Photo Development: Take 2
So I went to Target today to develop my second roll of film after my last experience. All in all, a completely better experience. Now I had accidentally rewound this roll of film with three frames left unexposed, however they actually printed them on the picture index that came along with the rest of my
photos (something Wal-Mart never even bothered with) and just didn't print them out (good judgement call this time).
I got the photo cd this time and not the doubles, and was very pleased with the results-- especially with the photos being a glossy and not Wal-Mart-matte finish. The picture to the right is one picture I took that turned out pretty good.
Anyways, overall it was a much better experience with Target than Wal-Mart. I will definitely take my film only to Target in the future.
Photo Development: Take 1
So I went to Wal-Mart today to have my first roll of 24 pictures developed and see how they all turned out. I dropped them off and got the doubles (just in case they were good) but not the photo cd (because they would probably not be that good). I came back an hour later, jumping for joy, ready to see what I had captured. I got them, peeked in at a few I had taken thinking they were pretty sweet, and then heading out to the car. It was at this point I realized my frame numbers jumped from 7 to 13, and my night shots were nowhere to be found. I come back in, asking what happened to all of my pictures, and I get an answer of "we don't develop the ones that don't come out good."
My first reaction is: what the hell? I spend my time taking these pictures and someone else gets to decide which ones they want to develop based on whether or not it's worth it? I look at the negatives and notice that the night ones are mostly all blank. Sure. but I look closer and notice a few speckles; move to the next one and I can definitely see a little moon right smack-dab in the middle of the negative. I mean I was expecting a pack of pictures I took, in full. Sure, I get it that people may accidentally hit the film rewind button when there are a few unexposed pictures left on the roll. But who's to make that judgement call of what I really do and do not want developed? And they might want to save you some money by only developing the "good ones" but really, what about the option to have them all? Some people would rather Pay money, Live better than Save money and live better. It's just like people complaining about wasteful "driving around." But that's a whole nother bag of chips.
Anyways, Target is going to get my photo-developing business next time. And we'll see how that goes.
35mm
I've been messing around with a 35mm SLR that I got in the past week as a gift. Despite the not-instant-gratification nature of 35mm's and the extra cost, etc. etc.. I was more excited to have this camera than I ever have been to have any digital camera. As I talked about a while ago, I love night photography. And any digital camera I've owned or been able to mess with has always only allowed me to keep the shutter open for up to 15 seconds. It can produce some nice pictures, but nothing stunning.
On the other hand, my 35mm can do up to and above 30 seconds. I can completely control how long I make the shutter speed, as long as it is within the four hours my batteries are estimated to last on an open shutter. And the other major difference that no digital camera I know of has, is double exposures. I can take one picture and overlay it with another, all on the same frame.
Of course this would be fairly easy to accomplish with Photoshop, as would most of the effects you can create with a 35mm be. But the thing that I appeals to me the most is actually creating these amazing shots with one try: controlling all the factors that go into a picture at the exact moment that you take it and at that moment only. And if you can actually create an amazing shot under those circumstances, it makes the photo that much better.
Night Photography
I love taking pictures at night. There's something about it that really catches me, and I think it's that you can capture more than just a still frame of life. You can capture a still frame of things you don't normally see with the naked eye. It's a little more dynamic than the simple snapshots you take during the day. It opens up a whole new world. It lets you create things never seen or possible to see otherwise.
This is one of the cooler night shots I've taken, IMHO, but it really shows the effects you can create. I took this with my Canon PowerShot SD300, just a simple long shutter speed. And, of course, that is me in the picture. While camping.
Investing in a tripod was also one of the most important things I did that helped fuel this obsession with night photography. This is vital, although I got along fine for a good while simply putting my camera on the ground or a solid surface and pressing the button. The mini tripod works as well, but right now it's sitting in my car in case I happen to have my digital camera in there as well, and want to take pictures. I'll put up more pictures soon, check back later.
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