My First Month with Film

So...I am one month into my film experiment and I thought I'd take some time to share some images and some initial impressions.  

First, I love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. I love the feel of the images. I love the look of the images. I love slowing down a bit. I love finishing the roll followed by the mystery of waiting to see the images. I've shot several different films already and I love them all. My favorites being Tri-X 400 and Portra 400.

Second, I hate it. I can't stand that I it takes so long to get through a roll of film. In my first several rolls I frequently want to switch back and forth between black & white and color films. I'm sure some would say just shoot color and convert digitally to black and white while others may say you should only shoot black & white. I like both. 

Third, I find it interesting that in the past month, I have printed more images than the last 2 years combined. That just isn't right. Seriously, I've shot less than 500 images on film in 2012 and something like 40,000+ digital images in 2010 & 2011 and I've got more to show for those 500 than the previous two years combined.

Anyway, those are my initial impressions. I'm still going forward with this project because I believe it is making me a better photographer.

I thought I'd also share a few thoughts on my Bessa R4A and 21mm Cosina Voigtlander lens. This is my first forray into a rangefinder camera. Overall, I am very pleased with the kit. While it took me a bit to get used to the focus method of the dual rangefinder images becoming one, I have gotten a handle on it and have grown accustomed to it. In fact, I really like it. The Bessa functions well. The only thing I've noticed is that I struggle to find the AE lock button on the back. I think I will add a little mine grip/texture to it. I also find that I'm still trying to figure out how to meter the overall image when set in A. A few of my images have come across pretty dark.

The only other thought I have is about the 21mm f4 Cosina Voigtlander lens. It is very, very sharp. The quality is very good. The focus action is so smooth and I like the stepped aperture ring. My only comment here is that it doesn't focus close enough for how I shoot wide angle. I like to get close to subjects and I am finding that I can't quite get close enough. It isn't a huge deal, but it is noticable as I've had to step backwards frequently so I can get the camera in focus. I guess I've trained myself a bit differently and it's taking some time to retrain. I may give a try to something like a 25 or 28mm. We'll see.

Now....enough talk. How about some pictures? 

 

And this last images goes out to my friend Kid Riemer who's racing Arrowhead 135. Go get 'em Kid! Good luck to all racers!

One month of film down, 11 more to go!

Denali - In full view

I sat down to write about this past weekend where my wife and I attended a retreat out near Red Wing Minnesota. I wanted to write about the vastness of the silence of the villa as well as the peace and joy I experienced while away. However, when I sat down to write I saw the new film & slide scanner sitting next to my computer and I jumped into digging through old boxes of film and slides. That's how my simple mind works and wonders.

I immediately went back to my old Alaska to Utah bike tour of the 90's. I shot color slides and black & white film. I have done little with these precious images and memories. In fact, I bet I've only printed about 1/10th of the images I captured. Well....the time has come to delve into the past and start rehashing those memories.

It will take me a while to really get this all figured out, but I am going to spend some time scanning images and see if I can put together some stories worth telling. Until then, here is my first lo res scan. Shot on T-Max with my old Pentax 35mm film camera.  I know I need to learn how to clean the negatives and do some touch up afterward but I thought I'd share my starting point. It also adds a bit of a vintage feel to the image. Hope you enjoy.

Denali - In full view

I call this image In full view. Denali had eluded us for some time and on this day, we got our first perfect glimpse of the full mountain. I find the hardest thing is to gauge the size of something like Denali. Imagine that snow line being roughly 5-8,000 ft. Simply incredible.

So...Lot's more to come as I process and scan images. I can't wait.

Photo Friday - Snow Dreams

A Dusting - Portra 400 - scanned - converted and toned in Lightroom

I can't believe it is January 19th and we've got essentially ZERO snow. The pic above was taken on an early morning of a few flurries. Yep, I'm dreaming and scheming about riding fatbikes in the white stuff. Soon...I hope.

Hope your week has gone well. Mine has been spectacular. Very little excercise and activity but spectacular none the less.

Have a great Friday and weekend.

Ride your bike! Take some pictures!

Film for 2012

Bessa R4A Rangefinder with Cosina Voigtlander 21mm f4 lens

One of my guiding principles for 2012 is to not waste time or money if it is not getting me to an end goal. Today, I share with you one of my goals, that is to become a better photographer. I have read several stories on shooting film everyday for a year makes you a better photographer. It makes you slow down. It makes you understand exposure. It makes you focus on composition as opposed to gun and run digital photography. In the end, I bet I get as many "keepers" as I do with digital.

In the past few weeks I've been researching just about every type of film camera, film type and film scanner. I've gone through my old college books and read countless old reviews, forums, and online opinions on film photography. While I'd love to find a used Leica M6 TTL, I just can't afford one of those. I also don't want the high roller image of the red dot...Even though I know many true artists and not so wealthy photographers shoot with Leica. Nope. I've set my sights on a used Bessa R4A Rangefinder with a wide angle 21mm Voigtlander lens.

Beyond price, how did I land on this set up? Well...I have a bike photo project that I am exploring that I believe needs to be shot using film. Assuming the set up works the way I envision, this project could take me 2 years to complete. Yep, that's right, 2 years but that is another story for another day. I can and will say it involves bikes and that you will likely see an image or two along the way from this project. This requires a wide angle lens with a fairly deep depth of field. The Bessa R4A is the only rangefinder available equipped with a wide angle view finder. This coupled with a 21mm or 25mm lens should do the trick.

I shot the first roll of black and white film last week and am shooting the first roll of color this week. These two images above are super lo res scans from the first roll just to get something up on the blog. Nothing great as I am just focused on learning right now. While these images have loads of issues, I see a glimpse of hope in these images. I think that meaningful and impactful images will come later once I figure it all out and find the film and processing I desire. I hope I can pull through.

So...It's time to go ride my bike and take a few pictures.