Family shots with my new (old) camera

[The Dread Pirate Robins]

So, I got a new (old) Spotmatic and I wanted to try it out since I hadn't used one of these in at least 10 years.

Right off the bat, I can see that they are grainy. I used a good lab for developing. I used kind of old store brand film of dubious quality, so I think that's what's going on there. I have since picked up some better rolls of film.

I didn't really set any of these up. I just kept pulling the camera out when I would see something that interested me. I am open to comments and criticism of the photos. If you think my wife and daughters are ugly just write that thought down on a piece of paper and put it in your little box of secrets that you'll never tell.

 

[Helen B]

It looks like you are underexposing a little or a lot (2, 3 and 4 look particularly underexposed, perhaps because of the back lighting). That would cause an increase in graininess. Unlike silver-image film (ie traditional B&W) colour film tends to be the most grainy at the lower limit of its sensitivity. In general the more exposure you give it, the less grainy it gets.

Good luck,
Helen

 

[The Dread Pirate Robins]

It looks like you are underexposing a little or a lot (2, 3 and 4 look particularly underexposed, perhaps because of the back lighting). That would cause an increase in graininess. Unlike silver-image film (ie traditional B&W) colour film tends to be the most grainy at the lower limit of its sensitivity. In general the more exposure you give it, the less grainy it gets...

Helen,

That would make sense, especially because 2-4 are the most back-lit. One of my five year old daughters was getting really animated telling a story and so I was thinking much more about capturing the gesture than making a good photograph. It's so rare that she doesn't stop and either avoid or play up to the camera.

I might try fiddling with these on some photo editing software and see if I can get something a little less grainy.

Adam