Bought a Film Camera

[LeiseyJr]

So recently I bought a film camera. Wanted to teach myself about photography, so far I have learned a lot and still a lot more to learn. There is also a novelty to it I like. My friend got a Nikon FM and I got a Olympus OM-10.

First trip we went to Austin, with Fuji C200 and Kodak Gold 200
r001-011 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-031 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r002-009 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r002-022 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-033 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-024 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r002-012 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Then I got to drive my fathers old racecar, the new owner offered
r001-013 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-014 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZXQq1Bqj4

Speaking of Dad here is his 535i, (Fuji Pro 400H)
r001-023 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

I shot some Portra 400 and 800 and wasn't happy with the colors. I think this is due to the lab
ar001-029 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
ar001-024 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
ar001-026 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

At this point, I found my favorite film which is Ektachrome. I also upgraded to a Olympus OM2, got a 50mm F1.4 and 35mm F2.8 as my 50mm F1.8 had some fungus. However even with fungus that lens was super sharp, I still use it.
121623238_1770694033107508_8212809470321720353_n by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
121635802_1770694196440825_6371400240386296994_n by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Img136 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr


Saw this 911:
Img112 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
Img111 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

TexFest was an adventure. Car did fine but was a LOT of driving. First we left Thursday night, got there to meet a guy who had a M60 swapped E30 that was broken (ektachrome 400)
img331 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Went to go eat: (ektachrome 400)
img315 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Friday Morning went to go eat: (ektachrome 400)
img405 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Then drove a shit ton with Chris, Jens, and Aaron (ektachrome 200)
img107 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

That night I then went back to Houston (ektachrome 200)
img114 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
img111 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Got home pretty late, got some sleep. Then woke up and headed an hour to MSRH:
img116 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLOp5zhs6zs&t=732s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSQweFXmfBs

Then I drove the 4 hours back to the gang still on the track tires
Thank You LJ for having a jack (mine broke),
img121 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr


img401 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
img208 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr


On the way back home Sunday:
img222 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
img217 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

1000 miles in that bucket seat is quite tiring. It was a great weekend, hopefully next year I can document it better. I did not have a tripod at this point.

I got one though, and learned that is my favorite time to take pictures is at night:
r002-016 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r002-018 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-026 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr



I needed to get a fuel tank from Sherman in order to get mine repaired, as it cracked
br001-010 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
br001-009 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Pictures of my girlfriends dog:
r002-011 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
r001-026 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

I am also am now developing and scanning myself, had to borrow a friends Olympus OM-D for these:
_1070028 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1070025 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1060010-2 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1070026 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1070027 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1060018 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr
_1060016 by Kurvenkamph Motorsport, on Flickr

Hope you have enjoyed the pictures so far

[///M]

Looking through your photos was interesting. They look like photos I took over 30 years ago. A lot have poor colour saturation and show why digital cameras took over. The photo of the 911 shows good colour saturation. From what I remember slower shutter speed for increased exposure or decreasing the F stop. Increasing the F stop and higher shutter speed better for moving objects. Taking good photographs was a skill or a lot of luck. Often the idea was to bracket exposures, using a higher or lower aperture (F stop).
To get the best results I think you have to develop your own as the labs seemed to always produce the most average results. If slide film is still available it is worth trying, or maybe that is what you used.
My camera bag and equipment was stolen and I replaced it with a digital camera. The Internet would be quite empty if everyone was still using film.

[vinceg101]

One mantra comes to mind: Practice, Practice, Practice.
Shooting well with film, as with most skills,takes practice and experimentation. Good photography is a combination of both a creative eye and skill.
The former is about an open mind and learning to look at things differently. You can exercise and train those "muscles" by exposing yourself to all sorts of art both mundane and profound (in photography, look at a lot of photography). Experimentation with a camera and what you see through the viewfinder is critical to start seeing the world around you differently (one could say this is very definition of art).

The latter is about knowing your equipment, its' limitations and understanding the science of it all. That only comes from repetitive use until it becomes second nature. When I got my first 35mm camera back in high school, I was shooting 2 to 4 rolls of film a week (mostly color print in the beginning). A famous photographer (I think it was Avedon) said that you would be lucky it you got one or two good shots per roll of 24, even for trained pros, so I shot of a lot of crap. But every once in a while I got some good ones (I know because I just recently came across them when I was archiving the last 36 years of personal photography). The variables in film photography are many, color even more so. Each new camera I have bought has taken me a long time to understand to be able to start producing the images I see in my mind. My present film camera is a 6x7 medium format (Bronica GS-1) has taken me years to figure out. Unfortunately the changes in the film industry have not helped us as they both reduce the choices and "normalize" what options are left. This will impinge your efforts in experimentation and will only get worse as time progresses.

I applaud you in developing your film, while I printed a lot of B&W when I was in college, I never went so far as to develop it myself (call me lazy, but I was more interested in using the camera, not mixing chemicals in the dark). Developing adds a lot more variables so be careful not to get too buried in the technical that you forget what really makes a good image is a good eye for composure.

So, while some of these may not be technically perfect, there are some good parts in many of them. Keep it up, work on technique, figure out which film works the best for each application. Film photography is visceral, rewarding when you get it right, and above all fun.

I still miss my Nikon 35mm cameras, even if my Bronica and DSLR can outperform them in every way (heck, even my cell phone cameras can rival them).

