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My journey to film – Abbie McFarland

December 19, 2012 By Abbie 5 Comments

My journey into shooting film started with my friend Rebecca Conway, who had been experimenting with 35mm, a Holga, and Polaroids … I had been shooting digitally for only a few years at the time, and in a phone conversation with her became curious about trying out film. I wasn’t one of those girls that was born with a camera in her hands, and therefore was in a place in personally and professionally where I really wanted to learn and grow. Enter Jonathan Canlas and his guide for learning to shoot film, and I was immediately fascinated. I purchased a Nikon f100, some portra 400, and shot my first roll.

You should know that I can be a creature of impulse, and knowing that I was hooked, I sold a few pricey Nikon lenses and bought a contax setup. I meant business about shooting film, and I had moved from a point of thinking it might be too difficult for me, to knowing that I must make film work for me because it was going to make me better, and make me stand out in a completely saturated market.

I bought my contax setup in March 2010, and by the time we took a vacation to Hawaii that May, I brought only film equipment with me. Since that time, I’ve been shooting film almost exclusively….I still love having a digital camera around too, but film has truly helped me find my voice and my niche.

My advice to you if you are interested in trying it out:

1) Use a good lab. Since I jumped so quickly into shooting medium format, I took local drugstore labs out of the equation pretty fast, and I’m thankful for that. You will get much better results earlier on if you are working with a lab that is invested in helping you succeed. Richard Photo Lab has been my lab of choice since I started. I love them; they’ve been great to me, and have delivered consistent results for me over and over. There are several others as well….Find Lab (now open to the public), Indie Film Lab, Pro Photo Irvine, Image Source….to name a few. Sending in that first roll can be really intimidating, but know that these labs that specialize in film development want to partner with you, and can be an excellent resource.

2) Try out lots of different film stocks. Don’t rely on what you see other people shoot…..experiment and figure out what works best for you.

3) There are lots of resources out there for metering film, so I won’t beat a dead horse, but the best way to find out how to meter is to go out and shoot, send to your lab, examine your results, and apply what you learned.

What I love about film:

1) I love how much time shooting film gives me back, and that it also forces me to charge for my time. During 2012 I did a custom color profile with RPL, and any post-processing I do to my film images is minimal. My time is freed to focus on more important things.

2) I enjoy the simplicity and beauty of film, both in the process of shooting it and in the results. It has a classic appeal that speaks to me, and I love the connection I feel with what I’m shooting when I am in the mindset of shooting film.

3) Shooting film has helped me improve by leaps and bounds. It has helped me start to find my voice….my brand….a cohesiveness in what it is that I put out there.

4) Last, definitely not least, film has given me a sense of community. I’ve met so many wonderful people because of it…..being a part of the FIND community has been such a cool and unexpected component of what makes shooting film special to me. I’ve found a group of people that are incredibly helpful and generous with their knowledge, and I am vastly improved because of that.

What’s in my bag:

I like to switch up and try out new gear, but my Contax is my mainstay. In addition to the Contax 645, I also have: a Leica M6, a Rollei SL66, a Mamiya RZ Pro II, and my beloved and inexpensive Holga.

If you have been wanting to give film a try and haven’t yet made the leap, I encourage you to give it a try! I truly believe that even shooting it occasionally will help you improve and will enhance your experience with photography.

AND-

What would a post about shooting film be without a few incredible film images to share? I’ve included images from some of my favorite photographers out there, and I am sneaking in a recent favorite of my own as well.

Jonathan Canlas - http://canlasphotography.blogspot.com/

Ozzy Garcia - http://ozzygarciablog.com/

Rebecca Conway - http://www.rebeccaconway.com

Clary Photo - http://www.claryphoto.com/blog/

Mitch Issel - Mitch Issel Photography

Yan Photo - http://yanphoto.com/blog/

Yan Yan Yan - http://yanphoto.com/blog/

Me - Abbie McFarland - http://www.abbiemcfarland.com

Thanks so much to the following photographers for allowing me to share an image or two that I loved. I appreciate being inspired.

Finally, DON’T FORGET our Lua Clutch giveaway – the details for entering are included in THIS POST.

Technique Thursday – Learning to Shoot Film Part 1 – FIND Book Giveaway

December 12, 2012 By Wendy 23 Comments

Oh now this is one of my favorite things.

Shooting film.

It has changed my life.

I hardly edit photos anymore which means more shooting and playing with the kids time.

My colors are just how I want them to be. Real life. Bright and fun. And the light. Oh well the light.

Wendy Laurel - leica m7 + ektar 35mm film

And a secret? Shooting film is easy. Its simple.

