Film is the new vinyl. I'm about the same age as you with a similar background growing up with film photography. After years of shooting digital I have returned to film for the buzz you get taking pictures, developing them not knowing if they will turn out great or if you goofed up (which is easy to do with 50 year old camera systems). I am lucky to have access to a darkroom and getting back to silver processing with fibre-based papers has rejuvenated my love of the medium. I also shoot digital as well but now enjoy the best of both worlds. I also scan my colour negatives and print them digitally without having to do much post-processing in Lightroom.
Agree with everything you say about being 'present' while photographing with film. Also, $4->$13 is the reason I stopped using my 8x10 at $7 a sheet. Question: once proofed, how do make a decision about the media you will print on? Will you print a gelatin silver from the negative? Scan for a gelatin silver or platinum? Direct print to inkjet? Maybe this is addressed in your scanning video which I will now look at.
Great question! Lately I've really been involved in alt process printing, so my thinking is to go this way initially, however as I mentioned in the video, I'm getting close to digging out the enlarger to get back into printing silver gelatin in that way. The thing is, I am also getting interested in doing some contact printing with silver chloride paper via digital negatives.... I know... a lot of choices. I try to envision the print in any variety of processes I have available to see what would render the photograph I have visualized in my head and then work it through. I never really know how well it will work, but by now I have a pretty good idea based on experience. Still, very often I will revisit an image I chose to do in a different way and find new beauty in it via a different process. Especially as our abilities increase. Ten years ago, I couldn't make the digital negative I can now, so it continually opens up possibilities.
@@BillSchwab I have been working my way thru your videos on Boutwell's system in hopes of doing some palladium work (the new 'Harmonizer' printer works great!), however, a friend is using 4x5 negative material, scans, then makes digital negatives for gelatin silver and gets great results. Something I might try as well.
@@lyleallan5124 Richard's program is definitely the way to go IMO. I too have been getting very interested in diginegs with silver. I got some of the white pictorico to try that out as I have heard it works better with silver images. I'll keep everyone posted. Glad you're liking the "Harmonizer!" I love mine!
I’ve never got on with using the 7x5 strips for print file sleeves as there is always one negative left over. They do make a 6x6 sleeve page. Do you just discard one negative assuming at least one dud per roll.
Film is the new vinyl. I'm about the same age as you with a similar background growing up with film photography. After years of shooting digital I have returned to film for the buzz you get taking pictures, developing them not knowing if they will turn out great or if you goofed up (which is easy to do with 50 year old camera systems). I am lucky to have access to a darkroom and getting back to silver processing with fibre-based papers has rejuvenated my love of the medium. I also shoot digital as well but now enjoy the best of both worlds. I also scan my colour negatives and print them digitally without having to do much post-processing in Lightroom.
Hell yeah MC5!!!
Agree with everything you say about being 'present' while photographing with film. Also, $4->$13 is the reason I stopped using my 8x10 at $7 a sheet. Question: once proofed, how do make a decision about the media you will print on? Will you print a gelatin silver from the negative? Scan for a gelatin silver or platinum? Direct print to inkjet? Maybe this is addressed in your scanning video which I will now look at.
Great question! Lately I've really been involved in alt process printing, so my thinking is to go this way initially, however as I mentioned in the video, I'm getting close to digging out the enlarger to get back into printing silver gelatin in that way. The thing is, I am also getting interested in doing some contact printing with silver chloride paper via digital negatives.... I know... a lot of choices. I try to envision the print in any variety of processes I have available to see what would render the photograph I have visualized in my head and then work it through. I never really know how well it will work, but by now I have a pretty good idea based on experience. Still, very often I will revisit an image I chose to do in a different way and find new beauty in it via a different process. Especially as our abilities increase. Ten years ago, I couldn't make the digital negative I can now, so it continually opens up possibilities.
@@BillSchwab I have been working my way thru your videos on Boutwell's system in hopes of doing some palladium work (the new 'Harmonizer' printer works great!), however, a friend is using 4x5 negative material, scans, then makes digital negatives for gelatin silver and gets great results. Something I might try as well.
@@lyleallan5124 Richard's program is definitely the way to go IMO. I too have been getting very interested in diginegs with silver. I got some of the white pictorico to try that out as I have heard it works better with silver images. I'll keep everyone posted. Glad you're liking the "Harmonizer!" I love mine!
I’ve never got on with using the 7x5 strips for print file sleeves as there is always one negative left over. They do make a 6x6 sleeve page. Do you just discard one negative assuming at least one dud per roll.