C41: It's the New Black (& White)

Colour.  There's that cliche in movies or TV when someone falls in love, or smokes pot for the first time, and everything goes from monochrome to colour.  The Wizard of Oz moment. B&W's fine, it's just time to move on.  Which makes discovering these formulae really very fortuitous.  I've got some of those chemicals for B&W developing anyway.  C41 developing, playing around in a sink full of warm water is the sort of innocent fun you don't get much in adulthood.  Thanks to this guy, in this Flickr DIY Color Group thread for passing on the craic.  I've been trying to get that on and off for years.

My mate cliffdotmac flickrmailed me tonight and said he was giving up on film, because of the expense.  Which is fair enough, if you've shelled out for a DSLR and its all-singing-and-dancing lenses, I can see how film would feel like and extra expense.  But if you haven't done that, if your biggest expense has been a few hundred quid a pro film camera, like the F, including its CLA - well, then film is cheap - especially when you get into your own processing.  It takes time, of course...  But time enjoyably spent isn't time wasted.  Oh, and Cliff's sending me all his leftover film.  Which is jolly decent of him.

See, the point is, have fun.  Mixing your own formulae, flashbulbs, 127 and old cameras...  It's fun.

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