timothyirobertson

<p>Wow!<br>

Thank you all for your really constructive advice. It looks like the heat and dust here are going to be even more of a challenge than I thought.<br>

This gives me a great place to start problem solving and see if I can transport the chemicals here and set up an appropriate environment.<br>

Thanks again for your help!</p>

 

<p>I bought these two cameras on the street in Phnom Penh where I live for just a few dollars. They're both in need of some repair and I'm getting ready for a trip to the U.S. Does anyone know any place in the general area of Lancaster, PA or Covington, VA where I could take these old cameras to be fixed?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any leads!</p>

<p>-Tim</p>

<p>I live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and I have the opportunity to rent a room to use as a photography space/darkroom. I'm getting ready for a trip home to the U.S. and I'd like to bring back with me all the equipment, chemicals and film I need to start up. I'd like your advice on specifically what equipment, chemicals and film would serve me best. <br>

Also, I'd like to say that the last time I processed my own film was back in college, so I'm a beginner with a little experience, but some of my questions might show my ignorance. I'm a quick study, so any knowledge you can share is much appreciated.<br>

Here are my situational factors to consider:<br>

* It's quite hot and humid here all year long and the dust and general dirtiness is much more intense than most places in the west. So I need chemicals and film that will be as resilient as possible to those conditions.</p>

<p>* I plan to process 35mm and 120 b+w film. I don't plan to make prints yet, just scan the negatives and print digitally.</p>

<p>* I anticipate eventually having several friends and customers for whom I will develop film as I'll be the only one in the country providing the service. So I need something small/simple, but capable of developing more than one roll at a time.</p>

<p>* For my personal work, I look for a bit higher than average contrast and prioritize that over sharpness as I'm doing mostly plastic/toy camera stuff these days (see packinglightphotography.com). However, I think customers might have a preference toward sharpness. Is there chemistry and film to balance those priorities?</p>

<p>*Does anyone have experience transporting photography chemistry while traveling by air? How much powder is allowed in checked baggage? What's the best way to transport films?</p>

<p>Again, I truly appreciate any bits of advice and tips you can give me!</p>

<p>-Tim</p>

<p>I'm thinking of buying my first rangefinder. I don't have any experience with a rangefinder, so I'm looking for a inexpensive one to play around with. On this forum and other sites, I've read a bit about the Russian FEDs as decent copycat Leicas with a low pricetag.</p>

<p>My question: which one should I get?</p>

<p>For the past 15 years I've been using an Olympus OM-2 my great uncle gave me. I love how relatively small it is. I do mostly street shooting and tend toward wide angle (I mostly use 50mm and 28mm with my Olympus).</p>

<p>Ironically, it's the work I've been doing with toy/plastic cameras that got me thinking about a rangefinder. Specifically, my Vivitar UWS. The camera is so unassuming and the shutter is so quiet (for a little piece of plastic) that no one ever pays any attention to the fact that I'm photographing them. I started thinking about the advantages of a quiet shutter which could actually perform in low-light situations and started reading up on rangefinders.</p>

<p>It sounds like the focusing and pre-shot adjustments might be streamlined with a rangefinder.</p>

<p>So, basically, I'm looking for a FED with a wide, fast lens and one that I'll be able to figure out how to use effectively as a newbie to the rangefinder world. When I started reading up on FEDs I got overwhelmed with the options 1-5 and all the variations in between.</p>

<p>I live in Cambodia, so there aren't any camera shops or labs that can be of much assistance to me on technical camera problems etc. especially with a rangefinder, so I guess reasonable reliability is a factor too.</p>

<p>Tall order? I appreciate any advice or recommendations you can send my way!</p>

<p>Thanks for the seriously helpful comments! Guy, do you think it would be possible for me to build a negative holder that would work better than the one that comes with the 8800f?</p>

<p>Want to scan my own negatives (35mm and 120; mostly from toy camera photography) and am looking for a cheap-ish scanner. Someone suggested a canoscan 8800f, but I live in Cambodia and have only been able to find a 4400f here.<br>

Can someone tell me of any significant differences between the two?<br>

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Pierre, thanks. I am going to be in Bangkok in May/June and going to try to pick up a developing tank and chemicals. If I could develop my own 120, I could actually use 120 regularly! I would love that.</p>

 

<p>How long you need to hold the shutter open depends on how much existing light there is in the shot you're taking, how well-, over- or under-exposed you want the shot and what speed film you are using. But don't be overwhelmed by that.<br>

I'm actually trying to get some good input myself on this as I'm running 35mm through my holga for the first time. I think the best thing is just to try a few things. Try some low-light shots and take a couple notes about the light conditions and how long you held the shutter open.<br>

Eventually, you'll get a feel for your camera and the films you use and be able to guess it pretty well for the shots you want. I'm not really sure how to measure fraction-of-a-second exposures using B, but intuitive shooting is what makes holgas fun anyhow!<br>

Try a few things, let me know how they turn out.</p>

<p>Hey, I've only been messing around with really lo-fi cameras for about a year. I find it really does add a new bit of variety to my other photography and it's refreshing to simplify things down a bit and just snap away sometimes. I agree with Matthew R., taking photos with a low-tec camera still requires a skill set and there's a learning curve.<br>

And I agree with everyone here that there are tons of lo-fi, lomographers out there who aren't buying all the suddenly-pricey lomo cameras. I started with a brownie twin 20 that was my dad's in the 60s and another brownie hawkeye I bought for less than $10 in a thrift store. There are also a lot of blogs out there who are just individuals or groups of lomographers who just enjoy sharing their work (just do some googling).<br>

But, I try not to be too put off by the newly booming business of lomo. I mean, it's a newly popular niche in a tremendously popular art form, some money has to be made somewhere, right? Besides the overpriced film and cameras, the business end of it does provide an infrastructure for a more globalized community to share and collaborate. I agree I'd like it to be a lot more organic though.</p>

<p>Russ, thanks. Yeh, the holga is so much fun. I'm about to try my first roll of 35mm through it because there aren't any labs where they process 120 film in all of Cambodia. Any recommendation on what iso to get for 35mm?<br>

I checked out your shots and really liked them! I felt like I was there at the show in a weird sort of way. Thanks!</p>

<p>seriously, great shot!<br>

-tim</p>

<p>Hey, thanks Jeremy.<br>

I think soon I'll have some more specific questions about exposure times for lower light etc. Many of the shots on my first roll turned out quite a bit darker than I expected, I just haven't had the chance to post them yet.<br>

I look forward to checking out some of your work.</p>

<p>I just picked up a holga 120N. I usually use a 35mm or digital SLR, but over the past year or so I started messing around with a couple old plastic brownies (Twin 120 and Hawkeye) just for some variety.<br>

I've started to post some of the results of the first holga roll at timothyirobertson.wordpress.com I'd really appreciate any pointers some of you who are more familiar with the holga can provide.<br>

I'm also looking for ways to get 120 film developed in Phnom Penh where I live. So far, I haven't found any labs who can process anything but 35mm. I'd love to hear from any of you in Southeast Asia with suggestions.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>-Tim</p>