Comicon with Instant Pictures

Well, that was …interesting. Comicon was wonderful. Made even better because we travelled down yesterday and got to the exhibition fresh, rather than after a 120 mile drive. I took a bunch of pictures with my new camera and, as you can see above, results were mixed. Exposure is a challenge and because I wasn’t using a flash the white balance for the film wasn’t quite right.

White balance with digital cameras is not a thing. The camera figures out the colour temperature of the scene and adjusts for it. White balance with a film camera is a thing. Because it turns out that the sun is hotter than electric lights and puts out a lot more blue light. Inside you get a warmer light if you use bulbs with filaments in them (like they all used to be) or weird light if you use modern energy saving bulbs. Film is normally manufactured for outdoor use, so when you use it inside the white balance moves about a bit and you get colour casts on the picture. So, if the pictures above look as if they have strange colours, that’s why. The pictures above also look a bit blurred and dark. I can’t blame that on the film, that is down to me learning my way around the camera.

The funny thing about instant cameras is that you seem to give away your best pictures. I took a shot of a chap who sold me something (he wanted to know what the camera did). The picture came out really well so I gave it to him. He was really happy with that, which I think is what things like photography are all about.