Old Farts Check In Here

[ennuipoet]

orionid ‘s post on Facebook got me thinking about how much we’ve come to depend on digital speed. (His post was about 1 hour photo processing not being processing or 1 hour.) I noted remember it taking a week or more to get my photos back, putting rolls into the mail and waiting for them to return.

This week my DSLR is in the shop to investigate a wonky autofocus problem, so I am shooting film (Portra 160 FTW) and I am going to process them at home. To make it economical I have to do all five rolls at once, so I am forced to wait. It is driving me a little buggy, not having fresh stuff on demand.

[chupathingie]

That right there explains very well why I didn’t have much interest in photography until the digital age rolled around… the cost and delay of processing. Loved it as a kid, but then I wasn’t paying for any of it. DSLRs came on the scene just after I had managed to work myself into a position where dropping a grand didn’t seem too outrageous; especially considering the “processing” portion of the equation had dropped out.

[ennuipoet]

I loved, and still love, everything about analog photography. The only reason I didn’t keep up with it over the years was I moved around constantly. (military) There was no way I could be sure I would have space for a darkroom and while the military bases I was stationed at usually had a darkroom to use, it was rarely stocked and what equipment there was insufficient and outdated. I took a lot of photos and had them processed but not being to do it myself really made it difficult to gain full enjoyment from the craft.

I regret those wasted years, if I knew then what I know now, I would have MADE it work, somehow.

[Yugoboy]

I’ve got everything I need for a B&W darkroom except the chemicals, but the ease of digital has made me just leave all that stuff alone. Makes me sad sometimes, but then I think about all the time I don’t have and I get over it. I’m never selling the stuff, though… I’ll be retired someday.

[ennuipoet]

I’ve got everything I need for a B&W darkroom except the chemicals, but the ease of digital has made me just leave all that stuff alone. Makes me sad sometimes, but then I think about all the time I don’t have and I get over it. I’m never selling the stuff, though… I’ll be retired someday.

I was on a date a few weeks ago and I mentioned I planned on building a darkroom someday, and the lady looked at me shocked and said “Why would you need to do that?” I told her it wasn’t a case of “need” but of “want”. People with darkrooms are kind of like people who rebuild classic cars, but much, much, much cheaper.

[emiliogtz]

I still like to shoot film a lot. To be honest, I enjoy it more than shooting digital. Never had a problem with the whole ‘instant gratification’ thing, or the lack of it (I have auto-preview turned-off on all of my bodies and anyway LCDs are next to useless under this’ city merciless sun). I do, however have a problem with the film costs nowadays.

I live in a city where the weather it’s hot most of the year, 100-110-degrees days are the norm over here, with plenty of humidity (actually, this is the reason we are moving soon). That does not mix well with the negatives, the chemicals’ shelf life, and getting the solutions up to temp is a nightmare. So for the sake of cost I’ve decided to process my film only in the winter (can’t justify the cost to have temperature control equipment or having chemicals go bad because of the heat), so I just shoot the rolls, put them back in the fridge, and wait. The good thing is, by the time I get to develop them, I don’t even remember what’s on them, so I get a few good surprises.

People with darkrooms are kind of like people who rebuild classic cars, but much, much, much cheaper.

Which is why I say that people with darkrooms are like people with turntables and vinyls.

[ravnostic]

I remember my grandmother’s ‘darkroom’; it sat upon the washer and dryer, and woe be to he who didn’t do his duds in between developing sessions, for it could be days before she got around to re-establishing the room fit for laundering.

[caradoc]

People with darkrooms are kind of like people who rebuild classic cars, but much, much, much cheaper.

Not really. And I do speak from experience.

[ennuipoet]

People with darkrooms are kind of like people who rebuild classic cars, but much, much, much cheaper.

Not really. And I do speak from experience.

Wait until I build my darkroom in the backseat of my Studebaker, then I’ll show you all! 😀

[caradoc]

There was room in the trunk of the Chevy for a darkroom. Or six bodies. Pick one. (I only say “was” because I sold it a couple of months ago.)

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