Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! I know I've been writing a lot about film photography the last month or so and it's mainly because I've been really into film during the same time. I've talked about camera's, developing and scanning and even how to meter. I have talked about all of the technical and material stuff but I haven't talked about the feel of shooting with film again. We photographers are really into gear and the how-to of photography and I think sometimes we forget about the why and the feeling of photography. We concentrate on megapixels and how many frames per second and auto focusing . We forget all of the famous photographers over the last 100 years didn't have any of these modern convinces and their photographs still stand over and above a lot of modern photographers. Not that there aren't great photographers now but gear isn't the reason of what made them great. It's the feel , the art of the photography that made the greats great. To me shooting film is back to basics.

Back to Basics. Shooting film makes me go back to basics. The seeing the scene. With film photography I have to slow down. Each shot cost money. Even with me developing my own film and Scanning it myself its almost 50-.75 cent per shot which doesn't sound like a lot but does add up after you're used to shooting for free with digital. Each shot matters. So you take your time waiting for the perfect scene. When you find that perfect scene then there is the metering part. These are 50 plus year old camera's and trusting how you are metering is really key to getting a good exposure. Knowing if you're going to error in exposure you should error in over exposure. Framing and composition is very important. Although you can edit that in post every time you crop you introduce more grain. Every part of the process in film photography affects the way your final image will turn out .  The film itself is very important. The manufacturer the ISO of the film do you want to shoot black and white or color. All of these things matter when shooting film.  Even the way you develop the negatives and what chemicals you decide to use will change the way the final image will turn out.  Everything matters when making decisions when shooting film.  Maybe that's why I like it so much. You have to be involved in the shooting process and even the developing process. They all make a difference when shooting film. You are involved. You make all of the decisions. The camera's I use for film are 100% mechanical. The only thing that is electronic is the meter. I really like that. Film fits the style of photography that I like Travel and Street.  For younger photographers that are just discovering film it's all new and the nostalgia of film. For me it's back to the roots that I remember.  Are the images better than what I get with digital?  If you're looking at technical things like sharpness color and pop. No not really but if you're looking for the "how does it make you feel" factor then yes. You've heard me say this before it's like listening to a vinyl record album compared to listening to a digital recording. The vinyl has pops and cracks that you can hear but that gives it character and something you can't put your finger on. Film is the same way. The grain and the colors just give it that something.

Shooting Digital. When I first started shooting digital 24 years ago I had to learn what Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and being able adjust your ISO.  I had to relearn. I had shot manual for over 20 years and had only had film cameras that were mechanical manual camera's. I din't even have auto focus. That was something else I had to learn.  After a couple of years I had it all figured out and became basically an Aperture Priority photographer just like I am today.  When I'm shooting digital I tend to shoot a lot and almost anything compared to when I shoot film. If something looks a little interesting I shoot. I don't think so much because my camera does all of the thinking for me. I pick the aperture and the camera does the rest. Really if you looked at my photo's most everything starts at F8 and my camera at this point is just a point and shoot. I will adjust my Aperture depending on what look I want but basically I put on F8 and let it eat.  I don't have to think about metering, I don't have to think about ISO or focusing . The camera does it all and it does it great. But after a while you stop thinking and just point and shoot. It (to me) takes the fun the artistry to it out of the shot. If you mess up when you're taking the shot you can fix it in post. Digital images you can do so much in post that its an art in itself . And believe me if Ansil Adams had Lightroom and Photoshop he would be one of the experts .  But everything seems so slick and automatic.  For me it seems like the involvement feels less than when I shoot film. Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking digital I love to shoot digital but I also love to shoot film. 

Conclusion. I love the involvement I have when I shoot film. I love the process from start to finish. I think that shooting film makes me a better digital photographer. I think that going back and forth between film and digital makes me a better photographer. Where if I only shot digital I get into the point and shoot mode and don't think as much because I know I can fix in editing.  If you take a better photo in digital then when you edit you even get a better photo. So if you look at the technical aspect of Film VS Digital I'd say that Digital wins but if you are looking at feel and that X factor I'd say that Film wins. So until next week get out and shoot !

