Any Photographers out there ?

[Paddy]

Had a Hasselblad 500 EL and virtually unlimited film and paper in the darkroom (mono only). That's how to learn about photography.

Hasselblad, real nice kit. Excellent for 2-1/4 inch transparencies.

Still got one of these,




The developer, fixer and seepier haven't been touched for twenty years

[Ignis Fatuus]

Hasselblad, real nice kit. Excellent for 2-1/4 inch transparencies.

Still got one of these

That's the Russian enlarger. It works pretty well but the foam padding in the case doesn't half turn into a gooey mess after a few decades.

[Ignis Fatuus]

I used to own a Mamiya 645 ... meant I could get 15 on a roll of 120 (fook this takes me back) lugged it all the way across Canada & US on a road trip - dumped it on my return for 35mm Nikon

I sold my M645 just last year. Hadn't used it in ages but every time I got it out to sell it, it just felt like such a QUALITY piece of kit that I thought I'd just keep it a little longer.

[doodab]

A manual camera and light meter never mind the rest of the processing is a good way to really understand photography.

I think using film helps as well, it requires you to slow down and visualise the end result and how you are going to get there before you press the trigger. Digital makes it easy to pump away with auto bracketing and iterate which is great but it's easy to be lazy and scattergun.

+1 for learning to use a meter though , and also learning how the one in your camera actually works and when and why it lets you down.

Never had an MF camera, aside from some very cheap folding jobs i found at a boot sale, just 35mm ones. I do look at them on eBay quite a bit though. I quite fancy a Rollei though I might settle for a Bronica SQ.

[Ignis Fatuus]

I think using film helps as well, it requires you to slow down and visualise the end result and how you are going to get there before you press the trigger. Digital makes it easy to pump away with auto bracketing and iterate which is great but it's easy to be lazy and scattergun.

My usage:
6 months backpacking in Africa: 10 36-exp rolls.
12 months all round South America: 18 rolls.
1 week trip with a digital camera: 100+ shots.

In Africa, the battery ran out. Fortunately I was using an OM1 which was 100% manual + match-needle meter. So I just kept going with Sunny-f/16 and still got almost all the shots.

Quality of photos? About the same. A few careful shots with film; or (when I first got a digital camera) a few careful shot on digital; then (when it really sank in that the images were free) hundreds of digital shots. Results all about the same. I.e. once you have mastered the technical side, admittedly harder with film, then the photographer is you, not the camera.

Now fire away...

[doodab]

My usage:
6 months backpacking in Africa: 10 36-exp rolls.
12 months all round South America: 18 rolls.
1 week trip with a digital camera: 100+ shots.

In Africa, the battery ran out. Fortunately I was using an OM1 which was 100% manual + match-needle meter. So I just kept going with Sunny-f/16 and still got almost all the shots.

Quality of photos? About the same. A few careful shots with film; or (when I first got a digital camera) a few careful shot on digital; then (when it really sank in that the images were free) hundreds of digital shots. Results all about the same. I.e. once you have mastered the technical side, admittedly harder with film, then the photographer is you, not the camera.

Now fire away...

That's my point. It's a lot easier to actually master the technical side with film, because you have to. I shoot almost totally digital and have done for years but i often find myself thinkin i need to slow down and think about waht i'm doing. Takes about an hour of walking round with the camera before i take any good photos now...

[Pogle]

Worked as a photographic technician in a scientific laboratory after leaving art college.
We had large format and 35mm cameras as well as a SEM. I did all the b/w film processing and hand printing we sent the E6 processing out. I did my city and guilds in professional photography whilst there and ended up doing all the company in house photography. I had a Bronica at one point and a set of halogen lights for portraits and hired a flash kit as needed - portraiture was my thing.
Took redundancy and went off to do my BSc at uni, I still have my Nikon, but haven't touched it in years. i just use my camera phone these days. One day I'll build myself a darkroom and get back into it.
This thread has made me feel like digging out all my old prints

[Sysman]

My usage:
6 months backpacking in Africa: 10 36-exp rolls.
12 months all round South America: 18 rolls.
1 week trip with a digital camera: 100+ shots.

My record with digital was ~170 shots in an afternoon at a vintage car rally. They had a Trabant section which was fascinating.

In Africa, the battery ran out. Fortunately I was using an OM1 which was 100% manual + match-needle meter. So I just kept going with Sunny-f/16 and still got almost all the shots.

Quality of photos? About the same. A few careful shots with film; or (when I first got a digital camera) a few careful shot on digital; then (when it really sank in that the images were free) hundreds of digital shots. Results all about the same. I.e. once you have mastered the technical side, admittedly harder with film, then the photographer is you, not the camera.

Now fire away...

I was lucky to have a darkroom at college when I got my first SLR and did all the monochrome processing myself. I got some pretty decent pictures when I was doing that.

On my big trip to Africa I took a shiny new Canon. Unfortunately there was a fault with it and everything came out underexposed. I thought at the time that the settings weren't reflecting the bright light but trusted the camera's meter, 'cos it had been OK with the first few rolls taken in the UK. Lesson learned: I should have taken an external meter as backup. The camera shop replaced the body under guarantee without question when I showed them the photos.

Batteries didn't last in the tropics, and new ones took a bit of tracking down.

[Troll]

My record with digital was ~170 shots in an afternoon at a vintage car rally. They had a Trabant section which was fascinating.

Fook....I'm sorry but you really need to widen your interests

[Sysman]

My record with digital was ~170 shots in an afternoon at a vintage car rally. They had a Trabant section which was fascinating.

Fook....I'm sorry but you really need to widen your interests

Well, have you seen a car with the petrol tank in the engine compartment?

If you thought an Allegro or Marina was bad engineering, look what the DDR had.