New to everything in Film Photography - Just starting out

[jabutle3]

Hey everyone,

I'm a senior Broadcast/Cinema major in college and looking to get into film photography. I know a lot about digital photog. through my education and just being in the field of media. However, still film photography is a whole different world. To me, anyone can snap a digital photo and do interesting effects and call it a piece of art. But to shoot an image on film, develop it, and manipulate the photo manually with your hands seems much more artful, skillful and all around more rewarding.

My idea is to buy vintage photography/developing equipment (mostly from eBay). So I just bought a Kalimar SR200 35mm camera on eBay and am waiting for it to come in the mail. I don't know if it works or not, they sold it to me 'as is' and haven't tested it but they claim it is in fair condition.

Assuming my camera actually works, where do I go from here? Unfortunately, my room has huge 8ftx8ft windows and the other areas have full walls of windows that are even bigger. So I guess I could use my bathroom as a darkroom or buy some huge drapes for my room and develop at night or something.

Like I said, I want to be able to shoot and develop my own photos from vintage/used equipment and get them framed and such. Where do I go from here? I'm sure I should buy a roll of film and just get it developed to see if it works before I do anything else. But what's the next step? An enlarger? They are fairly inexpensive on eBay. From what I've seen anyway.

Sorry for the long post. This just seems like a really cool and rewarding hobby.
-Alex

 

[ann]

can you take a class there at the school your attending.

if so, it will really help as you can get direct feedback and a lot of question answered quickly.

check out ilford's website for some pdf files that will get you started with what y ou will need in the way of equipment, etc.

there are several threads here that also go into great detail about how to develop film, etc.

 

[jabutle3]

I'm scraping up the hours to graduate on time so I don't really have the time or money for classes for fun like that. And I really don't think I need them. Photojournalism/journalism is going to be my career. So as far as operating cameras and stuff like that I don't need any help. I just want to know about equipment mainly. Maybe the question I'm looking to get answered is how much would getting the stuff needed cost (round abouts)? This is also the reason for the need for vintage/used equipment.

 

[ann]

if you know how to print and develop film then you just need to gather the necessary equipment on ebay.

are you looking to just develop the negatives and then scan or print them as well.
if you are just going to develop the negatives, you should be able to gather what you need for about 50 dollars.

 

[jabutle3]

I guess I want to print them too. I want to be able to take photos and blow them up to be framed and stuff like that. Isn't that what an enlarger is for? Stay with me here, I'm new to this stuff.

 

[ann]

yes that is what an enlarger is for. and they can be found for a variety of prices these days.

which one will depend on which film size your depending on using.

 

[christopher walrath]

I got enough film for a year (I hope) and chems and processing gear from B&H and local suppliers (even my auto parts store, amazing what I sell that can be used in the darkroom) for around $350.00. Shop around and you should be able to do much better.

 

[djacobox372]

My advice would be to start off with a hybrid film/digital process, where you develop the negatives and then scan and print digitally. This can be done without a darkroom, all you need is a changing bag and the chemicals.

You can always move on to print making later, but that will require a darkroom and a lot more investment of time and $$.