Film nostalgia

[texxter]

Sometimes I get film nostalgia and feel compelled to go back to the old ways. For me the nostalgia is more sentimental and emotional than rational - I love the little film camera from my father that I keep in its immaculate condition, a wonderful Olympus OM-1, in all its mechanical simplicity. I love the noise it makes when I press the trigger, the feel of the trigger as I press it, and the great view I get thru the viewfinder. And I love the memories associated with this camera, memories about my father.

So when the nostalgia hits me I get the camera out of its brown leather case, put a roll of film in it, and take some pictures. Today I connected a Pocket Wizard to the flash sync port and shot the camera with a softbox. I ran to Costco to have the film developed and then I scanned one of the frames in my very sh*tty flatbad scanner.

When I opened the image in Photoshop, the disappointment started to replace the nostalgia. While the feel of photographing with this little camera is wonderful, the images I get are not. It's not the camera or the lens, for sure, it's my poor ability to make decent digital images of my color negatives. I'd need a much better scanner, and much better knowledge about how to scan, in order to go a good job. The scan had at least 100 specks of dust, and I had just taken the negative from the sleeve to put in into the scanner tray. The image just doesn't look good.

So now I get the urge to get a good scanner to do justice to the negative, which I know is good. But then I realize that I am trying to mix film and digital, at some expense, to simply feed the feeling of nostalgia. There is nothing special about the images I took with the Olympus OM-1 - the only special thing is what's inside of me when I touch the camera, it's a purely emotional thing. I can do a better job with digital equipment.

So... I think I will not try to bring those negatives into the digital realm - when the urge to shoot film overtakes me, I'll run a couple of rolls thru it and print them 4x6 but not scan them. It's just for the pleasure of feeling the camera in my hands.

Here is the scanned image. I don't like how my wife's right arm is posed, but I like their expressions. We'll put it away as a Mother's Day portrait.

Olympus OM-1, with Fuji Superia ASA 400, f/11 1/60, with a softbox to camera right. Some postprocessing in Photoshop, including skin smoothing.

[srwatters]

I wouldn't dismiss film quite so quickly if you really like the look. I'll be honest, there are many times I try to make my digital images look like film using various plug-ins and Photoshop tools. Scanning is just as much of an art as Photoshop or dare I say taking the capture. Just the same as printing in the darkroom is an art. It all depends on which part of the art(s) you want to master. The right tools can make even 35mm negatives sing.

Good luck...

[Bill M]

Very nice. My wife recently found two rolls of Kodak 400 hidden away in my closet. I have a roll in my old Olympus OM10 but haven't shot any yet. I need to do that.

[texxter]

Scott, thanks for your thoughts. My personal issue is that I don't have the equipment or the expertise to make good images from a piece of film. You're right that scanning is key to the image quality and I am lacking greatly in this area. I am also unable or unwilling to go thru darkroom printing even for B&W.

I think another way for me to practice film photography without the feeling of disappointment would be to invest in a good film scanner and learn how to scan. I need to think about this, as I dont do film enough to justify the expense in time and money.

Bll, thank you for your nice comment, I love the old Olympus OM system!

[JohnT]

Sometimes, I wish I hadn't sold my old Minolta SRT-101/50mm/135mm kit. It was mechanical as well and very simple to use. I sold it several years ago so I could pay for my first digital camera.

[srwatters]

I picked up a refurbished Epson V-700 from the factory store. It does a very nice job with my 120 film and chromes. It takes a bit of fiddling to get the settings right for each type of film, but with some patience and practice you will be rewarded with fine digital files. I had similar results with the Nikon Super CoolScan 5000. That is a great machine for 35mm format, but for the price it's hard to beat the flatbed Epsons. Good luck!

[studiocygnet]

Get Costco to scan the film as they develop it. That way you can avoid some of the dust issues. Their scans aren't high quality, but you can make regular size prints from them, and use the scans as proofing. It doesn't cost much extra. In fact, I often just have the negatives processed and scanned without getting any prints, and it costs a couple bucks.

[popawalker]

Paco, I understand your feelings for the OM1. I started with an OM10 and 50mm1.4 when my twins were born. When one of my twins recently had a baby I took the OM10 and 50mm to the hospital with me. Yes, nostalgia. You described it well, the feel when you depress that shutter button, the sound of the shutter, the small handy size of that camera. Ok, I'm gonna go to Camera Coop and buy some portra160 for this weekend when they come to my house so I can take some more of them with it.

[texxter]

I just got a discounted V500, which will be good enough for me. I am still debating whether to go the color/Costco route, or the B&W/tank&reel route. While processing film is appealing, I barely have time to do digital photography with an efficient workflow.

I think I am getting close to the point of accepting that wet chemistry is too much for me, but I still want to use this OM-1 camera. So perhaps the Costco route (cheap film processing) plus scanning and Photoshop is a good compromise for me.

Steve, glad you understand my feelings. Olympus created some really wonderful equipment, so it's not wonder it's hard to let go off it.

Plus, on a personal note, every May/June I get even more nostalgic as my father died in June eight years ago, and, without even thinking about it, feelings about the past tend to hit me well this time of the year. Early June I am riding the motorcycle to the Great West, so that should change my outlook. Nothing like contact with Nature to get me out of myself.

[popawalker]

A little wind in the face helps a lot of things, nothing like a good ride.
BTW, I like the look of the picture you posted.

[chris00nj]

Originally Posted by texxter

I just got a discounted V500, which will be good enough for me. I am still debating whether to go the color/Costco route, or the B&W/tank&reel route. While processing film is appealing, I barely have time to do digital photography with an efficient workflow.

I think I am getting close to the point of accepting that wet chemistry is too much for me, but I still want to use this OM-1 camera. So perhaps the Costco route (cheap film processing) plus scanning and Photoshop is a good compromise for me.

Steve, glad you understand my feelings. Olympus created some really wonderful equipment, so it's not wonder it's hard to let go off it.

Plus, on a personal note, every May/June I get even more nostalgic as my father died in June eight years ago, and, without even thinking about it, feelings about the past tend to hit me well this time of the year. Early June I am riding the motorcycle to the Great West, so that should change my outlook. Nothing like contact with Nature to get me out of myself.

Well I was just going to recommend the V500. At $150, it has digital ice (to remove dust) and comes with Photoshop Elements if you don't have photo editing software. Nearly all my photos are with film and all my scans are with the V500.

There is something that draws me to all-mechanical cameras. I like Olympus's OM series. I also concur on the feelings issue. I use my grandfather's Leica M3. One of the delights of old film cameras is that you usually can put new film in an old camera. Many people are surprised of the results that can be delivered.

[texxter]

Chris, thanks for the endorsement of the Epson scanner, I should be getting it tomorrow. I checked out your images, nice work! I like your family portraits.

My father won a twin lens Rolleiflex at a photo competition with this image when he was 20 or so. He had to sell it to pay bills. I wish I had his Rolleiflex. I do some have negatives from it.

[chris00nj]

I think you'll do well with the V500. I would be interested a comparison with a V700, but they are 4 times the price.

Nice image. What kind of film was it out of curiosity. Grain is a lot more noticable back then, but it add character to the image.

50s era Rollei's are under $200 these days. Newer models can be much more expensive, especially with a Planar lens, but that is just collector interest. The 75/3.5 Tessar makes beautiful images.