Eleven or twelve years ago, I was given a Nikon F 35mm camera.
This was Nikon’s first (I think) SLR in the sense that we have come to know them.
I’ve had it for years but never actually used it until this evening.
The lighting was not ideal for using an old camera with no light meter,
but my images really didn’t come out too badly.
Time-wise, this was right before sunset on a dreary mid-western November evening.
I’ll take it back out later in the spring or summer and see how things look on much more pleasant day.
Warning! This is a mostly AI-generated thing. I am not exactly thrilled with how it was written.
Have you ever been gifted something, tucked it away, and then
forgotten about it? Several years ago, I was given the equipment and
chemicals to develop my own film, and it ended up collecting dust for a
long time. There were a few reasons for that: I wasn’t actively using
film in those days, film can be expensive, and, honestly, the idea of
developing it myself was quite intimidating. However, last weekend, a
situation forced me to revisit this long-forgotten gift, and it turned
into an unexpected adventure.
The Dilemma: Last weekend, I found myself in a bit of a photography
predicament. I had taken the wrong lenses for the DSLR I had brought
with me, and to make matters worse, I had brought the wrong DSLR for the
lenses I had on hand. In my other bag, I discovered a few 35mm cameras
with film. One of them was a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 with an automatic
lens, so I decided to load it with 35mm film and hope for the best.
DIY Film Development: Initially, I considered sending the film out
for professional development, but then I thought, “Why not give it a try
myself?” I took my last roll, loaded it into the Canon EOS Rebel 2000,
and headed outside to shoot a sacrificial practice roll. That was on
November 6th. The next morning, I decided to dive into the world of DIY
film development. Little did I know, it would be quite an adventure.
The Trials and Tribulations: If anything could go wrong, it did. The
black bag I used for loading the film into the development tank broke,
which was a major setback. The film was also slightly exposed to light
when I cracked open the canister, leaving me lamenting the potential
loss.
Once
I managed to get the film onto the reel, I thought I was on the right
track. However, it seems the film got off the rails (literally)
somewhere along the way, leaving me with another moment of lament.
My containers for mixing the powdered chemicals turned out to be too
small, but I was already committed and on a tight schedule, so I decided
to approximate the quantities, relying on my best judgment. Since I’m
neither a post office worker nor a drug dealer, I didn’t have a scale
that could measure quantities as small as I needed. This meant I had to
wing it with the powdered chemicals.
Temperature control also proved to be a challenge as I had only one
microwave. My chemicals were a little warmer than I would have
preferred, but I hoped it would still work.
The Surprise: Once everything was mixed up, I forged ahead with the
development process. A fun little side note – the leaky lid of the tank
tried to explode off toward the end. Fortunately, I had the foresight to
work over the sink, so it wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been.
Needless to say, when I finally finished the process, I was surprised
to see images on the developed film. I scanned them that night, and
unsurprisingly, the quality was all over the place.
Here is most of the roll:
In
conclusion, my adventurous dive into DIY film development might have
resulted in images that ended up with that “badly exposed Polaroid”
look—entertaining, but not quite what I was aiming for. Nonetheless,
this experience has only ignited a stronger resolve within me to perfect
the art of film development.
In the next few days, I’m planning to invest in larger containers and
mix the chemicals correctly. I’m eager to give it another shot. I’ve
already purchased a couple more rolls of film, allowing me ample room
for practice and improvement.
As I reflect on the trials and errors of my first attempt, I’m
reminded that mastery often stems from repeated practice and learning
from mistakes. The haphazard yet intriguing results only fuel my
determination to achieve the stunning, high-quality images I envision.
This journey has rejuvenated my passion for analog photography and has
become a stepping stone toward honing my craft.
The Pentax P30t is one of the newer cameras in my SLR collection. It
was introducted in 1990. I picked this one up at a Goodwill somewhere
for probably around $10 sometime in, probably, 2010. I snagged several
cameras there for a short time, my best being the Nikkormat FS, but
that’s a story for another day.
Anyway, this thing is so very plastic!
I took some photos, but they are following the theme of dreary November day.
I guess this one is also going into the “Revisit in the Spring/Summer” file.
Over the years I have accumulated many cameras, both digital and not
digital. There is a part of me that wants to give them all away, since I
don’t really feel like doing the work to sell them.
Before I decide, I am going to use every camera at least once. That’s going to get expensive, but watch this space for results.
In some ways I miss the good old days when you did not have to wait
for a system update on a game console. You just put the cartridge in
the slot and go. This evening I sat down and tried to play a PS4 game
but had to wait for a system update.
Firstest of first world problems, I know, but still.
I grew up in the pre-internet connected console world, and it is slightly irritating.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic benefits to gaming
today…Digital delivery of content is great if done correctly. Gone are
the days of scouring every game store in your city to try and find a
particular game.
I’m looking at you, The Legend of Zelda for NES!
I never did find that one at a reasonable cost, despite searching for
years. Searching for years in the mid-late ’90s, mind you, so it wasn’t
super rare or collectible like it is now.
I ended up finally getting the GBA version of the game.
