Started my son...

Rick-in-LB · Jan 6, 2009

Well last night I had tho privilege of showing my son how to develop. Since I have been busy at work I have neglected my photography. Mixing the chemicals and calculating the time for 58deg. Guessed for 8 minutes with some AristaII 400. Explaining to him how to wind the film to adding the chemicals was fun. The best part was after he did the final rinse, dunked it in some photoflo then unspooled the film. His expression brought back some memories. I think he is going to keep my Nikon F4. Heck I use the F100 more anyway. I just thought I would share. Buy the way my son is 22 and a digital photography shooter. Now we have another film shooter in the family. Now I hope I can get a good used enlarger!

Rick

Steve Smith · Jan 7, 2009

Last week I let my 11 year old daughter process a roll of FP4. She was fascinated by it and couldn't wait to get into the darkroom to print some of it.

She stayed to do half a dozen prints (whilst my son who is 14 lost interest after the first one).

I have a spare Minolta SRT so I think I should give it to her.

Steve.

sidearm613 · Jan 7, 2009

i think its great that you guys get your kids into film photography.

and i know very well the type of kid Steve describes. IT'S ME!

I'm sixteen, by the way. another one of those young'un photo-freaks

2F/2F · Jan 7, 2009

You re doing a good thing! I wish my parents had introduced me to it at a young age. If I had picked it up at 10 or 15, I would have an additional 10 or 15 years of it under my belt compared to what I have now! Then I might actually be good! I can't believe I never even thought to take up photography until age 25....and even then only because it was required by the print journalism program I was in.

Chazzy · Jan 7, 2009

sidearm613 said:
i think its great that you guys get your kids into film photography.

and i know very well the type of kid Steve describes. IT'S ME!

I'm sixteen, by the way. another one of those young'un photo-freaks

Welcome, David. If you haven't already, I hope that you get a chance to develop your own film. It's an amazing feeling, especially the first few times that one does it.

gr82bart · Jan 7, 2009

I've said it several times, despite the fact several APUGers don't believe it, kids LOVE film. Show them hybrid processes and they will be avid film lovers for a very long time.

Regards, Art.

fschifano · Jan 7, 2009

gr82bart said:
I've said it several times, despite the fact several APUGers don't believe it, kids LOVE film. Show them hybrid processes and they will be avid film lovers for a very long time.

Of course they do. Kids are curious creatures. They want to know everything. First, it's magic. How the heck does a grey strip of plastic or a white sheet of paper transform into something bearing an image? Second, it's tangible. There is something there that you can hold in your hand, not just an array of magnetic signals on a disk drive.

I have a 6 year old neighbor who stops by every now and then, when he's not trying to knock out all his teeth while performing a bicycle version of rodeo. The kid is a real bruiser. He was absolutely floored when he first saw a print come up in the developing tray. He couldn't wait to try it himself. I gave him a little P&S camera loaded with Tri-X. He's having a ball.

Claire Senft · Jan 7, 2009

I intend to introduce my youngest grandchild who has just had his 92th birthday to film photography and soon as I can get his walker lubed up and he is awake from his nappy. Perhaps I should have started him sooner but I am not called the great procrastinator for nothing.

2F/2F · Jan 7, 2009

gr82bart said:
I've said it several times, despite the fact several APUGers don't believe it, kids LOVE film. Show them hybrid processes and they will be avid film lovers for a very long time.

Regards, Art.

Shelter them from hybrid processes and they'll be avid paper lovers as well!

eddie gunks · Jan 7, 2009

i just had a trio of kids in my darkroom the other day. 6,8, and 10 years old. i was showing the my wet plate photography process.

1st i took their photos and then we developed them and fixed them. it is a double WOW process. using aluminum the image comes up in the developer. then when you fix it it turns to a positive.

lets see if they want to do more next time.

eddie

Mark_S · Jan 7, 2009

My daughter got started when she was in the 4th or 5th grade. She had a teacher who said something about Dageurre inventing photography, she asked me about it, and ended up doing a project on Niepce, and early photography. As a part of the project, she built (with some of my help) a pinhole camera, and shot and developed a couple of images. She is now in college, has access to the university darkroom, and has everything that she needs to process film in her dorm room.

SilverGlow · Jan 7, 2009

I'm really jealous of the OP (Rick). I tried to introduce analog photography to my two teen daughters, but neither one shows any interest, save for making snaps with their phones :-(

I first got my hands smelling of fixer back in Jr. High School; the summer photography program in Whittier, Calif back in the early 70s. That did it for me. I've been in photography since then, although left analog in 2001 for digital-only, but back again as of August 2008, and I'll be shooting analog for life. Digital too however.

naeroscatu · Jan 7, 2009

Excellent thread. We should all teach kids the craft of traditional image making. That teaches disciplin and developes own creativity. Kids are smart enough do not fall for the brainwashing instant gratification promoted by the d....l industry.

sidearm613 · Jan 7, 2009

Chazzy said:
Welcome, David. If you haven't already, I hope that you get a chance to develop your own film. It's an amazing feeling, especially the first few times that one does it.

i develop my own black and white. it is amazing. i love looking at the negatives as i unroll them from the reel.

but even more, i love printing, watching the image appear on the paper as it floats around in the developer tray under the safelights. pure magic!

