Unit 23 - 35mm film

                      Thinking back, I'd guess my first dip into the world of 35mm photography came when I was about 12 years old thanks to the pre- Amazonian wonders of my mother's Freemans catalogue, or was it John Myers, either way it all slotted into place when it came to decision day for the annual order of my  'big present' so that I got it in time for Christmas by which time, in theory, I'd have forgotten what I 'd asked for and still have a look of surprise on my face once I'd opened the socks, underpants and selection box. Now when I say slotted into place, that's exactly what it did because my present of choice was the new on the market and never to be repeated, Optics Set. I'd always dismissed the chemistry sets due to lack of interest and always preferred to be tinkering with things such as bikes so the opportunity to build my own 35mm slr camera, telescope and possibly a microscope from a cardboard box full of plastic and perspex seemed an opportunity too good to miss.
                      Now I don't ever recall putting a film through that camera, in fact I don't even recall actually finishing it, which was, coincidentally, the same story behind the giant P55 Mustang Airfix kit I got on offer from Woolworths but failed to follow the instructions and just put it together as I thought it should be (it was quicker) just so I could get the transfers on without any further delay. 
                    So if we jump forward a few years to me being 16, I was once again back in the catalogue looking to see how much I could blow of my minimal wages over a 52 week period and it was at that precise moment I spotted a Praktica MTL5 35mm camera complete with not only 2 extra lenses, but a flash and all packed up nicely in an aluminium flight case, decision made. In hindsight, I think it was more the idea of me looking like a real photographer that outshone my desire to actually take a picture of anything as I was always too busy out with my mates to be worried about taking pictures but I always new, in the back of my mind, that it was there, just in case. It's just occurred to me that I was also in possession of a Halina retractable 110 film camera at the time, and as this was forever going to be victorious in the portability stakes to a lad in jeans and a t-shirt, the Praktica was going to be destined to a life in the wardrobe once the novelty of running a couple of films through it had worn off.
                    Skipping forward yet again but taking bigger strides, to a period when holidays, girlfriends and eventually children were the order of the day, I'd graduated to whatever I'd considered at the time to be a good value for money compact 35mm camera, and went on to take literally hundreds upon hundreds of pictures, because way back then it didn't even matter if your photos were blurred, badly compositioned abstracts, featuring red eyed monsters, just so long as you could make out at least one person you knew in them and, thanks to the wonders of the latest gimmick of the date being printed on each frame, you could remember how old you were when it happened.
                  Eventually my 35mm film days came to an end with the arrival of compact digital, although not until I was sure it was going to catch on as I didn't want to be left with another 'betamax' in the cupboard, before eventually graduating to my first digital slr, and then my second, and then some sort of regression as I'm now developing an interest in traditional film methods but that's another story. 
                So then, jumping forward to a few months back (I'm sure that makes sense but I could be wrong) and we're sat in college and Richard tells us that we are each to be given an old camera loaded with some equally out of date colour film and we are to embark on a mission , in pairs, sharing 36 exposures but faced with a task of returning within the hour so that the films could be developed 3 months later and we could discuss our images and thoughts. The first thing that hits you when it's your turn to fire off a roll of film, is just how precious each frame becomes. There's no chimping into the back of the camera to see what you've just taken, well actually there is but you get over it after about half a dozen shots, and so there's a new found adrenalin rush as you look for something worthwhile, something you can be really proud of, something you can say to your tutor " Look, I'm not just lucky with digital....I really don't need to fire off 100 frames in the hope of getting 3 keepers"....but that was never going to happen, well not today.
                 First thing you should know when it comes to film is there are no test shots, 2nd thing you should know is a basic idea of what you are holding in your hands and what does what and once you've got that nailed then the rest is down to you. Now with this is mind I'll now show you a selection of the images I took that day shooting completely in manual mode, and the first thing you'll notice is that composition took something of a back seat as my main priority was to try and achieve a reasonably sharp image with a decent level of exposure so it was all about the iso matching the film, aperture, shutter speed and a complete lack of auto focus.
  
                                              

                                                                                 

  
                                                                               

   

            

                

               

                 

                

                  The first obvious thing you'll notice about the above images is that they are reversed and the reason for this is after processing it was down to us to scan the negatives and invert the images before considering whether or not they could benefit from a little bit of polishing up in photoshop, and so it would appear that I've forgotten to check which way up they were in the scanner as this could amount to some of the deteriation in quality as it was basically scanning through the back of the image and not the front. The images were scanned at 1200dpi so that they could be blown up to a reasonable size without sacrificing too much quality, and were contained within a suitable negative mount to minimalise the amount of distortion in the film as it has a tendency to curl without one. 

                                             

              

                                               

                                             

                

                The final images have had little done to them apart from flipping horizontally, the use of curves to individually adjust the red, green and blue channels and then a small bit of adjustment in exposure but also using the offset and gamma correction, to achieve a reasonably acceptable image.

