The Grain Grubbers Film Thread

[Patrick in Oregon]

Here are some shots from my Ektar roll.

A bit yellow

Not too difficult to clean up

Indoor light...whoops!

Green and underexposed

Not so green, but still very dark

Slightly yellow

Now maybe too blue?

 

[photo_chick]

Do you have a set of colored filters? They can help you with the white balance issues with film when you're out shooting.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Not yet. I've been reading about them as I've never used them before. Suggestions?

Also I'm learning about lighting, tungsten and film. Still working on the connection between them :/

Also do you have to know the type of light/temperature of the light to use the right filter?

 

[photo_chick]

I have an old Cokin filter system. It uses a filter holder and you drop the filter into that. I love it on my film cameras because I've got a few different cameras and it makes it much faster to swap filters around. I bet if you search ebay you should be able to find a set pretty cheap (just be aware a lot of whats on there are not real Cokin brand, but they work well to play with). They're not the highest end filters, but they're more than sufficient for most 35mm film shooting.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Suggestions on the best way to get film to Disneyland from Oregon?

I'm thinking via Amazon Prime and having shipped to my hotel. Problem is I can't verify expiration dates, how they have been stored or if the film gets xrayed during shipping.

I can buy local and send it through the carry-on scanner at the airport. I'm reading that the rays aren't so bad if you only go through twice in a round trip. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[photo_chick]

Expiration dates really aren't that critical. How the film has been stored is a lot more important. I order most of my film from B&H because it's cheaper and I know I can trust what I get.

As far as x-rays, get an x-ray bag. I've gone though without using anything and not had an major problems years ago, but now I'm of the mindset that I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Would you prefer buying from B&h and sending to the hotel instead of carry-on?

 

[photo_chick]

I'd personally prefer having the film with me during travel. But I shoot a lot on the way to and from WDW.

 

[cpbjgc]

I had a lomography fisheye camera with me on a recent trip. I carried the film in my carry on and asked them to hand inspect the film, which they did, and then they sent it through the xray machine anyway .

I carried the exposed film in the carry on on the way back (and the camera, which still had a couple shots to go), and again it went through the scanner. When I developed the film, it came out just fine.

I have subsequently flown with my other film camera and film in carry on without any issues.

So I would say, pack it in the carry on and don't worry about it, it should be fine.

 

[cpbjgc]

Here are a couple shots from my first roll (Portra 160) shot with my new Mamiya 645E. They were shot using the kit lens (80 mm) then I scanned from the 6x4 print (too lazy to set up the film scanner), so the image is a bit soft looking. This roll was mostly random shots just to check and make sure the exposure metering was good (looks ok to me) and to try out my Canon flash with the camera (worked nicely!).

Long exposure of the indoor Koi Pond

My pup after a snootful of snow

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Nice! I've been curious about Portra. Do you like it?

 

[cpbjgc]

Thanks!

That is the first time I shot with Portra. I like its dynamic range and grain, but I am not as keen on the colours. Most of my colour shooting is with Fuji Reala which gives more staurated colours, which is my personal preference. I find the Portra a bit muted for my taste, which would be great for portrait and studio work, which I don't do much of. I have a roll of reala in the camera now so I can do a little comparison.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

just developed

 

[cpbjgc]

Nice set of images!

I like the second shot quite a lot. You have great lines in the walls and an intersesting contrast in textures between the darker stone walls and the runner in their white pants. Well done!

 

[sabrinadv1]

I have an old Pentax. I dont remember which one exactly at the moment. I took a film class a couple of years ago at a local college. It was an awesome experience. I developed my own film and made my own prints. I don't have a scanner. The best I can do is take some shots of my prints with my digital and post those. I will try to do that this weekend. I miss having a darkroom to get lost in.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Nice set of images!

I like the second shot quite a lot. You have great lines in the walls and an intersesting contrast in textures between the darker stone walls and the runner in their white pants. Well done!

Thanks a lot! I ended up liking my b&w roll better than I expected.

I have an old Pentax. I dont remember which one exactly at the moment. I took a film class a couple of years ago at a local college. It was an awesome experience. I developed my own film and made my own prints. I don't have a scanner. The best I can do is take some shots of my prints with my digital and post those. I will try to do that this weekend. I miss having a darkroom to get lost in.

I took pictures for my high school newspaper. I too miss the dark room. For some reason, I really miss fumbling around in the dark bag (changing bag?) while you tried to unroll the film and get in the canister. I found it very therapeutic and a mind exercise, trying to imagine what your hands are feeling. I don't know...it's weird lol.

 

[sabrinadv1]

I miss creating something on your own and waiting to see how it comes out. I also miss being able to go in shut the door , and no one else being able to enter I think my film prints are better than my digital stuff.

 

[photo_chick]

You know, it's real easy to setup a darkroom at home. And cheap, too. For film all you need is the can, reels, containers and chemicals. If you want to make prints you can often find 35mm and 120mm enlargers for next to nothing. Trays can be had pretty cheap off ebay as well. All you need is a closet or bathroom. The only hard part is disposing of chemicals. The developer and fixer have silver in them after they're used so you can't just dump them down the drain anymore.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

I thought about the logistics of making my own dark room. Condo living doesn't lend much spare space. I haven't done any pricing research yet but I'm wondering where the break even point is between the costs of materials vs costs of paying for development.

 

[photo_chick]

When we lived in an apartment we had 2 bathrooms. I took over one for the darkroom. I had a table over the toilet for the enlarger and the trays in the tub. I did film developing in the sink.

As far as cost... You'd probably have to do a couple dozen rolls to make it break even compared sending 35mm out for processing. If you do MF or sheet film it is a bit more cost effective.