Why I Don't Shoot Film Anymore
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Peter often gets asked if he shoots film, and he has shot a great deal of film over the years as it's how he started, but recently when going back to film he has realised that it is costly and time consuming and he is happier shooting with digital - this video is his thoughts on it all.
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You sounded so sad as you detailed your reasons for leaving film behind, valid as they are. Film, like an old car, has a feel that can touch the soul. But like an old car, it is a lot of work, is definitely a money pit, and is not suited to commercial productivity or profit. Love your work and enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing your thoughts & talent.
Thanks so much
Absolutely best explanation I've seen Peter. I recently dug out my 40 year old Nikon to shoot film for a London agency model and was very surprised my old eyes could still focus the split screen ! After scanning you couldn't really spot the diffence with digital files shot at the same time, but as a photographer the ability to coach a model from the instant feedback is invaluable compared to waiting a day or two by which time you've both forgotten what you did !
I agree but with film you got that 1 to2 second focus time where the model could have changed her expression or a simple movement of the head or arm that could hav been the money shot. But was lost cause of the focus on a film it more exacting than on a digital.
It's always a pleasure to watch one of your videos. I started my career in 1967 as a newspaper photographer so I shot a lot of B & W over the 10 years I was there. Since then, my work usually demands color, but I still enjoy a great B & W shot. Your's are exceptional.
Thanks heaps
Love how you use the actual film as your grain layer instead of some photoshop action.
As an enthusiast, I abandoned film and my color darkroom after 22 years, right after I brought my first DSLR and 8x10 photo printer in 2000. Personally, I dislike wasting time and money to beat the same horse again and again, but instead extend the new discovery and learning with digital.
As well, I'm just as comfortable shooting with my latest camera (Z9) and working with computer on post processing, as I did with my first SLR & MF (F2A + MD & 500 C/M) and color darkroom. Also, I'm looking forward to see cameras equipped with AI metering, personalized setting based on genre, seamless connectivity with flash, monitors, printers & external meters, etc. to shoot smarter instead of harder.
Hmm yeah, AI .....good for you
Interesting that the thing I detested years ago while in photography school, that being pressure marks from improperly loading the film to the processing real is being added to a digitally captured image. All I can say is it works and it made me smile and triggered memories of 50 years prior.
With your type of work and, importantly, the end product you want to achieve, this makes perfect sense. I am still wedded to film, as my desired end product is a print on gelatin silver photographic paper. Your discussion was very worthwhile for any photographer regardless of equipment or film vs. digital. For a working professional, cost and time are crucial considerations.
Makes total sense, Peter! As an amateur who grew up on film, reluctantly switched to digital and recently got back to shooting film I can't imagine a pro shooting film for work. The technique you showed reproduces the beauty of film without the wait, fail rate and work needed to do the same in analog. I don't have any time constraints and the cost of the comparatively small amount of photography I do makes the cost of shooting film a non issue. I still rely on digital for most of the stuff I do but for the most part, think film before settling on digital.
This footprint that you had at the time of the film is magnificent, we need more people with this level in the digital area, congratulations on the content, thank you!!!
Thanks so much
I appreciate these videos so much. Everything from working with models, poses and expressions to lighting (both studio and location), to editing. You are extremely generous sharing so much expertise. 🙏👏👏👏
Thanks so much, happy you enjoy my content
At some point, you may need a cataract removal operation. Mine was two years ago. I did my research and chose the Extended Depth of Focus technology, with astigmatism correction. +12 and +13 diopter correction, which you likely would not have. I got my operation a bit early, paid the premium price happily. Now, I have 20-20, can read the smallest numbers on the doc's chart. No other glasses, except sunglasses. White is now white again, not orange. By the time you need it, there may be even better technology, so be sure you tell the doc what you do, what you need, and get the best vision experience.
thanks for making this video, it felt good hearing similar thoughts from somebody else without the "pressure" from community - I personally love film and I continue the tradition but I feel the most free and comfortable with digital
I’ve shot a lot of Trix400 and bought it in 25ft bulk rolls (early 1970’s). I processed film anywhere there was dark space, even my small bedroom closet. Color film for me was too expensive so I stayed away from it. I started shooting again in 2018, and in digital, (my daughter asked for some photo work help) and have been learning as much as I can about digital photography. Today I learned more from your presentation and looking forward to experimenting with that new found knowledge, Thank you!
