Advice for greenhorn, please?

Canuck Bob · Feb 12, 2011

I want to start takng pictures with my Om-1n and 50mm prime. I read the great article about newcomers to processing. It is suggested that one should limit the choices of equipment and chemicals and make technique consistent for thier early exposure to developing (pun intended).

Seems like great advice for trying to become an art photographer rather than a tourist shooting snaps. What would you put in your bag for your first day of shooting film knowing what you know now.

Limited to one mechanical camera and a 50mm prime, one film and type, minimum but adequate regarding filters and such, and no flash yet. Your shooting handheld candid shots of kids, oilfield field shots (I,m a travelling salesman in the Canadian oilpatch and see the most amazing images that noone is shooting) and having fun with my camera.

tkamiya · Feb 12, 2011

One of the mistakes I made when I re-started with film after decades of absence was doing too much research. I read up on film and bought what I thought everyone was liking. I also read up on developers and bought the latest and the greatest. I thought, the "best" should give me the "best" image I can create. Turned out that these didn't suit my taste. Went back to the "old stand-by" and enjoying it so much.

I realize everyone has his/her taste and likes. What's popular and highly recommended wasn't mine.

I tell you this because I can recommend you what I like but there is no guarantee you'd feel the same way. If I can start over again, I'll probably recommend myself grabbing a few different kinds and trying them out in various different situations. I know this is in contrast to most recommendations. I spent about a year trying this and that with my choice. I got close but not really. I decided to move on and try something else - then immediately found what I really wanted.

With that said, the old stand-by I like are Plus-X and Tri-X with D-76.

Paul Sorensen · Feb 12, 2011

I would not take anything but the camera, lens, backup battery, and some film. Probably two rolls would be enough to get you going. As for the oilfield shots, I would probably just shoot something at home first, take the camera around the neighborhood and shoot one or two rolls and then develop them. Once that is accomplished and you have the technique down enough that you can trust the process a little, start branching out. There is no reason to use a filter when you start, you are just trying to make sure you and your camera can reliably judge exposure and develop the film.

Paul Sorensen · Feb 12, 2011

tkamiya said:
One of the mistakes I made when I re-started with film after decades of absence was doing too much research. I read up on film and bought what I thought everyone was liking. I also read up on developers and bought the latest and the greatest. I thought, the "best" should give me the "best" image I can create. Turned out that these didn't suit my taste. Went back to the "old stand-by" and enjoying it so much.

I think that this is great advice, but I would take it one further. Since it appears that you are really new to film and developing film, I would just get whatever is easiest to use and buy. I would get whatever black and white film is available from Ilford or Kodak and probably start with 400 speed. Also, just get a package of D76 or perhaps a liquid developer, but don't worry about it. The first few attempts are about learning the process and getting to where you can do it reliably. Once you have that figured out enough, I agree that you need to find what materials you like.

MattKing · Feb 12, 2011

Bob:

I used to shoot a lot of Tri-X with my first OM-1. A fair amount of it was used for newspaper publication. It was very flexible, and many like the results .

That particular camera you are using also has an infinity for Plus-X . It also was fond of Kodachrome (RIP).

For colour, I've also shot a lot of consumer Kodak film (Gold 100, 200 and 400) in OM equipment.

Most of my use of professional emulsions has been in medium format equipment. If I was just shooting 35mm, I might use more Kodak Portra in my Olympus equipment.

As you might be able to tell, I'm a die-hard Kodak user. I'm sure, however, that the other manufacturers' films will also work fine in your camera .

If I were you, I would decide first on whether I intended to shout Black & White, Colour Print, or Colour Slide.

From there, I would choose something like a 400 ISO emulsion for prints. If you intend to shoot colour slides, something like E100G might be to your liking.

Are you intending to develop your own film?

Canuck Bob · Feb 12, 2011

To start I do not intend to develop. I'm leaning to long term hybrid printing and just joined DPUG. I know nothing about developing and it seems daunting to tackle and gear up. Over spring breakup (my time for hobbies) I'll spend some time learning about developing. If I went that route I'd want stable, simple, goof proof as possible to start.

