09.Sep.2010 Learning the old school basics of film photography

I never thought the day would come when I would be developing my own film, or for that matter, the day that I would be using a film SLR camera. The photography class I am taking requires learning how to process black and white film in a dark room for the first two weeks of the class. I am so excited and even a little scared that I might mess up my film. Next week we will finish up the film part of the class by making prints from our negatives. I will post my results and my take on the experience at the end of next week.

I waited this long to take some photography classes because I didn’t want to learn the traditional film method, yet so far I have been having fun with the used SLR camera I picked up off craigslist. The shutter isn’t 100% reliable and it is strange to have to pay closer attention to what ISO film I am using. I tested two rolls of color film before starting on my black & white film, to make sure that the camera functions. The resulting photos from my test were strange to see from a digital photographers point of view. The colors were off and the grain made the photos look like they were 20 years old.

While my film SLR may not be as accurate as my digital, I still see many opportunities to use it for strictly artistic purposes. My least favorite thing about film is the waiting, I have been spoiled with immediate gratification for many years thanks to digital cameras. I do not see myself trading in my digital camera for a film camera full time any time in the foreseeable future.