Colour film
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I disagree.
I've developed the stuff at home (its a bit more of a ballache but not the worst), and even now I send it away, get the smallest scans and rescan the ones you really like.
There's also the fact you wouldn't just fire through 36 shots like you would on a digital as each shot has a higher intrinsic cost.
I mean, sure, if it only counts as film photography if you're processing it yourself, you may as well just shoot digital, and whack the naff instagram style filters on it, but I suggest doing that means you're missing the point of shooting film.
I've developed the stuff at home (its a bit more of a ballache but not the worst), and even now I send it away, get the smallest scans and rescan the ones you really like.
There's also the fact you wouldn't just fire through 36 shots like you would on a digital as each shot has a higher intrinsic cost.
I mean, sure, if it only counts as film photography if you're processing it yourself, you may as well just shoot digital, and whack the naff instagram style filters on it, but I suggest doing that means you're missing the point of shooting film.
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What a stupid post.
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lindsay
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Are you asking a question or inviting a discussion?
Quite a few people do home dev and scan for colour film. Even if you send the film off for dev, you can do your own scanning. I don;t understand the point being made as it's not remotely like digital even if you send the form off for everything.
Nod
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Since the darkroom you use has a colour enlarger, surely you can get the control you want/need and suitable C41 chemicals are easy to find for the film developing.
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There's nothing to stop you developing colour at home, either with pre-packaged kits or by mixing the chemicals from scratch. The formula for both C41 and ECN2 color chemicals are available online.
I have mixed my own ECN2 chemicals:
kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com
Having said that, I've almost stopped shooting colour film, but that's mainly because I like black and white.
I have mixed my own ECN2 chemicals:
ECN2 – making your own developer and bleach
Kodak Vision 250D developed in the ECN2 chemicals described below Another example, with a different colour palette I’ve had a couple of comments asking me to provide details of how I make ECN…
kevinthephotographer.wordpress.com
Having said that, I've almost stopped shooting colour film, but that's mainly because I like black and white.
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I home process C41 with Cine Still simplified C41, just two bath with a water bath between the Dev and Blix, dead easy and not necessary requiring high temperature but best to get a stable 39 Deg.C or times get stupid long.
Yes the colours may be a bit 'special' at times but how else do I use up the rest of the very outdated Fujicolor superia x-tra 400 press pack?
Yes the colours may be a bit 'special' at times but how else do I use up the rest of the very outdated Fujicolor superia x-tra 400 press pack?
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If c41 chems had the shelf life of bnw i'd do it all myself, however theres a place in Shoreditch ( Analog films) that does dev and basic scan ( good enough to see if the shot is any good) for £4, I could never match those economies of scale at the volumes I shoot. Sometimes even with black and white I like XP2 for its c41 as I know what ill get every time, no over agitated film etc
Its possible to make digital look like colour film but its so much work or I have to overpay for it I may as well just shoot colour, and nothing beats the size of my olympus mju ii I bought in lyme regis last year for the grand sum of £10
Its possible to make digital look like colour film but its so much work or I have to overpay for it I may as well just shoot colour, and nothing beats the size of my olympus mju ii I bought in lyme regis last year for the grand sum of £10
Do they do postal orders too? I don’t use colour that partly due to getting it developed. £4 seems very cheap
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They do not unfortunately, its a tiny shop on Hanbury Street, literally a c41 dev machine and enough space to process orders
Their scans are not the best but cant knock the dev costs.
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A+M Imaging in Edinburgh do E6, always had excellent service from them
Thats a shame. I’ll keep searching
StephenM
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If you really want to process colour film at home, there's nothing to stop you. Formulae for the colour processes are easy to find, if you want to do everything yourself from scratch. Or you can buy kits. You can even adjust the colour balance of slide films, and do clip tests.
I've processed colour slide films (starting in 1968), and made Cibachrome prints from slides.
BUT personally, I derive zero satisfaction from pouring liquids into and out of a light tight container for an hour or so. I'd rather be using a camera or being creative in making a print. And also personally, I don't find colour photography particularly satisfying or (to me) a very creative process. I am prepared to concede that the extra scope for creativity that comes from having camera movements available could make colour photography of limited interest to me, other than purely as a recording medium.
Finally, for me, a print from film has a quality that one from digital does not; and that ultimately is why I use film. Developing films, messing around with formulae, getting involved with what to me are unnecessary complications like the zone system that fix problems I don't have, all that is drudgery I could do without. I have only one reason to process my own Black and white films and that is that trust myself and not the postal system. The only times I have had Black and white films processed for me, I have used a local lab that I can hand the film in to, and collect a hour or so later.
I've processed colour slide films (starting in 1968), and made Cibachrome prints from slides.
BUT personally, I derive zero satisfaction from pouring liquids into and out of a light tight container for an hour or so. I'd rather be using a camera or being creative in making a print. And also personally, I don't find colour photography particularly satisfying or (to me) a very creative process. I am prepared to concede that the extra scope for creativity that comes from having camera movements available could make colour photography of limited interest to me, other than purely as a recording medium.
