My creative side has been gradually becoming more and more bipolar:

On one side, I love new technology - whether it be digital video captured from a camcorder; pure computer graphics created in Blender/Quartz Composer; or simply digital stills caught from my PowerShot; or on the audio side perhaps some new softsynths or plugin effects running within Logic.

On the other side, is the retro - I've owned a bunch of analogue/vintage synthesisers and drum machines for ages, and I still occasionally pick up my guitar; however the latest retro-fad I've been looking at is visual; super8 filming and 35mm still photography.

The latest escalation in the war against the future was taken at the weekend, when I bought a bunch of chemicals for home-processing 35mm film. I have so far gone down an extremely cheap path with my 35mm equipment:

• two SLR cameras (Yashica FX-3 and FX-D) with five lenses were obtained through my local freecycle group;
• an old enlarger, developing trays, developing tank (spiral), safelight, etc. have been loaned by my father-in-law
• a new (fantastic) enlarger was recently obtained from freecycle.

So. Financial outlay on equipment has been practically zero (I did replace the light seals on both cameras, and re-covered the FX-D; but those weren't expensive), leaving me to spend money on film!

Just last week I bought a new scanner (we'd been without for about three years) which can scan 35mm negs at up to 3200dpi. For a 35mm negative (24mmx35mm), thats approximately 14 megapixels at 3200 dpi. I cannot afford a digital camera with that kind of resolution! And I have a physical archive as well as the digital...

So; anyway, back to the thread... I want to try out black and white photography - fast films (1600ASA for a start), proper grainy atmospheric things, but true black and white processing costs quite a bit. I can get colour film developed at my local Boots for £2.99 if I take the six day service, but black and white? Tends to be in the £6-8 region.

Hence the chemicals.

With the new scanner, I should be able to shoot a roll of film, develop it and view the results (on the computer) within an afternoon. Any that I like the look of, I can print with the enlarger (when I bought the chemicals, I also bought a stack of 5x7 photo paper).

Tell you something... I'm really looking forward to it!