>>2683322was gonna say look in the wiki but I ended up checking it myself so w/e
http://istillshootfilm.org/beginners-guide-film-photographylord kenneth rockwell also has some pages up but obviously don't take anything he says as gospel
my rec is to start with B&W but you can go either way if there's a convenient place to develop color print (C41 process) film near you. there are startup costs for developing B&W yourself but it's really quite easy and you have control over the ultimate product. I've always done my own developing and scanning.
everyone has their own favorite film stock but i'd try as many as possible before making up your mind. start off with Tri-X or another ISO 400 film, though. the idea is to find the general look you're going for and make it totally reproducible/reliable. I've fallen into the trap of trying too much different gear/film, consistency is the key.
pic related: snapshit from my 1st roll of B&W (Tri-X in HC-110)
