Many years ago, I stepped away from film photography.
With the onset of digital, I jumped in. First, it was with a Canon point-and-shoot. Then, it was a digital Rebel. From there, I went to a 30D to my current 7D, which I’ve had since early 2010.
I’m a digital junkie, too. I like being able to see things instantly, so I can adjust settings, the setup or whatever else. It’s also nice to have the “digital negative,” so I can correct things if needed on the computer.
The camera I used for this challenge.
I started with digital in 2006 and haven’t really looked back. Film cameras have gained dust, outside of me occasionally using my Holga. But with the addition of a Holga (as well as a Diana and pinhole) lens for the digital camera, I’ve truly phased out film.
That being said, it’s kind of fun to shoot a roll of film sometimes. It’s still kind of cool to go back to how things were and how I learned photography.
Then there’s reality. Shooting film is way more expensive than digital. Film costs money, it costs more to develop etc. Some develop their own (I used to, but never did color), but I no longer really want to deal with that.
Besides that, there’s the whole forgetting thing.
See, this challenge was to shoot two rolls of film — one color, one black and white. When I finished the color roll, I went to rewind. Little did I remember that I needed to hit the button on the bottom. Little did I know, that was big. So I tried to rewind, and instead pulled the roll right out of the canister.
Great.
Thankfully, I had access to an old dark room and had some old reusable canisters. I saved the film, for the most part, so that’s a good thing. The black and white roll went better.
Still, I went without prints. I got the negatives and a CD and it cost me $10 per roll. Consider the fact that when I go out for a day of photo taking with the digital camera, I often take 250 or more shots. I play with settings and do different things. Let’s say I had 36 exposure rolls — that means I will need about seven rolls of film. So, at $10 a pop, that’s $70 if I have a full day of shooting.
No thanks.
I’ll stick to digital and use film on those special occasions. This was a fun challenge. I did it over a couple of days and I like, for the most part, the results. Even with a light meter, my settings were off slightly, but I also was using this film camera for the first time.
So, the rules for this challenge were pretty simple — take two rolls of film with the theme “your life,” making it easy to interpret. When done, do a blog post with 15 of the images. Below will be my 15. Below that is the link list where others who participated will put their links. Hopefully some have done this and there will be some fun things to look at.
Without further ado, here’s my submission …
1. Car Wash is open
This sign is usually out in my town. I have photographed it before, but still love the look of it.
Open.
2. Indeed it is
The car wash definitely is open. This is one of the shots, though, that must have caught a little light when I screwed things up with the film.
Light on the right.
3. Railroad crossing
I love the look of rail-related things in black and white.
All clear.
4. Stay off the tracks
Photos of the tracks are always classic and cool, I think.
Train a coming.
5. Go buy!
If you need hay, you know where to go.
Come buy some!
6. Santa parade
Watching the Christmas parade in town.
Watching along!
7. Mr. and Mrs. Claus
Santa and the missus made a stop in town for the parade!
Here comes Santa Claus …
8. Cold picnic
Hot dogs? Hamburgers? What do you think?
Good day for a BBQ.
9. Which way?
Oh, the choices. As a baseball nut, Cooperstown is usually the easy choice.
It’s always time for baseball.
10. Get the map
If you go to parks, it’s never a bad thing to check out the info.
Need info?
11. Go walk
It’s never a bad day to go out for a walk or an easy hike.
Off we go!
12. Handle with care
This was one of the first shots I took as I was testing settings. I actually like how it came out.
Is it really fragile?
13. Back road
Back roads in the winter are so serene.
There’s some ice on that road…
14. Hay
I don’t think this is the same hay that is for sale in the photo from earlier.
Snow-covered hay.
15. Posted
Posted property is quite normal around my area.
Posted.
That’s my 15 shots for the challenge. I won’t lie that it was a hard challenge. It’s one I’ll likely do again, but maybe plan a little better. I do like what I came up with, but I also wish I didn’t have the issues I had with my camera as there were six or seven shots that somehow got wiped from the color roll, which is disappointing as one or two of them could have been cool.
Ahhh well.
Anyway, if you were one of the ones who participated, link up below (film only, though)! I look forward to checking out other posts and what you came up with!
Thanks to all who participated and I look forward to trying this again!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!
I miss the surprise element of film photography. You had to wait for your pictures to develop to see how they turned out. They were raw, untouched and even mishaps like the light in your one photo can turn a picture into something unique and beautiful. Great pictures!
Jessica @ Living La Vida Holoka recently posted..Mexican Cocoa Cookie Recipe
The surprise element is cool for sure, but I look at the cost now … and realize how crazy it would be to do film too much!
Very cool set of shots. I think if I lived that close to Cooperstown, I’d be there quite often.
I’m much like you in that once I went digital, I went full in and never looked back.
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I go as often as I can. It’s a great little town. I enjoy the area, especially in the non-tourism months. As a baseball nut, I love it.
Nice photos. I really like the depth of field. When I first looked at them 4, 8, 9, 11, and 13 really stood out at me. But the more I looked at them, they are all really good. 12 needs some love, too. Really good stuff.
I think I overextended myself a bit for mine. I wish I had set aside a little more time for it. One minute you were pushing the deadline back, the next it was here. I enjoy getting out and using cameras I have put away though. And I look forward to the next film challenge.
cmiked recently posted..Film is not dead! – 2013 HooHaa Challenge: My Life
Thanks, Mike. The DOF is something I didn’t plan on really, but definitely like it as well.
I agree with you in that it was kind of a tough challenge. I put it off too much. If I do it again, I need to come up with something else to be able to pull it off.
Nice set of pictures. I still take most of mine with a cell phone or small digital camera we have. One day I’ll invest in a quality camera.
Phil recently posted..Bah Humbug! I hate these %^$@*&^%@$ Holiday Songs!
I am a big phone user, too, or my DSLR. But the film can be fun once or twice a year. Outside of that, I like the digital more. 😀
The blogs are look great guys. I’ve just posted my contribution, hopefully a part 2 to be posted my d*%@ colour film gets back to me.
I agree. And I need to check everybody’s out … but argh! The widget seems to not be working!
The set evokes such a distinct sense of place. I always enjoy b&w, but I also love the “Watching Along” shot–besides their expressions, there’s something about the way all the colors in the image work together.
Gunmetal Geisha recently posted..Duct Tape for the Ego
The color in film photography is really interesting, I think. Definitely a difference. But black and white with film … so traditional and good.
It won’t let me post a comment on Mrs GeoK’s blog, but I’ll post here in hope that she sees it.
‘Wonderful work and I really love the colours in your flower image.’