I am on the fence about b&w or color so here are my feelings. I thought b&w was dead until i found this forum. I'm probably daydreaming but I think my eye prefers shape and shade to color. Please remember that I am a rig pig who has decided that my life lacks artistic expression. I work and prosper in a tough and unforgiving environment and it suits me. B&W seems to strip away the gloss and reveal a stark emotional response in me. I guess I'll be shooting b&w for expression and color print for family portraits and my wife's cherished garden. Oh man the guys at work would be surprised at this stuff!

MattKing · Feb 12, 2011

Bob:

Developing black and white film is pretty straightforward, and gives you incredible control.

If you don't decide to go that way, but still want to shoot black and white, you might want to investigate the C41 black and white films. They are developed in colour chemistry, but yield black and white negatives. The Ilford version - XP2 Super - tends to be the favourite here, because it is easier to print it using the same darkroom equipment as is used for standard black and white negatives. The Kodak version - BW400CN - is also good, but yields a negative with the same orange mask as colour negatives, and thus is more suited for "standard" photo-finishers.

Labs that do quality colour developing tend to be easier to find then quality black and white labs.

There is apparently a Fuji option as well, but I'm not sure that it is available in Canada.

This shot from my APUG Gallery was shot on XP2:

Canuck Bob · Feb 12, 2011

That is an art shot that appeals to my eye, wow.

I understand that c41 is a common system. I'm assuming that this would make it likely there is a good lab in a city like Calgary if I search. The ability to use the Ilford negatives in a darkroom seems a nice way to ease into developing.

I'm wondering about e-6 color slides but it seems they may be too hard for a newcomer due to tight exposure requirements. Is the OM-1n up to metering for E-6 slides? Or maybe the right question is whether there is a slide film that matches my camera and my skill best?

ntenny · Feb 12, 2011

Canuck Bob said:
I'm wondering about e-6 color slides but it seems they may be too hard for a newcomer due to tight exposure requirements.

You know, I thought this for a long time, and when I finally took a flyer on a roll of slide film I found it was way easier than I'd feared. It *is* less tolerant of exposure "variation" (OK, by "variation" I mean "I forgot to change the shutter speed") than negative film, but in practice I find it's much less of a big deal than I'd been led to believe.

I can't speak to Olympus cameras specifically, but the competitors of the OM-1 certainly are competent to meter for slide film and I'd be astonished if it weren't.

-NT

MattKing · Feb 12, 2011

Probably the best way to learn good exposure technique is to develop and print your own negatives.

But a close second would be to shoot slides.

And the OM-1n is ideal for slides, in that it forces you to evaluate the exposure information it gives you, and to learn from the experience.

Your OM-1n has shot a fair few slides in it's day.

By the way, if you are going to shoot slides, you need to be willing to project them in order to maximize their benefit. Scanning is okay, but projection will show you way more, and teach you more as well.

At least here on the west coast, quality slide projection equipment can be obtained for a song on places like Craigslist.

dnjl · Feb 12, 2011

Don't forget to take a notebook and a pencil. Write down the settings for each frame you expose: aperture, shutter speed, location, lens, filter, handheld or tripod, etc.. You can only learn if you have the information.

tkamiya · Feb 12, 2011

I think you may be over-complicating this.... How about grabbing few film - whatever you can get at your local store and go shooting? If you aren't sure already, there is no need to decide ahead of time what you might like - B&W, color, or slide. If you aren't going to process yourself (at least for now), brand and type of film isn't going to make that much (or any) difference. Shoot a dozen or maybe more and your feeling toward certain photograph may develop - then it is a prime time to narrow down and go further.

All the technicals and techniques aside, it's just a camera.... (did I say that? )

jp498 · Feb 12, 2011

Developing your own B&W is very straightforward and ideally a little bit boring if you are doing it perfectly. consistency rewards with good negatives. Even if the process is a little rote, I can't wait to peek at the negatives while the are in the fixer. After processing you can dry them and scan them if the hybrid workflow is for you.

