China in 12 Frames

Very cool, Ben. I am really impressed that you do all this literally "in house."

I was considering getting a Seagull, then I figured another camera without an internal meter would just make me angry and despondent. But then I read about the "sunny 16" rule, which apparently takes a lot of the mystery out of getting proper exposures when using a fully manual camera. (Yes, I'm totally new to cameras and photography.) Does using that rule work for you, or do you have another method? What about indoors?

Also, what camera did you use for the b/w portraits on your flickr site? Really nice photos there.

Thanks Anjo ! Actually, i develop it in my toilets :-) ! i just begin 2 days before and learn it on the web (youtube) and it s quite easy... you just need a room totally dark and some products and stuffs... i just take pictures from one year so i m also quite new in photography !

For the seagull, it s a great camera i think and quite cheap. yes there is no meter and i don t have a hand meter (i want to buy one) so i use my digital camera to measure light from now. I put Aperture mode (A), put like f8 and look for the speed... after i put on the seagull. for the sunny 16 rule, yes i read it also, i never try, i think you just need to try and have experience to use manuel mode without light meter. I read many people use this and have the good exposure. I also read in BW film, you can make more mistakes than in color films.

If you want a TLR camera with a light meter, there is "Yashica Mat 124g", very good camera and not so expensive for the quality (150 - 200 dollars in ebay), there is a square meter on it and you can really take some very good 6x6, better than a seagull. You can find some in beijing or shanghai (or ebay) i think but not in Wuhan. There are many groups in flickr about this.

for my BW portraits, it s a digital camera, a Nikon D80 and a telelens (50-200 mm) from the kit.
Thanks again for comment and takle care !
ben

Hey this is great to see... I just got a Seagull 4A last weekend at the Beijing photo market, and I'm trying to figure out the Sunny 16 rule, and shoot without a light meter. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer many tips for shooting conditions other than outside and daytime--and I've really only taken indoor and nighttime shots. I'm pretty anxious about how my film will turn out, but I guess there's only one way to learn...

I also looked on the internet and found this: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm It's an exposure chart you can find the shutter and aperture settings needed for various film speeds and lighting conditions. Good luck memorizing...I picked out a few useful ones and carry a cheat sheet. We'll see how well it works.

thanks for the link ! i will also try the f16 rules ! i have a digital camera to measure the light but it s really boring to take two cameras on me... so i will also try... you can also buy a measure equipment, there are some very little but buy a second hand one...

Ben , these are beautiful. I just purchased a seagull and I also was going to use my digital for metering. I love the tones you got here , some really gorgeous dark tones , Hey could you e-mail me your flickr page thanks gb3 photography