the first roll
10/02/2019
Alas, it's finally developed and scanned! My first roll of film after I decided to abandon the smartphone and carry a camera as my primary shooting device years ago. But why film over digital?
I'll be honest, it's because it was the best thing I could afford at the time. A good digital camera was too expensive for me, but on a budget of $200, I could afford a professional-grade film SLR. I remember the moment I decided to truly invest in this hobby. My father used to be an amateur photographer like me, so I tore apart our storage unit/garage in hopes of finding his old equipment so I could invest my cash in accessories.
After a whole evening of searching and creating a mess, I found the remnants of my father's long-forgotten hobby. A single camera lens and a set of filters to accompany it. Turns out, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 was all my father had left after an accident sent his Canon 650 body into a river 20 years ago.
Alas, it's finally developed and scanned! My first roll of film after I decided to abandon the smartphone and carry a camera as my primary shooting device years ago. But why film over digital?
I'll be honest, it's because it was the best thing I could afford at the time. A good digital camera was too expensive for me, but on a budget of $200, I could afford a professional-grade film SLR. I remember the moment I decided to truly invest in this hobby. My father used to be an amateur photographer like me, so I tore apart our storage unit/garage in hopes of finding his old equipment so I could invest my cash in accessories.
After a whole evening of searching and creating a mess, I found the remnants of my father's long-forgotten hobby. A single camera lens and a set of filters to accompany it. Turns out, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 was all my father had left after an accident sent his Canon 650 body into a river 20 years ago.
So, I took the lens, and ordered the Canon EOS 3 with the power booster grip accessory. This SLR was one of Canon's top models before they ceased film camera production and moved onto digital. It had everything. Incredible shutter speeds, metering in any form you want, automatic frame advance, and the AUTOFOCUSING SYSTEM.
Here's a quick side tangent of how amazing the autofocus was: it was the first Canon camera to introduce a 45-point system that immediately became the gold standard for their next generations of cameras. Hell, it's autofocus is faster and more accurate than my digital Fuji X100 camera. But even better, it featured eye-control autofocus. The camera would literally track where your eye was looking through the viewfinder and automatically focus to that point. This is a piece of technology that was introduced in late 90s, abandoned, and is now being reintroduced in modern Canon cameras 20 years later.
The EOS 3 was a brute force in technological advancement in photography and performed without flaw nor effort.
Here's a quick side tangent of how amazing the autofocus was: it was the first Canon camera to introduce a 45-point system that immediately became the gold standard for their next generations of cameras. Hell, it's autofocus is faster and more accurate than my digital Fuji X100 camera. But even better, it featured eye-control autofocus. The camera would literally track where your eye was looking through the viewfinder and automatically focus to that point. This is a piece of technology that was introduced in late 90s, abandoned, and is now being reintroduced in modern Canon cameras 20 years later.
The EOS 3 was a brute force in technological advancement in photography and performed without flaw nor effort.
Ultimately, I sold the EOS 3 because as well as it performed, the camera was much too heavy for me to use on a daily basis. With the booster grip, the camera weighed over 5 pounds and was starting to kill my poor neck, you can actually see how huge the camera is in my self-portrait posted above! I have since opted for much more lightweight cameras for everyday use.
Anyways, here are my favorite photos from my first roll of film after getting back into photography! These were shot on Ilford FP4 Plus 125 at box speed. I'm actually quite impressed by the tonality of the emulsion and how sharp it is. Might have to start using it more often!
After my self-portrait and a portrait of my sister, I took some more shots at my friend's birthday party, where we celebrated with a potluck charcuterie board and BYO wine. The last few shots are of my old study group/friends while we prepared for an anatomy exam.
Hope you enjoyed my stream-of-consciousness of the day! Until next time!
-kdo
Anyways, here are my favorite photos from my first roll of film after getting back into photography! These were shot on Ilford FP4 Plus 125 at box speed. I'm actually quite impressed by the tonality of the emulsion and how sharp it is. Might have to start using it more often!
After my self-portrait and a portrait of my sister, I took some more shots at my friend's birthday party, where we celebrated with a potluck charcuterie board and BYO wine. The last few shots are of my old study group/friends while we prepared for an anatomy exam.
Hope you enjoyed my stream-of-consciousness of the day! Until next time!
-kdo