I will not shoot film again, it served it’s purpose back in the day!
I'm with you! I also stopped using film a couple of years ago, for all the same reasons as you.
I have recently discovered your videos and have found them quite educational for me. I was a photographer in high school (30+ years ago) shooting Tri-X 400 (and later T-Max) on a Pentax K1000. I learned a ton then, but did not continue with my photography. My daughter has recently gotten into photography in high school, won a local award, and has a good eye. I am encouraging her to watch your videos to help her see what is possible, learn more about the business side of photography, and learn some interesting techniques, especially in post-processing. This video has been particularly interesting to me because I do see value in film photography, but this video could be changing my mind. At the same time, there is something pretty awesome seeing a print show up in the trays in the darkroom. I also had no idea what TSA scanners did to film! How do you avoid that problem? Thank you for your sharing on RUclips!
Thank you, I just don't travel with film anymore
Peter thankyou very much indeed for this insight. Having dumped 90% of my film gear a while back due to eyesight issues as well I 100% get where you are coming from.
I still shoot 35mm film using Canon AF cameras alongside my digital ones however I find that I use the AF lenses on film but older manual lenses on digital thanks to Focus peeking etc.. which is kind of a shame. having however recently got into to shooting 4x5 as well which at least up to now has been a whole new learning curve but also opened film back up to me in a way I never thought I would be able to again (being actually able to see and focus using a ground glass and loupe). I am also lucky that I still develop and process all my own film.
I hope you continue to shoot film in your spare time but 100% get why you have chosen this route. What you have also done is given me a few ideas on how I can start to better match my digital images in a series to my film shots using the technique you have shown. Thankyou once again.
Fantastic Peter ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights about this process. Excellent advice on how to give one’s digital images “Soul” ❤🎉
Glad you enjoyed it
Very insightful commentary. I have fond memories if helping my dad develop in his film. I loved the chemicals and the processing. But times do change and we are left with great memories. And your grain tips are much appreciated.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can fully understand choosing digital over film for commercial reasons.
For me personally, film is where I started , it's where all my family memories are held, it's nostalgic, it's quirky and I like the fact you never really know how a photo is going to turn out until it's developed, maybe sometime later.
The cost of it makes me try a bit harder and take less photos.
I like the mystery of having photos developed from a roll of film you can't quite remember what was taken on it....
Getting the photos back, going through them and it brings back that original moment...
This guy does really good work. It’s wonderful he shares his talent and techniques - quite a gift actually.
Thank you
As an Advertising Photographer pre-digital I had to shoot transparencies. The cost was paid by the client but the demands to get a perfect image made for unnecessary stress. In Los Angeles I would make 3-4 runs to A+I Lab daily to do tests. I don’t miss it!
.. You can also mount Hassy V lenses to your H6 for a slightly less modern look too. I use the V-H adapter (if you don't have already!) The older Hassy C lenses (pre CF) are slightly more imperfect.
I worked for many years in high end-feature film VFX, and I remember the period where digital was replacing film - literally 20 years ago. In a shockingly short space of time, it all became a matter of economics - not creativity. In steady hands it really was a moot point whether digital or film was better. A genuine artist uses the tools at hand, and there's really not a lot in it. What sets you apart is your empathy and storytelling, which the subtleties of the format doesn't affect (much). Most people here seem to see your work as sensual, but they're really character portraits which is an order of magnitude more challenging, which you do so seemingly effortlessly and beautifully.
Wow thanks so much I really appreciate it
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE
Thank you
I love this! I’m 50 years in photography and this explains it perfectly for this time we are in. Would you consider selling all those scans as a package? If so, please let me know. I appreciate your work so much. Thanks. Inspiration.
I haven't thought about selling my grain scans, I have a bet more work to do on them before that
@@PeterCoulsonPhotographer ok. If you do, i am interested. Which DL leica would you recommend? SL ,Sl2S ,Or SlL3? I respect your opinion in the midst of internet noise. Thanks for sharing.
