Canon A-1: I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon). Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a...

Charles Whittier

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Only you can determine what catches your eye.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ummm... Whatever you like?

Landscapes, people, buildings, trains, cars, animals, ....
Things you think are worth shooting.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

Exactly as Longshadow says: Anything you would use any camera for...

BebuLamar

Do you have a digital camera? What do you shoot with the digital camera? How about shooting the same things you shoot with the digital camera. I have an A-1 too and I shoot blank with it. I never loaded film in it.

srt101fan

BebuLamar wrote:

Do you have a digital camera? What do you shoot with the digital camera? How about shooting the same things you shoot with the digital camera. I have an A-1 too and I shoot blank with it. I never loaded film in it.

Can we see some of those pictures?...

BebuLamar

srt101fan wrote:

Can we see some of those pictures?...

I see them but nobody else can see. That doesn't bother me though.

User ID

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

Put the film in the freezer until a few ideas hit you. And remove the camera battery.

Some of the pix below could be film ... not too sure. It doent really make any difference. You could try some of those.

If those dont cut it for you then go to the UHH Default Traditional Method. Get a couple more lenses. Good FD lenses go pretty cheap today.

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

What lens? That would help with potential ideas. Personally, I'd also shoot / override that film as ISO-100. Finally, be sure to fill the frame as cropping into film images, even with 17MP scans, doesn't yield the same 'useful' images as digital. Consider the idea of holding the film, say just in the fridge, until flower season starts, the tulips and such.

Charles Whittier

Thanks for ideas. That was quick. Yes I do shoot digital. Have for years. Mostly nature and landscape when I vacation but that will be in July. Once I review the manual and relearn the film camera I will give it a try.

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

That is a fine camera. I wish I still had mine. Thanks BE SAFE!!

Tom

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

Well you have 36 blank canvases to paint any pictures you like! Think of it that way.

Film teaches you much more about discipline since in the back of your mind you don't want to waste frames (and money) on bad shots or subjects. With digital you can shoot away with wild abandon, but most shots turn out either badly or redundant in the process.

In 2010 Steve McCurry shot the very last roll of Kodachrome ever. If you watch the documentary on YouTube he used a digital camera to verify exposure and composition first, since Kodachrome had a very narrow latitude exposure wise. (The movie Kodachrome with Ed Harris is also a good watch.)

Maybe you will get some ideas from this - https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/photos/2011/02/last-kodachrome-slide-show-201102_old

Street photography is always a good genre for film. I see a lot of shutter bugs in NYC still carrying around film cameras of all sorts. The A-1 (and AE-1) were great film cameras of their time - historic.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

The original 35mm cameras became famous for their ability to discretely capture street photography. If you want to play around with film, I would suggest shooting a few rolls of B&W photos. You may also want to develop some rolls yourself. A darkroom isn't needed, just a "dark room". A very small investment in a can for developing the film and a couple of chemicals is all that is needed. You can develop the film and cut it into strips. You could then send the film to a lab, or the strips can be laid on an 8x10 sheet of photo paper and by flicking the light on and off quickly you can make a sheet of positive "thumbnails" -- this is called a contact sheet. A dishpan and a couple more chemicals will get you a sheet of photos you can examine to see which you might like to make into full-size prints. By doing this you will not have to invest in an enlarger and the cost of doing this would not be very much.
Good luck with your film experiment.

StevenBrownPhoto Loc: Excelsior, MN

Charles Whittier wrote:

I just was given a Canon A-1 very good condition and workable (after getting new battery from Amazon).
Looking for ideas of subject matter that would be worth shooting a roll of film and prosessing cost. I have a new roll of Fuji 200 to use.
Any ideas?

Great camera!! I used to have one and it was a lot of fun to shoot with. If you got the 50mm lens with it I would suggest a few people photos and a stroll through the nearest town.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If interested in other film options, scroll through the first page or few of the topics in the UHH Film Photography section. There's posts of scanned & edited results from both color and B&W, in case the first Fuji roll gets you looking for more. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-136-1.html