                                         

 

                             


                   Ok, so maybe not the best set of images you've seen but it has given me something of an inclination to run a couple more out of date films I have knocking around through a couple of different cameras. I'm also now considering the idea of trying some black and films as well because I'd also be looking to have a go at the developing side of things and talking of black and white, I just had to take the opportunity to choose a few of the shots from the above and see they'd look. 

                                                       

                                                     

  

 

  

                             

Unit 31 SWOT Analysis

                     A SWOT Analysis, is basically a breakdown of your plans towards achieving your objective be it in business or pleasure, and today I'll be using it as a mixture of both as part of my Specialist Location brief in Unit 31. This SWOT Analysis is basically a simplified breakdown of some of the planning I'd already put forward from my original idea seen HERE , but this page just goes on to explain the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats as a cross reference to the points I'd already made.

Strengths 

• A good knowledge of the local area including accessibility, vantage points and ease of parking
• A love of the outdoors so I wont be fazed by weather conditions although heavy rain could complicate matters
• An ability to communicate with people on all levels which will come in handy should there be any issues regarding access or security
• A sense of humour to accompany the previous point
• A good understanding of how to achieve the best from my camera and equipment which will be a major contributing factor when it comes deciding whether or not I'll be opting for long exposures or not 
• Determination, if I know I how to commit to something to achieve my desired results, then I will
• A driving licence and vehicle 
• Flexibility when it comes to times so I can just drop stuff as and when required if I suddenly feel that now would be a good time to shoot
• An awareness of my surroundings which means I am unlikely to put myself in to any situations that may be considered stupid or threatening
• I have a tendency to be able to see the finished image before I actually commence shooting so I'll have a good idea of whether or not I'm getting the images as the time passes and wont be wasting too much time pondering 

Weaknesses

•  Time management, now although I operate a pretty good system and everything always ends up getting done, I do have a habit of putting things off until the last minute so if I don't get control of this then I could mess up my entire shoot, especially if the weather changes  
• I can be prone to multi-tasking instead of concentrating on the job in hand I'll try and fit it in with something else which can lead to things not getting the attention they require
• My attention can wander easily so I can end up getting side tracked from my original idea if something else crosses my mind on location
• I'm short of money at the moment so my locations need to be in a pretty tight area to reduce fuel costs and if I can get them all done in one journey then even better
• Mood swings, I have to be in the right frame of mind to just get out of the house and start shooting, but once the bags packed I'm usually ok
• I can have a tendency to rush things when shooting alone but this could just come from early days when I was shooting street photography and it tends to be more of a case of getting the picture and moving on, I need to calm down a little on that front
• I'm my own worst critic so I need to think carefully as I fill each frame

Opportunities

•  As I am aiming to produce a series of images that work together as a set then my initial thought would be to see them exhibited as a set as a fairly good representation of some of my work
• Potential photographic magazine feature
• Potential to display locally as an example of industry in the area that people perhaps haven't really taken the time out to look at before
• Local libraries or exhibition space which I'd have to look into   
• Sell them as straight prints either individually or as smaller set 
•  Local press feature and general recognition that I don't travel around with my eyes blinkers on and want to share my observations with others
• Possibility of commissions from anybody that may appreciate what I do 

Threats

•  Heavy rain would mean I'd have to rethink my entire shoot especially if there was no let up in the forecast
• Security issues regarding the possible sensitivity of the area I may be shooting
• Public intervention be it either nuisance kids or just the general public en mass 
• Failure to plan ahead properly so empty memory cards and full batteries are a must
• Traffic problems as in either roadworks or delays which could effect both my accessibility or time scale available

Types of Camera + Large Format Shoot

Camera Obscura - also known in it's simplest form as a pin-hole camera, it basically consists of a light proof box with the exception of a tiny aperture instead of a lens that allows the image to be projected on to a suitable surface with the exposure being controlled by something as simple as a pivoted shutter or even a piece of black tape. The projected image is inverted and the clarity of it is usually dependent on the diameter of the hole.

                                    

Compacts - available as both digital and film in a variety of sizes and price ranges. The film compacts could anything from 110 film to 35mm  and were usually of a simple 'point and shoot design that was based around simplicity of use although there was always the added excitement of you wondering whether there was ever going to be anything coming back from the processors that was actually worth looking at ...this is of course a personal opinion based on past experience. The digital age brought with it an ever increasing range of possibilities including high speed, low light and even zoom photography and has made such an impact on the industry that the DSLR can find itself left at hope on more than one occasion.

                             

Bridge - offering a stepping stone into the world of RAW and digital SLR photography, firstly by taking on the physical shape and secondly by allowing a good range of macro to zoom photography. Bridge cameras have come along way since their initial introduction.