Real world talk. I always appreciate your videos. Thanks!
I appreciate that! Thanks heaps.
Very informative video. I just got a set of rolls of Tri-X. And some home development equipment. Already was suffering just imagining what I was going to go through. I guess I will still shoot one roll or so and then call it a day!
Very interesting and thought provoking and made me think again about how I want to shoot going forward.
I think we're pretty close to the same age. I grew up shooting film, that's all there was. Started shooting digital in 2003. Shot my last roll of film in 2019. I still have a few 35mm film cameras, my Hasselblad, and a couple of 4X5's. For some strange reason I can't part with them. I did buy an adapter so I could use my Hasselblad lenses on my Sony cameras. The focus peaking helps tremendously for manual lenses. My Hasselblad lenses are all the older chrome lenses and there's just a certain look that you get with them. I did recently purchase a Fuji body and a couple of lenses so I could play with the built in film simulations. Plus, you can find other "recipes" for old film stocks. It is true, it's just not worth the cost anymore.
Hey Peter, thank you so much for making this video!
My pleasure!
Hm... This is giving me lots to think about! Thank you! I shoot Phase for digital and Hasselblad V and Pentax 67 for film. I adapt lenses from those system onto Phase to get the "vintage" look. But those lenses just look amazing with just a little bit of those imperfections. Shooting in higher ISO does introduce bit of "grain" but it is really just a digital noise. Your grain technique is brilliant!
Thank you
Brilliant per your usual. Needed to hear this so VERY timely indeed. Am stuck in a world where digital is THE medium and film is just to complicated AND expensive. I love B&W developing but relying on lab just doesn't give me the control I could get in my own darkroom. And I don't do enough B&W to justify my own darkroom anymore. So ... digital it is with my DSLR. Thanks Peter.
I had the TSA absolutely obliterate a box of rolls of medium format film (I think it was Fuji Velvia) when I was traveling to Iceland. I was absolutely pissed as they REFUSED to hand search my bag over my explicit objections. I havent shot film since.
The only good reason to shoot film is to "feel the moment" (take the time and do EVERYTHING by yourself) and maybe to challenge yourself a bit (by "not" knowing how the results are going to be at the moment), and if you don't have time to take your time and take care of each one of your pictures (from choosing the correct film every time to get the look/colours you are looking for, get the right camera settings, framing, focus, develop film and print) then it doesn't make sense to shoot film. Yeah, maybe it is expensive, but it worth every dime.
If you are getting what you want from your digital cameras easier and faster, then looking out for other options doesn't make sense.
I love your work Peter, keep it up.
Greetings from Mexico.
Thanks
I‘m totally d‘accord with you in that subject Peter.
Thanks
Been there. Done that. Spent 25 years shooting film. Color and B&W. I enjoyed it, but there was no alternative. I enjoyed working in the darkroom too. When digital came along in 2000, I completely embraced it. I've now shot digital cameras for 25 years. It's just so much more convenient. But, I understand why people want to try film who have only known digital photography. The new half frame Pentax camera does look like it would be fun.
I stared in the eighties, loving all the processes and cameras. I suppose digital enables us to do all those things with out mess and in less time. And healthier too. That’s why I bought a fujifilm Gfx system, because of the film presets that give a nostalgic vibe. Loving it.
Frankly I totally agree with you. I really appreciate the short feedback cycle of the digital camera. And it tought me a lot.
Anyway I always shoot a roll or two on a session. And those images are completely different than the digital ones. Way more imperfect, way more direct, closer to the subject. I shoot differently with my Hassy 500 than with my Fuji XT-5. and the models respond in another way. Just my experience.
Just to make a point about how film prices are going up by the day, last month I ordered a pack of 135-36 exp Ilfod FP4 Plus from an online outlet that I had bought from many times before in the UK. Yesterday, I ordered the same pack, the same price. When the films were delivered today, they were not 36 exp rolls but 24. I thought that they had made a mistake so I checked the order and no they hadn't, the same package was now only available in 24 exp but at the old 36exp price. I had not noticed the change. This is not sustainable and I am not even using film for pro photography, I am a rank amateur. I have also been waiting for over two months for the latest batch of Ilford ID-11 and Perceptol that I have ran out of, and no one seems to know when they'd be back in stock . Six months ago, Kodak HC110 became unavailable. At the time the 1 litre bottle was retailing about £42.00 on average. It has been restocked, but the price for the same developer has now gone up to £55.00. I think someone is taking the fucking piss from all of us, TBH.
