A French southerner

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Yaeli

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Good evening to you all !

So here's a quick introduction, so that you know who you're dealing with :smile:

I'm a 43 year old French guy living on the French Riviera, but born in the North-East mountains, close to Germany. I started photography when I was a teenager, first with disposable cameras, and then with my first Pentax SLR and slide film (since my mum was using slide film at that time). During a few years, I experimented with film, night photography, portrait, with different cameras (a Zenit, a Nikon EM, my Pentax MZ-50, etc...). Then I dropped photography altogether, for years. I came back to it about 6 years ago, and immersed myself in digital. I shot a few rolls of film in B&W and tried printing in the darkroom in a small club, with poor results. I guess I was so used to digital already that I didn't really have the patience to learn. The Mastin Labs presets gave me more or less the "classic" film look that I wanted.

But now, more and more, I'm drawn again to "real" film, its unpredictability, its waiting time before you see the results, its slower process, and its look. To me, it's a more rewarding experience than taking pictures on my EOS R (which does most of the work for me...). A friend of mine gave me almost everything I need to develop and even print B&W film (including an old MF enlarger), so I decided to start developping at home (if nothing else, to lower the expenses). And here I am, already asking questions :smile:

That's it. Thank you for your welcome !
Yaeli.
 

bdial

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Bonjour Yaeli, welcome to Photrio.
One of my best business trips ever was to the French Riviera. You live in a lovely place.
 

gone

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I first thought you were a fellow Southerner from your title (rebel flag, good manners, etc), but then I read your post. I can at least give you the New Orleans Southern French Cajun greeting of "Laissez les bons temps rouler!" That's probably not correct French, but I didn't live around any correct French people down there, just Cajuns and Creoles, LOL. Welcome to the forum.

I actually haven't found film to be unpredictable. When things go weird, it's almost always my fault.
 

MattKing

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Welcome, again).
Sadly, although I live in an officially French speaking, bilingual country, Canada, and despite years of French classes, I speak little French.
But like you, I speak photography.
Enjoy your time here.
 

removed account4

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Yaeli
great to see you here!
franche-comtois comme les frères lumières ? :smile:
looking forward to reading your posts and seeing your photos !
John
 

guangong

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Welcome! All Southerners seem to be more fun loving than Northerners.
You listed several of the reasons I have stayed with film.
 

Sirius Glass

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Welcome to APUG Photrio!!
 

jay moussy

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Bonjour et bienvenue.

I have a beautiful book titled 'La Riviera de Charles Negre", photographs taken around 1860, when the area was mostly sleepy and poor fishing villages!
 

alanrockwood

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Good evening to you all !

So here's a quick introduction, so that you know who you're dealing with :smile:

I'm a 43 year old French guy living on the French Riviera, but born in the North-East mountains, close to Germany. I started photography when I was a teenager, first with disposable cameras, and then with my first Pentax SLR and slide film (since my mum was using slide film at that time). During a few years, I experimented with film, night photography, portrait, with different cameras (a Zenit, a Nikon EM, my Pentax MZ-50, etc...). Then I dropped photography altogether, for years. I came back to it about 6 years ago, and immersed myself in digital. I shot a few rolls of film in B&W and tried printing in the darkroom in a small club, with poor results. I guess I was so used to digital already that I didn't really have the patience to learn. The Mastin Labs presets gave me more or less the "classic" film look that I wanted.

But now, more and more, I'm drawn again to "real" film, its unpredictability, its waiting time before you see the results, its slower process, and its look. To me, it's a more rewarding experience than taking pictures on my EOS R (which does most of the work for me...). A friend of mine gave me almost everything I need to develop and even print B&W film (including an old MF enlarger), so I decided to start developping at home (if nothing else, to lower the expenses). And here I am, already asking questions :smile:

That's it. Thank you for your welcome !
Yaeli.
My wife is originally from Nice, France.
 

jeffreyg

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Yaeli
Welcome. Where are your parents from? My wife whose original language is French was born in Cairo, Egypt but her family was exiled and went to France before coming to the US. Actually she has a cousin Yaeli who lives Israel. (We are old enough to be your parents) She still has family in the South of France as well.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

http://sculptureandphotography.com/
 

Ian Grant

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Well you made a good choice moving to where it's warmer and less like UK weather :D

Working professionally until recently all my work since 2000 was digital. however all my personal work has always been film based except one small project while studying for an MA (Masters).
ian
 
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Yaeli

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Thank you all for your warm welcome ! :happy:

@bdial : yes, it is a beautiful place ! Although I must admit, I sometimes miss the dark and scented (?) pine forests of my youth. I don't get to go back as often as I wished...

@momus : I'm just a French southerner, but I do like the southern US culture a lot :wink: I love delta blues and country and bluegrass and dixieland. I haven't tried soul food but I wish I could, one day... "Laissez les bons temps rouler" is indeed not used here in France, and is a direct translation (as you surely know) of "let the good times roll". There's a great song with this title :
You're right : unpredictable is not the correct term. I was trying to refer to the uncertainty of having gotten the shot, and it's the word that came to mind, but maybe "expectancy" would have been more appropriate ?

I speak photography.
That is very well said ! I love that !
P.S : Canada has been the country of my dreams since I was 16... Back then, I wanted to be a lumberjack somewhere in the North. Since then, I've read a lot and watched a lot of documentaries about BC, Alberta, Quebec, Nunavut, TNO and, last but not least, the land of all my dreams : Yukon :smile: The movie "The last trapper" is one of my all times favourites !

