bethe_fisher

Bad enough that I have to log in every couple of days and that it usually goes to my portfolio (I prefer the forums). But just now, it showed pictures by others and/or liked by others and the first one, huge on my screen, was a full frontal nude shot. I don't have an issue with people posting nudes, but I NEED to be able to only see them when I choose to. If my YOUNG son had been near my computer when I logged in, he didn't need to see that shot. I far prefer the old days of seeing the forum lists when I log in, not my portfolio or someone else's photos. Can a mod please answer me why this happened?

"New life for your 35mm." OOooh. Meh. If you want to use your film cameras, they do still make film - just use them as intended. If you want to shoot digital, get one and use it. The concept of using just one camera for everything makes no sense to me.

I agree with Bill - mpix.com.

+1 I'm not a fan of blown highlights. I'll let shadows go solidly black before I let most highlights go to paper white. If I've blown the highlights in a waterfall or something, I'll just go back and reshoot in better light before I keep trying to pull detail in. And +1 to SCL, too. (those overly light backgrounds that are popular in outdoor portraits these days annoy me)

I don't know if you're looking for a person here who does it for others or if you're looking for a lab, but there are several labs to choose from. Knowing where you are might help, but there's Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland, OR and Praus Productions in Rochester, NY. I used to use A and I in CA, but they do mostly B&W and I do my own now (the others do it all). I know "The Darkroom" (not sure where) advertises on Photrio and might be an option. If you aren't in the US, I don't know who to suggest other than Ilford.

I prefer a lightbox as it can be horizontal - easier to deal with than taping film to a screen. The light is also a little more even (I have an LED one).

+1 to Sandy's post. I've been making prints for awhile, so I have a few boxes of them now. I've gone through them occasionally and tossed the bad ones. If you make newer prints of old negs, you may find you've learned a little in between prints and you can safely toss the older ones. It isn't a bad idea to think now of how you might want to organize them so you can find the one print you're looking for when you have 5 3" deep boxes of them.

It sorta depends on which country you're in. In the US, Beselers are fairly plentiful, but Durst are more common in Europe. Depending on where you are, you might have better luck on Craigslist than eBay because shipping an enlarger is a royal pain in addition to being expensive. A color head can be used for both color and B&W and some say they have better contrast control in B&W with one. I only have condenser heads for both my Beselers and they've been great for me. I have no plans to print my own color. If you do want to do 4x5, then a Beseler 45MX or version thereof will handle it and everything smaller.

It was off limits because APUG was intended as a refuge from the digital-is-better rants. It was a place people could get answers to problems with film without enduring posts from people saying they should just give up film and switch (yes, I've seen those posts here within the last few weeks - please don't try to tell me it doesn't happen). Sean found a way within Xenforum to have sections be user-selected so they could stay just film-based or add hybrid or everything. Many of us there (I'm a very regular user there, btw) do shoot everything. I use PS, On1, and others. But I love having someplace where I can ask about a problem with developing film and not get "fix it in post" or "just switch already" comments. I'm looking forward to the hybrid section because I'd like to be able to make some alt method prints with things shot on my dslr. Sean is integrating DPUG and hybrid-photo in a way that should get more traffic. Without more traffic and more subscribers, Sean was facing the possibility of the site not surviving. It is such a great resource that I personally would be extremely sad to lose it. For those who had problems with the "only film talk" people there, just remember that the digital answers could be found in many places. That was the one best place to find most of the film answers.

Yeah, lots of us have found it to be quite friendly. After this redo, it might be much friendlier feeling to those who aren't strictly analog, too.

If they want to sell the album, I'd definitely look at working with mpix, millers, or blurb. I know they all probably get cheaper for each the more you buy, but I don't know what kind of budget you're thinking. To get the lower price, you'd have to get all of them at once, though. I don't really know what other options are out there, but wedding photographers may know of other places.

If you really don't want to do it yourself (and it's not that hard), give Praus Productions in Rochester, NY a call. Or Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland, OR. I don't know that either will do it, but they've done regular B&W and color for me and been very good.

Overall, this could be a very good thing. People who were put off by the "analog only" can choose to see the digital only or hybrid and digital and still benefit from all the collected wisdom. Many people don't like change (frequently me included), but this isn't a situation of changing just to change. Fewer and fewer people have been subscribing to APUG and there was a very good chance that keeping the site running would no longer be possible at some point. This could attract enough more eyeballs that it can become more self-sustaining. It's been a labor of love for Sean (and doesn't make as much money as it costs). I'd suggest giving it a good chance and not putting it down before it even happens. There are some extremely knowledgeable people there and subscribing gets you access to the galleries which have some incredibly good images.

Another vote for checking the negatives. Scanning is another generation out - better to look at the actual item than a reproduction.

Here's an example of definite air bells, FWIW. This is on a sheet of 4x5 and is just a part of the frame.

My first shots were of my grandparents' Christmas tree in either 1973 or 1974, having just received a Kodak Instamatic (age 5 or 6). I think there's a print around somewhere, but I don't have enough time to go searching.

Which people still don't buy if you're not in a place where they understand the difference. (yes, I've had a table at a local craft fair. I got lots of oohs and aahhs about the fact that I was still using a darkroom, but not one print sold.) OP - You'll need to have a way to accept credit cards as well as keep cash safe. Signs; some way to keep the prints organized, but showing; think about different sizes and price points and how you'll show them. Make sure the prints are what you want as far as color and sharpness, etc.. Don't wait until the last minute to order the prints and get things ready.

I enjoy using the darkroom to print and prefer looking at B&W over color, so most of my film use is B&W and I use digital for color. Occasionally I'll convert a digital shot to B&W.

I have a few photos in my gallery, but only one comment in all the years I've been here.

Ilford doesn't have printing on the back and their RC is nice. Arista (available from Freestyle) might not have printing - I haven't used it in awhile. They also make ortho litho film that works well for in camera shooting. It's higher contrast, but that can be tamed somewhat by using paper developer that's fairly dilute and by pre-flashing. The speed on the ortho litho is about like paper.

Is there a way to re-order the forum list? In the Practice and Technique section, the forums are listed alphabetically, but not so in the Equipment section. Consistency would be nice. Also, I know that Xenforum has a way to mark the avatar of the original poster for each thread if they post later in it. That would be really helpful.

It's possible the sleeves didn't get pushed down well enough for the contact print. That could make wrinkles in the plastic show as more dense areas in the print. Do the negatives themselves have the lines? (if you see this, sorry for not checking back sooner)

As for the necro-threads - some forums prefer that you post to an old thread rather than starting a new one. With no time limit for adding to an old thread and no rule posted saying not to resuscitate a thread older than X years/months/days, etc.., there's no way to really know which camp pnet falls into. And not everyone agrees anyway.

In 2004 I bought an Epson 4870 - still have it and use it. I don't do much 35mm, but do scan 120, 4x5, and prints with it. I've been debating getting an Epson V800 while I can in case my 4870 dies or won't work with future OS.