I use digital for all shoots, though I do bring a roll or 2 of film out on most every shoot just to do it. And I generally use cameras like Ricoh 500G, Yashica T4 & even Holgas. I do it mostly for the challenge. I'm ecstatic if I get a couple shots out of a roll that I like. The subjects/models like seeing these cameras too. And if it's an interesting enough print, sometimes they end up in a little gallery or a print gets purchased. It's fun trying to walk the line that Avedon & Penn did with "is it fashion or is it art" images.
Your work is beautiful and I get the idea that your pro clients don't really care about art shots necessarily. But maybe the challenge of running film and the "f*** yeah!" when you finally get your film back from the lab and there's that ONE shot that has the magic - if for no one else, but for you - well, I think it's worth it. I know it is for me.
Love your YT and your sharing your work technique my man!
Thank you
i just started shooting film again because, while i dont have your years of experience earning with a camera and i dont have a ton of models to shoot with your method, i was getting to where i didnt like shooting pictures as much as i used to.
i shot a roll of 120 through an old Yashicamat124 last year and i had to really slow down my processes. metering (handheld), popping the magnifier (yep the eyesight thing) then setting the camera, composing and shooting reminded me of when i was 12 and first started shooting for my junior high (6-8 grade) yearbook. i was slow and clumsy and last summer really took me back to my roots. ive shot a couple of rolls of 135, a few more than that in 120, and my latest kick is a 1955 Graflex Crown Graphic in 4x5. i need to perfect my film processing though with sheet film. i get lots of artifacts i need to spend time correcting (after scanning). i have the trappings for a dark room but need to finish the plumbing so i can give it all a good scrub down for cleanliness
i can fully appreciate your situation and yep its pricey here in the states, and while i have sent some of my film out, i do enjoy developing film.
IF i had even 1/10th of a clue as to what you were talking about when you showed the Ps session, i might quit film too but other than knowing what Tri-X pan (and the other emulsions) is, i was lost how you did what you did.
hope you have a great rest of Europe tour
Thanks
I used film in the 70’s travelling internationally for work. I would triple X ray bag (lead bag) the stock and then WORRY about how it was. Give me digital any time! Love your episodes, strikes a chord. Keep it up….
Thanks so much
Peter, can you do a sort of tutorial on how "re-look" a digital, to film photography?This approach to use a scanned background applied to a digital file is nice 😃
coming soon
so nice, I am so impatient to participate to one of your workshops, maybe next year
Brilliant process Peter!
Thanks
This is cool love it. Have been using this method a fair bit. I only have one film scan for tri-x look but have used others as well. I spent about $32 for one roll. I don’t have good scanner. But over all happy with it. Tri-X was my favourite in film days. Ilford paper was fav for prints.
Very good job Peter I love the video love to see more of them thanks Paul. 😊
Thank you Peter. I love the way you explain the things. All things. I understand your dilema with focus because i have the same... old eyes.
Next year i hope to see you in Frankfurt. I´ll try to be there. Good times!
Thanks so much, hope to see you next year
I can understand it from your perspective. You're a working photographer, and as you said: time is money. I shoot film as a treat (I'm always broke) for a different kind of buzz
Thanks for the insights, Peter. The main reason I love digital is that I can see my mistakes and try to correct them during the shoot.
I shot film for about 45 years because there was no alternative. I remember many times that the photos came back and I realized I hadn't captured what I wanted.
Yes exactly, thanks heaps
So right. All the learning about photography I did was because of the short feedback cycle of digital cameras. It didn’t help me to get feedback on mistakes I did two weeks ago.
Anyway, I always shoot a roll or two on my Hassy 500. But way better with the learnings I had with the digital camera.
Wow, all these years and film vs digital still goes on. I am not a working professional photographer but I am a life long amateur photographer. I still shoot with film even though digital brings some tremendous advantages. The most obvious is instant results with no lab needed. But there is so much more like being able to change ISO whenever you want, changing the light temperature and so on. Turning a color image into black and white by using a button or two, the list goes on.
