Fillum......Hobby or work!!! lol

Asha

Asha

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Asha
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How different are we in our approach to "filing" our photos and related information??

The reason for asking is sometimes ( like atm) I feel very bogged down with what is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby with developing, scanning, retouching, printing and filing.

All of it is usually enjoyable providing I don't sit infront of the computer for 8 hours at a time! lol but for some reason I am finding it somewhat of a burden.



Perhaps I am of the minority but typically when shooting I note the film used, date, loacation and/or event, aperture and shutter speed.

Sometimes additional info if testing a camera....focal length, focusing distance, lighting etc.

Upon developing, the chems, times, temps etc are noted.

And for scanning/printing.... basic details of settings, paper etc noted.

Once the negs are scanned, the images are printed thumbnail as contact prints and filed away with the details and negatives.

The scanned files are left on the computer hardrive for retouch, posting, printing large etc.



I've considered not doing notes but feel that without that info, progress is hindered.....even more so when a camera may not be used again for several months.

I have to confess that even finding inspiration of what to shoot is atm also proving hard even with the challenges etc and an abundance of film at my disposal.

Perhaps it is simply a phase, or maybe my way of doing is too "clinical" ( for want of a better word).

How do you guys go on?........
 
For each roll I have:
Roll number
Emulsion (obviously)
Dates shot between
Camera

And for anything B&W, I also have:
Date developed
ISO developed at
Developer - dilutions - times - temperatures
Fixer - dilutions - times
Wetting agent - dilutions
Washing steps (always the Ilford method)

The former is stored in a standard folder name structure, where scans go. The latter is stored in a Word document which is utterly boring and useless, and probably nonsensical to anyone who isn't me!
 
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Asha said:
How different are we in our approach to "filing" our photos and related information??

The reason for asking is sometimes ( like atm) I feel very bogged down with what is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby with developing, scanning, retouching, printing and filing.

All of it is usually enjoyable providing I don't sit infront of the computer for 8 hours at a time! lol but for some reason I am finding it somewhat of a burden.

Perhaps I am of the minority but typically when shooting I note the film used, date, loacation and/or event, aperture and shutter speed. Nope

Sometimes additional info if testing a camera....focal length, focusing distance, lighting etc. Nope

Upon developing, the chems, times, temps etc are noted. Just the chem and dilution

And for scanning/printing.... basic details of settings, paper etc noted. Nope

Once the negs are scanned, the images are printed thumbnail as contact prints and filed away with the details and negatives. Nope (might change soon)

The scanned files are left on the computer hardrive for retouch, posting, printing large etc. Yep, lightroom makes this a doddle



I've considered not doing notes but feel that without that info, progress is hindered.....even more so when a camera may not be used again for several months. I do quite concise notes and still manage to get all of the info i need out of it

I have to confess that even finding inspiration of what to shoot is atm also proving hard even with the challenges etc and an abundance of film at my disposal. This just happens though tbh

Perhaps it is simply a phase, or maybe my way of doing is too "clinical" ( for want of a better word). It does sound a little clinical, maybe go for a while where you don't note it all down or just cut down your notes heavily to just the bare essentials to see if it helps you regain your mojo

How do you guys go on?........
Click to expand...

See above, i'll upload a shot of the sort of notes i use
IMG_08671_zpsc3832134.jpg
 
BTW if anyone wants a copy of the table I've used, PM me your email address and I'll send it over
 
Take a break, if photography is in your blood you will come back to it. I've taken 4 shots in 2 months and I too have periods over the years in what to shoot....have it now and my grandchildren won't pose for me to solve my problem :( hey just thought if I pay them they would, anyway in the gaps of shooting have been collecting lenses bought for peanuts and playing with them.

Forgot: My system is simple in that Asda dev my negs with CD, then I copy the CD to my computer (with further info) and then file the negs, CD and Index in the Asda folder in numerical order on a shelf, so if I want to scan a neg would find it on the computer and then go to the folder to select the neg.
 
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Nope, I don't do any of that. I don't care, and I should be able to work a bl**dy camera by now. If I did take notes, I would never ever, ever refer to them again. Do you?

But I don't think your approach is 'clinical' but methodical and workmanlike. Probably, professional, too. I suspect that people get different kicks from photography, but what 'progress' are you worried will be hindered? At the end of the day.. (cue groans..) it's all about the image. It has to be what you see in the viewfinder that gets your heart racing. The blinkin' meter can sort the exposure tho mebbe if you have used a filter or something crazy like that, then make a note. If the Massive Dev App is wrong, edit it. But if the laborious monotonous, ream upon ream of grizzly note-taking is stopping you create, then ditch it. IMHO. f4@1/125 or f8@1/30? Who cares? Show us your beautiful spontaneous pictures! :) Then write a book with your spare time.
 
I don't normally take notes, but I did for a while when I was experimenting with and trying to learn the Sunny 16 rule. Since it's hard to write when out and about, I used a small dictaphone, and transcribed into the caption field in Aperture once the scanned images were imported. I confess I found it difficult to use the information, and a few times on bracketed shots I had the feeling I'd recorded it wrong anyway (not helped as the exposure compensation on the Pentax ME is 2X, 1/2X etc). I've more or less given up now, BUT... when I get a shot where the exposure is clearly pear-shaped, THEN I wish I'd written down the exposure parameters!

