JerseyDoug
03-16-2011, 10:18 AM
I shut down my B&W darkroom in 1972 when our son was born. I spent the next 38 years shooting color with P&S film cameras, commercial processing, and later P&S digital cameras. Then last year I began scanning 75+ years of negatives shot by my father and myself. I was so taken by the B&W film images that I lost interest in the color digital photos I'd been taking. I dug out my old Nikon F, shot some Ilford XP2 and had it processed at Walgreens. I was hooked.
I was also disappointed to see that I was not able to accurately focus the SLR or hold it steady at less than the highest shutter speeds. I played briefly with a Leica to see if RF focusing would help. As I expected, it solved the focus issue but not the camera shake. In the end I sold the old Nikon and Leica gear and bought a Hasselblad 500 C/M, three lenses and a good tripod. (Many of my favorites from the old negatives were medium format.)
Even if there was room in our tiny house for a darkroom it would not be practical. I am a first responder with our volunteer fire company. I can not afford to be tied up for hours with a process that I can't easily walk away from. A hybrid work flow is the answer. Here is what I am doing now:
HP5+ or Delta 3200 >> Hasselblad >> Ilfotec DD-X >> CanoScan 8800F >> Lightroom 3 >> HP Photosmart 7660
I will upgrade the scanner and printer over time, and will continue to experiment with different films and developers, but I like the Hasselblad and Lightroom a lot and will most likely stick with them.
I've learned a lot in the short while I've been lurking here. I look forward to learning more and, perhaps, contributing a bit as well.
--Doug
I was also disappointed to see that I was not able to accurately focus the SLR or hold it steady at less than the highest shutter speeds. I played briefly with a Leica to see if RF focusing would help. As I expected, it solved the focus issue but not the camera shake. In the end I sold the old Nikon and Leica gear and bought a Hasselblad 500 C/M, three lenses and a good tripod. (Many of my favorites from the old negatives were medium format.)
Even if there was room in our tiny house for a darkroom it would not be practical. I am a first responder with our volunteer fire company. I can not afford to be tied up for hours with a process that I can't easily walk away from. A hybrid work flow is the answer. Here is what I am doing now:
HP5+ or Delta 3200 >> Hasselblad >> Ilfotec DD-X >> CanoScan 8800F >> Lightroom 3 >> HP Photosmart 7660
I will upgrade the scanner and printer over time, and will continue to experiment with different films and developers, but I like the Hasselblad and Lightroom a lot and will most likely stick with them.
I've learned a lot in the short while I've been lurking here. I look forward to learning more and, perhaps, contributing a bit as well.
--Doug