But I stick with my film because I do not work as a pro photographer so I can shoot the way I want. My goal is to produce the best negative possible to produce beautiful prints. For me it’s about the negative because without the negative I do not feel like a have a photograph. Film has amazed me since I was a kid and the magical process still does. The photograph produced by a negative onto real emulsion photographic paper has a look and texture that is special. Digital has been with us for over twenty years already. It was really crappy in the beginning but you just had to realize the future held big advances. But twenty years probably made many of us forget what holding and looking at a well done black and white silver print is like.
What about cost? Photographic equipment was never cheap but we hear complaints about the coast of film and processing it. With digital you do not need to buy film or process it. But the better digital cameras and lenses are expensive to buy. There’ is more involved in not having to buy and process film. You now have to buy a decent computer and extra hard drive devices. You have to get photo soft ware for the computer which now has become a never ending subscription service. Rather than film you need SD cards and while reusable the higher end cards are pricy. I do have a digital that I use to test my light set ups and I have had two SD cards suddenly go corrupt on me.
All these digital things start obsoleting and need to be replaced adding to the expense of not having to buy film.
I went to a wedding two days ago. I think there were six photographers circulating with cameras, who was taking stills and who was doing videos. There was a corner in the large room where all the photo gear cases were piled up, it was an incredible amount of stuff. But years ago It was one photographer with maybe one assistant, maybe.. The photographers would use a medium format with a strobe flash mounted above the lens. They knew exactly how to set up the posing and the shots. They could load their film magazines very quickly, even blindfolded. The next day they did not sit in front of a computer going through thousands of images, instead they just dropped off their film at their pro lab and the lab did the rest.
Every once in awhile someone will look at my photos and say, oh wow, I do want to take a photoshop class. I tell them that is fine but there is no photoshop in my photos.
Whenever I shoot film (mostly large format) I process it and print it I'm my darkroom. It's a real PITA because I have to find the correct contrast paper and all that dodging and burning. Takes way too much time and makes me appreciate digital all the more.
oh no!! no more film? There is a video you posted named "Make the model the client and some training". I watched that video at least 8 times (when at the gym on the treadmill). At the end you used Porta 400 and I just loved the way Meika looked. I think its because of the red it put on her skin and the way it gave the white background a blue tint. I really hope there is a way you can recreate that look without film.
yes very easy to create
thank you, very informative! TOP video - more of this please
Thanks so much
Film starts to get interesting in 4x5", at that size is distinctively different than digital simply because of the frame size, and available lenses that span over 100 years.
I did a wet photograph course 30 years ago, with the intension of setting up a darkroom.
Although I really loved the course and what I learnt about creating photos, it was just to inconvenient, expensive, temperature/time critical and then you have to create a Dark Room Area.
Now it’s completely different, clean and no waste and play to your heart’s content.
For you as a professional with all your presets, you can do in seconds, what it would take hours.
the immediacy of digital is a bonus to capturing the shot
Thanks for creative process of doing commercial work. Got some ideas. Thanks.
Our pleasure!
I know everything of mine is now digital for space considerations. It also deals rather nicely with the nasty problem of what to do with the "rejects". Was I always digital...no. I started doing photography in 1976.
No reason to shoot film in a studio, but outside, busy street editorial style is still cool. Shoot film for personal and fun outdoor shoots. Keep your film cameras though, I still regret selling my contax 645 10 years ago, that 80 f/2 was pure magic!
Awesome video and amazing channel :) Would you ever be open to sharing your film grain scans? I'm sure loads of people, myself included, would love to add some life to their photos. I love your work, excited to keep watching.
Many thanks for this clarifying video. My takeaways, as no-Pro (@Pro & @Experts: I apology in advance for any wrong comment):
- Film photography allows a richer manual experience.
- Film photography requires more manual processing time (from the film to the image in digital format).
- Digital photography allows Models to adopt a more dynamic attitude, during the photo sessions.
- Digital photography allows photographers to be more dedicated to the Models, during photo sessions, while film photography requires some special attention to the equipment.
