I remember starting my photographic journey with a Kodak Instamatic 104. It was a Christmas gift from my parents back when I was in elementary school. Lots of black and white photos because that was the least expensive way to go. Several cameras later, while in college, I bought a used Yashica Electro 35 from a guy who worked with my dad, which in hindsight was probably the best 35mm camera I ever owned, but never appreciated at the time. Fixed lens 45mm rangefinder. From there I’d become a Minolta SLR user.
Again, tons of black and white. This time using Kodak Plus-X and Tri-X, rolling my own cartridges out of 100 ft bulk rolls because that was the least expensive way to go. I loved the look of Plus-X on satin-finished papers. I always seem to want to get the look in my current cameras. Not the grain; I hate grain, always have. Yeah, I know Tri-X was famous for its grain. But if you processed the film right the grain got really tight. Plus-X required a bit more careful handling, but it produced results I loved, in particular lots and lots of mid-tones. The upper photo is a bit like Tri-X, the lower photo a bit like Plus-X.
These were taken with my iPhone 11 Plus Max and post processed with Snapseed.
Radarwitch
Love the art deco hotel! Shame about the modern intrusions, but they’d get nowty if you took the signs down and towed the new cars away. The bus could almost pass for era-correct. :)
B&W is still the right choice for some shots. I prefer to shoot colour just in case it isn’t. Maybe it’s because like you I couldn’t afford a lot of colour film in my younger years. Now it’s “free”! I can shoot like crazy and not worry about the cost. Yet I still don’t. That early training sticks with you, eh?
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That hotel is actually the Dr. P. Phillips Hospital. My wife needed to visit one of her doctors who has an office in a nearby physicians complex. That second photo is looking out of that building’s lobby.
The early training does stick. But even more than that, I watching images on a black and white television. I grew up dreaming in black and white. To save money I ran several darkrooms in Atlanta as well as to earn a living. I can still smell the stop and fixer to this day. I don’t ever want to walk into another darkroom.
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