Topic: A few snaps

[Ailsa]

It's not been the greatest year, and photography has taken a bit of a back seat for me. Having said that, I do have a backlog of 20 or 30 rolls of film that need processing. Unfortunately, I can't afford to have them processed, and my home developing experiments just resulted in frustration with dust and generally unsatisfactory results. This backlog means I've pretty much stopped taking pictures because it just seems rather futile to take them and never get to see them. A bit daft, I suppose. I shouldn't let it stop me.

I did have a few rolls processed a while back, and having flicked through them and been a bit disappointed, yesterday I decided to take a closer look and scan a few. There were a handful I quite liked, so I thought I might post them here for opinions.

The pier picture is probably my favourite. There were a couple of men up in the iron beams, doing some maintenance job or other, and the people on the beach below were oblivious to them. Then along came this kid, who spotted them. I took a few pics as he approached, but this one worked best because of him being placed between the shadows of the pier legs - and casting a shadow of his own.





[Sorry, image deleted during forum software upgrade. Please re-upload if so inclined.]

[Skorj]

I like the groyne!

[SuzanneR]

These have a nice quiet feel... good luck getting through the rest of the processing!

[hookstrapped]

#3 is very nice

[Pete_R]

1 is too complicated for me. I think panning left and down to put the boy more central would help.

2 I like.

3 I like it but grass in forground is distracting and needs darkening .

4 I'm not sure about. Maybe a longer exposure would have helped.

All above just my opinions of course.

Ailsa, I'm surprised at your processing problems. I would have thought you would have been able to do it with your eyes shut. Surely someone here can help if you feel like describing the problems you've been having. I no longer have a darkroom so do my processing in the kitchen/bathroom and have to use a changing bag - it makes it more difficult, but it's possible. I won't say mine are perfect, but they're at least as good as I have got from commercial labs. If I was closer, I'd be happy to lend a hand - well I would anyway if you thought it might help and we could arrange it.

Processing your own has to be the best way. When I used to rely on labs, I found I didn't experiment much because of the time between taking the pictures and seeing the results. By the time I got the results I'd have forgotten what I did, so I just didn't bother. I also found that sometimes, by the time I got the films back, the image I had originally visualised had faded (in my mind) and, often, what seemed like a real corker at the time, became another average shot. I think it's important sometimes to be able to follow the process right through while the idea is fresh.

This might be all mumbo jumbo but what I do know is that, since doing my own again, I've experimented a lot more and have been a lot happier with the results.

Stick with it. I'm sure everyone here will help if we can.

[Sandeha Lynch]

My sympathies ... learning to dev does take a while.  But that said, don't forget that practice is the only way to get there.  Of my first two years dev'ing, maybe half my rolls were over or under-cooked.  Now though, mistakes are rare (squeeze plank here) and I think the investment was worth it - I'll never have to send off to the shop again.

Changing bag, daylight tank, thermometer and timer.  And a couple of clips.   Do one roll a day and ignore the dust - negs can always be re-washed if necessary.   

[Nicole BM]

Hi Ailsa, I like the pier shot, it slows me down to take a good look at what's happening in the scene. I also like the reeds.

Developing is time consuming, space demanding and frustrating which it's not dead on. Hang in there. Keep shooting and let the rolls bank up for now. Their time will come when you are ready and then they'll be even more exciting.

[moominsean]

I like the groyne!

no comment.


the grass has a nice sweepy feel to it...

[LT]

dont give up on it all Ailsa.  Even if you have a break, it'll come back when you feel ready.

of these, I think the sweeping grass and therefelction are the strongest.  Having seen your portfolio, I think these two would fit in very nicely to the wider series.