Now that I have in hand a new M6-TTL, I plan to concentrate on B&W. What advice would you give to a neophyte re: film, lenses, processing, books and articles, and anything else that might assist. I appreciate those of you who truly love your profession/hobby enough to share your knowledge with me, who aspires to be as skilled as you. Thank you.

-- Max Wall (mtwall@earthlink.net), June 02, 2001

Answers

Congradulations on your new tool. I'll suggest books: Adams' three;The Camera, The Negative, The Print Gross&Shapiro; The Tao of Photography Rudolf Arnheim; Visual Thinking Then Get a lot of film(someone else can suggest) and shoot, look and find other photographers to discuss your images and theirs. Go to as many photographic showsas possible. BUT most important have fun. Happy snaps.

-- Steven Alexander (alexpix@worldnet.att.net), June 02, 2001.

Congratulations Max. I can not offer any specific advice other than have some patience because there is a learning curve with photography, not just the M6. It takes some time to absorb all the techniques and nuances particularily with Leica. Hang out at bookstores once in awhile and buy the books which seem to appeal to you. Join the online LUG and LEG, but watch out for some of the craziness that goes on there, you can learn a lot there. Browse the various Leica websites. And do not be afraid to ask what might seem to be a dumb question, you WILL get answers.

-- Steve LeHuray (icommag@toad.net), June 02, 2001.

Max, there are many areas to explore in the B&W world. And some great photographers never set foot in the darkroom (Salgado comes to mind.) So my first question would be, are you interested mostly in the images you can capture, developing your "eye?" Or is the craft of producing fine prints in the chemical darkroom intriguing? Although a few photographers are good at both, it's a rare combination. I suggest chromogenic film (Ilford XP-2), a normal lens (50 or 35mm) and a lot of shooting. Perhaps take a course in darkroom work, to see if you want to go farther down that road.

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@s-way.com), June 02, 2001.

phil: why chromogenic?..................

-- david kelly (dmkedit@ aol.com), June 02, 2001.

Why chromogenic?... because Max wants to shoot B&W, but doesn't have a darkroom. Any one-hour lab can develop his film and provide a set of proof prints. I might add, these films are very forgiving (wide latitude), especially if you set your ei at 200. They also scan very well, and if Max took the next step, and bought a film scanner, he'd be well on the way to a digital darkroom. (I assume he already has a computer.) Beginners need to shoot a lot (don't we all!) and get a feel for the way things look when photographed.

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@s-way.com), June 03, 2001.

Phil:

I shot about 10 rolls of chromogenic when it first came on the market. I developed some of it myself and had a good pro lab develop the rest.

My experience was that I might as well have shot it in a cardboard dispos. camera. It may have improved, but I haven't tried it since.

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), June 03, 2001.

Max-

Just out of curiosity, what lens did you get?

I agree that the chromgenic films are a good place to start if you don't have your own darkroom. I like Kodak 400CN, its a subjective thing, but I like the look of it better than Ilford XP-2. Any lab that does C-41 should run either one for you. I also agree that the Ansel Adams series of books mentioned above are worthwhile. The Negative is full of good information and he does talk about processing techniques for 35mm.

If you want to develop your own negs, you don't need a darkroom. You should be able to set yourself up with a 2 reel tank, changing bag, thermomter, bottles and chemistry for well under $100. Freestyle Sales and Calumet are good on-line sources. Of course and decent camera shop should be able to set up up as well. Printing is another matter: wet or digital???

In terms of film, try to pick one and learn it. Personally, I like HP5+ developed in Perceptol. Experiment and find the one that suits your eye, because there are as many valid opinions as there are films.

It's a great thing man. Have a blast.

-- jeff voorhees (debontekou@yahoo.com), June 04, 2001.