Update on Previous Blog(s)

I recently wrote that I had borrowed my friends Rolleiflex TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) camera to take some pictures with it. We would see how it is working after the approximately 66 years since it was manufactured. I sent the roll of film out for developing and last night, after 15 days wait, the scans of the negatives showed up in my in-box.

Film sizes are for comparison, not actual size

    The film used was Ilford Delta 100. The camera format takes twelve 6cm. X 6cm. negatives on each roll. This is a much larger negative than a 35mm camera takes. (24mm X 36mm) With the larger negative more detail is obtained and less grain is evident.

    I used a standard 18% grey card along with a handheld Luna Pro light meter to determine exposures. Whenever possible, I used a tripod to avoid any movement or blurring. When the tripod wasn’t used, I leaned against a wall for support to help keep the camera steady. I played around with different f-stops and shutter speeds.

    After looking at the 12 pictures it was easy to see that the camera was working perfectly. The negatives are sharp, there is no evidence of any type of light leakage and the shutter seems to be producing the correct exposure times.

    In the last blog I had written about how exciting it is to see my “still wet” negatives for the first time. I have to say that seeing my pictures for the first time after they come back from the developer, rates right up there with that!

Here are a few of the shots taken on that roll.

RR Bridges crossing over to Washington’s Landing

(Herrs Island)

Under the Bridge

Foggy Sharpsburg

Basement

Film Developing 101

 

A few days ago, I developed a roll of 35mm black and white film. It was the first in over 25 years, if not longer. I have been playing around with some of my old cameras and to get the film from them developed, I’ve had to rely on commercial companies. This always adds more time to the process. Even the quick companies tend to take at least a week or two.

    Time is always involved in photography, especially when using film. Choosing the proper exposures, being sure the camera is focused and the shot is composed all take time. Whenever I rush it, I introduce the chance of errors. The pictures on a roll of film usually aren’t all taken on the same day; it may be a few days or even a month. So, what is another week or two? Well, let me tell you! I want to see what I’ve taken!

    I figured that I could reduce some of the wait by doing the developing myself! I'm still waiting for some negatives that I recently sent out. 

    My last darkroom work was done in the last century. (WOW that really sounds like a long time ago!) It was sometime in the mid-1990’s. Most of my gear was put away, just in case I’d ever need it again. Last week I took a trip up into the attic and unearthed some of it, the time had finally come.

    Having been in the attic for such a long time, the equipment needed cleaned and tested. It is amazing how much dirt and dust can accumulate over a couple decades. Oddly enough, two of my thermometers no longer worked. I thought they'd last forever. Luckily, I checked them before I used them. Proper temperatures are very important in developing film. 

    Practice was also needed. To develop film the negatives need wound onto a spiral reel. This has to be done in complete darkness, without touching the surface of the film. The trick is practice, practice, practice. I needed to reacquaint myself with the muscle memory that I used to have. Using an old, exposed roll of film I spent a couple days winding film onto the reel, removing it and doing it again, over and over. (I kept reminding myself, it’s just like riding a bike!)

    When the equipment was put in the attic, the chemicals weren’t included!  I had to purchase developer, stop bath, fixer and some Photoflo. Then I had to figure out the proper times that the film would be exposed to each one and of course, the proper sequence.

    Since there is no darkroom in my house, I had to “Mickey Mouse” a location. In the corner of the basement, I cleaned a spot and hung some black plastic up to help control any light leaks. Then, just to be sure, I waited until after sunset, turned off all the lights and checked for any leaks. 

    Assured that there were no light leaks, I took the film, the canister and the reels and put them on a bench along with a pair of scissors. Checking one more time for light, I then started loading the film onto the reel. I had a bit of a problem towards the end when the film came out of the grooves. I re-did it and it seemed good. After the reel was put in the canister, I put the lid on top and then turned the lights on again. Next came the chemistry.

    Even though I have done this procedure hundreds of times, it has been a long time since I did it last. I spent a lot of time looking at YouTube videos and checking manufacturer’s web sites. I also browsed through some photo groups checking on their suggestions. I wanted to have the correct times for all the chemicals. When I was finally happy with my numbers, it was time to head to the laundry tubs.

    There is a short hose there which runs water into a basin to keep the chemicals all at the same temperature. My notes were hung on the wall. The film was given a prewash to wet it and then, the developer was put into the canister. This was it, the point of no return! There was no turning back now!

    When the developer time was up, the tank was emptied and stop bath took its place. Then came the fixer. After that, I Removed the lid and started the water bath. Finally, after a brief dunk into some PhotoFlo, it was time for the unveiling.

    This is the fun part, seeing my negatives for the first time. There was a small problem; some of the final pictures on the roll hadn’t developed properly. The film had rubbed against itself in the reel and this caused some grey splotches. Luckily, those pictures weren’t anything special and thankfully, the rest of the film strip came out great! It just goes to tell me…I need more practice!

