Sally's GF3 thread

[fuzzi]

I took a course in photography at a community college, loved developing and printing my own photos. My SLRs are in the closet, waiting for a film revival like happened with LP records.

I worked at a PhotoMat for a few months between pregnancies, lousy job.

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes, exactly. I never was a film processor at the lab, but I printed color photos in a darkroom and processed them on a Kreonite processor. I did a little bit of duplicating slides and transparencies (4x5 sheet film), and also internegatives (also 4x5 sheet film).

In college, I did process B&W, slide, and color negative film, and printed B&W and color in the dark room.

In my senior year at college (1985), I did some work with the dye transfer process. Very involved, not common (has anyone here heard of it?), and now no longer supported. (And hasn't been since 1994, 18 years before Kodak went bankrupt.) Why go to the bother? It was the most archivally stable medium at the time. Make a print, and in 100 years, it will still be there. The dyes were very stable, unlike the dyes in the film and paper of the day.


You're not nosy at all! Jump on in and say what's on your mind.

That's so interesting! My dad retired from Pako Photo, then began a program in a technical college and taught "phototronics." That was a two-year program involving photofinishing and electronics, so we could fix the machines too. I took that after graduating high school (after they had two other instructors so I could avoid my dad.) I interned at Monarch Photo in Fargo, North Dakota, then dad opened a one-hour photofinishing plant I ran for a few years and then he sold it to totally retire. That ended my "career" too, as I went into law enforcement after that. And now, I'm retired from that! I still do a home gig though.

 

[Sally PB]

I worked at a PhotoMat for a few months between pregnancies, lousy job.

My first photography job was at a one hour photo place in a mall. It blew my mind that you could develop film, then print and develop prints In. One. Hour! Dry to dry, as we said.

Well, the machines did the processing. They stayed up to temp, so once they were ready and you ran your test strips, you were good to go.

In the mid-80s, those places were BUSY!!! The day after Christmas was INSANE.

Oh, the stories...

Like the 12 exposure roll of 110 film (anyone remember that?) that had on it:
Christmas
Valentines
Birthday
Summer
First Day of School
Thanksgiving
Another Christmas.

And then there was the woman who handed me a white business envelope. "My camera got messed up, so I had to take the film out." Inside the envelope, was a roll of 110 film, all rolled up, not in the cartridge. I tried to explain that her film was ruined ("fogged"), but she insisted that it was ok, as she had had the envelope in her purse the whole time.

Most people didn't know that all the silver from their film and the paper their prints were printed on ended up in a silver recovery machine. We're talking POUNDS of silver. It was shipped to some place that processed it and sent the owner a check.

Good times... well, sometimes, anyway.

 

[Sally PB]

My SLRs are in the closet, waiting for a film revival like happened with LP records.

Mine too.

Film forces you to think about each exposure. Not just take a bizillion pictures and pick out the good ones.

During my time in college, the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market on silver. Film prices (and photo paper too) went way up. My prof said, "Don't you wish there were another element that reacted with light that we could use, instead of silver? Well, there is one. But it's much less light sensitive... and it's platinum."

Dang.

 

[Sally PB]

I had Jamie, my neighbor, over to explain the subtle intricacies of chicken sitting. Number one: I have chicken poop shoes for a reason. Fortunately, they fit her too.

I am very grateful that she can do this. She's done it before, but was thinking she'd be having her ankle surgery and wouldn't be able to. Her surgery is scheduled for after Thanksgiving now, whew. If she couldn't do it, I wasn't going to go on the trip. And I really want to meet my husband's college friend before she passes from breast cancer. This might be my only chance.

 

[Sequel]

Yes, exactly. I never was a film processor at the lab, but I printed color photos in a darkroom and processed them on a Kreonite processor. I did a little bit of duplicating slides and transparencies (4x5 sheet film), and also internegatives (also 4x5 sheet film).

In college, I did process B&W, slide, and color negative film, and printed B&W and color in the dark room.

In my senior year at college (1985), I did some work with the dye transfer process. Very involved, not common (has anyone here heard of it?), and now no longer supported. (And hasn't been since 1994, 18 years before Kodak went bankrupt.) Why go to the bother? It was the most archivally stable medium at the time. Make a print, and in 100 years, it will still be there. The dyes were very stable, unlike the dyes in the film and paper of the day.


You're not nosy at all! Jump on in and say what's on your mind.

I worked the photo lab gig too! Started out printing on Kodak 5S machines, I absolutely loved that job! Last job in that field was a very small local lab that also did school photos, so there was high volume package printing as well as film and paper processing. The owner was very young, yelled a lot and the pay wasn’t enough to cover daycare for my infant son. I really enjoyed that field though! To think that it barely exists now!

 

[Sally PB]

I really enjoyed that field though! To think that it barely exists now!

Oh, yeah, the photo industry just about totally collapsed. Now it's a printing service.

A lot of wedding photgraphers are now what we refered to as "shoot and burn." They take a bazillion pictures of the wedding, burn the files to a disc, and that's it. Up to the customer to get them printed.

I saw a lot of VERY GOOD photographs in my day at the lab. Unfortunately, I saw a thousand times more REALLY BAD photographs too. A camera does not a photographer make. Now all you need is a smart phone. Sigh.

 

[cavemanrich]

Sally,,, I know your travels are about to start.
Have a safe journey

 

[Sally PB]

Thank you! I'll take my laptop and stay in touch on BYC.

Actually, other than the driving (lot and LOTS of car time), we don't have much planned once we get to NC. It's a plan-as-we-go type of visit.

 

[fuzzi]

Oh, yeah, the photo industry just about totally collapsed. Now it's a printing service.

A lot of wedding photgraphers are now what we refered to as "shoot and burn." They take a bazillion pictures of the wedding, burn the files to a disc, and that's it. Up to the customer to get them printed.

I saw a lot of VERY GOOD photographs in my day at the lab. Unfortunately, I saw a thousand times more REALLY BAD photographs too. A camera does not a photographer make. Now all you need is a smart phone. Sigh.

I use my phone for snapshots. If I want to take artsy/quality photos I use either my Ricoh CX5 or Sony (digital).