Ted, I love your show and look forward to the inspiration I get from your programs. I'm 73 and I've been taking and developing my my own film since learning how to do it in my early 20's. I've been shooting digitally for the last seven years and turning back to film and I find your shows great memory refreshers, remember I'm 73. I have all of the books you referred to and it brings a smile to my face. I have to dig them out of storage. I'm a retired engineer from Eastman Kodak, I worked for them for 23 years. Having said that I want to emphasise I learn a great deal from your shows. Keep doing what you are doing.
Film cameras are cheap, and film photography requires more attention to the composition, because each shot costs money. I personally carry my cheap film camera around and observe a lot, but I do not shoot hundreds of photos (I do the same with my very old DSLR). I print may be around 2 to 5 photos per year (few roles). But the process of looking carefully for a landscape (+light, contrasts etc) is immensely fun to me. My father was a pro, and I used to help him with photography and printing (black & white, but I can also print colour at a rental darkroom, which I have not done for awhile). I am obviously not a pro. I photography purely for the joy of it. Photography is not new to me in any way. lets enjoy this beautiful art.
Sir, my native language is not English, and yet you were able to pour so much information in my head for those 13 minutes, that my skull is about to explode. And I mean it in the very best way :-) Thank you for your time and effort to put such an informative video :-) Regards Vesko
You don’t need a hand held light meter, I’ve gone my whole career without one. Negative film has so much latitude and room for error, everything can be fixed. The ones you can get for your phone work just fine. The most accurate I’ve found is “Photo Light and Exposure Meter” by Pavel Bukhonov
Thank you dear Master :-)!!! I LOVE your lessons, Ted! Just started shooting (66 years) with my dad's old F3 and since September I watch your video every day! some 3 times, just because it is so much and I do want to learn from you. You have a very nice and easy to follow way of explaining and I do not mind if I do not follow you immediately. Just watch it over and over... I do take classes too, but I like to follow your tutorials. I have shot 6 rolls, 3 Kodak Tri-x and 3 400Tmax, like you advised. And I am learning to develop the films myself. So MUCH FUN! PLEASE keep telling us about filming, I will follow you :-) anywhere ;-]
I've gone back to BW using Ilford 400 and my Bronica S 6X6 my father bought new in Tokyo in 1963. So much great glass available on Ebay. Still have a Sekonic incident light meter: no batteries just a selenium cell. That and a Leica IIIf gets interesting comments from folks who have never seen a film camera except in books.
Ted, thanks so much!! I recently re-acquired a Canon FT-b together with my Ricoh and Konica 35mm cameras and my Pentax 645. Your film perspective & information is invaluable. I will proceed to binge-watch your other videos. Thanks so much!
Ted, enjoyed this discussion about B&W film and some reading ideas. Partly due to your videos on various medium format cameras, my interest in film photography as a hobby has been rekindled and I’ve already acquired a number of vintage cameras to start a collection and experience shooting film again. Keep sharing such great content! Would love to see a piece on your personal film camera collection and how you came to acquiring all of them.
Top stuff Ted. Thank you, from an old hand. It's good to hear new voices offering fresh overviews. I've studied with the help of A.Adams' Books 1, 2 and 3 since the 70s, and will look for the other books you mention.
Just bought a light meter after everyone saying I needed on for film and flash photography... It meters to exactly the same F-number that my phone app does, and for flash I just use my cheap mirrorless camera to get the exposure right, takes 30 seconds. I will be returning the £300 light meter.
I've read about buying a light meter before, but I guess my problem with choosing to buy one is that I enjoy street photography. I can't ever see myself whipping out a light meter in the heat of the moment to take a reading and possibly missing a good shot.
thank you very much for this extraordinary video! I've been shooting with the sony a6000 and A7rii but,recently, I'm returning to the spotmatic and pentax 645...your videos are a great inspiration.
I just love your videos! I am doing astrophotography and kind of educational outreach photography for my university as my Masters' Project using couple of 1960s Edixa cameras. First time with films! Your shows are helping a lot with black n white photography which I love the most.. hope to be in touch with you!
Would love to hear an updated view about app based light meters eight years later. For a while now I've been exclusively using an Android light meter app, (via Google Pixel 2XL) + the built in meter on my camera; the measurements the app gives me are close enough to my "real" meter that I don't even bother with the meter anymore, it just sits in my bag forgotten.
Hello Ted, I've watched this video previously, and it's only now that I've come to understand metering for light. As a recap, for me, I've been back into photography digitally for about 1.5 years, getting past programme modes into manual has exposed (yes, that's a pun) me to consider more than composition, it's made me work at understanding light or even just consider what light is doing and what I want the light to do for my shot. So long story short, I'm now looking at light meters, I will purchase a sekonic budget version and take it from there. Cheers, Linda.
The Sekonic incident & 1-degree spot, continuous and flash meter cost $600 in 2018. But it's worth it. * Ansel Adams's 3 books on the zone system can be adapted to digital shooting even though they were written for film shooting. * Is Plus X still being made? I transferred from Plus X to T Max 100, and once I got used to it I liked T Max better. I only shoot digital now, mostly because I don't have the room for a dark room.