[LeiseyJr]

Looking through your photos was interesting. They look like photos I took over 30 years ago. A lot have poor colour saturation and show why digital cameras took over. The photo of the 911 shows good colour saturation. From what I remember slower shutter speed for increased exposure or decreasing the F stop. Increasing the F stop and higher shutter speed better for moving objects. Taking good photographs was a skill or a lot of luck. Often the idea was to bracket exposures, using a higher or lower aperture (F stop).
To get the best results I think you have to develop your own as the labs seemed to always produce the most average results. If slide film is still available it is worth trying, or maybe that is what you used.
My camera bag and equipment was stolen and I replaced it with a digital camera. The Internet would be quite empty if everyone was still using film.

A lot of this is slide film, especially towards the end. The 911 was a fresh roll of slide film. The other slide film is long expired stuff, some from 1992 or 1986. There were some from the mid 2000s but still quite old. It was all frozen and well stored but the effects of its age are present.

[LeiseyJr]

One mantra comes to mind: Practice, Practice, Practice.
Shooting well with film, as with most skills,takes practice and experimentation. Good photography is a combination of both a creative eye and skill.
The former is about an open mind and learning to look at things differently. You can exercise and train those "muscles" by exposing yourself to all sorts of art both mundane and profound (in photography, look at a lot of photography). Experimentation with a camera and what you see through the viewfinder is critical to start seeing the world around you differently (one could say this is very definition of art).

The latter is about knowing your equipment, its' limitations and understanding the science of it all. That only comes from repetitive use until it becomes second nature. When I got my first 35mm camera back in high school, I was shooting 2 to 4 rolls of film a week (mostly color print in the beginning). A famous photographer (I think it was Avedon) said that you would be lucky it you got one or two good shots per roll of 24, even for trained pros, so I shot of a lot of crap. But every once in a while I got some good ones (I know because I just recently came across them when I was archiving the last 36 years of personal photography). The variables in film photography are many, color even more so. Each new camera I have bought has taken me a long time to understand to be able to start producing the images I see in my mind. My present film camera is a 6x7 medium format (Bronica GS-1) has taken me years to figure out. Unfortunately the changes in the film industry have not helped us as they both reduce the choices and "normalize" what options are left. This will impinge your efforts in experimentation and will only get worse as time progresses.

I applaud you in developing your film, while I printed a lot of B&W when I was in college, I never went so far as to develop it myself (call me lazy, but I was more interested in using the camera, not mixing chemicals in the dark). Developing adds a lot more variables so be careful not to get too buried in the technical that you forget what really makes a good image is a good eye for composure.

So, while some of these may not be technically perfect, there are some good parts in many of them. Keep it up, work on technique, figure out which film works the best for each application. Film photography is visceral, rewarding when you get it right, and above all fun.

I still miss my Nikon 35mm cameras, even if my Bronica and DSLR can outperform them in every way (heck, even my cell phone cameras can rival them).

Yes film stocks are quite limited. I really like slide film, because I can throw it in a projector and when I develop or the lab. The colors are how they are, can't really play with them.

Digitizing negative film looks like a real pain, because when scanning you can edit so much stuff and you only really have memory to base it off of. I do need to shoot it more negative color because slide film has a large limitations. I just wish there was a local lab that was older, and still does printing since that was how that film was meant to be viewed.

Developing isn't that bad, especially with the patterson tank. Just load it in the dark, and you can develop in a well light bathroom with a bathtub. It does add a lot more anxiety and fear to the process to the pictures you already can't see. However once you hang up the developed film to the light, it is worth it.


I will keep working on it and continue to grow, it's been very rewarding so far. I appreciate the advice

[SeattleGuy]

Hot Damn! Good for you. I have an Olympus Ima start back up with it. Are you mailing out your film or do you have a local processor?
Johnny Mac 1989

[tn535i]

Good for you and I like that some of your images have qualities digital doesn't do well.

I took photography in HS and learned to develop film and print but I never considered myself that artistic. I had a used Voigtlander camera and had only 2 lenses to work with. My dad had many B&W slides from years before me and I was keen to learn about it. Not long ago I loaned out my last film camera (first gen Canon EOS) to a friend who was eager to try some B&W on film. He had some fun with it but also felt like the lab could make or break it for you.

My brother in law is an excellent photography and gets paid for a lot of his work. He uses one of the newest EOS bodies with $$$$ in lenses but spends hours with Lightroom to get what he wants. He drags around so much stuff on vacation to take pictures but he loves it. A good friend also gets paid for some of his work and sells online. He uses the Pentax K1. My daughter is budding amateur and has some amazing pictures from her travels near and far. She went with a Sony mirrorless because of size and weight and it does an amazing job for less than full frame model.

While I still have the two film cameras I mentioned (nostalgia I guess) an advanced Sony P&S works for me because I'm too lazy to carry much. I guess that puts me one step above a cellphone camera user at best

I still appreciate good photography and like to see what others are doing. Thanks for sharing.

[derekwatt617]

Cool pics.

Film is so much fun.

My 87 535is

Pentax 67


Mamiya RB67


Kodak Brownie from 1903 - one of the first cameras to use 120 film

[Motronic]

A lot of this is slide film, especially towards the end. The 911 was a fresh roll of slide film. The other slide film is long expired stuff, some from 1992 or 1986. There were some from the mid 2000s but still quite old. It was all frozen and well stored but the effects of its age are present.

Did you shoot the roll ofAFGA Precisa slide film yet? Break out the Maxxum I sent with a fresh roll of print film and try out the camera.

Cool pics.

Film is so much fun.

Good to see you're still here Derek. I took some film shots around Milton lower mills recently. Figured I'd take shots of the old PCC trolley cars before the T decides to retire them.