Did You Grow Up in the World of Film Photography?

Let me tell you a little story that I’m sure some of you can relate to if you grew up in the world of film photography.  

Do you remember the times when we used to take photographs with real film, We would all experience a little anxiety over how many photographs we could take at once, whether the images would turn out, be in focus, or even if the film would develop properly.

When it was time to pick up our precious photos it would be with anticipation and excitement and the hope that they were everything we wanted them to be.

When I think back on those days, they were rather exciting for me. My dad was a photographer and would develop his own film in his darkroom. Always only in black and white and I must admit I was rather fascinated with the process and sometimes 'supervised' the development of photographs in the darkroom. Me, I loved watching the ins and outs of the process and I was always asking questions.

My first Camera

Some years later I got my first camera for my 15th birthday which was a 35mm Nikon. I was given a few rolls of film with the camera and it so happened that I had a school camp coming up. Obviously, I couldn't wait to take my camera with me and start practicing my photoshoots.

I was very careful with my precious film and took time with each of my shots. After a few days away, I was instantly hooked on photography. (You can see the first photographs I took below in the gallery). In retrospect, they are dark and not the best, but I was sure proud of them at the time.

Following my school days,  (in my early 20's) I embarked on a part-time job that kept me busy on Friday and Saturday nights. I teamed up with a photographer named Dave, working alongside him at the Bankstown City Band Club during events. Together, we captured precious moments of couples, families, and groups relishing their night out. Afterward, we'd hastily return to his lab, which was conveniently located just five minutes away from the club in Bankstown. There, we delved into the art of developing countless rolls of film in his traditional darkroom!

I recall there were several chemical baths (I called them ‘the tubs’) and we would process the development of the film through several stages which required very close control of the temperature, agitation, and time.

Dave would time the stages with music from his favorite tape, so at a certain point of a song, he would know when to move the film to the next tub. Gosh, he was always spot on!!u

Subsequently, we would proceed to process the film using the printing machine, and with each click, the photographs would come to life. Our following task, albeit somewhat tedious, involved meticulously placing them in photo folders. After completing this step, we hurriedly returned to the club to distribute them for viewing, with the primary goal, of course, being to sell these cherished mementos.

I was always in a hurry to get back and see more of the show, however, it seems we always got back just before the grand finale act. The show was an Elvis look-alike performance and he was really good. Ever since then I have always loved “Caught in a trap” as this song was the Grand Finale song and every time I hear that song it reminds me of this time.

Our nights would be finished around 1.00pm, then back to the shop to clean up everything and of course the drive home. I often got to bed around 3.00 am in the mornings.

This was quite hard to sustain after about 6 months and it was at this point I gave up my part-time job. However, I remember these nights as an exciting time of my life and memories I have I will never forget.

Those of you that missed out on the film photography years missed a real learning experience for which there is no replacement. When I look back now in amazement that I learned some of the ins and outs of film photography. I can appreciate and treasure the experiences I had then with the development of black and white photographs.

These are a few of the photos I developed with my Dad!! I still have them stored in a binder. I scanned them using my iPhone and used an App called Photomyne. 

From my memories of my Dad!