Finally, for me, a print from film has a quality that one from digital does not; and that ultimately is why I use film. Developing films, messing around with formulae, getting involved with what to me are unnecessary complications like the zone system that fix problems I don't have, all that is drudgery I could do without. I have only one reason to process my own Black and white films and that is that trust myself and not the postal system. The only times I have had Black and white films processed for me, I have used a local lab that I can hand the film in to, and collect a hour or so later.
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Thanks for the replies some expected and some unexpected, I did think that there would be more comments on the creative implications of using colour as part of a creative image construction process. Nevertheless some points have made me re asses how film development fits into my process and the end objective of development and for that I thank you all.
Nice to see you knocking about Stephen, I was getting concerned.
Nice to see you knocking about Stephen, I was getting concerned.
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It's horses for courses. The stuff I've bolded above gives me little pleasure and is, for the most part for me, an absolute chore. I do it primarily for cost reasons, although I'll admit that I do like the flexibility of choice for developing B&W film using different developers or methods. I buy my developer and have zero desire to mix it up from scratch. But that's just me - others find enjoyment in different things.
I'm potentially an outlier because I quite like the scanning part - not as a process, but because that's the point where I get to see my pictures. I also like the control that home scanning gives me and feel I can get better results doing it myself (although it's been a lengthy journey to get to that stage where colour scanning is concerned). I don't have the facility to wet print, so scanning and digital post processing are what I do.
Removing these elements and colour film is still film, with the same tactile analogue pleasures that B&W provides. I love both, they both have their place, provide pros & cons and I would miss each equally if it were not available. Shooting digital, which also has it's place and it's own advantages, is a poor replacement for the specific experience of shooting film, for me at least.
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I started C41 processing in 1979. Later I added E6 but only negatives gave me the dynamic range needed. When I had a darkroom it may have been fine but a second child meant I had to give up the darkroom and work in a shower room. At that time, I still did B&W. I was very pleased to move to digital eventually and found this much more enjoyable than darkroom photography.
Dave
Dave
StephenM
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Always available to knock other people's posts
The creative implications of colour are, to me, like juggling things. I could manage to juggle one ball, probably two but certainly not three. For me, Black is one ball, white the second and colour the impossible third.
OP
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Always available to knock other people's posts
The creative implications of colour are, to me, like juggling things. I could manage to juggle one ball, probably two but certainly not three. For me, Black is one ball, white the second and colour the impossible third.
You always have an excuse.
I will keep digging.
With Black and White I try to keep in mind shape, balance and perspectives (usually failing), colour film usually distracts from these objectives.
What are the objectives when composing in colour film photography?
If its just to shoot any old scene in colour it may as well be digital, although often I just shoot a scene in black and white, snapping away so that may as well be digital.
I think that I understand the many physical attractions to shooting film and its associated activities but what about the creative aspects to colour film?
Plain Nev
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I use both. I think that, generally speaking, black and white is best for form, and tone, and colour for subtlety, with the proviso that colour can easily appear too busy in a wider scene.
OP
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You always have an excuse.
I will keep digging.
With Black and White I try to keep in mind shape, balance and perspectives (usually failing), colour film usually distracts from these objectives.
What are the objectives when composing in colour film photography?
If its just to shoot any old scene in colour it may as well be digital, although often I just shoot a scene in black and white, snapping away so that may as well be digital.
I think that I understand the many physical attractions to shooting film and its associated activities but what about the creative aspects to colour film?
Some scenes work better in colour than black and white because the colour is a key part of the composition. It's the attraction, not a distraction, sometimes even the entire objective. There's a whole world of amazing photographs out there that simply wouldn't work in B&W. Look up some stuff on colour theory and how different colours oppose or complement one another, how similar colours can be used to add feeling, and how they can be used to provide impact to a scene. You could also take a step back and consider other art forms - how many well known paintings would lose their impact without colour?
Shooting "any old scene" is a recipe for disaster, whether using colour or B&W. Both rely on the usual subject > composition > light requirements for interesting images. Colour adds another variable which has the potential to both enhance or detract from the image depending how it is used.
As to why shoot colour film over digital? I would suggest it's because film has it's own look that is attractive and not easily replicated (see the sadly departed Kodachrome as perhaps the best example). Film also works differently in how it handles dynamic range and exposure latitude, retaining highlight detail well, though often at the expense of muddy shadows.
There's a very good reason an entire industry exist of people selling "film look" presets for digital image editing, or companies such as Fuji include film emulations with their digital cameras - it's because there is a demand for the film "look", however people choose to define it.
Sure you can replicate the look of film digitally with enough effort (both colour and B&W), but personally I'd rather shoot the real deal than fake it.
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Plain Nev
Vincent Furnier
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There is that. I might add that we, who dabble in photography, know that sharpness and accuracy isn't everything. It's the warmth of film that I enjoy.