Return to film - or not

[honcho]

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But if scanning inevitably loses the essential qualities of the neg compared with a digital camera file, I start to wonder about using film in the first place, but again,  that's something I'll have to find out about and decide for myself.

 

The key to a successful 'hybrid' workflow is understanding and mastering each stage of the creative chain, ie, making the exposure, processing the film, scanning the the film, retouching the file and making a print, have to be learnt, understood and enjoyed.  If any part of that chain is simply a chore, then it will fail.  There are few worthwhile shortcuts and the linked methods that make up the process require a certain temperament and frame of mind to succeed.  

 

You have to want to do it this way.

 

I haven't made a wet print in almost 20 years and wild horses would not drag me back into a darkroom, but each stage of my film-process-scan-digital print workflow is an important creative exercise to me.  Processing film,  scanning, retouching and printing are equally as creatively absorbing to me as composing the image, calculating the exposure and pressing the shutter button.  

 

Each stage of my workflow is a creative step towards a creative and satisfying goal, but that's because I  enjoy each stage of my process when others might enjoy wet printing or chimping and consigning files to hard drives.

 

You will find out for yourself one way or the other.  There are no rules, I hope you enjoy the journey.

[Bateleur]

There have been many opinions in this thread and that is how it should be, one medium or process flow is not better than another. I enjoy mine for various reasons ...

 

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[Peter H]

The key to a successful 'hybrid' workflow is understanding and mastering each stage of the creative chain, ie, making the exposure, processing the film, scanning the the film, retouching the file and making a print, have to be learnt, understood and enjoyed. If any part of that chain is simply a chore, then it will fail. There are few worthwhile shortcuts and the linked methods that make up the process require a certain temperament and frame of mind to succeed.

 

You have to want to do it this way.

 

I haven't made a wet print in almost 20 years and wild horses would not drag me back into a darkroom, but each stage of my film-process-scan-digital print workflow is an important creative exercise to me. Processing film, scanning, retouching and printing are equally as creatively absorbing to me as composing the image, calculating the exposure and pressing the shutter button.

 

Each stage of my workflow is a creative step towards a creative and satisfying goal, but that's because I enjoy each stage of my process when others might enjoy wet printing or chimping and consigning files to hard drives.

 

You will find out for yourself one way or the other. There are no rules, I hope you enjoy the journey.

That makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you.

[leica dream]

I agree with Peter, and thank you Chris for spelling it out. I have not got round to scanning my negatives yet, but shall report back when that step has been achieved. Certainly the commercial scans are rubbish so I'll be interested to see if I can do any better.....unless the basic shots are rubbish of course.

Richard

[Archiver]

Here are some examples of what modern lenses with decent film can produce. 

 

Erin Young is an amateur photographer in America who shoots her family and food with a Leica M6, Leica Summicron 50, Summicron 35, Voigtlander 35mm f1.2 V1, and Summarit 75 f2.5.  She uses Kodak Portra, I believe.  She also uses a Hasselblad with a Zeiss 80mm with Ektar for medium format photography, and the occasional M9.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanerin/

 

Chunyang Lin is a Taiwanese cinematographer and photographer who shoots with a M6 TTL and Summicron 50.  His film is often Fuji slide.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chunyang/tags/m6/

 

Now, all of this might be out of your price range.  But if you get a used Voigtlander Bessa R, and a used older generation Summicron, this is the kind of imagery you can expect to create, subjects notwithstanding.

 

If you want a much lower budget but still excellent camera, the Pentax ME Super is great.  I have the ME with Pentax 50mm f1.4 and 28mm f2.8, and the SLR body is smaller and lighter than a Leica M7.  Swing back loading, full metering, and a great lens with delicious out of focus qualities, for less than a hundred if you can find it online.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_ME_Super

 

Yet another alternative is the Olympus XA.  Find one in good condition, replace the seals if necessary, and you'll have a 35mm pocket rocket which will take pictures with a completely different look from your digital cameras.

[philipus]

I have never found that scanning would be a substandard way of retaining film's qualities. Quite the opposite. The qualities are all there. But scanning is a bit of a dark art and it can be frustrating to achieve the results one desires.

 

Scans also print beautifully. Evidently printing is an art and science in itself, just like darkroom work is, so if having prints of one's photos is a main objective then that will add a challenge.

 

Personally I like that with a hybrid workflow I am able to keep the film "look", which I love, but get the exact image that I want. It is remarkable how much image information exists in a TIFF and how malleable the scans are.

 

But film takes commitment and of one's heart isn't there, then there's very little point in trying. Then again nothing simple was ever really worth doing.

 

Philip