Greetings, young'un finding his feet.

[alexb]

Well I say young'un tentatively, I'm actually nearing nineteen and am blissfully unaware of the age range on the site. Is eighteen considered young?

My name's Alex and I hale from the S/W UK, in between Bristol and Bath. I'm currently gap yearing (working in Debenhams - how exciting) and am holding an offer to study Law at the LSE. Photography for me is purely a hobby and has been an interest of mine for quite some time.

I started off in my younger days with the typical 'digital is superior' attitude, lord only knows why as I knew roughly zilch about photography. I invested in a Canon eos 400D, your token entry range SLR and gradually learned the ropes.

Now don't get me wrong, it's a lovely camera and can accomplish a lot. But there was just something off about it all. It felt almost too easy, you could take a shot, preview it and if it was off.. take it again. Photoshop could come in useful to cover up any imperfections and voila, 'perfect' photographs every time. It all felt a bit transparent though, and I found very little satisfaction in the process. I didn't realise at first but film was a medium far more suited to myself. The fact that you get one shot, you can't go back and delete what you don't like. What's taken is permanent.

A visit to my grandfather one day led me to acquire my first film camera. Expressing interest in an old broken Kodak instamatic he had in one of his drawers in typical father son heirloom style (he had two daughters), he gave me his Olmypus OM10.

And thus I've begun experimenting with film. It's all quite new to me and I like to fully understand the camera and its mechanics before running out into the wild with it. But I think I'm getting close, besides I'm sure you'll all be able to point me in the right direction if I have any issues?

I have a second camera coming in the post: the Olympus XA3 and A-11 flash. I hope to build up quite a collection some day and the thought of shooting with an array of vintage cameras is quite thrilling. I have no real preference of what I shoot. People, places, nature it doesn't matter to me, providing it is an impulse shot. I tend to stray away from anything staged. In fact I've had a growing fascination with street photography and can't wait to try my hand at it when I move to London.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Welcome to APUG, Alex. It's great to see another young person getting into film photography. 19 is a rather young age on this site, but we've had all ranges here from 13 to approaching 90.

 

[mooseontheloose]

It's great to have you here Alex. I wish I had been 19 when I got serious about photography! (not that I'm THAT old...). One thing that I like about internet forums is that age really doesn't matter -- we're all here because we all enjoy using the same medium.

 

[hpulley]

Welcome! Don't let the jokes about expired film older than you... oh just kidding!

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Hello Alex and welcome to APUG. I hope you enjoy being here!

Jeff

 

[2F/2F]

Welcome. My first step would be to pick up and learn a basic photography textbook. My second would be to start shooting medium format so that you get results vastly technically superior to your digital ASAP, and are not pulled back in...

 

[papagene]

Alex - hello and welcome to APUG from western New England. 19 is quite young... but a good age to delve into the realm of analog photography. Enjoy the ride, it is fun.

 

[Cromlech]

Hi Alex,

I was in the same place - minus buying a DSLR. I'm 20 now and started shooting when I was 19.

Let me know if you have any questions - if you can, get the book "black and white photography"... Even if you choose to end up using colour, black and white film will challenge you as an artist - You must present the item in question relying only on shades of grey. That is, it challenges your composition, and not only that, but challenges you as an artist - without relying on "pretty colours".

In any case, black and white is also good because it is cheaper than colour, and second of all, it is very easy to develop yourself, when you feel ready. Here where I am, in the USA, developing a roll of B/W is $8 a roll. I save over $70 processing 10 rolls myself... In fact, $25 allows me to develop somewhere around 30 rolls of B/W myself... Compare 8*30 with 25/30 ... The savings speak for themselves, and I have full creative control.

But *all* in due time. Focus on the images, and learning your TOOL... The TOOL that presents your own inner art to the outside world. Master the camera first, and then worry about developing - or at least have a very solid grip on the basics.

Richard

 

[Vaughn]

Welcome to the forum -- and to film!

The way I look at age -- we all have lived our whole lives up to this point, so we are all the same age. The only difference is the quality of one's experiences, and what one learns from them -- not the quantity. As I read in a comic one time (a blind date asking her so-so date), "Did you mother have any children that lived?"

I second the suggestion of looking for a medium format camera eventually! But beware! I started with medium format and right now I am developing a couple of 7"x17" negs! (~180mm x 430mm)

 

[removed account4]

this is what makes this website great !

welcome, and enjoy !

john

 

[michaelbsc]

...(not that I'm THAT old...)....

Yeah, I'm not that old either. I'm older!

Back to Alex, the truth is that you're really at a good age to experiment. You're just beginning to get big ideas and visions, and as some famous wag said "A camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." (Look her up.)

I bought my first camera when I was a quite a bit younger than you, and my parents gave me a cheap-o but working darkroom outfit when I was 13. I had quite a big hurdle trying to learn things that you will find the internet helps dissolve for you. There's more information available on this one site than I had available the first 25 years I was taking pictures.

2F/2F had good advice about Medium Format. Don't let anyone scare you that you need a whiz bang multi-mucho expensive kit for MF to work. Honestly a good old folder will blow the socks off most DSLRs. And for that matter a good working Kodak Brownie Hawkeye (you will need some 620 spools) will teach you control and composition.

But without a doubt, the most important thing is to try stuff until you learn to control your medium. There are no rules when you are your own customer. There are some "This works better than that" guidelines. But if it's photography for you, and not for a paying customer, then feel free to give it a whirl if you think it up.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Welconme to APUG, Alex. May you find, here, that which you seek and more.

 

[Mats_A]

Welcome! I have been here a year now and it is THE most friendly and most knowledgeable forum I ever found on the Intertubes.
You will like it here.

r

Mats

 

[Chazzy]

Welcome to APUG, Alex. I hope that you have a lot of fun with film photography.

 

[j-dogg]

You've come to the right place, I'm 25 and have 5 35mm SLR's.

Zuiko lenses are top notch they had a 90mm f2.5? Macro lens that was supposed to be great.

Stick around and if you enjoy APUG be sure to donate and subscribe!!! You could do a year subscription for 30-ish quid and have full access to the chatroom and Galleries.

 

[alexb]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, taking your advice on board.

Edit: Reading through these posts there's been much praise sung about medium format film. Is this because it is far superior to 35mm? Or just a preference of many? Is there a certain camera you'd recommend to shoot medium format with? (Kodak Brownie Hawkeye was suggested, any others?).

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Alex,

With prices as low as they are now on medium format, you could try Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica for starters. Hasselblad is somewhat more expensive.

Try www.ffordes.com

Tom

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Budget dependent, there are a whole rainbow of options for medium format. The superiority of medium format comes from the increase in surface area of the film relative to 35mm - you get a big increase in square inches, which means that when you're printing, you don't need to enlarge nearly as much, percentage-wise. If you want to play around with medium format, I'd suggest something a little more sophisticated than a brownie hawkeye - look for a Yashica twin-lens or at least a decent folding camera like a Zeiss Nettar.

 

[alexb]

Excellent, thanks for the suggestions! I'll be sure to invest in a good model.

 

[bblhed]

Welcome to APUG.

You may not become a pro photographer, but if you invest a little of your time and effort you will at least learn how to capture the moment in a way that pleases you.