- Film photography requires additional budget apart from cameras and lenses.
- Color photography provides more editing capabilities.
- Digital photography allows producing more “valid” photographs.
- Film equipment requires special attention while traveling (e.g. security scanners)
- Digital photography allows better focusing.
- Digital photography provides quicker and better feedback, during photo sessions.
- Film images and digital images, after editing, can converge as very similar images.
I'm the age where I shot film as a kid with toy cameras but digital was around when I was in middle school. When I decided to pick up photography about 5 years ago pretty much all of what you said is why I decided not to get into film. I've never had the desire to shoot film now with my modern cameras. I've tried shooting a slower digital camera and just hated it. There's no reason to handicap yourself like that when you are trying to create art in this specific way.
Interesting and thoughtful video Peter - thanks. I would respectfully question one aspect though.
I struggle with the ‘film and developing is too expensive’ line. When you say this then compare film cost with shooting digital on a $50k Phase One camera I’m not sure it’s an economic argument that is convincing.
Time and convenience are most certainly legit concerns though.
Personally I find shooting medium format film a much more considered and deliberate mindset than shooting digital - not better or worse, just different.
Thank you for sharing! I can relate to a lot of your thoughts about film. I still shoot some film, but I can get a similar look by adapting vintage lenses. I really enjoy your channel!! 📸👏👏👏🎞️
Thanks heaps
Hey peter.
I'm using your grain scans a lot. And I like the look that you get.
In the next weeks I wanna try to make my own grain overlays. (I also have a mamiya RB67).
At this moment I'm trying to find out how to do this.
I don't scan my own photo's. This is down by a local lab. I already have some great results (normal pictures).
But if I'm right I have to photograph a gray wall? Of course I have to experiment with it, but like you I wanna get all sort of different grain textures.
Are these available through Inspire? I've got to have a look
@@LukaszFrankowski yes, go to downloads
Great video. I've been using this technique for months now. I have 15 really nice, high quality textures to choose from right now but would like to add more. Any chance you'd offer your textures for download? Thanks for all you do.
Thanks heaps, they are available on inspire.peter-coulson.com.au
I still shoot film. 35mm, 120 (6x6, 6x7), and have recently got into 4x5. Developing, scanning, and inverting film is a lot of work. But to get the best out of your RAW files also takes a lot of work. End of the day all this stuff are just tools to make images. Know your tools, know the pors and cons of your tools. I recently saw a photo on my Flickr stream and was wondering what film camera they used, it was a Fuji GFX. That guy really knows his tools.
As much as I miss and romanticize my time in the darkroom in the late 80's / early 90's, that's really the only thing I miss about film... digital is so much more freeing and you can apply whatever film grain / stock digitally....
I did film when younger until prices of development or reprints went up. Love digital. May do test modeling again on myself in two weeks for fun.
Years ago I found lead-infused packs for film rolls at local camera shop. I was wondering why, and they told me its for transporting films through airports. I havent seen them since.
Now... I do portrait photos, with Olympus M1x. Its a great body but I was looking for a medium format. Found Mamiya 645 PRO in great condition, with good kit of lenses, but only with film cassetes. If I am going to buy it, i want a digital back precisely for reasons you mentioned. I can see the prelimitary result and do an adjustment when needed.
Stopped using film for the same reasons you have. But. I feel no need to find a film look (save perhaps my old Kodachrome slides.. :^) ). What is nice about digital; as you did, you can add modifiers to the file to get the look you want today. Down the road, if your tastes change; you still have the original files to adapt to your new style (frankly, for me, I rarely drag up old photo's to re-edit; perhaps I should). All that said, I do like the end result of your work flow there.
I agree film has it uses and they make beautiful pictures. But when you are trying to get thos shots that pays the bills you don't have time to focus every time witch makes you miss those moment when the model is being him or her self where they are not posing more less candid shots and that is real. That is real photography real looks real expression real people not AI generated. Also not forced posing. Thank you for sharing with us you and your reasoning for what you do as a professional like you are it gives us a little gold nugget to aborb and understand the method to the madness.
Thank you
Great stuff Peter. I think for commercial work film doesn't make sense and your approach gives you the best of both. I'll drop you a message. (I might look to do a response video for a bit of fun but will chat with you first). (I hope the European tour is going well!)
