Push Film In Processing, Use Flash, Other Alternative?

[acearchie]

Hi guys,

I am having a gathering with some of my new swimming friends from Uni and this will be our first time together outside of the pool!

A couple of people will be taking their digital cameras and whilst this will be fine for Facebook or whatever, I would like some slightly better and more memorable pictures!

Ideally I would have my Lomo and Hasselblad film cameras with me but these are stuck at home so I am stuck with a Konica Autoreflex 35mm camera. I have used about 12 shots of the film (400 iso) in it at the moment and was wondering what the best options for taking pictures were now.

Bearing in mind that the location is quite dark I was thinking of borrowing a Flash from my University store... I have an external light meter as the batteries are no longer readily available for the camera and I was wondering how would I meter for the flash? Would there also be a way check that the flash works without wasting a few frames?

I realise I have sort of gone the wrong way about this but it is short notice and I am looking to make the best out of a bad situation!

I could possibly under-expose the film and push it in processing although I am unfamiliar with this using my C41 developer!

Does anyone else have any other suggestions of things I could try? I am a student to blank firing the rest of the film and getting a 1600 iso film or whatever is slightly out of the question as I am also quite far away from the nearest Jessops!

I am just looking to get a few fun shots that will not be the generic P&S digital shots that everyone else will have got!

Cheers!

 

[Designer Dale]

I can't find my old film flash right now, so this is trusting my memory. The flash setting on a film camera defaults the shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. That is the speed at which the shutter curtain opens all the way before the flash fires. On faster speeds the flash catches the shutter part way open and you get just a vertical sliver of your shot. The back of the flash you borrow should have a sliding scale telling you what f stop to use based on the distance to your subject. So at 2 meters you might shoot 1/60 at f/8.

It sounds like you are shooting color. I've done OK pushing B&W, but never tried it with color. There are a lot of variables in color processing. That means more stuff to go bad.

Above all, have fun with your friends!

Dale

 

[ppc_michael]

Mounted flashes may have a "test" button to fire it off and see if it works without tripping the shutter.

Pushing color film is tricky and can lead to color casts in addition to the usual increased grain and contrast. I'm not sure about C-41 specifically, but I do a lot of E-6, and to push that you just increase the time of the first developer. I imagine it would be a similar case for C-41.

How fast is your lens? 400 ASA should be enough for normal indoor shots especially with a flash and a tripod, I would think, provided your lens opens to, say, at least f/3.2 or so.

 

[acearchie]

Dale thanks for the tips! I'll have a look see if I can get a flash later today!

How fast is your lens? 400 ASA should be enough for normal indoor shots especially with a flash and a tripod, I would think, provided your lens opens to, say, at least f/3.2 or so.

I have a 50mm f1.7 which I'm sure should be ok but I don't want to take any chances. It's a no-brainer but I won't shoot under 1/30 handheld as I want to ensure no wobble!

With the flash I will be able to shoot with a higher aperture and therefore get more in focus as the focusing with this camera can be quite difficult in low light!

Thanks for the tips guys!