  Hey Ya'll! Happy Friday! Hope your week is going great! Me ? I'm doing well and excited about this weeks topic. As you know I have been working on a film project this year and have been getting into and relearning how to shoot film. It's not as strait forward as you would think it .  Many of the camera's that are used "now a days", are old camera's and the meters that are in them may not be as accurate as they used to be when they were brand new if they work at all. For one thing they don't make the same batteries as they used to .  Batteries used to be made with mercury which was outlawed and they Alkaline which is not as stable as mercury was.  The voltages are different too which affects the accuracy of the meter. So if you have a in camera meter that works and that is accurate you are very lucky. What is nice about these old camera's is that you don't need a battery to operate the camera the only thing that the battery operated was the meter.  So we just have to find a different way to meter. That's what this blog is about.

Shooting film is different than digital. When shooting film you hear expose for the highlights because you can bring the detail out of the shadows. So you can shoot up to a Stop under exposed with no problems. I set my exposure compensation at 1/3 under exposed just to save the highlights. If you over expose the highlights you can't get the details back. Film is the opposite . All the details are in the highlights so if you want to error you Over expose. Most films can be over exposed one or two stops but can only be under exposed one stop. The best practice is to get it right in camera and a good meter that you can trust no matter if it's in your camera or not. Hope that explanation isn't too muddy.

When metering for film and not using the camera's meter ,if it had one, there are a few choices. You can go with inexpensive to expensive and from convenient to not so much. Here are the ways. The Sunny 16 rule. This was developed by Kodak many years ago and works great but might not be as accurate so we are going to stick to mechanical meters. So the meters are.  Use your Smart Phone, A on camera meter that attaches to hot or cold shoe, Handheld meter, and a Spot Meter. I'm only going to talk about 3 of these. Spot metering although is very accurate it is very expensive to buy a meter that does this. And unless you are a high end professional photographer I wouldn't recommend. Film is expensive enough. But the other three I have used and will discuss. You can also use the obvious your digital camera set to the same ISO and transfer the settings to your Film Camera. But that's big and bulky and you have to carry 2 camera's. And it's a pain. But it does work.

Smart Phone, You can use a APP on your phone. Some are even free. Your smart phone uses the camera on your phone and you point the phone at the scene press a button and the app will give you the settings for your camera .  I used an app that I paid 5 dollars for and I got that I could calibrate the phone to match a trusted meter that I have. Using this is easy but cumbersome and inexpensive because you already have the phone and can use a free app. If you are only going to shoot film every now and then this might be the way to go.

Hand held meter, A dedicated hand held meter is accurate and easy to use. I think is a must for any serious photographer to have. Very useful in flash photography. The draw back here is that they are rather expensive and are bulky. You can get a decent one for 200 to 300 dollars. If you already have one like I do this is another no cost alternative. But it is bulky and something extra to put in your pocket or around your neck. 

Hot/Cold shoe Meter, These little meters connect using the Hot/Cold shoe on your camera. So they are always on your  camera and you don't have to have something in your pocket or carry with you. They come in two basic colors black and a silver to match your camera . They come in many prices mine was 70 bucks. Mine is accurate but can be adjusted if not. The one I have is USB rechargeable so no batteries. These are handy and sit atop of your camera but may take away from the look of your camera if your into the coolness of film cameras .  Some of them have dials that may mimic what your  camera has and look cool also. Mine has a dial and a digital read out for the numbers. I think the most convenient of the three.

Shooting film is fun but expensive so you want your meter to be right. All of these choices work and give accurate readings.  My choice is the hot/cold shoe one just for the convenance of it. It's always there I don't have to fish into a pocket to pull a phone or another meter out. It's USB chargeable so I don't have to mess with batteries. It was fairly inexpensive I've paid more for filters. So if you want to shoot film these are the choices for metering but you could always go the Sunny 16 rule. So until next time. Get out and Shoot!

