USING FILM

 

The photos I upload on Flickr are all taken using film. When I first joined Flickr it was just because I had quite a few photos taken in the previous few years, and I thought it would be nice to make them publicly available. Initially I did not make a thing about them being film photos, but the fact that the majority of views my photos get on Flickr are because they are taken using film has encouraged me to continue using it just for film photos. Now with the photos I upload, I give a tag to say what film was used to create them. However, it is important to me that the photos are appreciated for what they are photos of, and not just for the film or camera used.

 

CAMERAS

 

Most of my photos are taken with a Canon EOS500N. I bought one of these a few years before digital cameras became the norm. It was Canon's entry-level SLR at that point, and I bought it just for holiday snapshots. Having kept meaning to replace it with the equivalent digital but never getting round to it, I found the people developing my films assumed I was still using film for the effect it gives, which made me think about it and I decided, yes, I did like the way images looked when processed that way. This led me to look a bit more at what I could do with my old film camera. I find it a good compromise - full SLR level of control, and light enough to carry around on a day-to-day basis.

 

Having decided to carry on using film, I splashed out on some new equipment for when I want a second camera - a Halina MW 35S for £2 from a charity shop. After that I tried a few more old point-and-shoot cameras, including another Halina, this time a Halina 110 Autoflip which had been in our loft for years (the house we live in was originally my wife's parents' house). Another old camera I found in our loft is a Kodak Instamatic 233-X. It uses 126 format film, which has not been manufactured for years, but there were a couple of unused rolls with it that I tried out. The results were interesting, so from time to time I bought another roll of it from sellers of expired film. I also acquired a Lomo Belair X 6-12, as I wanted to experiment with medium format. Not an easy camera to use, but it does give an interesting look to shots it takes.

 

Other cameras bought from charity shops where I've uploaded shots are:

 

Kershaw 110 despite its name, this takes medium format film, not 110 format film.

 

Olympus Trip 300 the classic point-and-shoot film camera, there seem to be more of these around than any others.

 

Panoramic Wide Pic gives you “panoramic” shots by means of a frame inside which blocks out the top and bottom of the film.

 

Kodak Brownie 127 just to try another different format, now there is a company making 127 format films.

 

Welmy Six another medium format camera.

 

After my original Canon EOS500N stopped working properly, I bought more old version of the same camera, now available very much cheaper than its original cost.

 

Mostly I've using standard Fuji and Kodak films, but I like the variety of using different films. So I've taken quite a few shots using slide film with proper E6 processing. I've also experimented with some of the less usual films available only from specialists, and with films that are now only available as expired films. The variety of films available continues to reduce, so many of what were once standard films are no longer available.

  

FLICKR POLICY

 

Having taken many photos, I think it's nice to make them available for others to see, but I'm not into using tricks to push myself. So these are the policies I follow:

 

Accurate tags: Wherever possible, photos will have tags which are identify what they are, and all tags will be directly relevant. Nearly all my photos are taken with film, though I tend only to give a tag saying the camera and/or film used when it is one of the less usual ones.

 

Groups: I will occasionally add a photo to a relevant group, always respecting the group's purpose. I will not play the trick of adding the same photo to large numbers of groups.

 

Favourites: Of course I appreciate it if someone “faves” a shot of mine, so it's only fair that I also “fave” other people's shots from time to time. However, I do this sparingly, and mostly to shots which have few or no faves already.

 

Following: I have decided that I do not want to single anyone out, so I keep the number I am following to 2 (my wife and my sister). If anyone wants to follow me, that's fine.

  

FLICKR UPLOADS

 

Each photo I upload is uploaded individually. However, I am a bulk user of Flickr in the sense that I don't use it just for those I consider my best. One of the reasons for this is that I am so often surprised by a photo I didn't think much of attracting a large number of views (and vice versa). I am grateful for the way this often helps me see things in my photos which I had missed.

 

My uploads are semi-random, mostly a few each day from the more recent ones I've taken, occasionally going back to older ones. Each photo is added to one of my albums, which cover broad themes. Occasionally I'm setting up a new album, in which case there will be a period when all uploads are on the theme of that album.

 

So, most of the photos I take now do get uploaded eventually. I've digitised just a few of my older holiday snapshots, and one or two of my uploads are direct scans of old photos.

 

Mostly I will lightly process a photo digitally before uploading it, to bring out the best. Where possible I get my films digitised in high resolution and upload them as that. To me, the aesthetics of using film only really come out when you see the grain rather than the pixels if you zoom in.

  

LIFE

 

I live in Eltham, south-east London, and travel through central London on my way to work at Queen Mary University of London in London's East End. I also work a couple of weeks each year in Beijing. Many of my photos are taken unplanned, during the course of my daily life.

 

I'm fortunate to be able to take the occasional holiday, so there's still photos which are really just holiday snapshots. The lady who appears in some of these is, of course, my wife (usually from behind, as she's walking off while I'm taking my shot).

 

I have no intention of using Flickr to discuss or push any political or religious ideas, but I like the photogenic aspects of the religion I am affiliated to, so that comes out in some of my photos. Please enjoy them on that basis.

 

2020 SITUATION

 

Due to the Covid situation, I have been stuck at home in Eltham nearly all the time from March 2020. To some extent this has encouraged me to take photos even more often in order to keep myself amused doing something. So more recent photos will all be of local places.