For B&W film, I'd suggest either Tmax400 or Tri-X developed in d76, xtol, or PMK. Tri-x is the most traditional and well know, but Tmax 400 is of such fine grain that you don't need a traditional 100ish speed film anymore, so you don't need more than one type of film for most uses. Tmax never was initially popular in schools or journalism because it takes a few extra minutes fixing and washing compared to Tri-X and it is "responsive" to changes in development, meaning it punishes sloppy developing.

I'm really out of touch with regard to color. I prefer digital for color. Probably lab choice will be more important than the film choice in getting nice prints.

tessar · Feb 12, 2011

Hello Canuck Bob: I also live in Calgary and shoot film. I found the best (if now not the only) place for processing is Vistek. They have 2 locations in the city. Vistek develops both C-41 and b&w film.

Canuck Bob · Feb 12, 2011

tessar said:
Hello Canuck Bob: I also live in Calgary and shoot film. I found the best (if now not the only) place for processing is Vistek. They have 2 locations in the city. Vistek develops both C-41 and b&w film.

Thank you. This was my obvious next question. I do question the wisdom of film as a medium for photos this late in the digital game. Truth is if digital was my only way to photograph I'd get a nice poit and shoot and make snaps. Sites like this are encouraging and the ease of shipping small packages does suggest that a viable industry will remain to support film users.

It does make it seem that a darkroom is inevitable and b&w a good choice for simplicity there.

pinhole_dreamer · Feb 12, 2011

I've been out of the film business since '92. Came back to it, starting out with my husband's K1000 - and tried a few different brands/speeds of film. So far, Ilford is my favorite and Kodak is exactly how I remember it - kinda dull on high contrast. Then...I discovered how to make pinhole cameras. THEN I find a Kodak Brownie box and photography paper. And THEN my husband gets me a Duaflex.

My whole idea of photography isn't to shoot what other people like but to shoot what I like and enjoy. I'm sticking with what I like - which is black and white. If I want color, well...I'll start with the paper first and then work my way up.

By the way, I'd LOVE to get up to Canada one of these days, dragging husband and teen boys behind me, just so they could explore and I could shoot. It's so gorgeous there.

guitstik · Feb 12, 2011

You will find that you can get information overload here, for instance I shoot a lot of Kodak BW400CN and develop in Caffenol-C even though it is a C-41 film. A lot of the folks here are versant in just about anything photographic and all the trappings that go along with it. I have an Oly OM-1 that I shoot just about everything in and it does a fantastic job. If you like B&W try the Kodak BW400CN and take it to Walgreens to have it processed and then post the results in the gallery.

The point is to have fun and learn but take your time and spend more time listening/reading and getting comfortable as you grow as a photographer.

Canuck Bob · Feb 13, 2011

Thanks to everyone. I'm taking the advice given and am going to keep it simple. I get my 50mm lens for my new OM-1n body tomorrow. Then a field sales trip to the bush in northern Alberta with some rolls of film. Consumer color print and some C-41 b&w print if its easy to find in a hurry. I'll get them developed with a scanned disc and start learning.

ntenny · Feb 13, 2011

guitstik said:
You will find that you can get information overload here, for instance I shoot a lot of Kodak BW400CN and develop in Caffenol-C even though it is a C-41 film. A lot of the folks here are versant in just about anything photographic and all the trappings that go along with it.

Yeah, it can be like drinking from a firehose. And of course everyone has a tendency to recommend whatever works for them, so the simplest of questions can have at least 47,557 different right answers...

People get into fits of gearheadedness, partly because the gear is fun for many of us in its own right---I totally plead guilty to this---but in the end it's about perplexing intangibilities like ideas and aesthetics and communication, not any particular body of technique.

The point is to have fun and learn but take your time and spend more time listening/reading and getting comfortable as you grow as a photographer.

Amen to that. Get out there and shoot!

-NT

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