Looking through some old photos from 2024, I realized that the Nikon D70 is a bad ass camera. Currently I’m shooting film on a Pentax Spotmatic (SP) with the Helios 44-2. But looking at the photos from the Nikon D70, I believe some grain would make the photos look better? Maybe not.
I’m still shooting a roll of B&W UltraPan 400/36 (Flic Film) on the Pentax. I installed new mirror damper foam and light seals (myself) and I’m hoping for the best. Probably it will cost around 75 cents per photo to shoot film.
“If you don’t shoot film you are a loser.” That was my attitude while prancing around the woods with my Pentax. Then after two weeks of using my iPhone SE as a light meter and reminding myself that the aperture on the Helios 44-2 is the opposite of a modern lens, I decided digital is not so bad. My current thought on shooting film is, shoot sparingly and enjoy the slow manual process. On a typical digital hike I would normally shoot around 300 photos, but with film I’m limiting myself to 12 special photos per hike. Without a darkroom, film costs add up.
One thing I will stay about the Pentax Spotmatic camera is that it’s a beauty to behold in my eyes. Twelve more photos to shoot and then off to the developer in Kentucky and we shall see the results. Can’t wait, but wait I must.
Currently i’m learning a lesson on buying an eBay $4.95 Pentax Spotmatic with a stuck shutter. Listen carefully! You need very specialized tools to repair old cameras. Stuff breaks with the wrong tools. So I’m up to 35 dollars and 30 cents on this cheap camera. It’s more broke now. I’ll need to purchase another Pentax Spotmatic for parts to get a little screw that broke off. For now I put the repair project on hold until I gather more tools.
Today I took out the Nikon D40 and shot in B&W mode. The results? Fun. All photos unedited straight from the camera.
If you don’t print your pictures on physical paper and just post online. You will have lost creative control. Artificial stupidity (ai) will just steal your photos under the disguise of training. Turn them into porn. Sell them for Bitcoin mining energy and buy a yacht. Shoot film and print. Fight the power!!!!
