Shooting Film Scuffins Photography

Mar 17 2012

5 Things I’ve Learnt About Shooting Film

Shooting Film 1 1

1. Patience Is A Virtue
Digital photography is all I have known up till now. And it’s made me impatient. I’m so used to expecting results and also being in control of every aspect of an image, from shooting it, seeing it on the back of the camera, right through to retouching in Photoshop. Shooting film is certainly a different experience! Having to wait a week to get the film developed, by some random person in a lab, made me nervous but also appreciate the work and effort that goes into to each roll of film, and that sometimes it worth the wait.

2. Manual Focus Doesn’t Slow You Down
Beep. Beep. That’s the noise of the autofocus on your camera, and we all rely upon it far to much. Manual focusing, by twisting and turning the lens, makes you slow down, and react to what you see through the viewfinder. Rather than relying on sophisticated technology, it becomes the sole responsibility of the photographer to make sure that image is in focus. And with enough practice, it becomes an extremely useful photography skill to have.

3. Fast Shutter Speeds Are Amazing
If like me, you like shooting primarily at f1.8 or f1.4, then you will soon realise that trying to shoot at these wide apertures in daylight can mean there is actually too much light hitting the sensor/film. Modern cameras can get round this by using super fast Shutter speeds, up to 1/8000 of a second. Old film camera can barely reach 1/1000 of a second. So unless you are using iso50 film, you are going to have shoot differently, and so good bye to to those cool over the top bokeh shots.

4. Film Doesn’t Have Look Old or Vintage
I automatically assumed that my film shots would come out…looking like film.…

Mar 02 2012

Highlights From My First Roll Of 35mm Film

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Fresh from the lab, my very first roll of 35mm film has been developed. And I’m really pleasantly surprised.

Although none of theses shots are particularly interesting, it was just a chance for me to evaluate the Olympus and how I could use it.

It was a really difficult to gauge what the images would look like, especially since I had never shot with film before. I had no point of reference.

I had no idea what the dynamic range, colour or grain would be like. I also didn’t know what the limitations of the Zuiko 50mm f1.8 lens would be. I love to shoot wide open, but I had no idea if this was a good idea with this 40 year old lens.

And finally, I didn’t even know if the camera was working! The light meter, light seals and shutter all seemed to work ok, but I had absolutely no way of knowing until I got the film developed.

Shooting film has been a difficult but equally rewarding and awesome process. I think I’m a true 35mm film convert.

Although, in some ways it is like starting again. I’m having to see, shoot and learn differently to anything else I’ve done before.

Some of my favourites from my first roll are below. (with no editing of any kind)

They were all shot with my Olympus OM-2N with Zuiko 50mm f1.8. I used a roll of Kodak Ektar 100.

The colours and tones are so punchy and vibrant, and not what I expected at all. I’m looking forward to seeing the differences between this roll and the roll of Fuji 400H in my Olympus OM2N right now. And I also have some Fuji Neopan 400 that I’m itching to try out as soon as possible.

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Feb 27 2012

I’ve Gone Analogue

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Regular viewers of my work may have picked up the fact that my style of processing has changed over the last few months. I have discovered a real love for a softer, more muted look to my images that in a lot of ways, emulates aged or vintage film.

I absolutely adore this look. I find that my photos are looking more true to life and less artificial in comparison to the clean, bright and contrasty hues of digital processing.

The problem with this approach is that I have never, actually even picked up a film camera, never mind shot with one. How could I possibly emulate the look of film that I really love, without ever having any experience of shooting with it?

So I decided it was time to try film and to buy my first ever 35mm film camera.

After doing some research, I immediately had my heart set on a Nikon FE2, but used prices for these are anywhere between £150 -£250 due to their reliability and popularity. As I wasn’t sure how much I would use a film camera, I decided to go with a fully manual camera, of a similar age, (Mid 1970’s) but wasn’t such a big investment.

Enter my best photography bargain ever, the Olympus OM-2N.

The gorgeous, heavy, all metal, all manual, back to basics SLR is an absolute dream to shoot with. I’m kind of in love with it.

The Olympus OM-2N complete with Zuiko 50mm f1.8, is in mint condition and works perfectly. Every dial and lever feels sturdy and solid. And the best thing is that it only cost £65.00.

Here’s a video of me gushing over the Olympus OM-2N.

What a great looking camera.

I’m about 21 exposures into my first roll of film (Kodak Ektar 100) and I am super excited to see what the images are going look like.…

Shooting Film

5 Things I’ve Learnt About Shooting Film

Highlights From My First Roll Of 35mm Film

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I’ve Gone Analogue

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