The real answer is to buy a MZ-S where the camera will write the "exif" info on the film rebate for me!
 
The bag I carry is big enough for a camera, a couple of spare rolls of film, my Kindle and some aniseed balls. Not enough room for notebooks!

To be serious though, no I don't note down anything. I load the film, shoot the pictures, develop, scan, put negatives in a box with purple stripes on it.

I'd get bored with taking notes :)
 
I don't take any notes. I tried to edit the camera EXIF in Lightroom but it wasn't having any of it. The closest I come to organisation is what Lightroom does for me - arranging it by date. I don't even have anywhere to properly store negatives at the moment, I was thinking of getting one of those A4 folders with neg strip sheets. Then I upload to Flickr and fill in date/time/camera/film there. I like the tables though, very methodical :)
 
Interesting mix of responses.

It looks like those of you who do take notes, keep them more minimal than I do.....I suspect that's where I'm bogging myself down too much behind a pen!

I do refer back to notes.....If the results aren't what I wanted from a given shot then the info hopefully helps me not to make a similar error a second time around.....If the info wasn't there then would I really know where I went wrong??

Answering my own question, Yes i would know if the shot needed more DoF for example however only the notes would tell me what aperture i used originally ( yes i have a memory but it does have limits!!! :D)
 
I am not trying to wind you up, but surely the DOF / note taking only works if you are taking the same shot twice? Taking photos is a pretty dynamic process, after all. And there is always the DOF preview button. Where everything goes black. But then maybe I'm making excuses - the real craftsmen, the hit the nail on the head every time icons whose big fat books we have on our shelves - they were mostly note takers. Anyway, there is always digital! :D
 
compulsivehordr said:
I am not trying to wind you up, but surely the DOF / note taking only works if you are taking the same shot twice? Taking photos is a pretty dynamic process, after all. And there is always the DOF preview button. Where everything goes black. But then maybe I'm making excuses - the real craftsmen, the hit the nail on the head every time icons whose big fat books we have on our shelves - they were mostly note takers. Anyway, there is always digital! :D
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Aha, some of us shoot with kit that doesn't have a DoF preview facility....I know many of my cameras don't.

A lot of the time I'll shoot using hyperfocal but other times it's nice to get the DoF just i I wish it to be for the shot.

Don't worry i need a large key to be wound up!! :D

I appreciate your replies...as you say without notes, many of the books we learn from would not have come to fluition ( spelling??)

Digital is an option but I like the challenge of film ....just that atm it's proving a tad too much of a challenge in some areas :D
 
I try to keep my photos organised as I possibly can without going too crazy.

I use an app called FilmEXIF on my iPhone that helps me log my exposure info following each shot. An added bonus is that it also logs the GPS data each time as well, although the date/time function on the app doesn't seem to work anymore. From the app you can save or email all of your exposure data in spreadsheet form. This process works well for medium format as I don't tend to take many photos and it's at a slower pace.

If I have time or if the photos are important enough, I will add the EXIF data to my photos after I've scanned them, but it's not a requirement.

If I'm really reeling off shots faster than I can keep track, I will skip the logging of each individual photo, but I will still enter general info for the roll of film in the FilmEXIF app (can be useful if I've forgotten what film is in the camera).

Every single roll I shoot is counted (e.g., roll 1, roll 2, etc.) and then organised by this roll number on both my computer and my folder of negatives sleeves.
 
I'm hopelessly disorganised. Downloading Film Exif to my phone as I type this. (Gotta shoe box of negs though)
 
I've taken a quick look at this and tbh it comes across as simply offering a computerised version of what I am presently doing with pen and paper.

Although we all shoot film, how many of us actually have the images on paper, even if just contact prints??

I think perhaps there are many folk happy enough to store/view their work purely on a computer ( except for the physical negs of course) along with details of location, date, settings etc
Charlotte (Mothdust), for one mentioned how she does this on Flickr.

I personally spend too much time in front of an lcd screen and much prefer to dig out negs, paper prints of the shots and read the info relating to them from a book without the need to go sit at the computer each time.

Maybe i'm old fashioned??

Inspired by the responses on here, I'm going to try take a different approach and reduce the details that I note and see how i go on......
 
I only take notes when I'm trying somthing different for example checking the shutter speeds and lens sharpness on the folder or checking how a film reacts at a different ISO from box (on the folder). I keep meaning to take better notes on developing but I usually put that in flickr so I can at least cross reference.

Scans are named by FILM-CAMERA-RoughDate_SCAN in a folder with the same structure. I really need to get on top of the physical file and organise it better. At the moment if I need to go back to a negative I need to flick through them all and try to match up an image...
 
I prefer to keep things simple.

I use a CD marker pen to note the dates on the film cannister when I load it and when I finish it. I can also note the shot number if I end up unloading it before finished and need to reload it at a later date (a recent TMax 100 had 6 written and then crossed out, then 16 written and crossed out, and then 24 written and crossed out and then I finally finished it on the 4th time through the camera...). I have little trouble remembering the route i took and the circumstances of each shot (exactly when and where and why).

