Film Photography

paralel between digital photography and using llm's

i happened to be editing scans of my last roll of film on my phone while i was taking a boring introduction into github copilot today. then a realization hit me: writing a piece of computer code or editing some text yourself vs using an llm like chatgpt is quite similar in comparison as making an analog picture vs making a digital one.

it is much easier to make a digital picture. and if millions of people make thousands upon thousands of picture with their phones each, there will surely be some great ones among them. but that won't get you around the fact that it takes patience, time, effort and sometimes expensive equipement to make a great picture on purpose.

in fact, i would argue that it is easier for an amateur photographer to make a great picture on film than using a digital camera. mostly for one simple reason: the limitations of that setup - the exact same things that make digital photography attractive - force you to slow down and think. to be creative. how is one supposed to improve when there is no effort involved and no cost associated with mistakes?

just as digital photography opened the options for many people to do something they could not efficiently do before, llm's will open doors for many people to do new things. but just as photographers didn't disappear, the experts in their respective fields will also stick around.

Photographer: @Caomh_Cynbel@lemmy.world

Fomapan 400

Ah, to live in those times!

Rodenstock Rodagon f135mm/5.6 DIY Camera Kodak Tri-X 400 120 Developed in FX-39 II

Konica Minolta Dynax 5 @ 35mm

Kodak Gold 200

Shot on my OM-4 with the Zuiko 35mm f/2.8. I'm really impressed how good NC500 can look with a bit of overexposure. Sure, its not as "true to life" as kodaks or fujis offerings but its new colour film and thats great!

The lens is a Rodenstock Sironar f135mm/5.6, and the back is a Horseman 6x8cm roll film back, originally for a large format camera. I bought a 65mm focusing tubus, flange adapter and copal adapter and printed a ring with the correct focusing markings for this lens. The grip is a standard grip for camera cages. The viewfinder is originally from a different camera, and covers a bit more viewing angle than the lens. The interior of the body is painted with musou black.

Here are some test shots on Tri-X (badly digitized with my phone):

HP5+ in Rollei Supergrain 1:15. Shot on Rolleiflex.

I’ve shot several rolls over the years with a similar process, this time the roll was likely a bit jammed from the get go and stayed in the camera for a bit too long (8 months at least).

The lack of contrast was expected, the underexposed frames are a bit of a surprise, but the main issue I’m having with this is the highlighted area, I’ve never experienced this before.

I’m thinking that the roll didn’t load on the spiral properly and so the developer couldn’t access that part of the film, can anyone confirm or give me more insights?

February in Cambridge. [Leica M3 | 50mm Summicron f/2 | Kodak 500T]

@analog #filmphotography #analogphotography #analog #FilmMastodon #filmisnotdead #boston #mit

First tests with medium format, with the new-to-me soviet beauty. Finally got my hands to a economical flatbed capable of medium format, in this case an old canoscan 8000f. It doesn't have recent drivers, so my current workaround is a VM running Win 7 – might write SANE drivers for it at some point if it doesn't prove too difficult a task. Resolution is low (2400dpi) but enough for medium format since there's more to work with (I already have a dedicated machine for 135), and it's not like more recent flatbeds are much better in terms of real optical resolution. What these have got going for them is the price, got mine for 15 €.

Also got some Bellini ECN-2 and E6 kits.

This should last a few months, and I’ll be able to try shooting some slide film for the first time !

I also got almost 20rolls out of one Kentmere 100ft roll. Had to be careful with minimizing waste between rolls, but worked out well ! (Got 1936exp and 131exp at the end)

Love in wet weather. [Pentax K1000 | 50mm f2 | Probably Portra 800 but I forget and didn't write it down]

@analog #filmphotography #analogphotography #analog #FilmMastodon #filmisnotdead #dogs #dogsofmastodon

Original XP2 is a bit mushy on contrast. Printed on Ilford Multigrade RC Glossy with a 3 1/2 magenta filter to get that sharper contrast.

Fuji SuperG 400 pushed 2 stops sends the saturation into ridiculous range. The overcast day with a lot of skyscraper glass gave the concrete a heavy blue cast. Printed on Fuji Maxima glossy.

Fuji SuperG 400 was my favorite film ever. Pushing it one or two stops sends the reds and greens off the charts into surreal territory with a creamy grain. Printed on Kodak Royal II paper.