Aussie Amateur

[Robin Guymer]

Hi to all APUG members. I have been reading posts on this site for the 12 months since I started a serious interest in film photography and decided to dive in and join. My wife has always been a keen photographer and her old Leicaflex SL2 was gathering dust with a broken battery terminal for the light meter. Some investigation on this site led me to the correct replacement battery and some liquid solder and a bit of ingenuity got it working again. 12 months on I have a nice collection of bargain cameras & lenses off eBay and Gumtree.

Keen to keep the costs down, I have taken a real interest in B&W film in Caffenol development and have got this working as a reliable developer with acceptable results for my beginner status. After bitter disappointment at the quality of the colour negs from the photo labs now I am going to jump into Tetenal colour developer as well.

Another challenging side interest I have taken on, and this will freak some members out, has been to build a digital back for old SLR's that does not damage them and keeps their usability and collector status as a complete film camera. I have achieved this with my first prototype on a very well worn Nikon FE. It does take excellent colour digital but I can remove the IR filter and it takes even better B&W infrared with 2 stops more light available. I am not really into colour digital at all, however this camera is a challenge to use but has some great results in infrared and needs the fine manual adjustments of the Nikon FE to get the light accurate in the infrared. There is a youtube link in my signature below.

As I near retirement my plan is to get a lot more into film photography and build a darkroom for printing. This is where I will be looking through APUG archives for the right gear and printing advice. Lots to learn and looking forward to working with the APUG community.
Robin.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/142208709@N08/albums

 

[Ozxplorer]

Robin, welcome from the Gold Coast... home of the 2018 Commnwealth Games! I'll be down your way later this month - regretably I have some business @ PeterMac before I can explore the fine eateries & city coffee shops! Brrr! It is already looking quite cool down there...

 

[Robin Guymer]

Robin, welcome from the Gold Coast... home of the 2018 Commnwealth Games! I'll be down your way later this month - regretably I have some business @ PeterMac before I can explore the fine eateries & city coffee shops! Brrr! It is already looking quite cool down there...

Thanks Fred, we were in Cairns for 14 years so nearly a banana bender myself. Sorry to hear about the PeterMac visit but they do great work there. For a good explore of some Melbourne sites consider a photographic Laneway Tour with Jaime Murcia https://www.jaimemurcia.com/ But tell Jaime to bring his Nikon FM along loaded with some Pancro 400. Cheers.

 

[munz6869]

Welcome from another Melburnian!

Marc!

 

[ozphoto]

Welcome from an Adelaide expat, Robin.

I'm also in the process of redesigning my darkroom. Going to be a bit of a step-up for me, as I'm building it around a sink I managed to pick up so it's going to be 2x the size! They do take a bit of time, but once complete, the feeling of creating that first print in your own place, is always awesome!

Look forward to seeing your comments, suggestions and results of caffenol processing too; picked some up a while back but yet to attempt - life and work have got a little in the way.

Nanette

 

[Johnkpap]

Welcome Robin,

Good to have you aboard, there are alot of us here in Australia who are building darkrooms again, or for the first time. I have almost finished my darkroom, I am currently sorting the clean air and running water bit. If you need any advice or minor darkroom items I have alot of minor items to "give away to a new home" you just have to cover shipping, or I may be able to have them transported to country vic for free.

A digi Back for a FE sounds intresting, to keep my costs down I use Rodinal 12ml makes 600ml enough for 5 x 35mm films in a jobo.

Also check out Travis on youtube just search "Forest Hill Film Lab" he has alot of nice videos on developing.

Regards

Johnkpap

 

[Robin Guymer]

Welcome from an Adelaide expat, Robin.

I'm also in the process of redesigning my darkroom. Going to be a bit of a step-up for me, as I'm building it around a sink I managed to pick up so it's going to be 2x the size! They do take a bit of time, but once complete, the feeling of creating that first print in your own place, is always awesome!

Look forward to seeing your comments, suggestions and results of caffenol processing too; picked some up a while back but yet to attempt - life and work have got a little in the way.

Nanette

Thanks Nanette, Great city Adelaide and we visit there quite often. I posted a Caffenol recipe in the APUG Caffenol Group with a link to a Flickr album of Caffenol photos. It may be of some assistance.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Regards
Robin.

 

[ozphoto]

Great! Thanks a lot Robin.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Welcome to the forum Robin.

Viewed your link, nice pictures of the Desmo, I paid a substantial sum of money in 1969 to purchase a brand spanking new Ducati 450 Mark 3, magnificent machine........ when it ran.

Loved it, but it didn't last long. But did it handle, I don't think I have ever had a better handling machine, tiny tyres, tiny bike, tiny tank, big heart engine though.