                                                 

                                                     

SLR/DSLR - without going into all the finer details of full frame and cropped sensors etc etc , the dslr is basically the natural progression from the old 35mm single lens reflex camera. They have a flip up mirror that allows the photographer to see exactly what he is planning on shooting through the lens, before releasing the shutter which is when the mirror flips up and allows the image to be captured on either film or sensor. Available in whole host of price ranges with a full range of lenses to suit the purpose and capable of a terrific range of fast action, low light and zoom photography depending on your needs....and wallet.

                                           

                            

Twin Lens Reflex - is a medium format camera that takes 120 film and offers a twin lens set up one of which allows the image to project onto the the film whilst the other offers the photographer a view, by way of parallax and the image seen is back to front.

                                       

Medium format - again available in both film and digital versions and with digital conversions also available for film formats although they are ridiculously expensive, for now. They also take 120 film but there is no standard image size so the options are there for either 6 x 4.5 cm, 6 x 6 cm and 6 x 7 cm with the width of the image being dependent on the camera. The first thing you will notice about the medium format range is how much the quality of the image improves in the finer details. 

                            

Large format -  producing a negative of 5" x 4", the quality in detail of the large format camera is exceptional especially when blown up. It's basic construction is that of a front plate containing the lens and shutter, then a bellows arrangement to supply the focal length and then a back plate which provides a viewing screen.

                               

                              

                                                       Image courtesy of photo tuts

                    To quote the aforementioned photo tuts " The front and back panels (called ‘standards’) move independently of each other in a series of movements called rise, fall, shift, tilt and swing. This gives the photographer control over converging verticals, the plane of focus and depth of field within the image. Lensbaby products and expensive tilt-shift SLR lenses are attempting to imitate this functionality."

                      Films are loaded as a single sheet into the camera and even though the standard is 5" x 4" the large format camera has and is being explored in it's capabilities by those producing wet plate work using glass and tin types formats. The photographer sets up the camera prior to the insertion of any film plates and has to firstly cock the shutter to allow light through to the ground glass screen and then, working underneath a suitable dark cloth, they will be able to adjust the compostion, focus, aperture and shutter speed , usually in accordance with a suitable light meter reading and reciprocity table (see below). The film is first loaded onto plates in a changing bag to prevent exposure to light and then once the camera is set up the plate can be slipped into place, the shutter cocked and the protective plate over the front of the film can be slipped out. The shutter is best released via a remote hand held device so as to prevent any camera shake, and then once the picture has been taken the protective plate is reinserted but reversed so as to notify the user that the film has been exposed. 

                     A couple of things of note include, different focal lengths require different lenses, increased bellows length is for shallow depth of field or macro, squashed or compressd bellows are for infinity such as landscapes, portrait mode is achieved by simply rotating the rear.

                                Below is a 5" x 4" guide to exposure courtesy of   jaykayphoto

	90mm	150mm	210mm	Reciprocity
90	same			1 = 1.5
100	+.25			2 = 3
150	+1.5	same		3 = 5
200	+2	+.75	same	4 = 7
250	+3	+1.5	+.5	5 = 9
300	+3.5	+2	+1	6 = 12
350	+4	+2.5	+1.25	7 = 14
400	+4.25	+2.75	+1.75	8 = 17.5
450	+4.5	+3.25	+2	9 = 20
500	+5	+3.5	+2.25	10 = 24
550	+5.25	+3.75	+2.75	11 = 27
600	+5.5	+4	+3	12 = 31
650	5.75	+4.25	+3.25	13 = 34
700		+4.5	+3.5	14 = 38
750		+4.75	+3.7	15 = 45
800		+5	+3.9	16 = 50
850			+4	17 = 60
900			+4.2	18 = 69
950			+4.4	19 = 74
1000			+4.5	20 = 85
				21 = 91

• Measure the bellows of the camera
• Look up the measurement for the appropriate lens on the above scale
• Overexpose by the stops given.
• If the exposure is over 1 second look this up on the reciprocity scale and expose for the given value.

Reciprocity scales vary from film to film with a little more insight into it being available over at Landscape Photography Blog. 

Summary

             I enjoyed the short time we had with the large format camera in the studio set up and look forward to further adventures to explore it's capabilities but I've come to realise it is a branch of photography that deserves your utmost attention if you are to achieve the desired results, as mistakes can be expensive, but the rewards can be exceptional.

                                                           

                                                            Scanned 5" x 4" lfc neg        

                                           

                        

                                                         Scanned 5" x 4" lfc neg inverted 

                                             

              

          

                                                                         Basic studio set up 

  

                                               

                                                     

       Large format cameras are still used in a lot of studio work because of the quality of image they can produce and are still used in architectural photography for their ability to deal with converging lines. As I final point I've just chosen to include a link that is quite handy for all the necessary formulas and a couple of other pointers over at Ken Rockwell's place.