My first film shot that I found worth printing!

[BlackRider]

OK, so I'm going backwards from my 40D to an A2-E and am learning all about the dis/advantages of film. This was off of my first ever roll of B&W film... and I shot the entire roll w/in an hour of buying it. So, given the facts... I'm quite happy with it.

Now I shoot sports 95% of the time... so I don't have much experience with putting actual thought into my photographs. So and suggestions/ideas as to what I could have done differently are quite welcome.

Under the Bridge

I don't remember what the exposure was.

Now I really have to learn to process my own B&W's and get a film scanner... the local shop charges an arm and a leg for scans. :-S

[wclavey]

The composition is absolutely fantastic. It has an almost "religious" feel to it, like looking down the nave of a large cathedral.

I think that if you printed it, either digitally or analog, you would want to raise the contrast a bit (brightness/contrast in PS or by using a variable contrast filter on VC paper in the darkroom), but that would be my personal taste - - yours may be different.

B&W processing is a snap to learn and there is lots of used equipment around. It takes a little more to set up a darkroom for printing (...that's why I don't have one, except for LF contact printing). So in the near future, scanning B&W negatives and printing them digitally is the way to go for me, and still gives a good sense of accomplishment.

Great job on your 1st roll!

[JohnT]

Nice composition and some potential here. Since you say others can edit your images, I made some minor adjustments and sharpened to see how it would look digitally processed.

[venchka]

How's Columbus? My daughter used to live near Alum Creek Res. I miss going to visit and playing in the snow.

A good first effort. Yes, do it yourself! Very rewarding. Cheaper too. Of course you'll know who to blame for mistakes!

[toverman]

That is a fantastic photo. Your second roll will be even better, I'm sure.

When I worked my first newspaper job (which included B&W film photography), I started shooting with a fully manual/mechanical/no AF camera. We also rolled our own film into the canisters. It didn't take long to realize that the rolling, developing the film, printing the pics, etc., would go a lot faster if I took more time for the shots. Still blazed away with the sports photos, of course, but everything else was more thoughtful.

The process of film can be a lot more rewarding than digital (where many of us really blaze away with reckless abandon). When you've gotten an image that you know will be great, and you're gently sloshing the paper in the developer and it pops up looking so good ... nothing like it.

[rusty_tripod]

Isn't black and white film grand!

[Gambit]

John, while I agree that adding some contrast to the original would help, I think your post goes too far and loses some texture. MHO and all. :) Not sure where between I'd put it.

[BlackRider]

Thanks for all the comments!

Westley, yours was the first honestly positive comment I actually got on this image. But then I guess that's what I get for hanging out with only journalistic photographers. :lol: And I do have to agree on it needing more contrast... I was shooting with a Hoya 25A Red filter, and playing around has shown me that it tends to cut contrast, softens the image some, and it can make water deposits on plants vanish! If you ask why I used it for this shot....... I wouldn't have an answer. ;) I'm going to have to experiment with these color filters on the 40D and find out exactly what they do.

John, you've got a good start there, but I think the arches going "into" the image are too bright... maybe more contrast and less brightness? Also, I think the sharpening makes the grain stand out too much... is it distracting?

Wayne, to be brutally honest... I HATE Columbus. Mostly it's the traffic, but recently the water's been driving me nuts... now I understand why people drink bottled water. (The water in Cincinnati, IMHO, is better than most bottled waters.) I'm slowly getting used to Columbus, but still... the day I graduate is the day I leave Columbus. :-P I do have to admit that it's a much more entertaining city with a nice zoo... but as far as snow... they don't know how to clear anything up here! A dusting can shut down the entire county!

Todd, I will bow down to the man who can get print quality basketball images w/o AF. ;) I can shoot motorsports & diving & a few other sports MF... but getting sharp images of college basketball is driving me insane! I just can't get anything that makes me happy. :'( I average 400-600 images a game and I get 3-4 of what I consider keepers... though sometimes I even wind up with none. (Too bad I can't afford strobes.)

Alton et al, B&W intrigues me ATM... I mean, I really think this shot would be boring in color. I think this Ilford SFX 200 gave me close to the perfect grain for concrete... more would be distracting and I think less would have the pores & defects of the poured concrete annoying.

Sorry, I think I might be babbling... so I'll go back to picture taking. :D