There is a lot to shooting film — way more than one blog post.

But for this post, I’ll tell how I got started and transitioned to film in the easiest way possible.

Black and White Came First

My first photography class at a local college 9 years ago was black and white in the dark room. I bought a Canon rebel film camera from Costco and fell in love with photography. After the class I switched to digital (because that’s what everyone was doing and I thought I needed to). But my black and white never looked the same so I still shot some black and white in my old canon rebel but used my new Canon L lens I had gotten for the digital.

Matt Martin - mattmartinphotography.com - TMAX 400 pushed 1 stop. Shot with a Leica M6 and the Zeiss 35mm f2

Lomography

I didn’t think much about film vs. digital until I ran across this book – Hot Shots (a how to shoot film book by Lomokev) — in Urban Outfitters. All lomography. All about how to shoot film with super easy to follow directions for like $10. Within a week I had gotten my first lomography cameras and some film and was shooting away. I had a cheap camera (olympus xa2) from ebay, 35mm film and went to Long’s drugs to process. Not expensive and highly addicting.

Wendy Laurel - lomo lc-wide camera, lomography xpro 35mm film, developed at walgreens

Using My Lenses on Cheap Film Cameras

Then I did what every digital shooter can and should do. I used my expensive Canon L lens (or your Nikon lenses) on my Canon rebel film camera (or you can get a Canon EOS 3 or a Nikon F100) and started shooting 35mm film. Easy as pie and cheap as all get out. Because its the lens that matter — not so much the camera — with film.

I started out using the AV settings (automatic settings.. I just set the aperture -how shallow a focus distance I wanted) and used my exposure compensation to overexpose 2 stops (+2) if I was shooting into the light (back light) to make up for the camera’s meter seeing all that light. And taking my film to the local drug store to process. And boy did I fall in love.

Wendy Laurel - my canon 50 1.2 L lens on a Canon 1V 35mm film camera with kodak ektar 35mm film.

Shooting Film is Like Christmas Everyday

I don’t mean to be over the top but it is like Christmas everyday. I love sending my film in to the lab (Richard Photo Lab, Indie Film Lab, and FIND lab are my favorite go to labs) and then receiving my scans back via ftp in 2 weeks. Yes, scans.. and then its all the same as digital minus the post processing. Anticipation and Joy.

And the actual shooting is so much more fun that digital. I find myself more present because I can’t look at the back of my camera (well I can but there is nothing to see :)). I think more. I shoot way way less. But have more keepers. It’s a crazy joyous thing.

Wendy Laurel - Shot on Contax 645 (medium format camera) with Kodak ektar film (my favorite)

Medium Format and my best friend the Light Meter

But when my friend hired Jonathan Canlas as her wedding photographer and showed me his site, I found out about Film Is Not Dead workshops. I attended FIND and started shooting medium format with a light meter. That was my game changer. (we will talk more about that later). Let’s just say that medium format film cameras looks just so rich and deep and unlike anything digital.

Ryan Muirhead - My advice for someone who wants to try film coming from a digital background:"Try medium format, the look is so unlike anything you get from a DSLR. It can be exhilarating and inspiring to see what your work will look like given a different set of tools."-Ryan Muirhead

You can get his workshop now in book form for cheap, cheap, cheap! Buy Film Is Not Dead: A Digital Photographer’s Guide to Shooting Film (Voices That Matter) and it will tell you everything you want to know. Of course I way recommend you attend the workshop too if you are really into it. Its an experience you shouldn’t miss.

Jonathan Canlas - "[Shooting film ] means you appreciate the details, the nuances, and subtleties of your craft. It says that in a manic world that designs everything to be faster, you’re not afraid to slow down, to focus, to plan, and to trust yourself when you press the shutter. That makes you odd; but once you ﬁnd the rest of us misﬁts who share your passion, you’ve found a family. "

That was two years ago. Since FIND I sold the digital and shoot 100% film. My business has taken off — more features, more clients, more money, more fun.

And the most important thing? I have just the best photos of my kids growing up and shooting film makes me happy. Every. Single. Day.

We will talk more about exposure, metering, camera choices etc. in coming weeks. But here are some tips and examples from our readers:

Sonia Jansson soniajansson.com - your ONE tip or camera/set up suggestion for a digital photographer switching over:I bought a Hasselblad 553 ELX and a 80mm 2,8 Carl Zeiss Planar.It's big.It's heavy. It's slow. And that's exactly why I love it.*WHY you shoot film. My set up being so "Not light" Every frame is an effort. Every frame is worth the time and thought I put in it. I usually shoot documentary /photojournalist style, involving (fast) focus on everything and everyone around me. Film takes my photography experience to another dimension.I focus on photography. on every frame. Slowly.It's almost meditative. And the results, can sometimes be magical. Sometimes, I even cry...

