I know, I know, I don’t need another hobby. But I’ve wanted to get back into Black and White film photography since high school. My dad gave me his AE-1 and I got the bug! These were actually shot on a Nikon N80 since I only have Nikon lenses. I plan on getting the AE-1 spruced up though. To no discredit to the N80, but the AE-1 is a beautiful camera and is so much fun to shoot manual.
I used T-Max 100 and developed it in our spare bathroom using Ilford’s ID-11. I then took the negatives and “scanned” them using my DSLR and a light table then converted them in Lightroom. I still need to build a proper rig for it though to keep the camera and negatives in proper alignment. This clever method was what really got me back into it since I don’t have the room to make actual prints even though I’d like to. I might ship negatives off to a mail order lab for the ones I really want proper analog prints made of unless I can find a local lab or darkroom. There’s nothing quite like a real black and white print in my opinion.
For not having shot film since 1999 and for not really having been much into photography as a hobby, these came out rather well! I learned a few things as well and took some notes (learning ultimately how to take better photos is part of the exercise) applicable for the next time and for digital. I didn’t get quite the look I remember T-Max having though I will be trying other films as well (HP5, and Delta) to see if they get me closer. I think under-exposure was probably part of the issue since the reason I remember liking T-Max was for the sharp contrast but also the silky smooth greys.
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