How film cameras won over a younger generation

[busrider]

Having 1 frame left or 126 film that won over young people? Paying for developing the film, that will win them over too.

 

[Moose22]

I assumed he meant to put subject between camera and sunset.

People take photos at sunset of the sunset facing away from the sun? I mean I guess if you want that golden light on a squinting face that would be good? Or if the sun is really low you can get the sunlight without the bright?

That's exactly the problem. And I'm not talking about taking a photo of a sunset. I'm talking about a photo of the people, generally taken with a cellphone.

But there's even more. they take a pic here of a glaring sun and a blank horizon. Atop a low bluff, no islands visible, the beach not visible because you're 75' above it... it's just flat water and a spot of fire. To misquote Stein, there's no there there. It doesn't hint at where you may be, or place your subject in a scene, there's no background of interest, there's just the worst possible backlight and the highest possible contrast with the shadow on the subject's faces. I don't know about the current iphone, which have good cameras for a lot of stuff, but my two year old samsung has nowhere near the dynamic range to take a decent photo backlit that strongly.

The sun is never 90 degrees off the cliffs here. I mean maybe for a month a year, but for the most part the bluffs meander a bit. You can turn people sideways so they see the shoreline, there's a peninsula 20 miles south and another 30 miles north that will jut out into the photograph. There are meandering beaches that will run down the left or right of the subjects depending on where you're facing, and there's all kinds of other cool stuff that will tell you where you are and actually light the people well that make way better photos than a random shot of an orange ball on a flat, featureless horizon.

I mean, go ahead and take the sun picture. But that's all they do. Look in other directions at sunset and there's a crapload of awesome stuff that's beautifully lit. People pay way too much money to come here on vacation, their vacation snaps oughtta include sometimes include some of the here in them.

 

[Moose22]

I mean I guess if you want that golden light on a squinting face that would be good? Or if the sun is really low you can get the sunlight without the bright?

By the way, this is why I hate internet photographers.

You're a good dude, I know that, but what's with everything being binary? Really, I don't think hash backlighting is a good choice so the only alternative is staring directly at the sun? Have a little imagination and give me at least a modicum of credit. I've posted my stuff here. You know I'm not great, but at least an adequate photographer.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I assumed he meant to put subject between camera and sunset.

People take photos at sunset of the sunset facing away from the sun? I mean I guess if you want that golden light on a squinting face that would be good? Or if the sun is really low you can get the sunlight without the bright?

Open the lens or longer exposure or fill in flash.

 

[Cholentpot]

That's exactly the problem. And I'm not talking about taking a photo of a sunset. I'm talking about a photo of the people, generally taken with a cellphone.

But there's even more. they take a pic here of a glaring sun and a blank horizon. Atop a low bluff, no islands visible, the beach not visible because you're 75' above it... it's just flat water and a spot of fire. To misquote Stein, there's no there there. It doesn't hint at where you may be, or place your subject in a scene, there's no background of interest, there's just the worst possible backlight and the highest possible contrast with the shadow on the subject's faces. I don't know about the current iphone, which have good cameras for a lot of stuff, but my two year old samsung has nowhere near the dynamic range to take a decent photo backlit that strongly.

The sun is never 90 degrees off the cliffs here. I mean maybe for a month a year, but for the most part the bluffs meander a bit. You can turn people sideways so they see the shoreline, there's a peninsula 20 miles south and another 30 miles north that will jut out into the photograph. There are meandering beaches that will run down the left or right of the subjects depending on where you're facing, and there's all kinds of other cool stuff that will tell you where you are and actually light the people well that make way better photos than a random shot of an orange ball on a flat, featureless horizon.

I mean, go ahead and take the sun picture. But that's all they do. Look in other directions at sunset and there's a crapload of awesome stuff that's beautifully lit. People pay way too much money to come here on vacation, their vacation snaps oughtta include sometimes include some of the here in them.

That's what I was looking for.

By the way, this is why I hate internet photographers.

You're a good dude, I know that, but what's with everything being binary? Really, I don't think hash backlighting is a good choice so the only alternative is staring directly at the sun? Have a little imagination and give me at least a modicum of credit. I've posted my stuff here. You know I'm not great, but at least an adequate photographer.

If I came across as aggressive or attacking it's on me. I genuinely was digging for more ideas.

Where I live the only time you get to see the sunset it over the lake. Generally it's going to be Sun|Lake|Subject|Camera. Take a look at my profile photo. That was from long ago when I had no clue what I was doing at all. I left the shutter open for 30 seconds and burned the heck out of that piece of film. Still got a cool photo despite having done everything possible to mess it up.

Basic Idea is that most sunset photos within driving distance of where I live will either be over the lake or obscured by buildings or trees.

California fire sun. This is from a few years ago, I learned a bit since that lake photo.

Open the lens or longer exposure or fill in flash.

I despise fill flash. Personal taste and all but it's not for me. I've used it in a pinch but I don't like it at all.

 

[foc]

I despise fill flash. Personal taste and all but it's not for me. I've used it in a pinch but I don't like it at all.

Fill in flash, if correctly done, is very hard to see. You will have to look very closely to see signs of the fill in flash.

 

[Cholentpot]

Fill in flash, if correctly done, is very hard to see. You will have to look very closely to see signs of the fill in flash.

I know, I still don't like it. It limits my shutter speeds, it's hard to judge and it's threading the needle to get that look that you can't tell if it was used. However with the Pen F I can use flash at any speed. Might have to practice more with it.

