In a previous post I tried to explain how, for me, it’s more important to seize the moment than to cry about not having the favourite lens or camera at a certain time.
Great advice! By the way, do you have any particular posts on film cameras? I was thinking about buying one. Really like the aesthetic of the photos and I heard Michael Turek on a podcast talking about how it’s limitations end up making him more creative. Seems a cool idea to experiment with, if not too hipster 😅
Check out shootitwithfilm.com (full disclosure, I write there on street photography but it’s not my site). It’s got a lot of advice on film photography and great reviews of cameras.
I'm in the middle of writing my first camera review for the site, a mammoth review of my Leica M3, but there are already some great ones on there. There's also the other site I sometimes write for 35mmc.com that one's got a lot of cool stuff too :)
Do you have a recommendation for a first film camera for a novice like me? From my fairly minimal reading so far I’m fairly sure 35mm is the best bet, given it’s the most common type. But any other things I should consider?
If just starting out, I think 35mm is the best bet, definitely. Medium format 120 rolls will give you 12 shots per roll and while they are larger and more detailed that's not something you'll want to worry about at first. Especially if not a super-serious portrait photographer. a roll of 35mm will give you between 36 and 39 frames depending on the camera. As for a first camera, it depends on what you want to photograph. Probably your 35mm choices will be between rangefinder and SLR. I wrote a bit about choosing a first camera on my blog, here... https://neilmilton.scot/2023/03/choosing-a-camera-for-street-photography/ (it's a camera for street photography, but really the advice is universal). Depending on what you shoot will determine the choice. :)
Ah perfect, my intention is to take this on my travels and shoot street photography and maybe a bit of landscapes if possible too. Thanks so much for the detailed advice, and have bookmarked your blog for the future!
to understand the light. if you understand the light, you will understand photography. to understand some of the basic physic that is at the base of photography, to understand that photography is based on a triangle made out of iso, shutter speed and aperture. if you modify any of this, you modify the photo. all 3 coexist and you cannot change one without changing the others or you will end up with a wrongly exposed photo
i don't know who michael turek is but he is 100% right, the film will make you "work" for the photos and will make you more creative. but for that you need to understand the basic of photography and have few experiment. from the experiments don't expect too much, most of the photos can't be used.
the beauty of film is if you can afford to develop it yourself. otherwise the number of labs that will do it for you is getting smaller by the day. i might post something about film photography soon.
Developing it yourself will be fun, but it's really only feasible with black and white. Of course you can develop yourself at home in colour but it's much more involved, with more chemicals. Beginning to develop the black and white myself was when my love for film photography really took off. :)
because i don't have the possibility to do it myself, i gave this task to a family run business, the best in ireland (unfortunately i moved away from them). i got back the negatives and scans, awesome job. once the film is exposed, you can't keep it for too long, you have to develop it and that is my problem at the moment.
There are some really great mail-in labs these days. I know there's a brilliant one in Glasgow that my friends use. Maybe even the family-run business in Ireland would accept your rolls via mail and post them back to you.
Smart shots, you really "size the moment" !
thank you!
Great advice! By the way, do you have any particular posts on film cameras? I was thinking about buying one. Really like the aesthetic of the photos and I heard Michael Turek on a podcast talking about how it’s limitations end up making him more creative. Seems a cool idea to experiment with, if not too hipster 😅
Check out shootitwithfilm.com (full disclosure, I write there on street photography but it’s not my site). It’s got a lot of advice on film photography and great reviews of cameras.
Ah thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for
I'm in the middle of writing my first camera review for the site, a mammoth review of my Leica M3, but there are already some great ones on there. There's also the other site I sometimes write for 35mmc.com that one's got a lot of cool stuff too :)
Do you have a recommendation for a first film camera for a novice like me? From my fairly minimal reading so far I’m fairly sure 35mm is the best bet, given it’s the most common type. But any other things I should consider?
If just starting out, I think 35mm is the best bet, definitely. Medium format 120 rolls will give you 12 shots per roll and while they are larger and more detailed that's not something you'll want to worry about at first. Especially if not a super-serious portrait photographer. a roll of 35mm will give you between 36 and 39 frames depending on the camera. As for a first camera, it depends on what you want to photograph. Probably your 35mm choices will be between rangefinder and SLR. I wrote a bit about choosing a first camera on my blog, here... https://neilmilton.scot/2023/03/choosing-a-camera-for-street-photography/ (it's a camera for street photography, but really the advice is universal). Depending on what you shoot will determine the choice. :)
Ah perfect, my intention is to take this on my travels and shoot street photography and maybe a bit of landscapes if possible too. Thanks so much for the detailed advice, and have bookmarked your blog for the future!
to understand the light. if you understand the light, you will understand photography. to understand some of the basic physic that is at the base of photography, to understand that photography is based on a triangle made out of iso, shutter speed and aperture. if you modify any of this, you modify the photo. all 3 coexist and you cannot change one without changing the others or you will end up with a wrongly exposed photo
i don't know who michael turek is but he is 100% right, the film will make you "work" for the photos and will make you more creative. but for that you need to understand the basic of photography and have few experiment. from the experiments don't expect too much, most of the photos can't be used.
the beauty of film is if you can afford to develop it yourself. otherwise the number of labs that will do it for you is getting smaller by the day. i might post something about film photography soon.
I’ll be on the road with it so will definitely have to figure out how to develop it myself somehow
Developing it yourself will be fun, but it's really only feasible with black and white. Of course you can develop yourself at home in colour but it's much more involved, with more chemicals. Beginning to develop the black and white myself was when my love for film photography really took off. :)
because i don't have the possibility to do it myself, i gave this task to a family run business, the best in ireland (unfortunately i moved away from them). i got back the negatives and scans, awesome job. once the film is exposed, you can't keep it for too long, you have to develop it and that is my problem at the moment.
There are some really great mail-in labs these days. I know there's a brilliant one in Glasgow that my friends use. Maybe even the family-run business in Ireland would accept your rolls via mail and post them back to you.
i have to ask if they do that
If not, you could try Gulabi - https://www.gulabi.co.uk/
I don't know them at all, but my friends around Scotland all use them and they are very highly recommended. So that could be a possibility.