AdClem · Jan 8, 2009

gr82bart said:
I've said it several times, despite the fact several APUGers don't believe it, kids LOVE film. Show them hybrid processes and they will be avid film lovers for a very long time.

Regards, Art.

Genius! I'm going to get a scanner. I have three children under 11, and I've agonised about this one. A Jesuit would want to get them as young as possible. Too soon, though, and they could be turned off forever; too late, and they're under the spell of that seductive wench, the computer. I only hope that it doesn't become, for me, a gateway into 'harder' technology.

wogster · Jan 8, 2009

sidearm613 said:
i develop my own black and white. it is amazing. i love looking at the negatives as i unroll them from the reel.

but even more, i love printing, watching the image appear on the paper as it floats around in the developer tray under the safelights. pure magic!

I still love the point of seeing the image appear on the paper, for kids it can be a game, to see who sees the very first bit of faint image on the paper.... It's cool, and I am glad there are kids learning the process, because 50-60 years from now when we are all sleeping in the earth, they will be teaching their grandchildren the wonders of the dark room.

sidearm613 · Jan 9, 2009

wogster said:
I still love the point of seeing the image appear on the paper, for kids it can be a game, to see who sees the very first bit of faint image on the paper.... It's cool, and I am glad there are kids learning the process, because 50-60 years from now when we are all sleeping in the earth, they will be teaching their grandchildren the wonders of the dark room.

so true. there is no way i will let my children and grandchildren grow up without teaching them how to print. but first, i must teach myself all those really cool non-standard printing methods like pt/pd and tintype, etc

GraemeMitchell · Jan 10, 2009

When I was young my dad saw that I took a hankering to his Canon ftb so he bought me a used Yashica-C and kept me in film. This was maybe 18 or so years ago, so maybe I was 10 or 11...anyway I still have the camera, and I confidently doubt that I'd be a photographer today if it weren't for that.

And I'd add, that I also think it was important that he left it to be my own interest. Not his. He had an old camera or two laying around, and he'd just hand them over with a smile. It wasn't til years and years later, when I'd been shooting for awhile, that I started to discover boxes of his old prints. By that point I could appreciate good photographer, and I saw quickly that was one.

Wonderful memories.

fschifano · Jan 10, 2009

AdClem said:
...A Jesuit would want to get them as young as possible.

Ain't that the truth!

bill schwab · Jan 10, 2009

My soon to be 5 year-old boy has been processing and printing with me for a while now. He loves it in the darkroom, but I think mixing the chems is his favorite part. He even has his own apron, goggles, gloves and mask. I also gave him this Brownie Starflex last year and he loves running around making "snapshots". Twists the crank, fires the shutter and loads the imaginary film too. He's at me for real film now!

I'm thinking Holga.

mojojones · Jan 10, 2009

Try him on pinhole cameras!

A few years ago when my son was seven I told him we were going to do something cool: make a camera out of a paint can! He was intrigued so we went about getting a clean can and poking a hole in it. This led to the whole explanation of the process and the next thing you know we had an image. He was so jazzed that he ran around the neighborhood proclaiming he could take a picture with a paint can then demonstrating, running home to process it then running back to show them the wet print (negative). I was so impresses with his enthusiasm, I got him a REALLY cheap, but decent "big person" camera (new Konica/Minolta SLR) off the 'bay. We subsequently did a couple father and son photo road trips and over the corse of the year he impressed me with how responsibly he handle the equipment and a little over a year later I bought him a compatible digital SLR (7 MP). (Mostly so save me money on film; he still runs through clicks)! Now a couple of years later, he still remembers and digs the idea of the pinhole and just last week he said "We should do some pinholes again". Here's one he took.

aparat · Jan 10, 2009

Congratulations! I am sure it's a great feeling.

It sounds like something I really look forward to when my son is older (he's four now), though he does like using his disposable camera. Some of the photos are quite good .

Rick-in-LB · Jan 11, 2009

Back to school

The funny thing is, there are things you do automatically without thinking and when I was explaining to him how to do things I had to stop and really think why. Soooo I decided to take a B&W photo class at the local city college here in Long Beach. Heck the last real class I took was in '71 taught by "Brothers" in a Catholic High School. It was a good class because I still am doing film. Dang those books are expensive now. I start Tuesday night. Ha, now I can save on chemicals.

Rick

Started my son...

Rick-in-LB

Steve Smith

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