I Still Shoot Film

Actually, it was a submission (it’s posted under a photo, with a link to the photographer) and I have no idea. It sparked my interest as well and I was thinking the same thing. I may try before and after to see what happens…

Go to the Boulevard Beaumarchais near the Bastille, there’s a fab little shop (I don’t know it’s name) on the right side of the street if the Bastille is behind you. It’s like a hole in the wall, in between two labs on the first or second block. You can definitely find some medium format babies there.

Sure! That is definitely okay :)

I did a post on taking better photos in general and I would recommend the same tips for street photography: http://istillshootfilm.org/post/2671084144/5-tips-for-taking-better-photos

The two most important elements of street photography are getting close and asking permission. Powerful, moving street photography is about interaction, not observation. Personally, it is easier for me to interact when I am traveling in a foreign country… particularly because street photography is technically illegal in France (more on that here: http://istillshootfilm.org/post/541694800/on-the-legality-of-street-shooting-in-france) and most French people say, “no” if you ask. Another street photography tip is learning to wait; if you find a great setting but there’s not a lot of action taking place, wait with your camera stuck to your face until someone or something interesting passes by. Oh, and ALWAYS keep your camera on you. I am still kicking myself over the three times in my life that I missed a great shot because I didn’t have my camera on me.

The Nikon FM2 doesn’t have auto-focus, it’s a fully manual camera. Set the lens to “manual” (there should be a small ring or switch to go from “A” to “M”) and focus on your own. Your pictures are blurry because you’re not focusing your lens at all.

Filmus Monochromus is a great black and white film Tumblr, but if you are looking for inspiration you should also be looking at the portfolios of great black and white photographers like Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon or Ansel Adams. Here are websites for some of my most favorite photographers that work mostly in black and white:

• The Helmut Newton Foundation
• The Richard Avedon Foundation
• Peter Lindbergh
• The Ansel Adams Gallery
• Clyde Butcher
• Joel-Peter Witkin
• and of course the Farm Security Administration Photographs from the Great Depression/New Deal

Obviously these are just a couple of the fantastically talented black and white photographers out there, everyone please feel free to add your favorites in the comments.

Besides not focusing correctly, the main reason you would have blurry photos is from using a shutter speed that is too slow without a tripod. Using a flash certainly helps in low-light situations, because it allows you to up your shutter speed, but not everybody wants to use a flash all of the time. The thing with plastic cameras is that they are not really “walk and shoot” cameras. Most of them (not all) have a “B” or “T” function and 1/60 for shutter speed choices, and if you walk and shoot at 1/60 your photos will definitely be blurry. I recommend stopping to shoot and holding yourself very still. If you have enough light, it should make a huge difference. Or, use a tripod.

Here you go:

I’m assuming this is the model you mean:

Flip this little plastic switch on the bottom over to “open”:

Then slide the back off by pulling down:

It’s very possible :(

Get the used one developed to see if anything survived.

*To the comment below, and for other readers who may have missed: Airport X-Rays are fine for anything UNDER ISO 800. If your film is 800 or faster, you will may have some serious problems and/or fogging and/or blank film.

Happy New Year to you as well! So, for your FM2n (which is actually just the newer version of the FM2) I’m not sure what you mean by “manual aperture rings render my camera useless.” Manual aperture rings are on the lens (not the camera)  and the FM2 is compatible with any Nikon or Nikkor lens that uses a Nikon F bayonet mount. I think literally every lens I have ever owned (except my fish-eye, which I never use) was purchased second-hand. You can find some great quality lenses, especially manual focus lenses that most people are too lazy to use now. I recommend adding a standard 50mm or a wide-angle to your lens collection, they are both very practical for a wide variety of situations.

Moving on… when you switch to color positive film, you will definitely want to use a light meter. The stop range of color negative film is 3 stops before you lose information in the negative from under or overexposure. Slide film has a stop range of 1 1/2, which is why it is frequently referred to as “professional” - because your exposure really needs to be on point. Obviously you should set your ISO on your light meter to match the ISO on your film, unless you are pushing or pulling.

And last one… I personally have a hard time recommending Lomo for Dianas and Holgas because I think I literally paid $5 for my Holga and $20 for the Woca I bought 5 years later. Most plastic medium format cameras will give similar effects; you can look for an Agfa Isoly on eBay or at flea markets. They sell for a fraction of the price of Holgas and Diana’s on Lomo.com. However, if you really want a “Diana” and only a Diana, Lomo is definitely your best option. The effects from plastic cameras are created from a combination of the lens, a crappy shutter, and a plastic body (which usually has light leaks). Using a lens adapter will not give you the same allover effect. Hope that helps :)

Well, if your film was blank it is highly possible there is something wrong with your camera. When you open the back and pop the shutter, do you see it opening and closing? A light leak would cause your film to be black, not blank - blank is a sign of zero light exposure. I would try another test roll and if it comes out blank again, you may want to consider getting it repaired.

You develop C-41 film in E-6 chemicals or E-6 film in C-41 chemicals; unless you are developing your own color film (which is super annoying) you can ask your lab to do it. I posted a guide to cross processing here:

http://istillshootfilm.org/post/560779690/how-to-cross-process-c-41-color-films-and-e-6

Nay. I do not just walk up to people and ask them to strip. I started shooting nudes when I was very young, maybe 13 or 14, and over the years I have found a way to approach people that’s not weird or creepy. I have a large nude portfolio first of all, and it helps to let people see what my work is like and what type of nudes I shoot. I mostly shoot women - it’s a personal preference - and I often find that they ask me before I ask them. I think it also helps that I am a woman, I think it must be more difficult for men who are seriously shooting fine art nudes (and there are lots who are super talented and not pervy).

Great! Thanks so much for the info :)

Invest in a scanner and get buddy-buddy with a pro lab IMMEDIATELY. A scanner is imperative, since everyone wants a digital copy anyway, and friendifying your lab can often get you sweet discounts.

actually it’s just based on the quantity of silver nitrate crystals… yes, more expensive scans obviously yield more megapixels, and you could argue that it’s cheaper to buy a DSLR than a professional scanner - but I have had a stream of people around me recently spouting that “digital has a much higher resolution than film.” I felt like that needed to be corrected.

On a technical note, your final image output size also depends on the scanner… a 4x5 negative scanned at 600 DPI gives a 6 megapixel image. Personally, my obsolete flatbad Canoscan 8600F goes up to 4600 x 9600 DPI. Drum scanners have a much higher resolution capability than flatbeds, so in that case, yes drum would be higher. However, you could still blow a digital Mamiya out of the water with a high resolution flatbed scan, nay?