As for specifics of focal length, exposure, and shutter. I stick to one body and one lens almost exclusively and find most of the time I can recall the settings fairly clearly as I look through the shots. I tend to estimate and select my settings before even raising the camera, so I have a fairly clear idea of what I selected and usually recall if I was spot on or had to go up or down half a stop.

I only make a specific note if I decide to try something new or unusual and want to be able to compare shots side by side
 
Hey Justin ^^^^^ thought you should know my Avast antivirus just went orf saying there was a trojan when I clicked through to yer website.
 
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He probably just needed a cheap and quick light meter, apparently they make adequate phone calls.
 
From Asha's comment about having photos on paper - this is something I'd love to do, get into printing. However cost and space holds me back, so it's all on a screen for the time being.
 
steveo_mcg said:
He probably just needed a cheap and quick light meter, apparently they make adequate phone calls.
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Ah that must be it. I tried loading an app into my Motorola V3i, but it must have leaked out through the cracks in the glass!:nuts::nuts::nuts:
 
ChrisR said:
What's a fillum photographer doing with an iPhone???:suspect::shrug::thinking:
Click to expand...

steveo_mcg said:
He probably just needed a cheap and quick light meter, apparently they make adequate phone calls.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah, I do actually use my iPhone to help with tricky metering situations, although I mostly rely on previous experience (this is possible when you've logged all of your exposure data on the FilmEXIF app) and 'sunny 11'. The Pocket Light Meter app, which I believe is available both on iPhone and Android, has a makeshift spot meter thing, which I find quite handy and it's accurate enough for most situations.

I suppose I'm combining my enjoyment of film with some of the advantages afforded by modern technology to make things a little easier. I wouldn't call the iPhone a cheap light meter though, as it costs more to buy than many light meters, but it was convenient that I already owned one for making phone calls...
 
would it be easier to get a cheap light digital camera, with manual mode, and dial in the settings used, and take the pic again, roughly? Then after you dev you would have to dump the files in same folder and match them up if needed.
 
pingu666 said:
would it be easier to get a cheap light digital camera, with manual mode, and dial in the settings used, and take the pic again, roughly? Then after you dev you would have to dump the files in same folder and match them up if needed.
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Ouch !!
 
pingu666 said:
would it be easier to get a cheap light digital camera, with manual mode, and dial in the settings used, and take the pic again, roughly? Then after you dev you would have to dump the files in same folder and match them up if needed.
Click to expand...

I don't usually use this and prefer the FilmEXIF app, but the Pocket Light Meter app allows you to take a pic with your exposure settings (I think it will also record time, date, and location) and, if you use Dropbox, it will save it to a designated folder in your account automatically, which is easier than carrying around another camera.
 
I'm kinda wondering just how much "help" taking all these notes are.

Just seems like an extra level of admin for not much, if I didn't need some rough way to find a particular scan or neg, I wouldn't even date them, let alone record shutter speeds, app settings, film types and development details.

I wanna shoot, I don't wanna collate and catalogue a library.

Anyway, I don't do it so that's not what takes my PC time up, my PC time is taken up spotting chuffin dust...:thumbsdown:
 
I used to take notes until I realised that I never looked at them. I don't bother now other than writing the development details on the envelope holding each film. I'm not sure why I do that either.


Steve.
 
I need to run a test roll with different filters and take notes as to what filter was used on what frame.
 
On some forums they like to know what lens was used in a shot, so I have this added to each frame and maybe a general note on what camera or film was used.
 
joxby said:
I'm kinda wondering just how much "help" taking all these notes are.

Just seems like an extra level of admin for not much, if I didn't need some rough way to find a particular scan or neg, I wouldn't even date them, let alone record shutter speeds, app settings, film types and development details.

I wanna shoot, I don't wanna collate and catalogue a library.

Anyway, I don't do it so that's not what takes my PC time up, my PC time is taken up spotting chuffin dust...:thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

For me, it's not necessarily all about organising or cataloguing my photographs, negatives, etc.; but about improving my photographic knowledge and understanding (e.g., composition, exposure, etc.). Occasionally I review the shots that I've taken, noting what has worked and what hasn't, so that I know what to do again, what to avoid, and what I'd like to try going forward.

I would just simply shoot, but my psychology background tells me that just doing something without any structure or aims restricts or completely stymies any learning or improvement. For instance, many people type on a computer every day at work or school, but never get any better at it... make them do a typing course, however...
 
I keep notes mostly because I reuse my developer and fixer, so I need to know when to add time (for developer) or when exhaustion of chemicals is likely (for fixer).
 
skysh4rk said:
For instance, many people type on a computer every day at work or school, but never get any better at it... make them do a typing course, however...
Click to expand...

Having been working on computer keyboards since the late 1970s, I'm pretty fast at it. But I did decide to do a typing course... and got RSI! back to doing what I've been doing reasonably well...

(Sorry, a bit off topic!)
 
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