The flight itself was fun, and really in the long run didn’t seem that long either, the scenery was great but it made me realize how much Google Maps has ruined me, shame I can’t have a GPS and over lay on my glasses so I could figure out where I was. I think I found the QEW and maybe the 406. Most the flight took place over land, and with a window seat I caught some wonderful shots of clouds and the landscape below. Not really that rough of weather just a tiny bit of turbulence just before we started descending into Newark (yeah, I got to see the NYC skyline…I tried to get a photo, but the haze was interfering. Also for some weird reason my teeth hurt, the whole flight, maybe it was because right outside my window was the propeller. I don’t know. It was just, odd.

Security and Homeland Security at Newark wasn’t as friendly as Canadian, the rather bored looking agent wasn’t too talkative, but thankfully I wasn’t questioned too closely, nor was I searched (that’s for next week, oh joys) again. Then it was a matter of finding my way through the airport to the airtrain then I found the wonderful courtesy shuttle right to the hotel. The room and hotel restaurant are both excellent. The hotel wifi, however leaves much to be desired.

All in all not a bad experience, what tomorrow holds, I know not. That’s it for now, more tomorrow!

This little conversation happened yesterday at my local Henry’s store while I was picking up one of two rolls of film that I had dropped off earlier that week for developing. Most people give me a strange look or question the fact why I still shoot with film saying it’s old, obsolete, and not really needed these days with the wonderful world of instant digital photography. (Oh and yes, I have a Polaroid camera as well, two of them, which I also shoot when when I have film from the Impossible Project on hand. The birth of instant photography right here.)

Why I still shoot film, because it’s a unique look, there’s something special about looking at a slide negative, there’s a depth and sharpness of colour that I can only achieve on digital with a certain amount of tweaking in post processing, or using various filters and in camera tricks. I remember when I saw my first 6×6 colour slide, and then of course my fellow film nerd and friend Julie showed me one of her dad’s 8×10 slide film shots….yeah.

Also with film it makes you think, since you are very limited in the amount of consumable media you carry, and the amount you get per roll you have really make sure you are shooting what you want, and how you want it. Black and White is great for that because the colours won’t matter (much, everything is in shades of gray) so you really have to make the composition of your shot carry what the image is about.

That’s why I shoot film, not only that put the selection of film cameras out there is amazing, large format crown graphics, medium format Twin Lens Cameras, to sleek 35mm range finders.

And if you’re a film nut like me, you might want to check out the Film Photography Podcast, produced twice monthly by two awesome guys from New Jersey.
You can find them on:
The Official Website: http://www.filmphotographypodcast.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Film-Photography-Podcast-Internet-Radio-Show/382315292393?ref=ts
Flickr: http://www.filmphotographypodcast.com/

Film Sizes
In the photography world today there are three categories of film sizes that are still available for use as new stock, some rarer than others, but still there.

Small Format: This is the film that replaced medium format for the hobbyist, commonly called 35mm or 135, very easy to load into cameras, and available everywhere photographic equipment is sold, even convenience stores and drug stores. You can get it in Black & White, Slide, and Colour Negative forms. Very clear results, does well for enlargements but at higher speeds a very noticeable grain. It was first introduced in 1934 by Kodak, and by the 1960s surpassed Medium format film as the film of choice. Very few companies these days still produce film cameras, but Nikon and Canon both have new SLRs available, not to mention a large selection of used equipment available. 135 film is 35mm in width and produces an exposure of 24mm x 36mm.

My Nikon F3 surrounded by rolls of 35mm film

Webster’s Falls in Dundas, ON captured on Kodak Ektar 100 35mm format

Other film sizes that is classified as Small format are: APS (Advanced Photo System), 110 (Pocket Cameras), 126 (Instamatic), and 828 (Similar to 135, but lacks the sprocket holes)

Medium Format: This was the original film for the camera enthusiast, and came in many different sizes and types over the years since it was first introduced in 1890. Today the two most common medium format film in 120 and 220, the only difference between the two, which both are the same width (120mm), but the 220 film lacks the backing paper like 120 has, and as such you can fit twice as much film on a spool. Also with Medium format you can produce many different sizes of exposures, the most common are 6×4.5, 6×6, and 6×7, but in the past there have been 6×9, 6×24. Of course the larger the exposure the smaller number of exposures per roll you can get. 120 and 220 are both still available from photography specialty stores, online stores, and even Ebay. But good luck finding it at your local Walmart Lab.

A Yashica-12 with a 120 roll of Fuji Velvia (RVP). The Yashica-12 is an example of a Twin Lens Reflex Camera producing a 6×6 exposure.

An example of a 6×6 image taken on a Rolleiflex 2.8F camera

The Pentax 645 is an example of a Medium format SLR, producing an exposure 6×4.5, and can use both 120 and 220 film depending on the insert

An example of a 6×4.5 image taken with the Pentax 645

The Agfa Box (circa 1930s) produces a 6×9 exposure. And yes, this camera still works.

An example of a 6×9 image taken with the Agfa Box.

