Kat's Notebook » film photography tutorial

Film reel

Katkat — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000

This is a collection of the pictures I took with my BBF and UWS from my travels. I wasn’t too happy with the cross-processed of some slides. I’m amazed at the results of those pictures used with a high ISO. It looked like it was taken from a digital camera. Some pictures have a black area on top of it. I guess I forgot what frame size I used in my BBF. Anyway, I have 6 more films to develop and hopefully those turn out better. Enjoy!

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Film Photography: Getting Started

DIY camera

Katkat — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Check out this camera from Hole-on Ex. This is this DIY Paper Pinhole Camera:

The Hole-On-Ex is a palm-sized 35mm camera that you construct with your very own blood, sweat, & tears In exchange for about 90 minutes of your hard labor, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with intense pinhole images, a new appreciation for the mechanics of photography, & an insanely charming new tool to shoot from the hip. Add the "Adventures in Pinhole" book at a special price! Do It Yourself / The Hole-On-Ex Paper Pinhole Camera Recommended Tools: (1) Ruler – Use for parts folding (2) Pen or Pencil – Use for parts rolling (3) White Glue – Use for parts sticking These three tools, about 90 minutes of your precious time, & a bit of precise finger-work are the only things separating

you from your very own god’s honest self-made camera creation From four die-cut pieces of paper card, you will meticulously construct an insanely charming little beastie that fully capable of shooting seriously devastating pinhole images 43 individual pieces are sitting tight – ready to be punched out, rolled up, stacked, shimmied, & glued. If you’ve ever fantasized about getting "Back to Basics," then this is the opportunity of a lifetime Can you taste the delicious anticipation of building this compact masterpiece? Then be sure to keep your lips moist to sample the pictures that it takes. – Amazon

Here’s how it’s done:

And the pictures look like these:

(These photos are not mine.)

Blackbird Fly, sprocket style!

Katkat — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:59:00 +0000

When I bought the BBF camera, I was most excited to shoot in the sprocket format. I had run through few rolls in this camera already. I posted a previous blog about the BBF. After pondering it thoroughly, I concluded that BBF was better with C41 films than the slide films. So I reserved the slide films with my UWS. The disadvantage of this camera though was it wasn’t as portable as my UWS. I had to have a special bag to tote it around whereas with the UWS I could just throw it in my purse. So I always ended up leaving it behind in favor of my UWS.

I was able to have some of my films scan into cd back in the Philippines and I got the results now! . Anyway here’s how it turned out:

BBF in sprockets!

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Comments, tips, and advice are very welcome and much appreciated!

My lomo cams went on a vacation

Katkat — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:20:00 +0000

One of the reasons why I would intentionally go out and travel to different places was to shoot with my lomo cams. When I went back to the Philippines, I brought my Vivitar UWS and Blackbird Fly camera with me and of course, dozens of 35mm films. Between the two, I liked carrying UWS more than the BBF because it was handier and more compact. But since I paid a lot for my BBF, I might as well maximize its worth.

Here is the album to my trip everywhere. I’ve used up 10 rolls and I still haven’t processed the other 5 rolls. You will notice that there are only few pictures even though I claimed I used up 5 rolls. As I’ve mentioned before, lomography is a game of chance – only few pictures will turn out good. Or that’s why I tell myself because I’m not really good with taking photographs. Harhar. I haven’t done any tweaking here so…

Enjoy! I welcome all comments.

Vivitar UWS

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Here’s my BBF in I don’t know what format…With BBF, I was able to do double exposure.

BBF

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From the UWS album, I only used cross-processed Elitechrome. You will noticed the blue-yellow-green saturation. In the other pictures, I used regular C41 films. I will post my BBF-with-sprocket format next time.

Lomography cheating

Katkat — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Lomography is an expensive hobby. You need many lomo cam toys to satisfy your lomo craving. As someone has said to me, no hobby is not expensive. Sometimes taking pictures with lomo cams can be frustrating too when you don’t get the result you wanted.

For those who don’t want to shell out money to buy lomo cams but still want a lomo result; or for those who wants to tweak their lomo pictures, there’s a way to cheat lomo. You can use any photoshop software if you’re a photoshop pro. For those who are not (like me), you can use this simple software from Adobe: the Adobe Lightroom. Skip the introduction in its website and read the review of a real user here before buying this software.

The next question: to cheat or not to cheat? If you’re a true lomo enthusiast, you wouldn’t dare. *wink*

Shooting for the sky and clouds

Katkat — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:30:00 +0000

Most of the time we take for granted nature and its beauty. Many times I will forget to look – too concerned about the day ahead. When I am driving, I will sometimes to look up the sky and be surprised how wonderful it is – the clouds, the light, and the sky. I would wish that I have my camera with me to capture the moment.