I just discovered your feed. I'm shooting B&W film exclusively for 2012. You mentioned a John P Schaefer book. I glanced down and I have his Zone System for Fine B&W Photography by HPBooks.
God ! The moment of truth has arrived... Enlarger and all other equipment standing by...Black and white film... Paper.. lots of wonderful 35mm cameras... filters, polarisers, vintage lenses and adapters.. thanks to all who sell them on E Bay.. and I don't know which camera to use first !
hi I just got this yashica 10 I believe the camera is vintage one of it is I'm still learning on how to use it but I'm still wondering how can I take black and grey pictures with it without getting the other equipment and all
I really enjoy your show. Being a newbie and hearing you talking about light meters and the importance of these while hearing Danial Milnor saying that we do not need them, I am puzzled.
I you use analogue cameras as I do, then the "Sunny 16 rule" is as good as anything, look it up, no light meter required for the majority of us non-professional photographers if you follow it, but if you have an automatic film camera, then the camera makes all the decisions for you, perfection almost guaranteed. Most of my cameras are vintage from late 40's, 50's, 60's for the sheer beauty and handling of them, and for good and average conditions they are fine, but they do have their limitations and need servicing and TLC at times. Cheers.
Your videos are awesome, professionally made and very educational. A couple questions though, when you use the white dome on the meter aren't you measuring incident light? You said reflected, when you look through the eyepiece that measures reflected light, doesn't it?
You are quite correct. I used to have something like a Sekonic L308s for professional use. So it didn't have the spot-metering facility. Prior to needing a flash-meter the Weston meters were standard issue. If you ever see a used model for sale it is likely to be working as new.
Great information! You have a wealth of knowledge about film and I watch a lot of your videos. There is one thing that bugs me though, when you reference topics you have in other videos, I have no easy way to find it. With such a vast body of information, it is a little hard to dig into it and find the things I'm looking for. Could you include links to the videos you refer to in your show notes or an on-screen link box? Thanks for the videos!
Hi! very nice episodes you have here .. love your style of explaining.. i just wanted to ask you if you know some other films that have a similar style (grain and contrast) as Delta 400 PRO does.. i like the delta 400 very much but i primarily use Delta 100 or T-MAX 100 at 50 ISO because of my style of shooting (big aperture and / or long exposures) and on medium format i am often limited at 1/400 s. because of my camera and can't use such high speed film often in my projects.
Good morning, Sir. I take my photos in black and white. When I put them in Bridge for culling they are colored. How can I turn the whole batch to black and white previous to culling?
What is culling?? I am guessing you are using a digital camera? most computer photographic programs give you that ability once the images are downloaded, but you may have to treat each frame individually ??
Hey thank you so much for your videos. I just discovered them. I had a few questions about colored filters for black and white film photography. Can you please do a video or a response on Filter Factors? And also if my camera is a newer film camera (Canon Elan ii) And does its light metering TTL will it automatically meter for the Filter Factor or do I need to use exposure compensation or possibly +3 stops (if using a red filter). Ahhhh so many questions and it's hard to find answers! Thank you
Hi sir, all the information you present in your videos are just pure gold! I love the way you ramble on and on and go from one topic to another - there is so much that I can learn. Have you written a book? I'm interested if you have one.
theartofphotography Amazon shows paperback prices at over $200 and hardcover around $70. Is this book out of print? www.amazon.com/Blakemore%C2%92s-Black-White-Photography-Workshop/dp/B001QCX9TA
It must be - I'd keep an eye out at Powells or even your local used book store. Amazon is absurd with reseller prices on out of print stuff. Ebay might be an idea as well.
Ansel Adams - The Camera (1) Ansel Adams - The Negative (2) Ansel Adams - The Print (3) John P. Schaefer - Basic Techniques of Photography John Blakemore - Black and White Photography Workshop
? why is it that we talk so much in contrast is it possible that the photo that is taken from the area that the contrast is right from the stand & we the photographer has placed his image , are we all some what artist in our own mind, I trust each image that is taken may result in some different prospective to us all.
Hey Ted, I'm not convinced. You don't come across as someone who really knows what they are talking about. Your videos seem as if you learnt some information, "parrot fashion", then spewed it out, trying to convince us that you know your photography. This is just my opinion, and I feel that I will give real feedback, rather than just "kiss ass" comments. You always have the best equipment, is this because you are "loaded"? Well with a name like "Forbes", I suppose that last question was a silly question.
I'm sorry you feel that my feedback and friendly banter was insulting, and for that I sincerely apologise. I was not intending (at anytime) to come across as insulting.
+Jas Mann Whatever makes you think Ted was just parroting?! He has a very conversational free styling way of presenting his information. Not something you'd find with someone who has a very narrow and shallow knowledge. Also Forbes is, while not a common name, a name thousands of Americans have. It's also an unmistakable insult to more than insinuate that he is a playboy living of family money, even if it was true. While he doesn't look to be just scraping by, his equipment and need for Kickstarter isn't signs of someone with boundless funds.
