my first pics from my Pentax (film)- 12 thumbs

[John_05]

i finally got these back and for the first set of photos ive taken with my Pentax ME that actually came out, i thought they came out pretty good. i was worried about getting them processed "cheaply", but the prints all look pretty good to me. these are from the CD i got back with the prints. my scanner isnt the best, so getting a CD was the best option for me. seeing as alot of people here helped me with the questions i had, i figured i would share them with everyone here, and see if i could get some general opinions on them.







thanks for looking, and for any comments/criticism!

 

[Joerocket]

they are too small to comment on, but to me they just look like snapshots.

-Joe

 

[JonMikal]

i like them. looks like you've been working on your DOF and exposures...nicely done. i also see you're not afraid to just photograph anything that's a good thing...you'll tend to catch what most will miss.

thanks for sharing your first roll with us :thumbup:

 

[aprilraven]

just really dig the dragons... cool shots...

keep up the good work....keep shooting!!

 

[John_05]

they are too small to comment on, but to me they just look like snapshots.

-Joe

they are just snapshots. i realized the mistake i made with the first rolls i shot and wanted to just use up a roll to test the camera. you can click on the thumbs to see larger versions of the pics too, if you want to see them a little bigger. thanks for the comment. :thumbup:

i like them. looks like you've been working on your DOF and exposures...nicely done. i also see you're not afraid to just photograph anything ;-) that's a good thing...you'll tend to catch what most will miss.

thanks for sharing your first roll with us :thumbup:

thanks JonMikal. ive been trying to do alot of reading about DOF and exposure, and so far i think its paying off. as for "not being afraid to shoot anything, youre right. i have pictures of just about anything you could think of that exists in the average household. to me, i think its just good practice, and i do need alot of that.

i have one more roll finished, and im working on another that has pics of my cousins new dog. hopefully i will have enough to get them developed soon, and i will share them here when i do.
thanks again.

just really dig the dragons... cool shots...

keep up the good work....keep shooting!!

thanks aprilraven. i love dragons. i collect them, so i have alot of pictures of them. i will have to go through my pics and share some more of them.

 

[LaFoto]

Isn't it thrilling? You take the photos and can only HOPE they came out, then hand in the film and wait ... and wait ... and wait ... and then "Prints-Are-Ready-Day" comes and it feels like Christmas .

One idea: go outdoors. Take your photos there.
In these, there is so much shadow from the flash.
It may be a personal thing, but I am just not fond of flash.

Other than that: fill roll after roll. It is such fun.
However I also found out (again) how much more expensive it is than shooting digital, more so if the film you use is black and white and you have to have that developed in a big lab somewhere.

But the "Christmas feeling" at "Prints-Are-Ready-Day" is unbeatable !!

 

[John_05]

it was quite a "thrill" to finally see actual photos when i got them back. the first 2 rolls i took didnt come out at all, and i went there thinking i was going to get back nothing again. when i went to get the pics (1-hour processing) the person said to me "well this time you got pictures and they came out pretty good". he was the same person that handled the 2 rolls i had taken in a few days earlier, so he remembered me and the first 2 rolls.
i told myself i wasnt going to publically admit what i did to the first 2, but oh well, i suppose i will embarass myself. when i loaded the 2 rolls, they didnt take on the spool that advances the film. i have shot film before, and i should have noticed the lack of tension and the fact that the wind lever wasnt rotating when i advanced to the next frame. all i noticed was that it wasnt stopping at the end of a roll, so i rewind nothing, and loaded the next roll and it did the exact same thing. when i realized what i did, i took another roll and left the back open to see what was happening. when i saw that the film wasnt staying inside the spool, i took a new toothbrush and a can of air and cleaned it, and now it works just fine.

i like outdoor pics much better too, but i havent had much time to take any with the Pentax outside. i did take some, but they were at midnight on new years eve, and they didnt come out too good. the first 2 rolls i took that worked were really just snapshots to test the camera to make sure it was working. the pics i posted here were taken that day, and then i took another roll that night.

