reference page for film

[keefeborden]

A friend of mine who is a professional photographer was cleaning out his freezer and offered me some film. I agreed and was promptly gifted a huge quantity of film, both 35mm and medium format. He wouldn't take any compensation for it, but urged me to "get inspired and do something creative" with his gift. I'm looking for a webpage that I can use as a reference for different types of film. I want to know what they're best used for and what filter is used to make tungsten film look normal in daylight. I also want to know if it would be worthwhile to start processing film again. (I did this years ago, but have since forgotten how). If it is a good idea to start this process over again, where should I buy the chemicals? I know this is primarily a digital forum but there have to be some experienced professionals who can give me some insight....

Thanks in advance, Keefe.

[Donner]

apug.org is a good place to start. I've started processing my own BW again and i enjoy it, but then again I always have.

Depending on what you want to get out of it and how serious you are about perfecting your process you can do it for cheap or very, very expensive.

Then again, it's getting harder to find places that can process standard BW film, so you might find it's easier and cheaper to do it yourself.

Go play with some film for a while. See what it's like to not be able to chimp or 'be sure you got it' it's fun.

[CobyPhoto]

Just go to the Film Companies website and look for tech publications on the film. Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, etc. They will each have info, very detailed, on each type of film you have.

Is it all B&W or is it color? You will be able to do the B & W procesing rather easily. Color processing is another story entirely. You would be better off having a lab process color (C-41) rather than attempting it your self.

There are several on the forum that spend dome time in the dark room. I still maintain a working dark room for B & W and E-6. I will keep it working as long as there is chemical and paper to do it.

CJ

[keefeborden]

Don & Coby: Thanks for your replies. I rejoined APUG, a forum that I heard of about over a year ago, joined once, and then forgot about. It looks like a good place for specific questions. I also checked out the websites for Kodak and Fuji, which answered almost all of my questions. I took inventory last night and found out that I have 49 rolls of 120 and 52 (now 49) rolls of 35mm film. I shot three rolls of B&w last night so I'm down to 49 rolls of each. About half of the total is Tmax and most of the rest are color transparencies of various speeds. I will look into processing the black and white at home, but don't want to do E6 at the house because it sounds too complicated. I did Tmax many years ago and might still have my father's old tank buried in a box somewhere.

I'm an inveterate chimper and can't help looking at the back of my camera -- even when I went back to 35mm film. Hopefully, as I work more with film, the urge to check the back of the camera for no reason whatsoever should diminish over time.

Thanks again for your advice, Keefe.