I burned through 5 rolls of Portra 400 thinking my old Pentax was finally dialed in only to get them back from the lab and see those orange streaks ruining every shot, has anyone else had a camera just betray you out of nowhere like that?
I ignored him for 6 months until I shot a whole roll of Portra 400 at golden hour with the meter off and every single frame was dead on, so I guess he was right, but has anyone else found their meter just lies to them sometimes?
He said I was over-focusing on modern digital sharpness and killing the soul of my shots. Now I shoot a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm f1.4 that's got a bit of haze in it and my portraits finally have that dreamy look I was chasing. Anyone else get weird critiques that actually helped?
I spent about 6 months shooting portraits on my old Pentax and wondering why every face looked so flat and washed out. Then a guy at the camera shop in downtown Austin told me I was metering wrong for the situation, he said point the camera at the darkest part of the face and lock that reading in. Now my indoor shots have way more depth and the skin tones look natural instead of blown out. Has anyone else tried changing their metering style and got totally different results?
I posted a photo of this old diner in Detroit on here a few months back, and someone named @fstop_frank just said "your horizon is trying to escape the frame." At first I was annoyed, but then I actually looked at it and yeah, it was tilted like 3 degrees. I've been way more careful about leveling my camera since then, especially with my 50mm lens that has a wonky bubble level. Has anyone else had a tiny critique that just stuck with you forever?
I kept wondering why all my rolls came back underexposed. Finally brought my old Sekonic to the camera shop on a whim and the guy laughed. Said it was reading a full stop and a half off. Now I'm using the Sunny 16 rule and honestly getting better results than I ever did with that broken meter. Has anyone else had a meter go bad slowly like that?
I started bulk loading my own black and white last June just to save cash and somehow ended up at 100 rolls faster than I ever expected, anyone else lose track of how much film they actually shoot?
I was at a camera swap meet in Austin last spring and this retired photographer saw me messing with my handheld Sekonic. He just laughed and said toss that thing and learn to read the light with your eyes. Told me to shoot a whole roll of Tri-X without touching the meter. Honestly it was frustrating at first but after 3 tries I started guessing exposures within a stop. Has anyone else had some random stranger give them advice that actually worked?
I was dropping off some rolls at Austin Camera Lab last week and this older guy next to me was telling the clerk he shoots Tri-X at 400 no matter what because pushing kills shadow detail on that film. Made me think about all the times I've pushed 2 stops and gotten muddy blacks. I tried it on my last roll of HP5 too and the shadows actually came out clean. Anyone else ever waste film trying to push when you didn't need to?
I grabbed 10 rolls of Portra 160 off Craigslist for $20 from a guy who said they were kept in a cool closet. Turns out that closet was right next to a radiator and every roll came out with heavy color shifts and grain. Anyone else get burned on cheap expired film like this?
Tried it with a roll of HP5 last weekend and ended up with weird water marks all over the negatives. Has anyone else gotten bad results from rinsing film before the chemicals?
I picked up a Sekonic L-208 TwinMate for around $80 off eBay and used it on a trip to Portland last month. Half my shots came out perfect, but the other half were way off because I think I was metering wrong in tricky light. Did getting a dedicated meter really help you, or do you just use your phone or sunny 16 these days?
I was walking through the Pearl District trying to get candid shots but everyone kept noticing me and posing stiff... this guy just melted into a shadow and caught this perfect moment of a kid splashing in a puddle. How do you get close enough without people freezing up on you?
I was at the Remlinger Farms fall fair up near Carnation a few weeks ago, right at golden hour. My old Pentax K1000 has this foam seal that I knew was getting crunchy, but I figured one more roll wouldn't hurt. Well, about 11 out of 24 frames came back with these milky orange streaks on the edges. I should have just cut some black craft foam and replaced the seals before I went, it takes maybe 20 minutes. Now I keep a roll of adhesive felt in my camera bag as a backup fix. Has anyone else had a whole day of shots ruined by something small like that?
I was at a camera shop in Brooklyn last Saturday and overheard the owner telling a customer that scanning film onto a computer is basically cheating. He said if you're not printing in a darkroom, you're missing 80 percent of the process. His customer pushed back hard, saying film scanning lets more people actually shoot film without needing a whole lab setup. I get both sides - I've got a flatbed scanner at home and it saves me money, but I never get that grainy texture right in the scan. Is the darkroom the only real way to do film, or is digital scanning okay for the rest of us?
I watched three folks at Golden Gate Park wreck their rolls because they changed film in broad daylight - that little bit of sun hitting the spool will fog your first 5-6 shots every time. Has anyone else had to rescue a friend from this mistake before they even developed the roll?
Tbh I was at a swap meet last Saturday and had to choose between this beat up aluminum Vivitar tripod for $20 or a solid Manfrotto for $80. I cheaped out and grabbed the Vivitar cause I was low on cash. Set it up at the park to shoot some long exposure night shots and the wind just made the whole thing shake like crazy. Got my film back from the lab yesterday and every single shot was blurry. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way with cheap tripods?
I keep seeing people post shots from expired film that look muddy and flat. You need to set your ISO lower than what the box says. I shot a roll of 10 year expired Kodak Gold at 100 ISO instead of 400 and the colors actually popped. Last week a buddy showed me his expired film shots where he shot at box speed and they were all dull green. Anyone else find that going one stop lower works better than the usual rule of thumb?
The light was perfect, I saw a '57 Bel Air with original chrome, and I ran out of film halfway through a burnout session. Has anyone else ever missed a shot because you forgot to pack extra rolls?
I spent 3 years scanning all my medium format negatives at 2400 DPI because everyone said that was the sweet spot. Then last month I scanned the same roll at 1200 DPI and honestly I can barely tell the difference on a normal screen or a 4x6 print. People act like you need massive resolution for home viewing but unless you're making a 16x20 print, 1200 DPI saves you hours of file processing and hard drive space. Same goes for 35mm film - 2400 DPI is overkill for Instagram or sharing online. Anybody else think the scanning high-res trend is mostly hype for casual shooters?
Guy at the camera shop in Portland, must have been 70, said I was overthinking it with my Sekonic. Told me to just use Sunny 16 and trust my gut. I rolled my eyes but tried it on a trip to the coast last month. Shot a whole roll of Portra 400 without a single meter reading and honestly got better exposure than my usual fussing. Six frames came out perfect in harsh midday light which I never could nail before. Has anyone else had luck ditching the gear and going back to basics like that?
I drove two hours to get that morning light on the pier and my Minolta jammed halfway through the roll. Turns out the take-up spool had a tiny crack I never noticed until I got home and opened the back. Has anyone else dealt with a camera body flaw ruining a whole day of shooting?