This is so cool have you ever done any how to books please I am not a Digital native but you are relatable many thanks .
Thanks not yet
I still love shooting film. My goal is to shoot one roll of film per week during the year. I'm in the darkroom also making gelatin silver prints. I use an old digital Nikon D800 also, mainly for sketching out ideas - similar to an artist using a sketchbook for thumbnail drawings. If I like something from those images I'll take my Hasselblad 500CM and make a film photograph of that subject. Probably 99% of my work is black and white images. I might purchase an 8x10 camera early next year and start experimenting with Ambrotype image making. I'm sure I could manipulate all of what I just said with a digital camera, the right software and an inkjet printer, but I still love chemical process and I'm not ready to leave it. Total respect for your decision.
Thanks
I get for the professionals digital is king. And I see why the switch from film to digital was such a massive tsunami.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
That’s btw a very neat trick to add real grain to a picture.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this with us.
I shot a lot of slides, specially during trips, and BW which i was self developing.
Great times then, i switched from my Nikon F3 direkt to an AF D100....
As you showed, you can add grain, and with it the look, and on the other side delete noise if nessesary...
Was shooting concerts of friends at that time, pushing a film up to 3200 or more was way over the limit, and now, i have no thoughts when i set my iso to 6400 or more...
Times have changed, but we can use the modern tools to have our fun and look ;-))
Peter have you ever tried using a 1x reader glasses when shooting your hasselblad or the RB? I do and they help alot with focus on hassy. I shoot film only, mostly LF and don't mind the cost but I process and print everything myself. I can't say I make a profit though, however sometimes I can cover my cost when models see a silver gelatin or RA4 print in person they usually buy it.
No I have never tried the 1x render
My days of shooting film are over, my clients will not pay film costs and as a professional photographer another advantage to shooting digital is when you handover your digital files you get a check instantly the day of the shoot, no 30 day billing waiting for somebody to send you a check because They have to see the film it just makes great business sense to go digital !
When AI takes over you woukd be asking to come back to film again,the really your photo
I enjoy film cameras, but not the process afterward. But I also wouldn’t enjoy the Photoshop processing to get the film look. Hence, I’m on the fence.
I don’t miss film. I still have my original Nikon F100 but have no desire to even try to put a roll of film. Now I use those on lens on a D810. And even then if mirrorless drastically comes down in prices I could be persuaded to make the jump again especially for stage and event photography where I am very active with the exposure compensation.
thank you Peter, cheers from Florida, USA, Paul
Thanks for listening
You are welcome!
I feel exactly like you. I can relate 100% with your observations! I developed a look especially for B&W that are very close to the copies I used to get in my old lab. And I like old lens although I do have dificulties to get razor sharp focus. Loved the way you used gray photogram! You're the best!
Thank you
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
I started in photography with digital and only much later got into film, for me, film is for passion projects were having a physical medium in your hand is the reward/payment. Digital does everything better faster, cheaper (long term at least) and I know that and for any paid work that is all you could ask for but when it comes to personal work, nothing beats a negative in your hand and in your heart.
Thanks for Sharing!
My pleasure!
Fantastic approach -
Thanks for
Sharing!
Thank you
Peter I really enjoy your work your so detail orient , but I guess that why your the best
Wow, thanks
This is a brilliant video because I have been wrestling with the same issue. I have 4 x 5 and 120 but gravitate towards using my Leica Q2 Monochrom. The question I have had is: if it is about the end result, the image, vs. "the process". I do my own development and only shoot B&W so it is cheap but who cares if the process is cool but the image is just mediocre, So I am putting the gear on the block for sale.
100% end result for me
A Peter, I just saw you tutorial about why you don't like to shooting film anymore... Agree with you for the most part --- but, although I don't have the high caliber cameras you shoot, I still like to shoot a few manual nikon lens (135mm 2.8, and my 28mm f2.8) with my Nikon 7100 & 7200 cameras. I don't have too much trouble focusing due to the Is range finder programming I can put in my camera for manual lenses. For some reason I can feel the film likeness through some of those old lenses. Anyway, just wanted to share and find out if you still used any manual lenses with your digital cameras... take care and continued success!!!
on my digital Leica I only own 1 auto lens and I mainly use vintage manual focus lenses, on My hasselblad I focus manually about 70% of the time.
