2018 and Still Analog-ing

Boy, it seems I've taken an almost five year break from blogging. Does anyone "blog" anymore? (Does anyone still use Blogger for that matter?? I'm a little surprised this site is still up, to be honest.)

Well, since it is the new year, maybe I'll take another stab at writing again.

Since I last posted on this site, we had another child. Maybe that had something to do with the hiatus? Around that time I started a new job, too. Yes, life happens. It's not like anyone reads this site anyway.

But in case you are somehow reading this...did you hear film photography is making a comeback? Yes, it was a thing in 2017. "Search it up," as the kids say.

So, I didn't shoot too many more rolls of film since my last post. I surmise it was exactly two more rolls I finished. How do I know that? Well, see I started to shoot film again in 2017. As I was making my way through film I still had in the house, I discovered two canisters of film in my sock drawer. I went to load one of them only to realize it had already been shot! Oops. I never developed them.

That's what brings me to this point, as I have just packaged up eight (count 'em: eight!) rolls of film to send off for developing, including, those two rolls from yesteryear (circa 2013-15). Actually, I also had half a roll still in a camera, which is the first roll I developed last year. Finally seeing some of those images many years later was quite a surprise.

Will I ever write another post this year?

Stay tuned to find out.

Otherwise, you might catch me on the Twitters @Save_Analog.
My favorite place to be is actually on my Instagram @juanroman.
I'm slowing getting my Flickr updated as I get more photos developed. Hopefully, more of those will show up here, too.

Happy New Year!

Sweet dreams

Sweet dreams, a photo by JuanRoman on Flickr.

Pentax K2 | 50mm f/1.4 | Ilford HP5+

Is this gonna work?

Is this gonna work?, a photo by JuanRoman on Flickr.

OK, set the exposure...check the focus...lower the camera...steady...

Pentax K2 | 28mm f/2.8 | Ilford HP5+

Found Film, Part 1

We bought a vintage Kodak Petite folding camera on eBay. These were produced between 1929-1933 as the "ladies" version of the Kodak Vest Pocket Model B folding camera. The original list price was $7.50, which is approximately $100 in 2013 dollars. This was an Autographic model, which meant it came with a small stylus pen. When loaded with special Kodak autographic film, one could write on a portion of the negative through a small opening in the camera back in order to make small notes after you shot each frame that would appear on the developed image. Neat.

To my surprise there was a roll of 127 film still captive inside the camera. It appeared to be fully exposed, as well. Since 127 film is not a film type that is produced any longer, I looked up a film lab that I thought could process it. I sent it off, only to find out about a week later that they couldn't process it and were returning my film. It turns out this film (Kodacolor-X) requires special developing chemistry (C-22) that is no longer readily available. This film was apparently manufactured between 1963 to 1974.

Fortunately there still are a few labs that have the ability to process C-22, though it takes longer than the 35mm standard C-41 color processing because they have to process in batches to get the most use of their chemicals. The first lab I tried (The Darkroom) was kind enough to refer me to Film Rescue International, which I had also got a recommendation about on Twitter.

I have been very curious to find out what memories might be captured on this film. I also find it interesting that someone was using a camera in the late-60s/early-70s that was already 35-40 years old at the time. My hopes of finding Mad Men-type images from the film were dashed, though, when I learned the likely age of the film. Hopefully, there's still something cool and interesting there.

Part 2 to come when I receive the images...

Why do you?

Interesting post & comments over at Japan Camera Hunter: "Why do you shoot film?"

Well, I shoot film because I can. It really is that simple. It is a lifestyle choice, just like being a vegetarian or a smoker.

I'll go with that. It's pretty much the same question as "Why do you listen to vinyl?", right? 

I've touched on why I am choosing to shoot film, here and here and here. Click over to the link and give it a read.

On the Twitter? See:

Why do you shoot film? - japancamerahunter.com/2013/03/why-do… Come and join in. Get involved #shootfilm #photography
— JapanCameraHunter (@Jpncamerahunter) March 17, 2013

600 on a 600

I signed up to participate in a project started by the site snapitseeit.com called "600 on a 600."

Their original idea was to send a single Polaroid 600 series camera around the country and get volunteers to collectively shoot 600 photographs (75 x 8 = 600) using new film from The Impossible Project. The response was so great, they'll be sending out three cameras total: two in North America and one in Europe. Read more about the original idea by clicking on the image above. At this point, the project is underway and there are a few posts up with images.

I'm excited to take part, and to try out the new film(s) produced by TIP for the old Polaroid cameras. After my turn comes around, I'll write about the experience here. The photos will be uploaded to Snap It | See It.

In the meantime, I got my hands on some expired Polaroid 600 film and a One Step Closeup camera. Most of the film was too far gone and had barely any developable image area left.

