Film photography can be so frustrating!!
After recently trying my hand at film photography I am beginning to realise how frustrating it can be to learn a new skill, not to mention the expense. The fact I can't afford a digital camera has led me to use 35mm SLR's and, other than the mounting cost, I really have no complaints with using this format while learning. It's been stated to me, over and over, that if you master photography using an old SLR then this will put me in great stead when I finally switch to digital, which I certainly will as the cost of buying and developing film is killing me. I won't go into exactly how much I spend, but if you watch @adetorrent's vlog then that should give you a rough idea.
If I'm honest, I really don't mind paying "on the drip" while I stick with 35mm film. Yes, this may well accumulate over time to the point where I could have purchased the NikonD3200 I've got my eyes on, possibly twice over. But hey, who cares, I'll just avoid doing the math on that one.
For now I'll just keep avoiding my abacus and carry on buying a single roll of film per week. I mean, when the results are good it really is worth the nibbling costs, because both the excitement and suspense really do add up and make learning that much more fun.
On the other hand though, there are times, like today, when I pick up my snaps from the shop and after looking at my work I just want to chop off all of my fingers, even the little ones that played no part. I will say that although I'm gutted with this weeks results, I've still managed to learn something from this expensive experience, and that is that I need to take things one step at a time...
You see I'm currently switching between 2 SLR's, one being my Pentax P30 and the other my Olympus OM30. I was excited to switch to my Olympus last week, as I'd received a great tip about tricking the camera into thinking it was loaded with ISO-80 film, rather than the ISO-100 that was actually used(A trick that my Pentax does not allow). This was done to combat the problem I was having with exposure but after seeing today's results I've learned that my Olympus just has too many setting for the level of photography I am at right now and because of that it will go into storage until I've really learned the basics. My main problem is with exposure, although this roll of film has also made me doubt my ability to focus, or at least use the focusing arrows on the display properly. Maybe they are not as accurate as they're supposed to be or maybe it's just me. Either way, I seem to get better results from my Pentax and while running at such high costs I'm willing to admit defeat.
So it is with an air of shame that I post some of these photo's on steemit today. I just hope that you will at least point me in the right direction and, maybe, enjoy some of the better ones in the bunch.
The good, the bad and the down right ugly(I'll let you decide which is which)
Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all again soon.
Love the pic of the water. I don't know if you ever mentioned, but do you have a darkroom you process the film or do you take it to be developed?
Glad to see you are still enjoying yourself with the hobby. You should consider placing some of your better pics on sites like DepositPhotos, canstock etc for resale. Never know when someone will want them for their blog or Ebook (I have bought over 500 in my time for Ebooks and such). It probably won't make you rich, but the residuals add up over time although they come in drips.
Howdy buddy :) If it was a little less faded I'd have liked the water one a little more myself. I take my film to a local developing shop, they have good kit in the store so I trust them. They also give me a discount as I go in so regularly.
I'll certainly take a look into the sites you mentioned as it would be great to think that someone has used my pics for their work, thanks for the tip. I've recently signed up to an app tied to steemit called @appics and hopefully will get to post some stuff on there soon. Loving the learning curve and very thankful for all the advice you guys give. Hope you're well buddy.
That's great, let me know if it pans out. I have thought about getting a nice digital camera and taking pics to resell at those sites, so will be curious to hear how well it works for you.
I haven't heard of appics. If you use them, does it show up here on Steemit as a post?
Thanks for the well wishes. Still at the labor intense job I mentioned a few months ago to you. I am sort of stuck there for now due to my karma of past choices. I am so beat and sore when I get home it has an impact on my life outside of work. I was going to write an article tonight but just don't have it in me, so probably tomorrow night. The upside of this job is I lost 55lbs in my first 3 months there. I could stand to lose more but as I got older, about 10 years ago I have a plateau higher than I would like. But it is good for me to have shed the weight, especially now that I am entering the old age phase. Got to look for the gifts in the hardships :)
I remember you had moved back in with your mom. Hope that has been a good transition. I know I miss my mom since I moved, and what I would give to have had more time/spent more time while I had it with my dad.
Appics is tied in with steemit at the moment but I think they plan to branch off, don't quote me on that though.
Hey at least you are finding the positives from the adversity, just a shame it affecting the home life. Hopefully things will start to come good for you and your earning an honest wage in the meantime. Plus, you never know, with all this cheap SP we're earning we could still be rich in years to come(don't hold your breath though...)
Thanks for asking and I'm still at home with mum. The goal for this year is to get me and my daughter into our own place as we miss the freedom. My mum's cool but you know how it is when living at home as an adult ;)
I really like the little birdies!
Thanks to @paradigmprospect, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of The Daily Sneak.
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content!
Ha ha! This little birdie was a real poser, he/she just loved the camera. Thanks very much for noticing my work this is a great message to wake up to.
