caught off guard

The fountain in Princes Square, Launceston, 2002-2003.
Probably taken with a Minolta XG-M, on Ilford HP-5+.

From the cupboard #1

"CHILDREN ARE NOT TO RU(N)"

I recently (well, 6 months ago) migrated to a new laptop, and decided I needed to move old photos to new laptop. This gave me a good reason to go through some old images and see what I have.

So, while I don't use film very requently any more, I'll be posting to odd photo here from the archives.

extension tubes

Had a chance to use the new extesnion tubes last week, just wandered around the house taking some photos. It was much easier without needing to juggle an unattached lens.

I'll admit they aren't the most exciting images. But it's all about testing it out and stuff. Eventually I'll get around to photographing interesting things using the extension tubes.

memory tape

An image doesn't always have to be in focus to work for you.

Henty House

Not a popular building, but certainly striking. Kind of like a Vogon cruiseliner...

Rolls

new project in mind

I'd like to put some 35mm film through this:

as it seems to function perfectly. And it looks amazing.

Some issues:

• It normally takes 127 film. However as 127 is only marginally wider than a 35mm cannister, I figure that a bit of padding will be all that is required.
• The built-in mask is wider than 35mm film. My intent is to make my own mask from black card to stick over the top so I don't end up with sprocket hole exposure (I'm not a fan of this look). This will also result in panoramic images, which is part of why I want to do this..
• There is no rewind. I may need to buy a changing bag so I can get the film out. An interesting quirk is that the film is wound from right to left, but this isn't an issue, more of a novelty.
• There is a red viewing window on the back. Black electical tape on either side should sort it out.
• Not sure how the local camera chain will deal with scanning the negatives. We'll have to wait and see. My contingency is to scan it myself when I eventually get around to buying my own flatbed film scanner.
• Figuring out how far to wind for each exposure. I may have to sacrifice another roll of Lucky. Good thing it's so fecking cheap.

This is my project for the weekend or after work. Wish me luck.

Anyone ever tried something like this? Let me know your experiences if you have

Echo (part III)

Never known a cat to snuggle up in the bathtub, especially when it's still wet.

Holga weirdness & Kodak Ektar vs. Echo

The top three images are from my first roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I am most impressed. It's close to replacing Reala as my favourite film already. We'll see what further films come out like. The kitten in the images is Echo, our new bundle of destructive joy.

The bottom two images came form the Holga. I can't explain the rather unexpected effects (although the usual light leaks seem to be at least some of it). Why the numbers & symbols from the backing paper are burnt onto the negative is beyond me. Having said that, I don't mind the images themselves...

Ilford SFX 200

Today I picked up my first exposed roll of Ilford SFX 200. Today, I also found out that without a red filter, the film is just an expensive B&W film. However, I am still very pleased with the results, it's nice to use a "proper" black & white film - I've always liked Ilford's films better than mono films offered by Fuji & Kodak, but I guess that's all Ilford do, so they may as well do them right.

I probably like the top one best - I miss getting that silvery look of a well exposed black & white image which has the full compliment of in-between tones.

Velvia? No thanks.

When we finally booked our honeymoon to NZ, I went a bit nuts with the idea of taking the Minolta on a bit of a trip. I'd always regretted not taking it to Europe in 2007, so I was determined to make this a good'un.

So I stocked up on film: 10 x Reala, 2 x Velvia 100, 2 x Kodak slide film (not used).

After quite a while of waiting, I finally got the Velvia developed. Results above. The thing holding me back was that it was going to cost a lot of money to have them developed & scanned (about $42 each film done locally). SO thanks to a reasonably favourable return from Mr Swan, I finally got them done.

And I found out that I don't much like Velvia. It's okay, but not something I'll be using again. Feels a bit...er...over saturated. Silly thing to notice about Velvia, I know. But I just don't much like the feel of it. Over saturated & very cold (the examples above don't relfect this well, as all those scenes were fairly cold anyways).

Another learning experience. I'll stick to Fuji & Ilford print film in future.

