I did not load any film since week #16. Feeling kind of pissed about the results and failures of the last rolls. Seems like my expectations concerning picture quality rose above my capabilities of making them come true using film. My fault of course.
I returned to shooting film to slow down after the usual digital detour. Fumbling around with film still feels like sidestepping off the highways of life on which we are being pushed along in constant acceleration. And it feels good, one one side.
On the other side film drives me crazy. The whole process has so many traps that you can step into and that can easily spoil all your efforts to create good photographs. And scanning negatives is just a pain in the ass.
Slowing down however, is something that has to become a state of mind if it should work properly. It should not be a matter of gear. So I try to preserve the positive effects of shooting film – like composing carefully, judging the relevance of a scene, trying to avoid the instant look at the screen – and try to apply them on shooting digital with its much higher workflow-security.
I´m taking a break. Not able to take more disappointments at the moment. But nevermind – if things work out like they have done in the past, I will be back after some time. 😉
52 rolls 
Don’t give up. I agree, scanning can be a pain as it is a very slow process. I tend to scan taking simply care not to clip the highlights. Everything else I do in PS using masks and curves. Much more satisfying. Don’t forget that one learns quite a deal from ones mistakes and frustrations.
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I can empathise…shooting dim can be frustrating at times. I tend to shoot all manual too which is good when it works 😕
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How about letting a lab deal with the processing and scanning so all you really need to think about is taking the pictures. It might add a few quid to the process, but this sounds like an emergency!
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Thank you all, I am thankful for your comments. Lab could be an idea, development & scanning maybe. I will think about it.
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Projects do also help. I’m planning more than before without 52rolls, but I often lack the necessity to go for film. You’re right, gear is not what matters. Ideas and weighing up the necessity and the effort is crucial. I’m shooting more than I show right now, but I also see it coming that I might stop shooting on film on this quantity level. It has to do with the cheap film situation on the one hand (the last dm rolls) and a kind of fin de siecle feeling on the other hand. And I’m going to experiment with bulk film soon. So a roll of 135 film might have 12 or 15 frames in future for me. Which should be enough often.
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Is the above photo a success or failure in your eyes?
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It is a success, Andrew – and it has been taken with a digicam (shame on me)…. 🙂
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Well, I’ve enjoyed what you’ve posted thus far. Don’t stay away too long huh…
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I too am suffering with what I imagine my photos looking like vs how they come out when I scan them. Digital definitely allowed me to take for granted the processes of making a photo. I just started using film in 35mm and am working hard to give myself the room to grow and be okay with my mistakes and learning.
Your posts are great, keep it up!
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