mm SLR (no idea of make/model/features at the moment) for this “project”.
The problem is, I don’t know where to start in terms of film choice or anything else! I’m a complete film virgin. So any tips you can give me to help make sure this isn’t a COMPLETE disaster would be greatly appreciated.
I’m planning to shoot people/street portraits/candids and would like a nice grainy feel (so ISO400ish???). As soon as I have taken the shots, I’ll probably bug you all for hints/tips on developing, printing and scanning.
Thanks in advance.
I would say if you can, you should get access to a darkroom and a darkroom course too as it makes a HUGE difference being able to work them yourself. (Just imagine giving your cf card to a stranger to photoshop & print ! !).
I think its shocking the amount of people who are put off film photography by having their films developed & printed badly. For b/w sharp contrasts in not great light 400 iso is your best bet – its hard to go too far wrong with that, its a bit grainy but in a good way.
gerardk wrote:
I would say if you can, you should get access to a darkroom and a darkroom course too as it makes a HUGE difference being able to work them yourself. (Just imagine giving your cf card to a stranger to photoshop & print ! !) I think its shocking the amount of people who are put off film photography by having their films developed & printed badly..
I agree with your sentiments Gerard, but realistically for my first roll, I think I’ll have to hand over control of developing/printing to a “stranger”. If the film bug bites, I may look to invest in a course down the road, but for now it’s just an experiment in life on the dark side.
gerardk wrote:
For b/w sharp contrasts in not great light 400 iso is your best bet – its hard to go too far wrong with that, its a bit grainy but in a good way.
Sounds perfect :D Is there a brand of film that’s better over others? Where’s the best place to pick up the film in Dublin (apologies for the stupid questions)
I like Fuji Neopan 400 or Ilford HP5+ (possibly a little grainer)
Sending mine off for dev only at the moment then scanning them, I have all the stuff for a darkroom but never got round to learning it all and using it
I think I used to use ilford 400iso a lot as well – cant remember the exact kind.
I use Fuji Neopan 400 or 1600 or Ilford HP5+ , very nice all three of them. 1600 is very grainy
You’ll be able to purchase a second-hand 35mm manual SLR off ebay for ?80 no problem,
another 60-70 for a 50mm lens.Of course you could just go straight to medium format and like get get some crazy russian brick
found this image online
Thats a beast of a camera you have there Mark.
What film you using with that ?
Ciaran: Ilford HP5+ is great stuff altogether, give it a shot. I always send mine away to be developed in the UK
at dedicated b+w folks. Not sure if there is anyone in Ireland providing good servicesWell I opted for the Ilford HP5+ ISO400.
The camera is a borrowed one and it’s a Canon :( so it’s like I’m dyslexic
It’s a bog standard model I’m guessing – only one metering mode and not even sure what that is (I’m persuming matrix/evaluative). Also it works in 1/2 stops rather than 1/3rd stops. Finally, there’s only one command dial – NOW WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT? As soon as I have the shots in the bag, no doubt I’ll be looking for advice as to what to do next.
Thanks for the tips/advice so far.
Oh a Canon :shock: ;)
They are different to use thats for sure, not a user friendly as the trusty ol’ Nikon.
Better stop there as this isn’t the place for the Nikon Vs Canon debate :)
Enjoy.
MarkNobody has mentioned Kodak tri-x (iso 400) or plus-x (iso 125). Both of these films have lovely contrast, easily available and have a well proven track record. Tri-x has been on the market for over 25 years and is probibly the biggest selling b+w film ever?
Where to buy? I buy all of my film from John Gunns Camera Shop on Wexford St. Dublin. Louise there will process all types of b+w film herself by hand or if you want you can buy the chemicals and processing tanks etc. from them.
I cant recomend them highly enough.Kodak don’t seem to have any commitment to film anymore and will sell all thier users down the river sooner rather than later I reckon…didn’t they already stop all b&w paper?
for that reason I don’t want to use them or rely on them. Fuji / Ilford on the other hand seem commited to keeping it going.
Your probibly right about Kodak but I would not be a big fan of ilford and only because I dont
like their b+w paper. When Kodak does eventually stop producing tri-x I suppose I will move
over to fuji neopan. I have been using their colour film for years, pro 400h (formally nph400).Although I will probibly be doing the digital thing by then ?
Used use a canon At1 and Ae1, the AT was a basic manual (centre-weighted needle match metering) while the AE had a few extra options. Great cameras, great results and very simple to use. Herself has a Nikon F4 which gets brought out on rare occassions. Lots of buttons, but very easy to understand and I love the quality. Never a great fan of Kodak B&W, always thought Tr-X was too good – I know, bizarre. Liked Illford a lot, especially when shooting 400asa at 1600; more moody, contrasty grainy, than Kodak. Agfa fibre based paper was the dogs wotsits. Ciaran, you really should take the plunge into the darkroom end of things too if you get the chance, you can lose yourself for hours in there and it’s great fun. Would love to get back into the darkroom myself some day; it’s photography, Jim, but not as you know it.
photobrian wrote:
John Gunns Camera Shop on Wexford St. Dublin. Louise there will process all types of b+w film herself by hand or if you want you can buy the chemicals and processing tanks etc. from them.
I cant recomend them highly enough.Well I finished off my first roll the other day on my walkabout in Dublin, so while I was in there I decided to drop it into Gunn’s. I’ve asked for the highest resolution scans of the negatives that they can give and it will be Wednesday before I know what the results are like.
Mick451 wrote:
Ciaran, you really should take the plunge into the darkroom end of things too if you get the chance, you can lose yourself for hours in there and it’s great fun. Would love to get back into the darkroom myself some day; it’s photography, Jim, but not as you know it.
I think I’ll learn to walk before I can run. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to about this has said the only real way to go if I stay shooting B&W is to develop and print the images myself. So depending on the success of this experiment I may or may not go down that road. But for now it’s a case of waiting until Wednesday and seeing what the results are like.
Most of the B&W film of today give excellent results HP5 Ilford 400 are good starters. Darkroom printing is easy to do but hard to do well. What i mean by this is that it is very easy and exciting to produce a straight B&W print but difficult to produce a really fine print. It takes lots of practice to get all the elements to work in your favour.
The suggestion to use John Gunn is a good one as they are the only lab in town that will produce clean negatives. Clean negative are the key to success. Producing clean well exposed negatives is quite difficult. You can get water marks , dust can stick to your negatives, small scratches from film transport on your camera.
On the subject of learning to print in a darkroom, i would suggest Dublin Camera club. They have a number of experts. The Gallery of Photography also do a course and rent out darkrooms .
If anyone is seriousley interested in learing darkroom work and they can get access to a darkroom i would be quite happy to demonstrate the process. The basics would only take approx 3 hours max.
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