The last pack had a 2006 expiration date and, I was pleased to discover, actually developed for the most part. Shooting a 24 or 36 shot roll of 35mm is hard enough. Being limited to 10 shots (only 8 with the new TIP films) really makes you think twice before pressing the shutter button. The new films are not cheap, either. This image below I tried framing up in the viewfinder, but I wanted to get low to the ground. The actual shot was a little bit of a snap-and-hope-for-the-best type of thing. The bluish horizontal lines are just artifacts from the scanner I used. The rest is pure expired Polaroid film "goodness."

Day At The Beach

I shot a roll of expired Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 800. The majority of the roll was shot at Torrey Pines State Beach. Much of it was downrated to 400 since it was so bright (as previously discussed). Here is a sample of images. See more at my Flickr photostream

I decided to shoot my next roll with Ilford B&W film I bought (HP5+ 400). Plus, I'm seeing my dad this weekend... I'll reunite him (temporarily!) with his newly refurb'ed Pentax K2!

Mistakes

Mistakes are bound to happen. That's life and that's part of learning. I made a few mistakes today before and during a trip to the beach.

My camera was loaded with 800 speed film, and upon arriving at the beach it was fairly clear and very sunny. I was shooting my 50mm f/1.4 lens. After getting out of the car, I took a quick peek through the finder and saw my light meter pegged at the full (+) end of the scale. I twirled the aperture and stopped it down all the way, checked I was at max shutter speed (1/1000), and peeked again...still pegged.

This camera is actually a second K1000 body I picked up and this was my first roll in it. I turned to my resident photog (my wife): "you want fast shutter speed in bright light, right?" I asked. She concurred. "I think something's wrong with my meter. I can't get it down from fully overexposed...that's the plus side, right?"

I thought to myself as we walked...hmmm...

More thinking...

*Light bulb!*

Oh, I'm shooting 800 ISO film. Duh.

I changed the ISO dial down to 400 and checked the meter again. Ah, there you go. So, I shot several frames that way. At this moment, I'm not really sure what affect this has on film, since obviously the speed of the film didn't change. I'll look it up later.

And maybe that's not so much a mistake as a lack of knowledge. Regardless, I'm sure to make more than a few mistakes in the future. That's sometimes the best way to learn.

Here's a shot the wife took of me. Can you guess where the strap is from?

 

My First Shots

So, I got my first 35mm roll developed from the K1000. I'm definitely still learning the camera. It is not so much learning the mechanics of the camera, because it is the essence of basic and simple (though that's still true), but getting used to seeing through the lens and creating an image.

I was pretty underwhelmed by my shots overall, but there's a couple passable ones there. I also need to get used to the grain of film and get a feel for what different films might bring to the equation. There's so many factors that can affect the final image, like the freshness or age of the film, the framing choices I made, the developing, and the scans of the negatives. I know this will just take more time and experimentation and familiarity. Being limited to 24 (or 36 as the case may be) shots definitely makes you stop and think before you click the shutter, though!

You can take a peek at my 35mm images in a set I created at my Flickr page.

Just for Clicks

A History

I've just started into film photography. My current arsenal consists of a Pentax K1000 35mm SLR and a Holga medium format toy camera.

Lomo
Back while I was in college the Lomographic Society was just being established. I can't remember how I heard about it, but I was intrigued by the Lomo and this (counter) culture that had grown around it. I remember getting some kind of introductory pamphlet in the mail explaining how it all worked, and I was quite keen on the idea of the vibrant photos and the figurative and literal "shoot from the hip" philosophy. Alas, I never bought a Lomo camera.

Years later my wife and her best friend began into DSLR photography. I remembered about the Lomo and somehow this led to me receiving a Holga camera either for Christmas or my birthday. Though I was excited about it, I never took the time to actually use it and into a box it went, where it would sit for many more years.

Well, at some point my wife began to take a more serious turn into photography upon deciding how to shoot with the manual controls of the Nikon D70 DSLR that we had bought after our daughter was born. Though I did enjoy taking pictures from time to time, I had other hobbies to occupy myself with.

iPhone
The iPhone 3G came along and it was quite revolutionary with the quality of its built-in camera along with the fact that you took it everywhere with you. In fact, it fit right along with the first golden rule of Lomography: Take Your Camera Everywhere You Go. The iPhone 4's improved camera was another order better. The concept of iPhone-ography became a thing. Then Instagram happened. I was an early adopter. I quickly saw the value in the social network Instagram had built around mobile photography, while early detractors complained about the silliness of the filters that only served to hamstring the improved quality of the iPhone camera. Having been a fan of the Lomo aesthetic I was not bothered by the filters. Sure, filters can get a bit kitsch, but you don't have to use them.

Film
Wanting to share in my wife's hobby, but not wanting to drop DSLR type money on a camera of my own, I thought I could try the film route. Film photography no longer being the main mass market medium, it is somewhat of a different niche now. Toy camera photography another thing, as well. So, I dug up the Holga. I got dad's old Pentax film SLR from my brother, where it was gathering dust. Price: free (Well, sorta. That's another post).

And here we are today. My first roll of 35mm waits for me at Walgreen's.