Thought I might say hello

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mblomq

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After reading through some of the older posts in this thread I think that I should say hello straight ahead, and not wait a year or two... :wink:

I'm a engineer student at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, but currently I live in a small town called Arboga, due to the fact that I will begin writing my master thesis nearby in September.

About ten years ago, I got my hands on a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements, and found image manipulation very fascinating. I have continued with this hobby, and after a couple of years I started using the Photoshop, instead of Elements.

Over the years I have "improved" photos taken with point-and-shoot cameras. The image quality, both technical and artistic, hasn't been the best. :tongue:
A year and a half ago, I bought my first DSLR, and to this day, I have taken about 20 000 photos, of which a hundred or so has been "good".

Digital photos two main advantages; I can take as many photos as I want, without spending money, and I can always correct them later in Photoshop.

Then, three month ago, I inherited an old Pentax Super-A. I bought a roll of Kodak Elite Chrome, and went outside, testing the camera. It took some time exposing those 36 frames, since the film did cost about $14, I didn't want to waste a single frame. I then sent the film away for development, another $10. Two weeks later, the developed film was returned, and it was judgement day.

Out of 36 frames, I was pleased with 15. 10 frames where wasted on trying to figure out how the camera actually works, and the rest was just bad photography. But the number, 15 frames out of 36 possible, is in my mind a good ratio, compared to 300 digital ones, with 8-10 good ones.

Putting aside the fact that I should not try to work as a professional photographer, I must say that the quality of film is amazing. The colors, the dynamic range, and the fact that I were shooting hand held in the dusk, where my Canon EOS 450D would have sucked...

After some research I found that I can buy a negative color film, as the Fujicolor Superia for less than $5 per roll, and develop for about 10-15 USD. Shooting a lot of positive color film, for $14 per roll, is currently not possible, since I live on a study loan. Being almost an engineer, I figured that I can buy some cheap film, and try to develop it myself. Currently, I'm waiting for a C41 startup-kit to arrive from Germany... :whistling:

I hope to learn a lot from you guys here at apug! :D

Marcus
 

KarnyDoc

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Welcome aboard!

After reading through some of the older posts in this thread I think that I should say hello straight ahead, and not wait a year or two... :wink:

...snipped...

Then, three month ago, I inherited an old Pentax Super-A. I bought a roll of Kodak Elite Chrome, and went outside, testing the camera. It took some time exposing those 36 frames, since the film did cost about $14, I didn't want to waste a single frame. I then sent the film away for development, another $10. Two weeks later, the developed film was returned, and it was judgement day.

Out of 36 frames, I was pleased with 15. 10 frames where wasted on trying to figure out how the camera actually works, and the rest was just bad photography. But the number, 15 frames out of 36 possible, is in my mind a good ratio, compared to 300 digital ones, with 8-10 good ones.

...snipped...

After some research I found that I can buy a negative color film, as the Fujicolor Superia for less than $5 per roll, and develop for about 10-15 USD. Shooting a lot of positive color film, for $14 per roll, is currently not possible, since I live on a study loan. Being almost an engineer, I figured that I can buy some cheap film, and try to develop it myself. Currently, I'm waiting for a C41 startup-kit to arrive from Germany... :whistling:

I hope to learn a lot from you guys here at apug! :D

Marcus

Marcus,

Welcome to APUG!

Allow me to share this bit of advice with you regarding film photography, preceded with a bit of background about myself.

I have been actively interested in photography since I was about ten years old; at 42, that means I've been into photography as a hobby for three-quarters of my life (has it really been that long?).

I'm chiefly self-taught, though I did take a darkroom photography course in college.

One thing I've learned is to be self-critical at the photos I got back (I shot 35mm slides mostly). Any time I had photos that were blurry, under- or overexposed, or otherwise "defective," I asked myself, "What did I do wrong?" It was through this method that my photography improved, and if you were to view my slide collection in sequence, you'd see this improvement over time, notwithstanding the occasional goof.

The advantage film has over digital when it comes to learning photography is that, unlike digital, film has a finite number of frames on a given roll. In order to make each photo a good one, it is necessary to put more thought into the process, rather than simply use the "machine gun" approach that digital encourages, and hope for the best. By definition, you have to improve.

You don't say what you were photographing to test the camera, but 15 out of 36 exposures is good; I figured a 50% "good" rate on a roll of 36 slides shooting action was a good ratio, though at times I fell short. In your case, 42% is a good ratio. As you become more comfortable with your camera, that number will creep upward.

I will also recommend listening to a couple of podcasts, all available on iTunes:

(1) Film Photography Podcast (FPP) Each episode is typically built around some kind of theme, whether it's a specific camera, film, or whatever. They also have film and camera giveaways each month to lucky listeners, and accept donations of unwanted film and working cameras.

Their website is http://www.filmphotographypodcast.com

(2) Inside Analog Photo Radio (IAPR) features news and its chief component, a photographer who uses film is interviewd by host Scott Sheppard, who can also be found on Facebook.

The IAPR URL is Dead Link Removed

(3) Lenswork - Photography and the Creative Process is a short podcast, typically about five minutes or less, that steers clear of gear discussions and talks about what goes into an image. Dead Link Removed

(4) This Week in Photo (TWiP) is a weekly podcast hosted by Frederick Van Johnson. While it has a decidedly digital bias, one may still find useful nuggets or kernels of information. http://www.thisweekinphoto.com

(5) The Art of Photography (AOP): A videocast dealing with a single subject per episode. I think the URL is Dead Link Removed

There are also a couple of Facebook groups of which I'm a member:

(1) Film is Fun deals with film photography. Group members share their film photos. (IAPR host Scott Sheppard, and Figital Revolution host Scott DiSabato, can also be found here.) Buying and selling is also permitted.

(2) Camera Gear This is for the sale and purchase of anything photographic, whether it's film, cameras, accessories, etc.

Dieter Zakas
 

papagene

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Marcus - hello and welcome to APUG!! :D
 

Chazzy

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Welcome to APUG, Marcus, and good luck with your photography.
 

Sirius Glass

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Welcome to APUG!

Steve
 

slumry

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Welcome, if I recollect, it must be soon be crayfish season in Sweden. They should be good to photograph with some nice slide film. Enjoy.
 

Black Dog

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Hello and welcome to APUGland!
 
OP
OP

mblomq

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Joined
Jul 18, 2011
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Sweden
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35mm
Thank you all for the warm welcoming I have received, when entering the APUG-family.

Dieter Zakas, thank you for the Podcasts and Facebook links, and especially for you taking some time to tell me about your history and your view of film photography. My test shots where mostly of static objects, buildings, some trees, flowers etc. I think that I have taken the first few steps towards improving my skills, by taking photos with a film camera (which makes me slow down and spend more time with each frame) and by joining this community. :smile:

Slumry, your recollection is correct. By tradition the crayfish premiere is on 8th of August, even though the law (not to fish crayfish before 7th of august) was repealed in 1982. :tongue:
 

mooseontheloose

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Hi Marcus,

Welcome to APUG! Even though I have never shot digital (!) my moment of truth came about ten years ago when I first shot my first roll of slide film. What a revelation! Since then I've mostly moved onto black and white (cheaper to buy and develop) but I still love chromes, although I'm careful about what I shoot now since the film is so much more expensive than when I started.
 

stillsilver

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Oakdale, CA
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Hello Marcus. welcome to the site. C41 is cheaper to shoot and develop but chromes will show you all your exposure short-comings. I learned a lot about meters and exposure when I shot chrome. I still apply it to my b&w negs.

Mike
 
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