Shooting the sky or clouds is difficult especially when you can’t manipulate the settings for your camera. A lomography camera relies on the ISO of the film, or flash or other accessories; while a digital camera has internal settings which can be adjusted to control the ISO, exposure, tone, hue, etc. To counter this difficulty, here are some tips to shoot beautiful cloudscape with your lomo cam. I’ve taken many of the information here from different websites:

1. Plan ahead. Check weather reports to determine the day’s forecast. Look for days with partially cloudy conditions. There is nothing better than the sky breaking through the clouds as it brings out the definition, texture and interesting transitions in the otherwise boring sky.

2. Position the sun for ideal lighting. The sun should be behind so that everything in your image is correctly lit.

3. Know the ISO of your film. Try avoiding overexposure or underexposure by knowing what film ISO you’re carrying. If you’re going to shoot on a sunny day like noontime, try a lower ISO like 50 or 100. But if you’re going to shoot in random (whatever time of the day), a 200 ISO is the best bet.

3. Become aware of the subtleties of light. In general, avoid photographing in the harsh light of the middle of the day. There is more drama in the light of the low-sun of morning and late afternoon.

4. Use filters. Use a graduated neutral density filter to avoid over-exposing the highlights; a polarizing filter can bring up the contrasts of light and shade within the clouds, enhancing the level of detail.

5. Black and white brings drama. Try using BW films to capture interesting contrast.

6. Lie down and look up. Try different angles of shooting instead of the usual shooting by standing up pointing your camera above. You may see a different and interesting camera angle when you are lying down and looking up. It will also help you hold your camera firmly.

6. Balancing the composition. Following our “rule of thirds”, we can allocate them either the top third or the top two thirds of the shot. If the clouds are dramatic and big enough, they can be the main point of the picture and occupy the top two thirds of the frame. Otherwise restrict them to the top third and they will strengthen the background without losing their impact.

7. Complete your image with clouds. A building or landscape can be framed with clouds. Not all sky shots should be all about clouds and sky. You can put buildings, people or skyscraper in your frame for a well-rounded image.

***These pictures are not mine. Click the link on each pictures to learn more about the photographers who shot these.

References:

http://www.suite101.com/content/photographing-clouds-a52254

http://blog.gozaic.com/2010/10/5-photography-tips-puffy-clouds-blue.html

http://www.cloudman.com/photography.htm

http://www.marcusphotoblog.com

Accessories for your camera

Accessories for your camera

Katkat — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 01:34:00 +0000

If you’re enjoying your lomo cam so much, maybe it’s time to experiment with accessories that can further your lomography hobby. Some lomo cams have specific accessories and some don’t. The problem with lomo cam is you can only do so much with 1 camera. For example, a fisheye camera has only fisheye lens so it has only one result all the time. Another example, a supersampler will always only give you 4 frame shots. Compared to SLRs, slr cameras are able to mount different lenses, or the settings can be manipulated to give you variety of shots. That’s why lomography cams can be considered just toys. You collect different cameras to play with your photography. However these cameras don’t come cheap. It’s supposed to be cheap but its popularity has increased its value.

If you have cameras like Diana, or Holga, or the UWS, you can use accessories to play with your shots. Diana cameras are the most versatile of all. Its form makes it easy to attach lens and other accessories.

1. Lens – super-wide, wide-angled, telephoto, close-up, fisheye lenses to name a few. Mount these lenses with its accompanying adaptor and you’re all set to shoot fantastic lomographs. I would love to try the fisheye lens but my camera (UWS and BBF) wouldn’t let me.

2. Flash – most lomo cams don’t come with flash and it’s unfortunate because sometimes I want to shoot on low-light conditions.

3. Ringflash – When mounted onto your camera, the Ringflash completely surrounds your lens and throws a burst of perfectly even light onto your subject – making for fantastic close-up portraits with a signature look.

4. Splitzer – functions as an action frame shots. It splits and combines 2 different shots. I’m not making any sense. Go here for more info.

5. Lens filters – mount these lens to filter the light and make your picture more vibrant. Because I don’t have an adaptor, I just hold the filter in front of the camera lens and shoot away. Taping the lens filter also helps.

To find out more on lomography camera accessories, go to www.lomography.com.

Finding a good lomography group

Katkat — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 02:25:21 +0000

As with any field of interest, there will form a group of people who will share the same passion. With lomography, the groups are varied ranging from the general lomography group to a by-camera-kind group. Here in the Bay area, I haven’t had luck finding such social group. However online, there are many groups devoted to lomography. One must be discerning which group will satisfy his/her needs.

A good lomography group has:

1. A good number of members. More than 200 members make a great active group.

2. A prolific group of members. There are active sharing of photos, updated posts, and lively discussion forum.

3. An informative discussion forum. One of the reasons why you join a group is to learn more about the hobby so an active educational discussion forum will be very helpful.