Hey Ya'll! How's your week going? Mine? Pretty good. It's a rainy day so I thought I would catch up on writing some Blogs. This week I want to talk about an old camera I just got off of eBay for 100 bucks. As you know by reading my blogs I like used and old stuff. I have a photography project shooting film that I'm in the process of and I do have a couple of great film cameras. But I just needed one more! LOL I was looking at a camera that could shoot manual and maybe auto a little and had a fixed lens. There is all kinds of newer automatic plastic camera's but I wanted one a little more advanced and it needed to look good too. I like the rangefinder style of cameras especially for what I'm going to used it for. Street and walking around a EDC (Every Day Carry) film camera.  I have a 1961 Canon Canonet (the original) but it's big and heavy and the lens is 45mm. A little long for what I like for walking around with. I have a Pentax MX a great camera and I have all the lenses to go with it but I will bring all of the lenses (I can't help myself) which makes it too heavy and bulky and no auto on it at all its fully manual. What I decided on was a Canon Canonet 17QL GIII. It is the last version of the Canonet that Canon released in 1972. They produced the camera until 1982.  They were very popular cameras and that means there are lots of them out there so the prices will stay down. Now buying from eBay is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of trust going on because these are not established camera companies that you are buying from . Usually it's an individual that is selling them. I have been very lucky on the things that I have bought and sold on eBay and have had no problems. So I found one and purchased it. One of the main reasons that I got it was because the light seals had been replaced already something that you have to do with old cameras because they just go bad so I just went for it. When it came in I was pleasantly surprised it was in good shape . I cleaned it up and inspected it . Everything seemed to work. There was no visible fungus on the lens and all functions worked. So I had to put it to the test and run a roll of dummy film through it to make sure it advanced and rewinded when I wanted it to. It passed again. Now it was time for a real test . So I got a roll of Kodak Gold 200 and loaded it up.

So now lets talk features of this new to me but old camera. It is a rangefinder camera which means when you look through the viewfinder you're not looking through the lens but through a window on the side of the camera. Inside that window you can see a yellow frame which is where you're photo will be. There is a meter on the right that only works in the auto mode. Auto mode for this camera is Shutter priority . You pick the shutter speed and the camera picks the aperture .  If the camera thinks that you are over or under exposed it will not let you take the photo.  The meter runs off of an odd sized battery. The original batteries were Mercury and newer ones are Alkaline . The mercury ones keep the correct voltage longer so the meter will read accurately longer. Alkaline work but they don't last as long. I checked the meter and it reads accurate with a new battery in it. Meters in older camera's are usually broke or don't read properly so this is a plus for this camera. This camera comes with a battery check button where you can push the button and a light will shine letting you know that the battery is okay. The lens on this camera is a 40mm f1.7 which is a nice fast lens although I would like a wider one but that's what it comes with. The lens is very sharp and crisp and has good contrast. It is a 48mm filter thread which is a odd size. I had lots of filters and lens hood for 49mm so I got a set up ring that goes from 48-49mm so all of my old stuff would work on this camera. When shooting in Manual mode you have to use an external meter or the Sunny 16 rule. I will have a blog on how to meter for film on old manual camera's like this one. You can use a meter or an app off of your phone. This camera is a quick loading camera that means you don't have to thread the film into a slot when loading it you just lay it down and it will do it for you. It has a film indicator window on it so when you advance the film it will let you know that the film is advancing. It also had a ready to fire indicator window that will be orange when the shutter is ready to advance. And of course it has a counter to let you know how many shots you've used. It uses a leaf shutter which goes from B "bulb" to 1/500 of a second. Not super fast so I might need a ND filter if I want to shoot at open apertures in sunlight. This will mainly be a walking around camera so I think that I'll be good with the Sutter speed. It does have a self timer on it although I have read and heard on Youtube not to use it because if it breaks you're camera will not work and this function is prone to failing on this model. Not a problem I have a I phone for that. It does have a hot shoe that I haven't tested . Not planning to shoot flash with it but its nice to know I could.

I took my new little camera with me on a photowalk to Kinston NC about 20 miles from my house and walked around town shooting things I saw. I used either a phone app that I had calibrated to be accurate or my digital camera to compare to make correct exposures.  So when I shot it was a little time consuming. I'd have to Meter , Set the camera , Focus and shoot. Focusing on this camera is a little different than other camera's. There is a little patch in the middle of the screen and when you're out of focus there will be two object there you focus until there is one object . It works really well as I got some really sharp shots from this photowalk. I got kind of into a grove shooting this little camera and enjoyed it quite a bit. The next day I developed and scanned the film myself and was shocked on how good this camera did.  So for about 120 dollars (which includes shipping) I've got a good little rangefinder camera that will shoot in auto and manual with a nice sharp lens! Well that's it for this week . I've been having a ball shooting film again and going through all of the processes of developing and scanning. Until next week . Get out and Shoot!