What's old is new again (to me anyway)

I have inherited some old film cameras from my Grandfather in the last few years and have bought some film cameras to add to my collection. I have had intentions to use these film cameras and hopefully get into black and white developing. Sending film off for developing can be somewhat cost prohibitive if a person wants to do a lot of film work. A couple of years ago I bought a couple of rolls of Kodak 35mm 400TX and loaded my Canon AE1 and have shot both rolls up in that time frame. After holding on to the film for quite a while, I was about to send it off to be developed when a friend who probably knows as much about developing as anyone around offered to show me the ropes on developing. Here are some of the results. These negatives have all been scanned and edited in Lightroom and Nik Silver Effects Pro.

Although several of the shots were not what I had hoped for, some were pretty good. Next comes 120 format with a Mamiya RB67, and then 4x5 with a Graflex Crown Graphic. I almost have all my supplies to do my own developing, and I really look forward to it. I won't be leaving digital behind, but there's a quality to film that sets it apart if it's really done well. That's my goal. I have a ways to go, but at least I've made the first steps in that direction.

Texturizing

I am fascinated by "texturized" photos. For me it adds depth to an image that may be interesting, but just lacks that appeal that draws you in. The process can be long and tedious or quite simple using various software programs. I use Photoshop for layering and blending layers and also have several other types of software that produce quicker results. Both these photos were processed on my iphone (or Ipad) using the "Distressed FX" App. It is very simple and provides about 40 effects. Today there are countless options from buying "packaged" textures and Photoshop Actions to many software products that seem to grow by the day. I guess we are all looking to find that which separate us from other photographer styles. I would say that I try to produce images that appeal to me and hope others feel the same way about my work, though I know beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.