Keep it up, at some point it will be second nature! :)
I hope so, this hobby has really bitten me. Thanks for dropping a comment :)
In my humble opinion, the first three photos are spot on. Then there is a slight focus problem, and an under exposure with the sunset shot. This is because there is a lot of very light areas in the picture that are contrasting dark shadows. Whenever you shoot in a situation like this it is good to overexpose 1 step (seems to be my standard advice).
Which Pentax are you using exactly? I might know some more tricks.
In general I think filmphotography can be quite cheap; if you shoot BY FAR less than on the digital camera... I work on large format (8x10); each sheet of film is 30 €. But I have such fantastic control when taking a picture that I only take the 20 or so that are excellent/year...
Drop me a line, I'm always happy to help.
$30 per sheet!! I guess you really do have to pick your shots...
Very pleased that you liked the first 3, they were my favourites of what was otherwise a bad bunch. Quite annoyed with the focus issue as I thought I was concentrating quite hard to get that part right and with the indicator leading the way I haven't many excuses. I'll keep tweaking the exposure and your comment about the sunset photo has jogged my memory about pointing the camera at a certain part of the frame and setting the exposure there before moving back to the part of the frame that asks for different exposure(Hope I'm making sense there).
I'm using a Pentax P30 so if you do know any trick that would be great.
Thanks for the advice @captainklaus it's much appreciated.
Your memory about 'taking' an exposure is correct; if you pick your metering from the dark spots of the picture your exposure will always be slightly over, and thus on the safe side.Just keep the shutter pressed slightly for the camera to keep the exposure.
For focussing I'd train my eye and ignore those indicators. Maybe you have a dark lens, which makees focussing quite hard; what's the numbers of your lens?
The first three shots show one of the specialities of film photography: The transition from focus to out-of-focus still is the most beautiful!
Yes that's the trick I was thinking of and I think my Pentax has a feature that saves the exposure level chosen for the next shot.
Ok, I'll list the lense I use for both my Pentax and Olympus. I'll leave out my Tamron zoom lens as I think this has foggy lenses and I'm going to replace it.
Pentax lenses I have are as follows;
35 - 70mm 1 : 3.5 - 4.5 (SMC Pentax -f zoom)
SMC Pentax-A 1 : 1.7 50mm
Lenses for my Olympus -
Olympus OM-system Zuiko Auto-s 50mm 1 : 1.8
Olympus OM system S Zuiko Auto-zoom 35-70mm1 : 4
As well as these I'm looking to buy an adaptor for my Pentax to allow me to use M42 thread lenses. This is because I have a MC Pancolar 1.8/50 Carl Zeiss Jena DDR. I've been told it is a decent lens and wanted to use it eventually. I could just sell it and buy a pentax lens with the money I raise from it.
While I've got your ear I'd like to ask about a zoom lens I have my eye on...
SIGMA 75-300mm f/4-5.6 PENTAX K AF Mount Camera Lens In Case
It's for sale on Ebay for a starting bid of £10. I'm not sure what it's worth but here is the spec, hopefully you can tell me if it's worth bidding on.
Thanks for any advice you can give :)
I would stick to the SMC 50mm/1.8 you have; upgrading to the Carl Zeiss won't make much sense, the differences are tiny.
I would avoid Zoom lenses whenever you can; they are usually quite dark and are a bad compromise.
In straight photography there is a strong idea of using 1 lens only; while I'm not the one for dogmas, I think it is a good approach.
Instead of zooming you change your position (which you should do a lot anyways!); this goes well with the slow approach of filmphotography.
50mm is a bit of a boring focal length to some; as an alternativ you could look at a cheap 35mm....
I wouldn't start spending 'serious' money on a slightly better lens, for now...
One more thing:
When taking a picture, try very hard to imagine how it will look as a finished print or on monitor. Once you have the image ready, try to remember how you imagined it, and what came out differently. If you make a habit out of this, and stretch your imagination, you will learn faster which picture is worth taking, and which not.
Thank you very much for this advice and I'll make sure to put it to good use. The idea of just using one lens seems a little rigid to me but I do see why, that way I get to really understand the lens I'm using and how it works with my camera.
I'll keep my eye out for a 35mm lens as maybe I will prefer that look, who knows. I guess you have to try these things out when you begin and then decide on a weapon to master :)
Thanks again @captainklaus!
i second to the 35mm lens...getting things on focus will be much easier...i think it will help a lot to get the exposure right if you forget the camera's meter and read the light yourself...but in the end of the day the best tip is 1 camera 1 lens...
Thanks and I'm currently trawling through ebay for a 35mm lens :) I guess I'll put the 50mm on my Olympus and the 35mm on my Pentax. In the meantime I think I'll buy a roll of film and try taking the shots without using any of the meters.
I have no idea about photography, but as musician with a grand vision and lots of "failures" I can say: It comes with the territory, just keep going and you will break through <3
Appreciate the encouragement :) Thanks and I sure will.
Hello @article61, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
Thanks @creativecrypto, always appreciate the attention :)