 

[jtk]

Two easy tecniques: flash fill, PS.

 

[jtk]

Two easy tecniques: flash fill, PS.

I know, I still don't like it. It limits my shutter speeds, it's hard to judge and it's threading the needle to get that look that you can't tell if it was used. However with the Pen F I can use flash at any speed. Might have to practice more with it.

Lack of skill (with flash or PS) wouldn't seem to justify "don't like it".

 

[Cholentpot]

Lack of skill (with flash or PS) wouldn't seem to justify "don't like it".

I've seen 'skillfully done' fill flash and it's not my cup of tea. I've used it and its a tool that sits in my toolbox of skills. Alongside other things I dislike such a scale focus and guessing indoor metering by eye. I can do both but I don't like it.

 

[Agulliver]

Had a chat with the nice lady at my local camera shop again on Monday. In the run up to the weekend she had a young woman come in to drop off some films for developing...who had with hear a friend who remarked "Why don't you just use your phone?"....young woman replies "Wash your mouth out!"

Also last week a young guy bought an Olympus P&S from the store and had his first film developed and scanned....the next day he was in with four of his friends who all want to buy a Olympus P&S film cameras and film.

She definitely sees younger people, late teens and early twenties as the current biggest market for used/NOS film cameras and for film. Where the "photography clubs" are definitely full of old codgers who look down upon anyone who doesn't own the right brand of camera and who delight in devising competitions where a respected member of the club always wins. That's not where film photography is at. These young'uns are shooting lots of film, and posting the results on Instagram etc. Us old farts aren't even noticing because most of us aren't on Instagram.

 

[Helge]

I know, I still don't like it. It limits my shutter speeds, it's hard to judge and it's threading the needle to get that look that you can't tell if it was used. However with the Pen F I can use flash at any speed. Might have to practice more with it.

Get it off to the side or if possible bounce it against a close tonally light surface. That takes a lot of the flat and harsh out of it.
Also either try to hit the colour of the sun or go against it. Don’t just blindly use whatever temperature xenon flash is.

 

[Cholentpot]

Get it off to the side or if possible bounce it against a close tonally light surface. That takes a lot of the flat and harsh out of it.
Also either try to hit the colour of the sun or go against it. Don’t just blindly use whatever temperature xenon flash is.

You can also use a fishbowl, bounce card, oaktag, have multiple flashes with triggers, optical slaves, bring a crew and send out test rolls with a motor scooter.

Or I could just not use it and be creative. I prefer flashbulbs, nothing like the crunch between my toes.

 

[Helge]

You can also use a fishbowl, bounce card, oaktag, have multiple flashes with triggers, optical slaves, bring a crew and send out test rolls with a motor scooter.

Or I could just not use it and be creative. I prefer flashbulbs, nothing like the crunch between my toes.

Apart from radio triggers not any of the things would work well for daylight fill flash. You need all the power you can get. And optical slaves wouldn't work reliably in the sun.
Flashbulbs would only work at slow speeds, which can have its uses, granted.

It's not that much bother having someone or something hold your flash with radio trigger attached.

 

[faberryman]

I am trying to get a feel for what it means to have won over a generation of younger people to film. Does anyone have any data, or even a guess, about the percentage of people under 25 regularly using a film camera? Is there a minimum threshold percentage of young people you have to win over to claim you have won over a generation of them?

 

[Roboticspro]

I am trying to get a feel for what it means to have won over a generation of younger people to film. Does anyone have any data, or even a guess, about the percentage of people under 25 regularly using a film camera?

As a teacher (high school) that has an after-school photography club, it is the young students that have driven me to teach them "analog" skills like shooting using the f/16 rule, loading film onto reels in a changing bag, and developing prints. To them (and to me at 71) it is still magic...

Regards,

Edd

 

[Sirius Glass]

Had a chat with the nice lady at my local camera shop again on Monday. In the run up to the weekend she had a young woman come in to drop off some films for developing...who had with hear a friend who remarked "Why don't you just use your phone?"....young woman replies "Wash your mouth out!"

Also last week a young guy bought an Olympus P&S from the store and had his first film developed and scanned....the next day he was in with four of his friends who all want to buy a Olympus P&S film cameras and film.

She definitely sees younger people, late teens and early twenties as the current biggest market for used/NOS film cameras and for film. Where the "photography clubs" are definitely full of old codgers who look down upon anyone who doesn't own the right brand of camera and who delight in devising competitions where a respected member of the club always wins. That's not where film photography is at. These young'uns are shooting lots of film, and posting the results on Instagram etc. Us old farts aren't even noticing because most of us aren't on Instagram.

¶#1

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've seen 'skillfully done' fill flash and it's not my cup of tea. I've used it and its a tool that sits in my toolbox of skills. Alongside other things I dislike such a scale focus and guessing indoor metering by eye. I can do both but I don't like it.

I bounce it off the ceiling or a wall, the modern strobes and cameras that measure and control the illumination time take all the calculations out. Just let the equipment do the work while you find the compositions.

 

[kinglang]

Film is readily available and reasonably priced.

 

[pentaxuser]

Where the "photography clubs" are definitely full of old codgers who look down upon anyone who doesn't own the right brand of camera and who delight in devising competitions where a respected member of the club always wins.

Photography club? I has assumed that the above description was for any of the "5 families" of New York

pentaxuser

 

[pentaxuser]

Film is readily available and reasonably priced.

Is HK Hong Kong or if not where is it and can you give us some film prices there- just out of interest?

Thanks

pentaxuser