Hello from India

architect · Jul 27, 2016

I never took up photography seriously till about nine years ago and for the last three years I have been shooting film apart from digital. I shoot with a Yashica 12 (1966? model), a Nikon FM 1980 model, a Pentax Spotmatic 1967? model and a Praktica Super TL 1970? model (besides a DSLR or two and a Lovely Fuji X100). Basically, everything I have in cameras pre-dates me! Getting film is a bit of a challenge in India, and I am still depending on a studio for my developing. Still I am doing the best I can.

Hope to learn from this forum and share my experiences. I am attaching a photograph shot in April this year on my Praktica Super TL with Helios M44-6 58 mm on Ilford PAN 100 film.

Old_Dick · Jul 27, 2016

Welcome to APUG. Great people with a deep knowledge base.

Sirius Glass · Jul 27, 2016

Welcome to APUG

Peter Schrager · Jul 27, 2016

Welcome and where are you? ?

NedL · Jul 27, 2016

The person in your photo reminds me of 19th century photographs from India that often had people posed like that.
Welcome to APUG!

davedm · Jul 28, 2016

Welcome to APUG. It is a great resource and community for film photography.

I am also in the neighborhood. You can drop a PM anytime you need some help or just want to chat.

darkosaric · Jul 28, 2016

Welcome to APUG !

baachitraka · Jul 28, 2016

Namasthay and welcome!!!

architect · Jul 28, 2016

Old_Dick said:
Welcome to APUG. Great people with a deep knowledge base.

Sirius Glass said:
Welcome to APUG

darkosaric said:
Welcome to APUG !

baachitraka said:
Namasthay and welcome!!!

Thank you for the welcome and Namaste!

Peter Schrager said:
Welcome and where are you? ?

davedm said:
Welcome to APUG. It is a great resource and community for film photography.
I am also in the neighborhood. You can drop a PM anytime you need some help or just want to chat.

Hi Peter, Dave. I stay in Delhi, India. Dave, will send you a PM!

NedL said:
The person in your photo reminds me of 19th century photographs from India that often had people posed like that. Welcome to APUG!

Like it often happens with film, I didn't notice the person's significance in the frame until the film was developed three months later. It's funny you mention 19th century because the watercourse in the photo is actually a somewhat historic one and has seen a sad degradation into a drain since the last few decades of mad growth. The flyover itself came up in 2010 and finished off whatever ecological qualities the area had!

jvo · Jul 28, 2016

welcome to apug....

you might do a search for bhupendra karia, saw his work at florida museum of photographic arts and i think recently had a show at ICP in new york - i think you'll like his work based upon the photograph above...

enjoy

AgX · Jul 28, 2016

Welcome!

By the way, the Praktica Super TL was made 1968-1976.

architect · Jul 30, 2016

jvo said:
you might do a search for bhupendra karia,

Thanks for the welcome. I am aware of his work, though he is not a big name in India in the present day.

AgX said:
By the way, the Praktica Super TL was made 1968-1976.

That's why I wrote 1970? as I have been unable to determine the exact year by the serial number of the body.

Ashfaque · Jul 30, 2016

Welcome to APUG. It's good to see more people coming/returning to analogue photography from my neck of the woods. APUG has some of the most helpful people when it comes to AP.

As for buying films in India, you still have lot better choices than here what I get in Dhaka. Well, nothing other than raw chemicals! You can still buy E-6, C-41, B&W films (Ilford, Foma, Fuji), paper and chemical there for home processing - and have labs too. You can even buy ORWO B&W films directly from ORWO India. I remember Mr. Makhjiha from ORWO (India) for his very prompt response to my emails.

Bests,
Ashfaque

Trask · Jul 30, 2016

Welcome, architect. I hope you'll start developing your own film soon -- it's an interesting are to explore, as it gives you some element of control over your own photography. I'm glad you and ashfaque have some luck finding material in India and Bangladesh. I lived in Islamabad for a year and a half beginning in mid-2012, and could only find some old rolls of color film suffering from the heat. No idea if anyone was still running a C-41 machine. Maybe there's more available in Karachi, but even though I visited that city I was not at liberty to look around.

baachitraka · Jul 30, 2016

There is Film.Photogrpahy Group India in Facebook and their you may find the list of suppliers for film and chemicals.

architect · Jul 31, 2016

Thanks for the welcomes.

Delhi film photography scene is not that bad. There are at least 3-4 labs which do decent B&W and C-41 developing and quite a few which do QSS still (though I never go there). I go to a place called SV Photographic which is doing good work. As far as film availability is concerned, there are dozens of importers who can import anything for you but it becomes pricey. A Kodak tri-X roll which costs probably around $9 in the US costs around $16 due to duties and profit margins of the importers. In that sense it is best to import in bulk for personal use or just ask a friend to get it for you. Last Christmas I stockpiled one years' supply of 120 film (about 5 rolls of Tri-X and 5 rolls of Portra 160) by getting a friend to get it. 135 film is available but only Ilford PAN400 or HP5 in some cases.

Ashfaque said:
As for buying films in India, you still have lot better choices than here what I get in Dhaka.

Just come over to Delhi once and let me know in advance we will import a whole lot in one go.

Trask said:
I hope you'll start developing your own film soon -- it's an interesting are to explore, as it gives you some element of control over your own photography.

I can't start developing because of some constraints at home. In intend to start in the future.

Ashfaque · Aug 1, 2016

architect said:
Just come over to Delhi once and let me know in advance we will import a whole lot in one go.

Might take you up on that offer when my film stock is low. Thanks. Let me know if you pop by in Dhaka too.

Mainecoonmaniac · Aug 1, 2016

Welcome to APUG! Now you're part a group that offers a wealth of information on film and other analog processes. I find many members a treasure.

Krishnan Srinivasan · Aug 7, 2016

Welcome

Hello from India

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