I'm done with film.

Wow that's amazing. [Re: DB_Gallery post #147] How are you doing fixer/bleach type disposal? It looks like you have a system under the sink.

 

From another thread, DB_Gallery is on a septic system, and has the waste (silver-bearing only, I presume) hauled off for disposal. As I recall, from another website, the darkroom is below grade (physically lower than the waste storage area), so some sort of pumping station(s) is used to move liquids. So perhaps you are seeing the pumping stations?

 

Here's a link to the photo.net thread:

Fixer and the Environment

Sorry, but I don't buy this 'do it all in the camera' philosophy, and neither did Ansel Adams.

So what?

I like the guy’s photographs but he doesn’t inspire me to drop film for digital.

 

I still like getting the best result from the camera.

I’m not anti digital at all.

I use it daily at work.

Its utility seems limitless.

I use it when I shoot film as well.

But I’m simply a hobbyist.

Diving down the rabbit hole of extensive software photo manipulation doesn’t give me a personal satisfaction like getting a couple of good photos off a roll of film.

Never had a winder on a camera so I don’t burn through a lot of film.

But I prefer the bow and arrow to the rifle hunting deer, and I’ve been shooting firearms since I was 5 years old.

 

I can understand how folks who are much more talented and experienced photographers than I, who spent years in darkrooms and such on more than a casual basis would hate it, compared to digital.

As long as I can wet print, I won't ever give up black and white film. I have been shooting digital now for 26 years, it is old hat to me, the low light performance and sheer ease of use can't be beat. But I only use camera systems that will allow me to fully integrate film use into the digital use because film use is where my heart is.

 

So after some 10 years of relentless work, searching for the right property to buy and saving, I finally have a real darkroom. It's in my new house, is about 500 square feet, very modern ( all LED lighting ) and I can print up to 45" x 55". Two of three build phases are done, the last being the design / building of the mural system and all the details to be filled in like cable harnessing, moving my iMac Pro into the space, etc.

 

Maybe there are a number of things I could have done different in my career but one remains steadfast and that is staying true to myself and the long standing belief that the future of *my* photography is my vision for it.

 

That future vision is largely based on film.

 

 

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WOW! THis is some real dedication! I am just about to pull the trigger to get (back) into film photography. I always wanted to shoot MF so I will kill 2 birds with one stone and purchase something like a Mamiya 645 Pro.

 

Are you planning on doing any commercial developing/printing?

I understand the frustration. I was shooting a lot of film until a few years ago, when around the same time I started to be a lot busier, and the good shop near me for film processing went out of business. But by that point it was all scanning - the film was replacing the digital sensor in what was really a digital process. There was no technical reason for the film, it was just that I was collecting and having fun using old cameras. When it became too time consuming to do so I let it go.

I always wanted to shoot MF so I will kill 2 birds with one stone and purchase something like a Mamiya 645 Pro.

 

- At your own risk! I have 2 Mamiya 645 Supers and a Pro-TL. I've rarely had all 3 working at the same time, with one or another needing repair on an almost continuous basis. If I had the choice again, I wouldn't touch any of the plastic-bodied Mamiya 645s with a barge-pole. Totally unreliable IME.

 

OTOH, all of my ancient metal-bodied Mamiya 645s (1000S, M and J models) are in working order. They might look a bit tatty and showing their age, but they all work.

- At your own risk! I have 2 Mamiya 645 Supers and a Pro-TL. I've rarely had all 3 working at the same time, with one or another needing repair on an almost continuous basis. If I had the choice again, I wouldn't touch any of the plastic-bodied Mamiya 645s with a barge-pole. Totally unreliable IME.

 

OTOH, all of my ancient metal-bodied Mamiya 645s (1000S, M and J models) are in working order. They might look a bit tatty and showing their age, but they all work.

 

Thanks for your feedback. I am actually also looking at the 645 1000S. One thing that would be a potential determinant for me is, can I use the 150mm f/3.8 leaf shutter lens on a 1000S? I'd like to achieve a higher sync speed than 1/60.

Thanks for your feedback. I am actually also looking at the 645 1000S. One thing that would be a potential determinant for me is, can I use the 150mm f/3.8 leaf shutter lens on a 1000S? I'd like to achieve a higher sync speed than 1/60.

 

- The Mamiya lens range is totally interchangeable between the old fixed-back models and the newer placky ones with magazine backs.

 

The only difference WRT the leaf lenses is that the N (new) versions had a motorised cocking system that coupled to specific models of motor-drive on the camera. They can all still be manually cocked using a collar at the front of the lens.

 

There are 3 LS lenses in the range, 55mm, 70mm and 150mm. They can all be used with the older metal-bodied 645s.

 

IMO the 70mm LS has an image quality that's subtly different from the 80mm lenses. As has the 110mm f/2.8 N lens; not available as a leaf-shuttered version unfortunately.

Well, if you WERE inclined to build a darkroom these days, even if it wasn't such a thing of beauty as the one shown, it seems as if this would be the time to try since there has to be all kinds of darkroom equipment and enlargers on the used market, including gear that you probably couldn't have afforded new but is probably available more cheaply now. The trouble might be when it breaks.

Well, if you WERE inclined to build a darkroom these days, even if it wasn't such a thing of beauty as the one shown, it seems as if this would be the time to try since there has to be all kinds of darkroom equipment and enlargers on the used market, including gear that you probably couldn't have afforded new but is probably available more cheaply now. The trouble might be when it breaks.

A nice elderly lady GAVE me her darkroom via Craigslist, including an enlarger head that costs over $2k, and is still available new. She couldn't sell the whole setup for $200. I picked it up before she moved house, and both of us were grateful. We had a nice chat, and she threw in a couple of Pentaxes for me to fix up for high school students.

 

I am starting on 4x5, and development and scanning are going well. Need to get that darkroom set up to see if I like printing too.

You fix up cameras to give to high school students? I expect there are a lot of us with old gear that might be willing to contribute to an organization which sees them to good homes.

You fix up cameras to give to high school students? I expect there are a lot of us with old gear that might be willing to contribute to an organization which sees them to good homes.

My camera collector's club has a pipeline into a couple of high schools. They teach the kids about the history of photography and GIVE them a film camera from each era to use for class. 1950s rangefinder, 1970s SLRs mainly. I focus on Pentax K1000 and equivalents, which are highly valued for that purpose.

 

The kids keep the cameras they are given. They develop in a dark room.

 

Ping me back if you want to hook into that pipeline. I'll get you whatever info you need to make it legit.