@jnantz : I'm not from Franche-Comté, but my father is from there. I was born a little more to the North.

Welcome! All Southerners seem to be more fun loving than Northerners.
You listed several of the reasons I have stayed with film.
I don't know about Southerners being more fun loving than Northerners, but I consider myself a little bit of both so :smile:

@Pieter12 : I lived in Cannes for 6 years ! That's where I studied to be a nurse. I am now technically in Provence, but only a few kilometers from what is considered the western limit of the Côte d'Azur.

Bonjour et bienvenue.
I have a beautiful book titled 'La Riviera de Charles Negre", photographs taken around 1860, when the area was mostly sleepy and poor fishing villages!
Merci :smile: I'd love to see that book, it seems very interesting ! I love old photographs of how things were "back in the day" ! I have searched online but only came across a few photographs from this book, unfortunately.

My wife is originally from Nice, France.
I lived close to Nice for 6 years ! It's a beautiful place, though a little too big of a city for my taste :wink:

Yaeli
Welcome. Where are your parents from? [...] she has a cousin Yaeli who lives Israel. (We are old enough to be your parents) She still has family in the South of France as well.
My dad is from Franche Comté and my mum from the Vosges mountains. I've been to Israel during my studies, in... wow, 2000 ! Times sure passes quickly...

Well you made a good choice moving to where it's warmer and less like UK weather :D
Working professionally until recently all my work since 2000 was digital. however all my personal work has always been film based except one small project while studying for an MA (Masters).
ian
I've experienced UK weather a few times (in Stoke on Trent, where my brother used to teach French for a while, in Leicester when I visited a friend of mine, and in Ireland, where I spent a month during my studies), and I must admit, I quite enjoy drier climates (although it gets a little too hot for my liking here in the summer...).
I also keep digital now for times when people ask me to shoot an event for them (I do NOT consider myself a professionnal, far from it, but people seem to like my photographs enough to ask me to shoot a few things from time to time), and concentrate more on film for personal "documentation" (skydiving, horses, and all that).

Bonjour, et bienvenue sur Photrio, cher compatriote ! :cool:
Merci ! Ca va, je ne suis pas le seul frenchie ici alors :wink:

Thanks again for your welcome !
 

jay moussy

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@Yaeli the Charles Negre book was a numbered limited edition of 700. I got it for 2 or 3 dollars!
If you like "Les bons temps..." and the style of music, you can listen to Lafayette radio online, krvs.org. Several program segments play Cajun and Zydeco ("Dimanche Matin", "Bonjour Louisiane", etc) and are archived, play on demand.
 

Pieter12

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I lived in Cannes for 6 years ! That's where I studied to be a nurse. I am now technically in Provence, but only a few kilometers from what is considered the western limit of the Côte d'Azur
I went to high school (Lycée) there, but that was before you were born. I did enjoy my time there, breathtaking views from some of the high roads. And wonderful food and people. I miss that accent.
 
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Yaeli

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@Yaeli the Charles Negre book was a numbered limited edition of 700. I got it for 2 or 3 dollars!
If you like "Les bons temps..." and the style of music, you can listen to Lafayette radio online, krvs.org. Several program segments play Cajun and Zydeco ("Dimanche Matin", "Bonjour Louisiane", etc) and are archived, play on demand.
2 or 3 dollars ! Wow, that's a bargain ! I love old photographs, as I've said. I really need to get my hands on the drawer full of old pictures that used to be in my grandma's room. That will "compensate" somewhat (hmm, not really though) for all the pictures I threw away one dark evening for reasons I won't get into here. I don't have any of the pictures I took from age 15 to 25 (all my travels, all my good times with friends...). How I regret it now... Anyway.
Thanks for the recommandation for the radio !!! It's great ! I've been listening to the last Bonjour Louisiane, and I really like it (and the woman speaking has a cute accent :smile: ).

I went to high school (Lycée) there, but that was before you were born. I did enjoy my time there, breathtaking views from some of the high roads. And wonderful food and people. I miss that accent.
It must have been even Nicer (pun intended) back then : much less crowded I'd think. But it's a beautiful region indeed, and I have a lot of fond memories there.
 

Arthurwg

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Obviously you are a very intelligent man because you manage to live in one of the best places on earth. Bravo!
 
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Yaeli

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Obviously you are a very intelligent man because you manage to live in one of the best places on earth. Bravo!
More lucky than intelligent I'd say, but thanks :wink:

I believe Yaeli is a woman's name...
Actually, Yael can be used for both sexes, although it is used for women 99% of the time. In France, it's used sometimes for men in Bretagne (Brittany) where a lot of gaelic male names end up with "el". But if you want the truth and nothing but the truth, it's not my real name. It's a pseudo I used to use for online gaming, and I sometimes use it for forums too :wink:
 
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Yaeli

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P.S : second home development over, this time with a Fomapan 100 (much harder to put on the reel, I had to take the reel apart and start from scratch because the film stopped winding towards the end...) . There's something on the roll, again ! And I had the same happy grin on my face when I saw that there were some pictures again :smile: Can't wait to see what the scans will look like tomorrow ! The negatives seem super contrasty, but I'm no expert, we'll see.
 

jay moussy

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Was that a plastic Paterson reel?
I am not a long-time expert, but sometimes it is worth starting over (darkroom or bag?).

How is the photo supply market in France, and/or Europe?
I can spend some time at my sister's in Haute Savoie, and some day, would like to take my own B&W and rely only on the local supplies due to aggressive air travel scanners ruining film, and process my negatives locally.
 
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