2010/03/29

some film and thoughts

I picked up a roll of film last week. Here are a few from the roll.


my neighborhood, more than a month ago, when there's still snow and air still cold.





On the way to St. Lawrence's Sunday antique market.



Brunch at Harlem Underground.







I really admire those of you who take film photos on a daily basis. I find it really impossible for me to finish a roll of film in a few days, get it processed quickly, and uploaded on the blog by the end of the week.

Part of it might be because I think everything I frame with a film camera must be super picture worthy, otherwise I wouldn't bother to waste my films. I'm too comfortable with using my digital camera, if I put it away for a while, then I might take more film photos.

I just wish there's a film lab, with a reasonable price, close to me.



Do you have any suggestions on how to take more film photos?

13 comments:

anabela / fieldguided said...

I'm not too picky with film. Sometimes in one roll I'll only have a couple of pictures I really like. I'm new to it, too, so I guess I'm enthusiastic about it. It's fun! I don't really know what I'm doing, which makes it more fun.

On Friday I finished a 36 exposure roll of film. In one day! At least a third of the pictures were taken indoors and were so blurry that they were basically garbage. But there were a couple of pictures I liked. I took it to Black's and for one hour development (with no scans, because I have a negative scanner) it was $18.99 (yikes). Their prints are good quality, but I find that I hardly look at prints anymore.

So I thought I would look for something cheaper -- I went to Wal-Mart and their service is about $7 for 24 exposures, and they can usually get them ready same day. I tried it for another roll, and the prints are of such crummy quality. They scanned that roll, too, but the scans looked bad and I re-scanned them. When I was picking up my film I saw a guy doing what I think I'm going to do from now on: just get the film developed, no prints. It's only $3! Then I can scan them at home, and print out only the ones that are worth printing, at a better lab.

(I have this scanner. I think it does a good job and it does slides & medium format too! I'm hoping to save money in the long term -- I was telling Celine the other day that Geoff once had some medium format negatives scanned and it cost a small fortune! Also, I'll be happy to have fewer CDs floating around the apartment!)

Sorry this is so long -- I spent the whole weekend thinking about just this thing! I'm pretty bored with my digital camera so I'm really enjoying silly film pictures.

anabela / fieldguided said...

PS- Your pictures are beautiful! I love the brunch one!

daysandamused said...

Your photos look so crisp. What film cam are you using?

I'm like you, it takes me forever to finish a roll of film. I went through a phase where I was snap happy then got three rolls developed at Black's and ended up with only a dozen good photos. Slightly annoying given the price for developing. But I do what Anabela does, I get film developed without buying prints and I scan them myself.

I also stalk stores for their expired film; a lot cheaper and the results are pretty and varied.

isabelle said...

I love the last 2 photos!
I know it is so much cheaper and easier to use a digital camera... I am going to borrow a friend's holga to use film again.

Anonymous said...

i love the mood in the last photo. dark and enticing...wonderful set!

xo Alison

Ashley said...

may, those last 2 photos are fantastic. well done.
hmm. as for shooting more film, bringing your camera everywhere is a start!

Hannah said...

These are amazing, they almost look more like digital than film but they still have that odd quality to them that makes film pictures so dreamy and wonderful. What camera and film did you use? I've been thinking about investing in a good film camera for a while but so far I don't know enough about them to make an informed decision.

Punctuation Mark said...

congrats on these photos... they are amazing!!!

Biying Miao said...

WHAT! these look amazing! I especially like St. Lawrence.

Bart said...

i love all of these. i wish i could afford to shoot film more too

Nicomi Nix Turner said...

Fantastic shots. Love the muted darker colors.

mina said...

i can't believe these are film photos! they look so crisp compared to others. great work!

Michelle said...

I feel the same way...I love film but it's a pretty big expense. Worth it, though, clearly! That 3rd photo is such a beauty.

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