4. Free and no spamming.

Currently I am part of 2 good lomo groups at flickr. I found them through google search. I was looking for pictures taken by Vivitar UWS and the BBF. It led me to those groups. I find them very helpful especially with techniques and camera know-how. Most of my tutorial posts here are sourced from the discussion forum of those groups. The group pool is also inspiring. The photos make me want to bring my hobby in the other members’ level. There is also no pressure in being an active member. I’m not. Hehehe.

Joining a group will broaden your interest and passion for lomography so I suggest you join one now!

Tricks for your lomo cam

Katkat — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:12:00 +0000

Now that you have your lomo cam and you have browsed through a lot of amazing lomo pictures taken by other people, you must be excited to start clicking away and get a masterpiece out your lomo cam. As a starter, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen that way. Lomography is a learning process, a developing art. Before I took pictures with my Vivitar UWS cam, I read through film photography books to get the basic knowledge of films, exposure, camera angles, etc. I didn’t understand most of it eg. the shutter or aperture size, the suggested camera angles, use of filter lenses, etc. But it still helped me understand why my pictures turned out in such a fashion. And thanks to my lomo friends, they were able to enlighten me and suggest me tips. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a simple point-and-shoot camera person.

A lomo cam is not like an slr where you can manipulate the settings of your camera to get the most amazing effect for your picture. Lomo is more like a game of chance. Out of 24 exposures, you’ll be lucky to get 2-3 great pictures. And many times, the most funky or weirdest picture is the most creative and interesting. To err is creative!

For the Vivitar UWS, here are tricks you can do:

1. The Flare shot – frame a picture by pointing your camera towards the sunlight. You’ll get the ring of the sunlight in your picture.

2. Vignette – any process by which there is loss in clarity towards the corners and sides of an image (wikipedia). It is usually due to underexposure using too low ISO or shooting in an overcast day.

3. Double exposure – I’ve never been successful with double exposure with my UWS but for my BBF (blackbird fly), it was easy to do double exposure. This method takes 2 shots on the same film. Take 1 shot then before winding that crank to advance that film, click another shot.

4. Ghosting – i haven’t had this result with my viv yet but from the forums it is simply called lens flare, where it is caused by light reflecting inside the camera between the lens and the film. Happens especially during a sunny day.

These tricks are not strict rules but they’re just fun things to do with your cam. A wise suggestion from many viv UWS lomographers is: shoot from the hip! You’ll get a better frame than shooting standing up. In addition to I would like to say, do not photoshop your pictures! It would defeat the purpose of lomography. Happy clicking!

The world of cross-processing

Katkat — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:53:00 +0000

There are 2 kinds of format for the 35mm film: negative or C-41 and the slide E-6. These films are processed by the studio lab with different chemicals. Most photo labs, that of in the drugstores, can only process C-41 films. Slide films need to be processed in a special lab to get a normal picture. With the special chemical, it is more expensive to process E-6 films.

For the lomographers, we don’t have problems with E-6 films because we are fond of the procedure called, “Cross-processing”. To cross process a film simply means to process the film in other chemicals than those originally intended by the manufacturer. So different types of cross processing are: e6 in c41, c41 in e6, c41 or e6 in black and white chemicals, films that were made for discontinued processes processed in c-41 or e-6. E-6 in C-41 is the most conventional one. A cross-processed E-6 will give out a saturated, sometimes very washed out, low or strong contrast pictures.

There are many kinds of slide films. To immediately identify them from a c-41 film, slide films usually have “chrome” in the brand name. These films will give different effect. Tip of an x-proer: While shooting, underexpose the film rather than overexpose. When developing, ask the lab to push 2-3 stops. Here are observations from lomographers who have cross-processed their E-6 films:

FUJI

Sensia 100 – magenta shift
Sensia 200- green/blue… even yellow?
Sensia 400- green

Provia 100- green
Provia 100f = cyan
Provia 400F – green
Provia 1600-

Velvia 50-green/blue.
Velvia 100- red/magenta
Velvia 100F- bring out reds and magentas

Fujifilm Fujichrome 64T = Gold/green

Fuji Astia 100 – yellow
Astia 100F- red (with flash, foreground can be white)

KODAK

E100VS under exposure – green
E100 G – no color shift , color saturate
E 100GP – no color shift , color saturate

Kodak Elitechrome 100 – aqua (?)/green.

Kodak Elitechrome 200-mild green/blue color shift, saturated. (shot at 125)
Kodak Elitechrome 400 – no colour shift, just saturation

Kodak Ektachrome 64T-blue

KONICA
Konica Centuria 100 – yellow/ pale green, coarse grain, shadows. Yellow highlights, green shadows

AGFA
Agfa precisa 100 – no colour shift but gorgeous blues, strong contrast

These are some of my cross-processed pictures. I forgot which films they were but I only have Kodak elitechrome 100, Fuji Velvia 100, Fuji Provia 100.

For those who are debating whether to cross-process or not, I suggest you go ahead and cross-process. Personally I love using slide films and have it x-pro. Pictures turn out fun and funky!