I am shooting film because if I have a limited number of photos and therefore I am forced to think about composition about if I really would like to take that photo etc. If you have a good digital camera you can take a lot of shots and it will not force you to improve your photographic style. Sure if you are Peter Coulson you have experience and you do not need to shoot a film.
Yes I leant on film and now I need to capture things when the happen and not tell the model to hold
I think people can train themselves to apply the discipline of using film to digital. I use both, and I have now turned off instant image review in all my cameras, and have either turned the LCD around so I don't see it or have set it to off. Just treat digital like a film camera and you will soon forget about that nonsense that digital offers. The best idea that any camera maker has come up with in the last few years was the run of the Leica M-Ds which didn't have an LCD at all.
I agree with you completely. Film is a pain. And since you scan to digital why not just eliminate that whole film sequence? Yes, I like color better, too. I live in a color world. I dream in color. My TV and monitor show me color. Why deny the obvious? Matt does great mono work but I do not.. Thanks for an enlightening video.
Thanks
Hi Peter, i see ph Photoshop that "Cutting" layer, what is it for? Thanks for all the awesome videos showing behind the scenes, always incredible!
the cutting layer is one of my lineal dodge and burn layers
I, too, agree with your assessment of film vs digital. Any chance we could download a few of your digital grain effects to give them a try?
At the moment there is 2 to download off inspire (inspire.peter-coulson.com.au), it is a paid site but you can cancel at any point, and I will be adding some new ones on there in the next few weeks
Interesting. Do the labs in Oz not include scans in the developing? I still enjoy film. I use a Nikon F100, which has excellent autofocus, and I do my developing at a place called Dwayne's, (in Parsons Kansas) which is kind of a legend in the film world. (They were specially selected to develop the very last roll of Kodachrome.) They send me a CD of the prints, and upload the scans to their cloud for download at no extra cost.
You and I are the difference in pro and semi-pro enthusiast photographers: I enjoy how film slows me down- I get to think about the shot, and then come up with some great stuff, like shooting expired film for the sheer unpredictability of it.
But you're right: when it's a pro shoot I'm on, it's digital all the way.
Thanks for your thoughts,
..Joe
I've started to get back into film and re-enjoying it and hoping the nostalgia feeling wears off for me! for me I enjoy the process of capturing the image on a physical piece of media and I enjoy the antispiation of developing it in a tank and hoping everything came out. But as I'm getting older I'm finding trying to focus is a bit of a pain. I'd like to try Slide so I can have a print of an image and also a postive frame on film and frame them together, I've also a very strong urge to try Wet Plate/Tin Plate as I love the look of it and enjoy the idea of an image being put onto a piece of metal (I was tempted to buy a laser engraver to put images on metal a more modern way as I like images on physical media rather than a computer screen) Problem for me is I might only take a handful of frames and my mind goes into every shot is prescious mode and I might have the same roll in the camera for months and only take 5-6 shots every time I manage to shoot with a model. (I'm a hobby photographer so I only get to do a handful of shoots a year)
Not sure if you've experimented with the "add grain" features in Lightroom maybe its not to your tastes if it adds a more digital version of grain.
I don't like the lightroom grain
Thanks Peter for your evaluation. I loved your method of faking grain on the digital images with real grain captures as overlays. Is there a place that offers a library for grain samples? Would licensing them be something you would possibly do yourself? I can't quite justify shooting it regardless of scope and producing a quality library such as yours would be impossible for others such as myself. I very much agree to this methods being a true alternative to simulated grain. Cheers
At the moment there is 2 to download off inspire (inspire.peter-coulson.com.au), it is a paid site but you can cancel at any point, and I will be adding some new ones on there in the next few weeks
I am in the same boat. I had to go from my RB67 to an H2D and GFX system
Well, i started out with a second-hand box brownie, moved to a cartridge film, and then several cameras using 35mm, brief dalliance with mobile photography, moved to digital, then dropped all cams in 2020 for AI generated photography.
Thats progress 😊😊