I know that there are a few people in the Memphis area that still shoot film the old fashioned way. I would like to get together every once in a while to photograph the wonders of this area and to learn from each other. I am also trying to get a darkroom set up with the enlarger that I just acquired and would like to make it available to anyone interested that does not have that luxury.

Great idea. I've been trying to promote film photography on the Memphis Photo Forums group website http://www.memphisphotoforums.com/ and there's a few people there who do shoot some film, but the prognosis isn't too good. Each time one of us mentions having a "film developing 101" type demonstration or class, we all agree it's a great idea but nothing ever seems to come of it. I myself have been developing B&W and C-41 in 35mm and 120, but have yet to do any printing or enlarging. I have a 4x5 Graflex Crown Graphic camera, so this year I'm hoping to do some serious shooting with it, and then attempt doing contact printsm, at the very least, to get my foot in the door as far as darkroom process goes.

More a film dry scrub land than desert, at least we have one place to buy film and chemistry Heck, Buzzy actually got in DD-X, which made my day

A film 101 would be great, just a matter of finding a few folks to play along and getting a time/place together.

I always feel dirty when I go to Memphis Photo. Having been in retail both large and small for many years, the OCD in me wants to completely recombobulate their displays, which definitely aren't arranged for optimum merchandise presentation. And all the film-oriented stuff is hidden, as if it's some nasty secret.

"Where's the new DD-X you got in?" "Nikon D3X, you say? Right here.... No, wait, did you say DD-X? Oh. That. Go through that doorway, hang a left, and it's on one of the dusty shelves back there. Filthy film-shooter like you probably wants some hypo-clear to go with that, huh? If you need a changing bag you're outta luck, bucko."

My next developer will probably be XTOL - been hearing good things about that stuff. First, though, I need to use up some D-76 I have left still. I also have some declining C-41 chemicals, already mixed up, that I'll give someone in case one of you wants to dip your toe in that process without having to shell out the dough for a kit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Hey guy's, good to see we are getting a few Memphis film shooters here. Let's get some introductions going here, I'm Joel.

You have to give MPS the credit they deserve in still carrying film supplies no matter how minimal it is. I have to time getting film from them to coincide with a lull in the college sessions. I have been thinking about doing some bulk ordering but I didn't know if there were that many film shooters to make it worth the while.

Have you tried Caffenol-C yet? I've been having fun and getting some good results with it.

A film 101 would be a great idea it's a matter of when. My schedule makes it kind of tough to schedule anything but if I had enough notice I could take a day off. I have the space out here where I live I also have the enlarger but nothing is set up yet. You guys let me know what you want to do.

Of course it's good that we have a place to go in town to purchase film supplies; I just get frustrated with their lack of basic marketing skills.
As for a Film 101 sort of thing, it seems there aren't that many people around town who are eager to get into film, so Rob (rlandrigan) came up with the idea a while back of making it more of a social occasion by doing a film-only photowalk somewhere and then gathering in a central location to process the film, teaching basic processing along the way to whomever may be new. I think that's a great idea, even if we're learning amongst overselves, since we all seem to have our own film and developer specialties. For instance, you could teach us about Caffenol, Rob could show off his Jobo and maybe some DD-X, and I could do Rodinal or some C-41. It would be a good way to see what others do and see different approaches in person.

I like that idea as well.
I actually got the last two rolls of tri-x in 120 that MPS had on hand so I know what you mean about lack of film supplies.

On another note. I went to the Memphis Camera Club meeting tonight and entered one of my Lumen prints to see what would happen. The print didn't get the highest score but a 21 out of 27 isn't to bad but what happened next surprised me, the judges critiqued it and actually had some nice things to say about it. When I told them that it had been done without a camera I received a lot of attention and some even asked if I could give a class on Lumen prints.