Oscar Trevino oscartrevinoblog.com - Shot with a Mamiya RB67 and Arca Swiss Sliding BackFilm: Fuji FP-3000B, scanned negative.My tip for camera se-up is:Nikon F100 or Canon EOS3 with a 50mm 1.4 Carl Zeiss, I would use it for almost everything.I choose to start film again for the ease of use, the latitude, color rendition and the fun it represents to shoot film and it even makes you a better photographer. Also because of the low equipment costs nowadays.

Photography by Victoria photographybyvictoria.com - I shoot film for a lot of reasons...but mostly because you can trust it, you might not be able to see what you are shooting but because of it's range you can trust your camera and just shoot. You can stick a group of 20 in mid-day sun wearing all different colors and not think twice about it, use the right lab and you won't even need to touch it in PS. Shot with a Mamiya 645 + 80 1.9 - Fuji 400h - overexposed - straight scan by PPI

heather perera - I learned on digital, I am the classic momtographer which has hopefully grown. This is a Pentax 67ii shot, which is my camera of choice. Advice for a digital photographer, slow down. When every shot costs me money, I suddenly pay attention. When I shoot film, I'm present; I'm aware of my subject, the background, the composition, and the exposure. That presence allows the space to find my shot.

iNWARD STUDIO - inwardstudio.com - Learn the Sunny 16 Rule. The correct exposure for a subject lit by the Sun on a cloudless day is f16 at 1/ISO shutter speed. So, f16 at 1/400th of a second with 400 ISO film. If you subject is backlit, open up two stops, so f8. The point being that film is very forgiving. You exposures don't have to be exact.I shoot film for two reasons. First it is easy. I shoot, send the film to the lab and get back beautiful images. I do very little post production and absolutely love my images (The above image is a straight scan). Second, there are so many wonderful toys. The combinations of film, lenses and cameras are endless. Neal Carpenter

Marina Koslow www.marinakoslowphotography.com - Portra 400, Hasselblad H1, Indie Film LabGear recommendation: Hasselblad H1 with 80 mm 2.8 lens. I do recommend going medium format since shooting it feels so different from a DSLR. A 35 mm can be simply annoying since you feel like shooting your regular camera except that you cannot view the photos. Medium format delivers a totally different experience and changes the way you shoot very quickly. H1 has very simple controls as well as a bright view finder, it can also autofocus easily.Why I shoot film: its the experience and the connection I feel with the models when I cannot be distracted by viewing the digital proof a moment after taking the image, its the fact that I can mess up my exposure (and I am sure I do all the time!) but my {awesome} lab will correct it, its the enjoyment of waiting and the excitement of viewing the photos I forgot I took, its the color and highlight retention, its the depth of field and so many camera and lens options to experiment with...--

And to top it all off.. since its the Christmas season.. we are giving away a Jonathan Canlas – Film Is Not Dead book –Buy Film Is Not Dead: A Digital Photographer’s Guide to Shooting Film (Voices That Matter)

Just:

1. Like us

2. Share this post;

3. Leave us a comment!!!!

Our favorite 35mm films:

Kodak Portra-800 135-36 Professional Color Print Film (ISO-800) , Kodak 135-36 35mm Ektar 100 Color Negative Film (36 Exposure) ,Fujifilm Pro 400H 135-36 Fujicolor Professional Color Negative (Print) Film (ISO 400)

Our favorite medium format films:
Fujifilm Pro 400H 120 Professional Color Negative (Print) Film – 5 Rolls
Kodak 220 Professional Portra 400 Color Negative Film (One Roll)

Kodak Portra-800 120 Color Print Film (ISO-800) – Pro Pack 5 Rolls

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And tomorrow we will talk a bit about processing digital to look clean!!!

My Mini Sessions – Abbie McFarland

November 20, 2012 By Abbie 3 Comments

This year I (Abbie) didn’t actually announce a mini-session event, but I had this fantastic location open up in my area that I wanted to try out (3825 S. Bowen in Arlington, Texas). So, I lined up a few and was so happy with how they turned out that I’m planning to run a few big events next year. These lasted about 30 minutes each and were flat rate. Next time around I will keep them at 20 minutes with 10 images on disk. I found that I almost prefer to shoot family sessions very quickly like this and get into a rhythm.

I shot film, limiting it to only one roll of portra 400 in 220 and 1 roll of 35mm, all processed by Richard Photo Lab.