Other older Medium Format sizes are: 127 (still available actually) and 620 (discontinued but if you have 620 spools you can re spool 120 film onto them).

Large Format: Also known as sheet film, these hark back to the days of wet and dry plate photography and can still be purchased new, the two most common format are 4×5 and 8×10 (and that’s in inches). In fact Kodak just released it’s famous Ektar 100 film in 4×5 format. I can’t really speak much on large format, expect that they have incredible detail and next to no grain, and when using slide film, the colour reproduction and saturation is incredible. However the cameras are huge, and it’s awkward to load up film as you can only have one exposure in the camera at a time. And developing when you don’t do it yourself can be expensive. There are even larger sizes that have been available in the past for large format photography, even up to and beyond 11×14.

Film Types
Colour Negative film is the most common type of film and is readily available from any photographic store to your local convenience and drug store. It is usually processed using the C-41 process, which can be done at a local lab using an automatic machine and is available in all three formats, Small, Medium, and Large. When you get the negatives back they will appear as a brown translucient image with the colours looking rather strange, because they have been reversed, hence the term “negative.” These types of films process very normal colours, similar to what you’d see through your own eyes, often cheaper to buy and develop. Some good films to try of this type are: Kodak Ektar 100, Fuji Reala 100, Portra 160VC, Portra 400NC, Fuji Pro 160S, also Kodak Max 400 and Fuji Superia 200.

Colour Negative Film, in this case Fuji NPH 400, 120 Format

Slide Film, or Colour Positive film, when viewed the colours will be as you normally see them, and often come pre-cut and mounted (in the case of 35mm slides). The most common process to develop slide film in E-6. However the older Kodachrome films used the much more complex process called K-14, currently only Dwayne’s in Kansas can process K-14 and then only until the end of 2010. Even Kodak has stopped producing the film and the chemicals for this process. Slide films have a very rich contrasty colour, and often aren’t available at anything over ISO-400. Most slide films these days are only avalible in colour, however you might still be able to find some Agfa Scala, which is a black & white slide film. Some good films to try of this type are: Fuji Velvia 100F, Fuji Provia 100F, Fuji Provia 400X, Kodak Ektachrome.

Colour Slide Scan, Fuji Velvia 100F, 120 format.

The film and the most classic film is Black & White, as the name suggests this is monochromatic film, no colours at all, but rather colours are represented by different shades of gray. This is also a negative film, so when you look at the film they are reversed. There are two types of Black & White film, there is the traditional style which you can develop yourself if you have the right chemicals and equipment, and there are C-41 process b&w films. The C-41 films will often have a colour tinge to them because C-41 is by its nature a colour process. B&W is the oldest film type still available, with several classic films still available to be purchased new (the chemicals have changed over the years of course as newer safer ones become available.) Some films of this type to try are: Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodak TMax 100, Ilford Delta 100

An example of Black and White, in this case Kodak Tri-X, 120 Format.

And on a final note, Polaroid. Instant film was first introduced in early to mid 20th Century, where all the chemicals needed to expose and develop the image was contained in one simple package. However in 2008, Polaroid announced it would cease production and shut down all it’s plant, Fuji still produces instant film and cameras. But Polaroid had developed (pun intended) a cult following, and the Impossible Project was launched and has now started producing new instant film for the thousands of Polaroid cameras still around. Keep an eye here to see how my results with Impossible Project film goes.

Pentax 645
SMC Pentax-A
Kodak Ektar 100

1 - Jesus is Condemned to Death

2 - Jesus Takes up his Cross

3 - Jesus Falls a First Time

4 - Jesus meets his Mother

5 - Simon helps Jesus with the Cross

6 - Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

7 - Jesus Falls a Second Time

8 - Jesus meets the Women of Jerusalem

9 - Jesus Falls a Third Time

10 - Jesus is Striped of his Clothes

11 - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

12 - Jesus Dies

13 - Jesus is Taken down from the Cross

14 - Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

]]> http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2010/03/12/the-new-book-is-on-the-shelf/feed/ http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2010/02/23/going-old-school/ http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2010/02/23/going-old-school/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:12:04 +0000 Alex http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/?p=582 I realized that I never actually posted this. Back in January I had the honor of learning from a master developer, on how to develop and print Black and White Film. The experience was fun actually, and I’ll admit I was a little nervous when I started the processing, if the shots I had taken would even work, or if I screwed something up. I was using my old Yashica, which does have shutter problems in the cold weather.

But after pulling the negs out I was pleasantly surprised that it had actually worked! Aside from some issues along the edges, probably due to loading/unloading the film in the bright sun (it was a clear sunny day at the Pit Mine). The next day was printing, that was a little bit more tricky, but again got some good results for my first attempt.

All shots were taken using a Yashica-12 (Copal-SV 80mm 1:3.5) on Kodak TMax 400 film, developed in Kodak D-76 Developer. Scanned using an Epson V500 scanner @ 1200 DPI, edited in Adobe Photoshop CS3 for curves, and sharpening.