     I have to say that the best part of the whole process is the unveiling, unrolling the reel and seeing all those separate negatives, nice and sharp. It is only a small part of the whole process, from seeing a potential picture to showing off the finished product, but I still enjoy seeing my still wet negatives for the first time. It is when I get an idea of whether or not I was successful or if I’d screwed up along the way.

    Developing film isn’t that difficult; once you have all the supplies and you’ve done it a few times it becomes a lot of fun. A clean spot to work, consistent times and mixtures along with practice, lots of practice, these all add up to getting good quality negatives! Doing this roll brought back all the excitement I used to experience so many years ago. I've already decided, my next "experiment" will be to develop a roll of bigger sized medium format film!

    Photography can be so much fun; there are so many different aspects to it. There are countless ways to take pictures, to print them and to view them. Developing my own film is just another small part of the whole photographic spectrum!

Below are a few pictures from this roll.

Store window in Pittsburgh

BJ the Barber, Southside

Old film cameras in a store window, Southside

Silver Halide and CCD’s (Film and Digital)

Another day of fog, this always sparks the creative juices in me. There is something special about looking for and taking pictures on foggy day. Often it is just the excitement of the search! There is a mysteriousness about a foggy day, you’re never aware of what you might come across. You need to be careful when you’re on the road and also when you’re taking pictures. You, or I, don’t want that special moment, event or shot to be missed.

    Today’s outing would be with an old Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera. Lent to me by a friend, the camera was as old as me if not a year or two older. The camera had belonged to his father, it’s an heirloom, I needed to take extra good care of it! Jim was nice enough to lend it to me to take a few rolls through it and to experience how it works. Inside the camera was a brand new, unexposed roll of Ilford black and white film.

    A twin lens reflex camera differs from your standard single lens reflex camera by having two lenses, situated one above the other. One is used for focusing and the other to expose the film. To compose your picture, you look down into the top of the camera rather than through it horizontally. A lot of “street photographers” like this type of camera because it gives a bit of discretion when taking a picture, you aren’t actively watching the subject, you are looking downward towards the ground.

    My digital camera accompanied me also. The main goal was to take some film shots but the desire to see my work immediately was still present.

    With a film camera, the need to “think” about the picture is important. The Rolleiflex only takes 12 exposures for each roll. With only a limited amount of pictures you have to be more selective in what you are photographing. The picture format is square as compared to the rectangular shots we are all familiar with. This comes into play when composing your pictures.

    Another reason to carefully choose your shots is cost. You have to buy the rolls of film and then you need to get them developed, both of which involve cash. With our digital cameras or our smart phones, we can shoot all day until the memory is filled. There are no addition charges when taking pictures this way.

    With our phones, pictures can be taken and sent to friends or posted on-line minutes if not seconds after you’ve taken the shot. With film, time is involved. If you develop the negatives yourself, there is an hour or two until the negatives are dry enough to handle. Then they need scanned or printed, some more time that will pass until you can share those precious pictures. Though it may involve more time, there is that magic moment when you unroll the newly developed negatives and see your exposures for the first time. It is almost as exciting as watching a printed picture develop in the darkroom, slowly appearing under the red lights. It's the magic of light and chemistry!

    The time involved is a definite part of the enjoyment of film photography. Do you remember how exciting it was to come out of the drug store, or from the drive-up kiosk and then sit in the car and open up the envelope to look through the new batch of pictures?  Remembering back to when you took them, reliving the experiences and the places they were taken, and then sharing them with your friends. The anticipation is something we don’t experience much anymore with digital photography.

    In our digital world, we always have a camera near-by. Our phones are always at hand. The cameras in them are phenomenal! The pictures taken by smart phones are far superior to those taken by my digital camera. Still, I enjoy the feel of my cameras, whether film or digital. I’m not multi-tasking; I’m taking a picture with a tool which was made for just that!

    With the digital camera, if I make a mistake, I just take another shot. This morning, I knew I had moved the camera when I pushed the shutter release. I knew the picture would be blurred. I was forced to decide whether or not to take another one. Was it worth it? In the end, I reset the camera on a tripod and used the self timer to open the shutter. That exposure “should” be good.

What I was envisioning

    The whole process of taking pictures is like magic to me. Whether it is photons hitting a digital sensor or a strip of plastic covered with silver halide, each picture is exciting. Those miniscule pieces of time caught on film or on a memory card always mean something to the photographer. They are special whether it's a sunrise, a landscape, a wedding, a flower in the garden or a bird landing on a feeder. They are a memory and often, a treasure, especially if they turn out the way we had envisioned them.

    The morning was fun, as always. The roll is almost finished, there are three more shots to be taken, shots waiting for that special, decisive moment. That short amount of time I’ll want to save.

    Then comes the wait for the film to get developed and printed and then…I can relive those moments again!