Coffee is there anything you can’t do?

I think if it were not for digital cameras, at some point I would have tried to develop my own film. I remember wanting to take a photography class as an undergrad, but never being able to work it into my schedule. With D-SLR cameras being readily available these days I don’t know if I’ll ever summon up enough curiosity to want to play around with all the chemicals that traditional film developing entails. Once you develop the film negatives you have to figure out how to get it on paper. Seems like a lot of hassle. Also seems strange that it was pretty much the only option about 10 years ago. Actual film is such an anachronism these days.

If I do end up playing around with traditional film I know something I definitely want to try. I read about how you can develop black and white film with instant coffee. How cool is that? (Answer: pretty cool).

The results look pretty evocative in that way that good black and white photos always look. I’m sure a digital camera can produce similar results, but I factor in the journey as part of the fun. It has to be a good story to tell people who you developed the picture using coffee.

Come to think of it, it makes me a little sad that I’ll probably never play around with real film camera. That was something I had always wanted to do…but now there is absolutely no reason to do it. Kind of strange when you keep putting something off and realize that technology has nullified the option. Not that I’m complaining. I’ll just have to look forward to getting a fancy D-SLR and playing around with that. Actually that’s kind of exciting. Sadness all gone.