Black and White Film Photography During COVID
In a previous post I talked about how I have learned to use an old SLR camera (Canon T70) to capture some pics which were in color. Instead of sending the roles of film to a processor, I went ahead and purchased the photo processing chemicals and learned how to do it myself. In the process, I developed an appreciation, not only for today's digital cameras and their capabilities, but also for the process that photographers of the past had to go through to develop the film and photos themselves in their darkrooms.
Since late summer of last year, during my breaks working at home, I have alternated between color and black and white film during this experience until I had two roles of each. I purchased a developer tank, which had the capacity to process two roles at a time. So I processed two rolls of color film and then processed two rolls of black and white film. As I stated already, I have posted photos of the color film. Here, I am posting the black and white photos.
It was difficult to get the film loaded onto the reels that fit inside the developer tank in the pitch darkness of my bathroom. Which explains why some of the images have some imperfections. Plus, the film scanner I have only scans color film, so I had to rely on an iPhone app that scans negative film using the iPhone's camera. Because of this, the images are not as clear as I would have liked them. But, the quality is good enough for now. They are the original scans in their raw form, without any editing.
Clouds
Fence Posts
A Heron keeps its eyes on me as I sneak a pic.
Nature Trail
Storm Clouds with dusty winds make this scene look like something out of the Wizard of OZ
Storm clouds appear as a cold front approaches. That is not lightning, it is one of the imperfections that resulted from my handling of the film while trying to load it into the reel that goes inside the developer tank. But it could pass for lightning.
Cactus and a chiminea used for holding candles.
Hibiscus. Looks better in color.
What our jasmine plant looked like before the Texas winter storm of Feb 2021
Man's Best Friend
Shadows from blinds on a rug.
I really appreciated the shadows that the morning sun and the blinds create when working from home during this pandemic.
