Since discovering the possibilities of the silver gelatin paper negative process, an aspect I have come to love is the ability to see the world thru any kind of camera, regardless of age, format or type. Recently I acquired by gift some more 35mm cameras and an assortment of interesting lenses. I love that these cameras, (and quite apart from the fact that they can shoot film) wont be sitting in a glass case doing nothing. Time for them to ride the range again, time to shoot some paper........

35mm paper negatives are way way cute. Here are these little pieces of photographic paper, the size of digital full frame sensors and without the mortgage. I have in my possession some small as tintypes that are that small. Daguerreotypes were not massive plates. There is something about 'small' that is very okay, very detailed and very precious.

The purpose here is is suppose is to dispell the disheartened when it comes to the 'big' word. Good things come in small packages right? Right!

Here is my 35mm paper negative gallery as it stands at the moment. www.ipernity.com/doc/kiwivagabond/album/629479

While you could make cute little contact prints from your paper negatives, they woul;d be small...........but should that matter. Nope. Small has a mystery all of its own. 35mm paper negatives can have loads of detail..........so incredible are emulsions and lenses.
Even the negatives, which are one offs, can look cool mounted creatively.

The real power of a 35mm paper negative may be in the camera used and the lens, with its specific bokeh or strengths..........then taking that negative and digitally process that into a digital negative for a contact print or an alt process print. Eg, cyanotype, salt, van dyke brown etc.

I would like to do that with this print. www.ipernity.com/doc/kiwivagabond/31058431//in/album/629479


Small is beautiful, resist the urge to think big alone is beautiful...........
Quite apart from the images, there is some thing lovely about the click of a real shutter. DSLR shutters usually only lift the mirror, so its not the same.......and your IPhone..........well that dont do nothing at all.
Give 35mm paper negatives a shot.............there's a whole new world waiting.
Its a small world after all.