Not a problem, pdeeh. As a professional teacher of violin and piano, I have long learned that educating is a better way, and that assumption is the mother of most mistakes. So let me tell you a bit about myself, what I do, and my aesthetics.
First of all, I actually do know quite a bit about cameras and film. Here is a photograph of ONE of my three stands of cameras in my collection:
I worked professionally in the industry for 6 years as a darkroom rat while I put myself through music school in the 70s. I also worked at a 1 hour photo lab doing color prints. Sorry, prefer digital to color film any day of the week. Less toxic, less expensive, more reliable and produces great results. Not to negate color film, but I'll pass. But in the past, I've probably printed over 2000 Cibachromes, so I do have some experience in that area. If this was still available and I could afford it, I'd do that on occasion.
Black and white is a different story. I do ALL of my B&W work on film, which is about 50% of my photography. Got into it because I dislike the look of B&W digital conversions. I am relearning some aspects, as I'd left film pretty much alone for 8 years and things have changed. But much has stayed the same. Over the past year, I've shot a roll of film in each and every camera you see in that rack, and in other cameras that you don't see. Yeah, most of it was XP2 because I have a 45 hour a week teaching schedule and conduct a symphony orchestra, so my time is not as free as it could be. But I've managed to get my darkroom technique back (I have a Chromega 4x5 in my basement darkroom and a 6700 upstairs for 5x7s) and have been investigating the new films.
I am a bit puzzled though, that in a post where I'm showing that I just bought 6 BULK LOADERS, how someone managed to think that I wasn't interested in film. Just a thought.
Was actually hoping to get some advice on perhaps souping some of this film in B&W chemistry to see what might happen.
But I'm not a total Luddite - I do think that other ways of making images can be artistically valid. For instance, I also paint, and have even had a couple of exhibitions of both my photos, and my paintings. Here's a couple of examples I had on hand:
A watercolor sketch of the Nechako River in Central BC:
A field pen sketch of a logging slash at Nukko Lake, BC:
A floral watercolor:
You see, I consider any method of making an image artistically valid. Even digital:
Cache Creek, BC, digital print from the same exhibition
I might be castigated by many here, but I think the digital medium is a worthy addition to our pallette, and should be embraced by those who wish to work in it. Isn't it the final image that counts?
By the way, I'm working on an acrylic of the photo above - that was the original reason I took the shot (Pentax K10, 400mm f5.6 Tokina ATX, 1/500th at f5.6, ISO 400). The painting will not look too different from the photo, I hope.