Mick.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Welcome, Robin, from another Melburnian, and also thanks for subscribing already. APUG relies on people subscribing, so it's great to see a new member doing that.

 

[Trail Images]

Welcome to the APUG site and forums, Robin. Nice to see another Subscriber.......

 

[Robin Guymer]

Welcome to the forum Robin.

Viewed your link, nice pictures of the Desmo, I paid a substantial sum of money in 1969 to purchase a brand spanking new Ducati 450 Mark 3, magnificent machine........ when it ran.

Loved it, but it didn't last long. But did it handle, I don't think I have ever had a better handling machine, tiny tyres, tiny bike, tiny tank, big heart engine though.

Mick.

Thanks Mick. Yes they are an awesome bike - but bad back & knees keep me off it now. Had it since 1976 and it's been restored a couple of times since. Also owned a 750 Sport and still crying that I sold it for $1,000 cause they are fetching huge $ in the US now. Time to think about selling the Desmo and stick the funds into a bigger boat! This is it in colour on youtube youtu.be/c3ngP5B641o
Robin.

 

[Andrew K]

Hi Robin

welcome to the group - good to have another local

Had a look at your video - very interesting - would love to see it in the flesh some time.

When you get your darkroom up and running let me know - I have a few things I can give you to help you on your way..

Cheers

Andrew

 

[SMBooth]

And another melbourne person to welcome you.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to APUG

 

[Down Under]

Welcome to APUG from a French Canadian/American/Tasmanian who lived in Melbourne for 30+ years. In my (semi) retirement I now have some 50,000 B&W and color negatives and 20,000 slides to sort and scan, which makes me wish I had the provervial lives of a cat! Add to this the (mostly B&W) film work I'm now doing in places like Sarawak, Malaysia, Brunei and the more remote islands of Indonesia, and you have at least several life spans of dedicated photo work. All of which keeps me (and most of us), well, busy and, yes, young at heart if not in body. Regular infusions of good Tasmanian red wine helps, especially during our winters which are definitely colder than yours.

I'm often in Melbourne to, among other things, stock up on supplies at Vanbar, and so I keep up with what is going on in the photo spheres there, always new and varied things to see and enjoy. I'm often out of Australia and I prefer to walk my own path and am not a joiner, so I've not delved into the many good photo groups there or in Hobart. I also don't drive, and have always preferred Rolleiflexes to cars or bikes, so the open roads are an aspect of life I enjoy in the passenger's seat.

A darkroom will liberate you like no other thing in life. Quality time with controlled temperatures, good music and an occasional break to breathe non-fixed air and enjoy a wee dram of something to warm you, will very quickly become an enjoyable new "fix" (pun intended) in your life.

I will catch up on your video as soon as time allows.

Spend a few hours roaming thru the folders and archives of APUG - there is a veritable gold mine here waiting for you to access and enjoy.

 

[Molli]

A belated welcome from another (far south eastern) Melbournian, Mr. Guymer.
You seem to have brought a great many of the locals out of the woodwork... perhaps time for another group outing! At any rate, it's lovely to have you here and do enjoy your darkroom once it's up and running. It's one of my favourite places to be and really doesn't need much to make it usable and effective. My first few years involved trays balanced on a washing machine and windows blacked out with garbage bags. A new (to me) enlarger forced a move into a spare room but, otherwise, nothing has changed since then. Between a local second hand place (Tyabb Packing House) and the generosity of everyone here at APUG, an adequately equipped darkroom can be put together without having to sell a kidney
Best of luck with your digital and Caffenol experiments!
Sincerely,
Molli

 

[munz6869]

Good idea Molli! Anyone else up for this (group outing)?

Marc!

 

[Oxleyroad]

I'd love to be there but alas I can't be in Melbourne before mid November. Welcome from another expat.

 

[munz6869]

I think the last outing we Melburnian Apug folk had was the Grampians one in 2014? It's been a while...

Marc!

 

[Mick Fagan]

If something is going to be organised, I'm in, but it would have to be from July onwards.

Mick.

 

[Oxleyroad]

I was at that one in 2014, now July is getting closer to Mid Nov...

 

[Robin Guymer]

Thank you to everyone for the "welcome to APUG" messages received. Also thanks to all the Melbourne locals and expats, I would be in a group outing for sure. My wife and I recently did a Laneway Photo Tour https://www.jaimemurcia.com/laneways-photo-tours/ through the lanes and alleys of Melbourne, so maybe something like that could be a good outing and a few watering holes along the way will spark things up. The offers of assistance with darkroom gear are extremely generous and much appreciated. Started remodelling the basement office into a darkroom and looking forward to this next challenge. Thanks again.
Robin.