i do shoot roll after roll....after roll. the last time i shot with film, it was at an air show here. we were there for about 3 hours and i took 4 rolls with me, and bought 3 more while i was there. if my scanner worked better, i would post some of those here too. they came out pretty good too considering the camera (Yashica MicroElite Zoom) was giving me problems that day.

i havent ever shot any black and white film, but i plan to soon. i called for prices and the best lab we have here will process a roll of 24 photos for around $15, so i guess that isnt too bad. i do have some ideas for what i want to shoot in black and white, so when the weather gets a little better, i am going to buy a roll (or 10) of black and white film, and give it a try. what is really unfortunate about living where i do, is that there isnt a lab here that can push or pull film. i accidentally shot a roll of ISO400 with a ISO200 setting, and i have nowhere to get it developed.

thanks for the comments and suggestion LaFoto. like i said, one the weather gets a little better, i will be out shooting outdoors, and hopefully i will have something worthy of sharing here.

last thing, you are very right. that feeling you get when you are going to pick up your prints is very much like waking up on christmas morning and seeing a pile of presents 5 foot deep, and then tearing off the paper that hides the one specific gift that you had been wishing for. :thumbup:

 

[skylark]

If you think it's a thrill getting prints back just wait until the bug really bites and you start watching them appear in the developer in a darkroom !!!

Keep on keeping on -and welcome to the wonderful world of film, here you get to keep your mistakes so you can see your progress.

BTW I hope you keep a record of exposures, its a really good way of learning what apperture/focal length combiantion gives the DOF you want in a given situation.

 

[Joerocket]

they are just snapshots. i realized the mistake i made with the first rolls i shot and wanted to just use up a roll to test the camera. you can click on the thumbs to see larger versions of the pics too, if you want to see them a little bigger. thanks for the comment. :thumbup:

oh sorry man, I didnt realize they were links, I think these are really good exposures, good focus, and the dof shots are neat.

-Joe

 

[John_05]

If you think it's a thrill getting prints back just wait until the bug really bites and you start watching them appear in the developer in a darkroom !!!

Keep on keeping on -and welcome to the wonderful world of film, here you get to keep your mistakes so you can see your progress.

BTW I hope you keep a record of exposures, its a really good way of learning what apperture/focal length combiantion gives the DOF you want in a given situation.

ive always been curious about developing film in a dark room, but i doubt i could afford it on my income. it would be something i would like to learn though.

as for keeping records, i plan on doing that from now on, but i didnt with the first sets i shot, but i wish i did. thanks for the comments and advice!

oh sorry man, I didnt realize they were links, I think these are really good exposures, good focus, and the dof shots are neat.

-Joe

thats ok, no need for an apology. it was hard to tell by just looking at them, and in the title i should have said "clickable" thumbs.
i was pretty happy with the way these came out, and i wasnt surprised by the ones that didnt. like i said before, these were really just test shots. after all the positive responses here, i cant wait to go out and shoot alot more film.

i thought i would also add that these (believe it or not) were processed in the 1 hour lab........at Wal-Mart. i was told by a few places i called that the lab here does a better job then you would expect when youre paying roughly $8.00 for the prints, and a CD. the next time i go out shooting, i am going to take 2 rolls of the same photos, and have each processed in different places so i can see who does a better job.

thanks again to everyone for the comments/advice! i really appreciate it, and look forward to posting more shots from my Pentax when i have more to share.

 

[terri]

ive always been curious about developing film in a dark room, but i doubt i could afford it on my income. it would be something i would like to learn though.

Hi! I think you're learning so much lately, that you should give yourself a pat on the back. :thumbup: These pictures came out great, and you're smart enough to be taking the time to learn the camera and blow several test rolls like this. Great approach.

