Who knows where it’s going?
When I started with this whole film thing, I had no idea where it would lead. I certainly had no expectations that it would magically make me a better photographer. As a matter of fact, I had no expectations other than it would be different and fun and it has been exactly that.

As I scanned the last few images from the last roll that I developed, I looked at my photo count and see that I’ve scanned 656 negatives. Certainly the bulk of them have been 35 mm scans as they are easy to do. I can do 12 at a time. With 120, it’s one at a time, so I tend to not scan the entire roll. I pick and choose. As near as I can tell, I’ve shot about 18 rolls of 120 film, or about 270 images, of which I’ve scanned 196. I’ve shot 13 rolls of 36 exposure 35 mm film and scanned 460 of those images, giving me 656.

I’ve (re)learned a lot about film and have developed likes and dislikes. More than likely I’ll stay in the middle of the range with Ilford films. Though I like really small grain, and Ilford Pan F suits the bill, I don’t like its really high contrast all that much. I prefer FP4′s tonal range as well as HP-5′s speed and tonal range. I shot a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 and, IMHO, it should be Delta 1000. It’s cool in a pinch and I have another roll of it to shoot that I’ll probably shoot at 1000 ISO. My go-to developer is still Rodinal. I hear that my mad scientist friend, Tom, is mixing up a home brew batch for himself!

I’ve found that I really like medium format film. It’s beautiful and I don’t have to break the bank to have a full frame camera, 35 mm or medium format.

Of course, my D300, slighted though she may have been, is still my go-to camera for color, low light, and sports. It just cannot be beat. On the streets, it’s the Olympus and the Leica, and for B&W landscapes, the Mamiya 645e. I want to try a roll or two of color slide film, but also want to keep costs to a minimum and not have any outside development costs.

Thanks to Tom, I have some old school 120 film that I’m going to shoot. Some of it is 10 years old! I’m not quite sure what the developing times will be, but I’ll do some research and figure it out. It’s all about the fun anyway.

Although I make jokes about digital being “The Dark Side”, of course, you know that I don’t mean it. No one’s going to pry my D300 from hands!

It has indeed been fun and I still look forward to those evenings of developing film while watching a movie. Hopefully, you’ve found this interesting, too. Perhaps it may have even sparked your interest a bit … maybe you’ll try some film one day. It’s great to have choices!

My friend Tom, The Photo Father, sent me an e-mail with a link to a video and some quotes by Gary Winogrand, a famous Magnum photographer. Tom, who always sends me interesting links, wanted to know if I liked Winogrand. Truthfully, I didn’t know much about him until a few months ago. I really don’t know much about any famous photographers. I wonder if that is unusual for someone who likes photography. However, I did like some of his quotes, on in particular:

I learned a long time ago to trust my instincts. You see? When I’m photographing, I wanna — if I’m at the viewfinder and I know that picture, why take it? I’ll do something to change it, which is often the reason why I may tilt the camera or fool around in various ways. You don’t learn anything from repeating what you know, in affect, so I keep trying to make uncertain.

Certainly, he was not the most eloquent of fellows, but he got the point across. He liked to kind of shake things up. He figured that if he knew how to take a certain picture, why bother? He was all about learning, experimenting, and trusting his instincts. He was certainly less about follow rules or guidelines. He simply wanted to make his picture ‘complete’. He also talked about failure and how you cannot be afraid to fail because most of your shots will be failures. From watching the video, you can see that this guy was prolific, to say the least. He was behind in developing by the sum of about 2,000 rolls when this film was made back in 1982.

I see many photographers, myself included, get caught up in which equipment to use, instead of working to learn how to photograph, or spending too much time talking about photography and less time actually shooting. Since going and shooting more people-oriented photographs, I try to think of ways to challenge myself, ways to become bolder, moving in closer, etc. Perhaps that is why I changed back to film, to give me something different to do, to learn something else.

Words do more for me than any photo that I could possibly view. Photos seem to capture me for a short time, then I move on. Words seem to hang around for a longer time and, even though I cannot remember the exact quote, the intent hangs around. I’ve always been a reader, so many that’s the strongest form of communication for me.

How about you? What form of communication sticks with you better?

About a week ago, Paul Butzi wrote a post entitled: Camera Collector/Photographer/Both?. At one time I dreamed of owning a collection of cameras. Of course, this idea was not to have cameras in the classic sense where they stay sealed in their original packaging and never get used. My collection would be of usable cameras … all would be film cameras.

When I wrote my post about the Leica mystique some three weeks ago, that bug had jumped up again and bitten me. I was wanting to know why. Now, some 3 weeks later, and having read several articles from various Leica aficionados, I just feel the need desire to have one! However, entry level is steep, about $1,600 – $2,000 for an M6 and 35mm lens, if I can find a good price! One thing for sure, they don’t devalue much! And, as you know, I don’t mind shooting film!

Over the past month I’ve been thinking about selling some of my zoom lenses. The sale of 3 of them would generate enough cash to purchase the Leica; however, as it has been very busy with work, I haven’t taken the time to list them yet. That would leave me with my D300, a 50mm, 90 mm macro, and 18-270 mm, which are all that I ever use anyway, so no loss. It’s a rather odd feeling to be walking in the opposite direction of digital. This time last year, I was chomping at the bit for a D700, now it’s the furthest thing from my mind. Bizarre! I’m really starting to like the classics!

This camera hobby thing is expensive and quite irrational sometimes but I just accept it! When I told my wife that I wanted to buy a Leica film camera, she asked a perfectly valid question in a round about way. She became silent for a bit, then the conversation went like this:

Wife: Didn’t you just buy a film camera a few months ago?
Me: Yes! I most certainly did.
Wife: So, is the camera that you bought no good?
Me: No! It’s a great camera and works well. I use it almost every day!!!
Wife: So???
Me: This is a different kind of camera and I’d like to have it. All that I can offer is that it is a hobby and I have absolutely no rational reason to buy it other than I want it and am willing to sell some of my other gear to get it.
Wife: So, will you be able to sell enough gear to buy it?
Me: Yes. I have some lenses that I will sell that will let me buy the camera. I’ll have to do something else to be able to afford a lens for it. Maybe sell blood!
Wife: Well … OK.

At this point, I could tell that she probably thought that I had a few screws loose, but no bother. Sometimes, you have to admit that you have absolutely not even one good reason to do something other than you want to.

If I do get one, I’ll certainly write a post about it!