Show us your photography

[Phineas Lamour]

 

[ShadedDude]

just a few

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

 

[wahine]

I don't have any pics to post right now, but a question.
Does any one of you know if it's true that you can judge better how b/w pictures will come out if you wear blue glasses (like Edith Head used to)?
I'm planning to try some vintage photography with my grandpa's Leica and don't really have any experience.

 

[rjb1]

I've been doing B&W photography for years and have not found any use for a blue filter (or glasses). You do read that in older photo books and magazines, but I think it is not worth the effort. You need to look more for the angle of illumination and subject contrast (light and dark), which can be seen pretty well in normal light.
Also, you can try night photography and see how that goes. It is a way to get rid of the colors by natural means and can result in some great B&W photos.
I strongly urge you to get the necessary hardware and chemicals and develop your own film. These days it's hard to find anyone trustworthy to develop B&W film (at least in the US). By doing it yourself you eliminate the variables of an unknown person using unknown chemicals and methods. If you develop your own you know for sure what has happened and whether things are done properly. Be sure to evaluate your work by looking at the negatives, not the prints. Errors in exposure or contrast can be partially corrected in the printing process, and if you don't examine the negatives you will never be aware of the true results of your efforts.
By coincidence, I use Leicas on a regular basis and they work great (!). What sort of lens does your camera have and how old is the camera?

 

[wahine]

rjb1, thanks for your advice!
So I won't bother with blue glasses so far. I already have been recommended to do my own developing. I'm not unwilling to, but I thought I'd only make sense if I also make my own paper prints which would be so much more effort. But if I understand you correctly you say it's okay to give away the negatives if only you have developed them yourself.
Since my grandpa isn't alive anymore I can't ask him anything about the camera. My web research tells me it's probably a IIc which was built between 1948 and 1951.
I'm not sure about the lens, I really have no clue about analogue cameras (yet), sorry. It says "Summitar f=5cm" (?).
My dad said there should be some other stuff that belongs to the camera, he just couldn't find it yet. Maybe there's some other lens, too.

 

[rjb1]

I didn't mean that you could or should get rid of the negatives. You should never do that. What I meant is that the key to B&W photography is the production of good negatives. Once you have those, printing can come later, and the evaluation of your technique (in both taking shots and developing the film) should come from examination of the negatives. This is to distinguish between looking at the negatives and looking at prints made from those negatives - which can be misleading.
You can develop film in the kitchen or bathroom with no darkroom required (just running water). You just need a changing bag to provide a small dark place to load the light-tight developing tank. With that you can carry out the developing steps in normal room light.
Doing it yourself gives you complete control over the whole photographic process.
You do need a darkroom of some sort to actually make prints. That is the second half of the process so I'll wait about discussing that.
The main idea is that in the learning process you need to get to the point that you can produce good negatives. Everything else follows from that.
Your Leica sounds great. I have one from about that time period and several more from the late 1930's. They all work well. For your lens, the 5cm = focal length, which is the "normal" lens for a 35mm camera. "Summitar" was the above-standard lens for Leicas of that period.
They have some quirks compared to a modern lens, but overall are of excellent quality. They will produce excellent results if you do your part.

Other lenses would be useful if you can find them, but the Summitar will be completely satisfactory to get started and for most purposes.

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

Leiper's Fork, TN- last week. My first time there, after three years in the area.

 

[wahine]

I didn't mean that you could or should get rid of the negatives. You should never do that. What I meant is that the key to B&W photography is the production of good negatives. Once you have those, printing can come later, and the evaluation of your technique (in both taking shots and developing the film) should come from examination of the negatives. This is to distinguish between looking at the negatives and looking at prints made from those negatives - which can be misleading.
You can develop film in the kitchen or bathroom with no darkroom required (just running water). You just need a changing bag to provide a small dark place to load the light-tight developing tank. With that you can carry out the developing steps in normal room light.
Doing it yourself gives you complete control over the whole photographic process.
You do need a darkroom of some sort to actually make prints. That is the second half of the process so I'll wait about discussing that.
The main idea is that in the learning process you need to get to the point that you can produce good negatives. Everything else follows from that.
Your Leica sounds great. I have one from about that time period and several more from the late 1930's. They all work well. For your lens, the 5cm = focal length, which is the "normal" lens for a 35mm camera. "Summitar" was the above-standard lens for Leicas of that period.
They have some quirks compared to a modern lens, but overall are of excellent quality. They will produce excellent results if you do your part.

Other lenses would be useful if you can find them, but the Summitar will be completely satisfactory to get started and for most purposes.

It seems I understood you correctly, I just didn't put it well (language barrier). By "giving away the negatives" I didn't mean to get rid of them. What I meant is, developing the negatives myself, then give them to a drug store to get paper prints (and also get the negatives back!).
Unless they are a complete failure, I would never get rid of negatives - I'm not of the digital generation, I grew up with (automatic) analogue cameras, so I knew at least some of the rules .

After I found a manual on the internet yesterday, I will start with finding a shop that sells 35 mm b&w film, this might be a first obstacle. They do sell 35 mm color film in the drug stores, but I haven't seen any b&w ones for years. Hopefully, a photography specialist will have some.

You have "several more" cameras? How many are there? I hope it's not as contagious as the UAS (ukulele acquisition syndrome) which I already suffer from. Can you ever have enough cameras? If you answer no, I might have to think it over again...
Anyway, I always thought it was a pity that I didn't keep my first camera (a Kodak which produced square pictures).

I hope I can get back to you once I got started - in case there will be any problems (and there probably will).


ps: is there a special vintage photography thread? I didn't mean to capture this thread.

 

[Doctor Strange]

wahine - Here are some threads you should see:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?30844-The-Vintage-Camera-Club-Thread

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?51631-Vintage-Cameras-Still-In-Use

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?53198-Photography-in-30s-the-LEITZ-Style

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?49497-Basic-Black-amp-White-Camera

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?33508-Best-vintage-camera-for-the-starting-enthusiast

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?20147-My-Camera-Collection

There are some others too. Yeah, we've talked about this a lot!

As far as beginning with black & white, apart from the technical aspects, the main thing is that you have to start to think of your images in terms of forms, and of contrasts of light and dark. Don't worry so much about what specific shades of gray colors will be represented as (which will vary from film type to film type, by the kind of light of you're shooting in, how the film is developed, and how you manipulate the resulting negatives when printing or scanning.) B/w photography is different from color, it's all about shape and contrast - by its very nature, it is an abstraction.

But this doesn't mean that you should overthink it either! Your artistic side will grow right along with the technical side as you gain experience doing b/w and discover its (and your) unique strengths.

 

[wahine]

Thank you, Doctor Strange, I got quite a bit to read now!
I wasn't serious about thinking it over. I will definitely try it, although I have quite a bit respect after having read the manual. I never thought of shutter speed, aperture, focal distance... before.
I'm no numbers person, so it'll be a challenge. But a challenge that I accept happily

 

[Giftmacher]

Alta Muta A.D. MMXII

 

[Giftmacher]

Skoda 706 RTO bus (1958-72)

 

[McMurdo]

I took this one a few years ago at the Carolina Renn Faire still one of my favourite shots

 

[Michaelshane]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Beach Boulevard, Stanton, CA
September 11, 2011

 

[angeljenny]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

 

[Touchofevil]

Great shots, especially the two of the trolley. You are definitely talented.