Just know that you do NOT need a darkroom to process your B&W film, and if you're going to stick with it, it's soooo much cheaper and faster than having these mini-labs do it. (Although they've done a great job with your color rolls here.) After the initial investment of the tank and some chemistries, you just load the film onto the developing reel in total darkness. (sitting in a closet in the evening works fine) Then you can develop by the kitchen sink! Once the film is in the tank, you're good to go.

Just something to keep in mind if you get bitten by the B&W film bug. :mrgreen: It's cheaper, faster, and you have total control over the process if you do it at home. You can select which frames you want prints of from there.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Chiller]

Ya got some pretty cool shots there. I really like the dragons. I agree with JonMikal. Just shoot anything, your eye sees. Try different compositions, and see if one might be better then the one before.
Did you paint the dragons? They look cool. Keep practising, and posting. You on the right track. Well done. !

 

[John_05]

thanks Terri and Chiller. i really appreciate all of the positive replies, and all of the helpful tips from everyone.

Terri.... i was wondering, how much would a "starter" type kit to develop my own negatives cost? im sure i could find books at the library, and browse the posts here to get a good start, but i have no idea what to buy when it comes to processing my own negatives.


Chiller.... like i said before, i love dragons too. the one on the top row last pic i didnt fully paint, but it was faded and scratched when i got it, so my cousins wife helped me to repaint it. she does alot of ceramic work, so she was a big help to me. she mixed the colors for me, and i touched it up myself. she did some final touches at her house, so im not exactly sure as to everything she did, but it looks like new now. the other one i posted here is actually from a "Mega-Blocks" set. that one came with the ship you can partially see in the pic in the 2nd row, 3rd over. the other dragon i have that came with a different set i didnt have any pics from using the Pentax, but i will post some of that one and the others in my collection soon.

thank you so much again to everyone for the comments. i was feeling a little "uninspired" lately probably due to turning 36 on the 2nd (getting "OLD"er :lmao: ), and some fairly disappointing pics i took the last few days, but after seeing all the comments here, i really want to go out and fill some cards and finish off the remaining rolls of film i have. :thumbup:

 

[LaFoto]

Ah, don't I know that "low" you can fall into when you have come back with some not-so-good photos!?!?

And don't I know how you can load your camera and snap away only to find out the film did not transport? My second roll in the Leica did that to me, but I had an inkling that something was so not right, I rewound it early. Never even handed it in for processing. I KNEW nothing was on. It was back in its own container in no time. So now an unused film is gone all the way back into the container. No beginning there to pull it out again. What can I do? (Well, it was a cheap film, anyway).

But age cannot have anything to do with it. MUST not! Where would I be if that were the case, me being 10 years your senior, eh? So don't frighten me with suggestions of the kind ... as if age played a part in that. Right!?!?!?!

Maybe you will need to go on a little drive, so you take yourself to a place that is new to your eyes and camera? Couldn't that be inspiring?

 

[skylark]

thank you so much again to everyone for the comments. i was feeling a little "uninspired" lately probably due to turning 36 on the 2nd (getting "OLD"er :lmao: ), and some fairly disappointing pics i took the last few days, but after seeing all the comments here, i really want to go out and fill some cards and finish off the remaining rolls of film i have. :thumbup:

The important thing about any hobby is that you enjoy it ! But you obviously WANT to get better at photography, you are therefore your own worst critic and will think an awful lot of your work is 'pants'. Just show your photographs to some non photographers and providing they are reasonably in focus with images that are sort of in the frame somewhere they will ask why you're disappointed, given that a lot of people manage to shoot out of focus shots of people with heads cut off using auto focus cameras

Please don't bring age into it some of us are closer to 50 than 40, some are still able to focus into their 60s and beyond :blushing: and some of us get a little defensive about it.

Just keep on doing what you enjoy, celebrate successes and learn from the mistakes, my darkroom bin usually contains enough silver to make a small earrring !

Cheers CJB