That time you had to...
....wait for your film to be developed.
I was visiting my grandparents a couple weeks ago, doing some chores for them while enjoying the sweet, June air of the country. Before I left, my grandpa reached into the closet and pulled out a dusty, red bag.
"You interested in film at all?" he asked. And I became the proud owner of a Canon A-1 and 4 nice lenses to boot.
So here I have been, attempting film photography, even though I grew up with the digital age and only know how to use the cheap disposable film cameras necessary for summer camp. I do not know what to tell you about the "learning" of this device, but seeing that I could not get my first roll of film in without YouTube-ing, "How to advance film"....
Let's just say that having a knowledgeable dad is necessary to this process.
This week I sent out my first film roll to be printed (with a free CD of them--can't get away from digital after all) in order to see how the camera responded to my pleas. But apparently my success rate is only 58%: I received 14 out of 24 exposures back. But the results of the remaining? Here we go....
Here are my favorite flower pictures, which turned out rather nice.
And here is a "people" picture, that I took of my brother Michael. It is a little washed-out in appearance, but still not bad. It just kind of looks like a candid shot from the 70's or 80's...because that's when the camera is from....
I love this picture of the leaves with water on them! It is my favorite of them all.
The flash that I have is decent enough, but here again my brother pointed out that the pictures I took seem like we went back in time to the 70's and 80's, even though these pictures were taken just a week or so ago. But maybe it is just because the kitchen is under construction right now.
And here are the worst of the pictures that were returned. They crack me up, because it is one of those "film things" that are guaranteed to happen! So it goes when you have no way to know that your settings were completely wrong. It would have been another nice shot pansies, and I will have you know that it should have been a famous picture of leaves and sky, but they came back ugly.
But I am feeling pretty good, overall! The only real question is: what is the best way (and the most economical way) to get film developed now? I am finding that no one develops film the "good ol' way" anymore, and it has become a half digital process--a little disappointing, I will admit.
Does anyone know what a person such as myself should do, who just wants to have fun with film? How should I get my film rolls developed in the future?
Hope everyone is doing well! To all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th!
i've often thought how fun it would be to play around with a film camera again....but those are all my same questions. My daughter developed her own prints when she took a class in college, but all those chemicals?!? and who has a room to dedicate to a darkroom??? Good luck on your film journey!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! Developing my own sounds like it might be too much. But film IS fun, even if I get a CD instead of negatives, so I guess we'll see where I end up after I use up all my rolls of film. Thanks, Steph!
DeleteFun! I actually really like the "bad" pansy photo :) As far as getting it developed, is there a community college or university nearby that offers photography classes? I wonder if a professor would be willing to develop your film for a fee. Or, you could go all in and learn to develop it yourself-I did that at camp years ago and it was a blast!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kat! After you saying that, I have to agree, that pansy shot does have some artistic appeal. And that's not a bad idea, to see if a professor would develop film for me! I'll have to remember that! Thanks a bunch!
Deletewhen you find out let me know! My dad just gave me his old nikon slr. I mainly wanted his lens because it's compatible with my nikon dslr. (I cheat!) I love the way you can delete photos, and edit them but you do some kind of depth with film photography.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree about the depth of film photography! That's why I was disappointed when I learned my pictures were printed, not developed. Who knew they made it half digital now? But it looks like there might be better options online....but I guess I'll just have to try them out to see :) Thanks, Karen!
Deleteoh I love the first picture, such great colors.. and also the one of your brother - i actually am a big fan of a bit of the white washed look in photography. that's too bad that they don't develop film anymore, around here i've seen a few good camera shops close over the past few years since the digital world is taking over. my dad used to have a dark room in the basement, but that idea sounds like a lot to me too. lol. good luck :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I love that first picture too! I hung it up at work, and can now admire the colors in it everyday instead of the bleak cube wall of mine. And I also agree about the faded, white washed look. I hope you have a good week!
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