Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Film Trial

Hello Blog,  it's been a while, but that just means we're living and loving life and that is awesome!

Some of you who remember me from Michigan remember that I used to take photos.  Back then digital wasn't big yet and everyone seemed to make this switch, including myself a couple of years back in 2008.  I've been an avid blog reader of several photographers and I've noticed that I have particularly fallen in love with the look of film.  Not your drug store film (like I just shot), but professional film.  It's beautiful and its capabilities are appealing to me in many ways.  Most of all, I just want something genuine and real.  We take photos to capture moments in time and to help us remember, and that is what I love most about photography.  Granted, there are times when taking a photo isn't just to remember a certain event, but to make a piece of Art, and the digital age has made that really easy to do with presets and actions galore!  As much fun as it is to manipulate a photo and make it look pretty I'd rather do all of that one, in my camera, and then have the time to enjoy what I was able to take.

So, I have borrowed a 35mm camera from my SIL and I shot a roll yesterday, took it to Costco for some scans (they only charge $5/roll!), and picked them up today.  Needless to say, I was excited and glad that the roll didn't come back all black!  However, that isn't too say that I'm rockn' that 35mm SLR like it was designed to rock...there is still a lot of room for improvement and actual professional grade films to shoot with. 

A few notes: 
  • Disappointed in the amount of grain.
  • I think that shooting at 250th/sec gave me warmer light.
  • I should increase my dof when shooting babies that move a lot and that are fast since they move out of my sharp range quickly.
  • I do like that I can shoot at fast shutter speeds with 400 speed film. 
  • A light meter will be helpful to be able to spot meter instead of using the built in meter.





I can't wait to try some different films and to find a better lab, but until then I'm just going to keep practicing with my drug store film and Costco processing until I can be happy with an entire roll of film.

1 comment:

Nikki said...

i really love the grain in the first and last photo. but you're right its not great all the time. your photos look good so far! which camera are you using? i think that the A-1 works perfectly fine you just have to ignore the shutter squeak, i dont think it effects the functionality of the camera. its just annoying haha. and i forgot to tell you that if you want to play around with SUPER shallow DOF - use the macro lenses! they are so fun. you almost have to hold your breath when you shoot because the slightest movement will throw your focus off. keep posting pics, i want to see what kind of stuff you get from that film stuff. maybe you will convince me that its worth the time and money to try lol!