My own darkroom! Really!

Remember when we used to take our 35mm film to the local drugstore for developing? When I wasn't looking, film developing became a boutique service not easily found in my town. Only one store handles film, and it costs about $15 to develop a roll and get the photos on disc. Sending my film out took a month and cost $12 per roll. The results were great, but the cost and turnaround time were frustrating.

As you know, I recently rediscovered film photography about two years ago. I own a bunch of nifty Lomography cameras, an Electro 35 from the early 70s, and a Canon Rebel SLR. I have been experimenting with different films and processes, but never at home. Then I did the math and realized how inexpensive it would be to set up a home dark room.

I started with this Pinterest board, where I pinned all of my research and created my own little self-study course. I watched dozens of videos, visited a camera shop, and talked to film veterans who knew a thing or two about processing.

Then I went shopping. Before I knew it, I had my own little darkroom, complete with developing tanks, reels, chemicals, and all kinds of helpful little gadgets. It looks something like this:

I am starting with C-41 processing, which is what you use with color negative film. I also want to try E6 for cross-processing when I gather more confidence.

A camera store owner in York, PA recommended this tank and reel set, so I can develop 120 and 35mm film:

I added some Lomography posters for inspiration...

And now I am ready to go! And yes, I do realize that I am the only person who repurposes a perfectly good third bathroom to make a dark room. I am awesomely weird that way.

Check out my Pinterest board for links to some helpful and interesting tutorials, videos, and how-to guides that will get you started with film developing. And watch this blog for updates as I dive into the deep end of home film processing! Thanks for reading!

Retro analogue FUN with the Polaroid Spectra II

As an aspiring hipster, I decided to take up crap photography. And no Lomo endeavor is complete without a journey into instant photography. I found this fantastic Polaroid Spectra camera at an antique shop, mint in the box, for only $2.50. This is a much better price than the refurbished models available online, but I was taking a chance with an untested camera that had been sleeping in someone's attic for decades.

Of course, I had to drop $34 on a twin pack of expired film to test it out, but that is the price you pay for coolness.

It fits nicely in its assigned shelf in my fridge...

This, of course, is a symptom of an illness.

Last weekend, we went on a photography adventure, and the Polaroid came along for some fun instant gratification. We got some really interesting shots as we experimented with light settings and angles. Because we were using film that expired in 2009 that had been living in the fridge for a year, we discovered some obvious imperfections, but those just added to the excitement. I primarily focused on my favorite humans and canine for this experience, as my fondest childhood Polaroid memories center on capturing special moments with the family.

But I threw in a shot of an inanimate object to see what would happen, too.

The Spectra has three light settings - Lighter, Normal, and Darker. We found that the Lighter setting resulted in washed-out images when used outside or in brighter inside light. The Normal setting worked best inside, and the Darker setting yielded the best results for outside shots, like these of my crazy dog, Cooper O'Connell-Myers-Ferrell:

My next project will be testing the two Polaroid 600 cameras I recently picked up at yard sales, for $3.00 each. I grabbed a pack of Impossible Project film at Urban Outfitters over the weekend, and I have high hopes for some analogue heaven! Stay tuned, my friends!

Achieving the IMPOSSIBLE! I found the Impossible Project space in NYC!

You remember those old, yellow-y Polaroid photos from your childhood, don't you? The quality was sometimes terrible, never really good? But back in the 70s, they gave us instant gratification. What a thrill! Now we have digital, so who cares about Polaroids, right? Wrong. As any self-respecting hipster will tell you, instant is where it's at.

When Jesse and I planned our week-long trip to Manhattan in February, I put two must-see locations on my list: The Lomography Store in Greenwich Village and the Impossible Project Space in Soho. You may remember my previous Lomo blog, in which I gushed about the awesomeness of a WHOLE STORE devoted to analogue photography. I also broke my Diana Mini camera that day. Sort of sadly poetic, don't you think? One freezing, windy afternoon, I decided to track down the elusive Impossible Project, so hidden in Soho that it almost dares you to find it. (Clearly, they are going for that hipster vibe.) Well, I found it, and it was really something:

I climbed five looong flights of old, creaky stairs...

And found myself in instant lomo heaven!

I was amazed to see so many old cameras, once believed to be obsolete, in various stages of rebirth.

I spotted this beauty pointed out the window. I am not sure, but I suspect this may be for shooting 8x10 Polaroid film, a new, expensive release from the Impossible Project:

Naturally, I decided to peer out the windows to see the five-story view:

I found a beautiful example of my Spectra Camera, too! Of course, I paid $2.50 for mine, mint in the box, at an antique shop. Spoiler: I just shot some expired Spectra Image film last weekend, so watch this blog for the glorious, low-res results!

I was excited to see the new Polaroid films available to bring my thrift-store cameras to life, although the prices were a bit shocking.

It was really something to see a beautiful, bright space dedicated to reviving the lost art of Polaroid photography. Was it ever really an art, or is that just wishful thinking? At any rate, it inspired me to explore the possibilities of instant photography. Who knows what could happen?

Stay tuned for more instant beauty, courtesy of my awesome budget camera finds!

Visiting the Lomography Store in NYC!

When I found out that we would be spending a week in New York City in February, I made a list of must-see spots around the city. The Lomography Gallery Store in Greenwich Village was at the top of my list, so we hit it on our first night.

I am a fan of what I like to call crap photography. I don't mean this in a derogatory way because I appreciate the art behind Lomography. I joke about the quality, but in truth I really love how Lomography film cameras encourage me to be creative. To say I was excited to visit the store is an understatement. I was like a kid in a candy shop! First stop was the Diana F+ display, where I drooled over the awesome little 120 film wonders.

I decided it would be fun to take pictures of the Diana mini display with my own Diana mini. Perhaps fortuitously, I managed to jam the film in my little Diana. The super nice counter guy unjammed my camera and sent my film to the LomoLab to be developed. The next day, I had a CD full of analog images! (More on that in a future post.)

The Lomography Gallery Store is more like a museum than a shop. Well, it is a museum that encourages you to pick things up and play. I touched almost every camera and accessory on the sales floor. It was lomo heaven!

Naturally, I couldn't leave without a new camera. I was happy to grab the Diana Baby 110, the tiniest of all the Lomography cameras! I also grabbed two 110 film cartridges to do some outside photo shooting in Soho!

I spent hours in Soho and the Financial District today, shooting 35mm and 110 film like I did when I was a kid. I can't wait to see the results!