Latest arrivals

From ebay: 5 rolls of Svema FN 64, expired 2004. Svema were one of the major film manufacturers in the Soviet-era, however I'm lead to believe that these days the film's more than likely just re-branded Foma. Even if it's not "proper" FSU film, the boxes are worth it alone.


And to something more useful - my new Leningrad 4 light meter, direct from the Ukraine. Terribly useful, particularly considering I've recently acquired a few meter-less cameras. I checked it against the meter in the Minolta, and they seem to more or less agree, so I assume it works correctly.

What's in my cameras?

I have a habit of putting film in a camera & then not finishing it for a while. Probably because I have several cameras which all have their own quirks & character, so they don't suit all situations. Not a particularly committed photographer, am I? True, I do leave film in the camera for a while...unless I have a specific purpose, like International Commie Camera Day.

Anyways, the purpose is to remind myself of what I have in what, and maybe shame myself into doing something about it:

Fisheye2: Agfacolor 200
Minolta*: Fuji Reala 100
Pinhole: Agfacolor 200
Holga: Fuji Reala 100
Zeiss Ikon: Agfacolor 200
Vilia: Fuji Neopan 400
Zorki: nil.

* not working at this stage anyway, so finishing off the film will be dependent on me getting it going again.

I've been wanting to put some 220 into the Holga upside down to play with the redscale thing, but as I'm only 3 frames into the Reala, it'll be a while before that happens. Ditto with the pinhole - I'd like to try redscale in that, but as it's super-basic, I have NO IDEA how far I am into the roll - or even if the results are worth developing. I think I tried some star trails & night-time stuff with it last winter, but I really can't be sure.

--

In other news, I visited Stallards the other day to see if my Pan F & Fuji Pro 800 had arrived, and the order hadn't even been placed. Hmph. It'll have to wait until next pay now, but that's okay - no rush. As long as I have the 800 before we go down the west coast (the extra sensitivity will help), I'll be happy.

It arrived today...

It's beautiful. Not as heavy as the Zeiss Ikon, but a lot more compact, but like the Zeiss (West Germany/FDR), it was made in a country which no longer exists (USSR/CCCP). Extra bonus points for that.

We'll see how it goes. I'll be studying the Zorki 4 manual (in English) quite thoroughly before putting film through it.

I also must remember the golden rule of FSU cameras: "Cock the shutter, Change the shutter". Important to get it in that order, it's an easy way to end up with a paperweight, changing the speed before you cock the shutter...

--

In other news, I've asked the local camera monopoly to order in some Fuji Pro 800z, and some Ilford Pan F 50. They seem to offer a fairly competitive rate for both films, but it'll have to wait until I get paid next anyway before I can afford to pick them up. Picked up a couple of rolls of Reala as well while I was at it.

Film arrival

My Fuji order arrived yesterday. That meks it 7 days from the UK. Not bad for a parcel destined for the antipodes.

They also gave me a nice choose-film.com pen.

Now I have to find an occasion to test the 160S. I've been promising to do some portrait shots for some friends whose wedding i missed while I was overseas (a gift of contrition), so I'll probably use that as it is supposed to be good for skin tones & stuff.

The Neopan? I just got it because I wanted to have a nice stock of B&W film.

And these last few days I have been eyeing off the Holga thinking "what can I do with you?", so I may even see if they have any short-dated 120 film, as the exchange rate + the postage makes for a good deal at the moment. I had a look at Calumet's website & they wanted to charge me $70US for the same films, + $111US postage! No thanks, I'll stick with the mother country, thanks.

I'm just not sure what to take photos of now. I like taking photos, but I have no idea what I really like to take photos of. Except Heidi & Ava. And one of them's a cat.

NZ Photos

A small selection of the first bunch of photos from the NZ Honeymoon. Developed three rolls, straight to CD. I like the results. Beautiful colours, and the Minolta did an exceptionally good (quite sharp) job. First time I've taken the Minolta overseas, now I really wish I'd taked in to Europe, but ehhh...too late now.

I'm impressed with this Reala stuff. Might have to get some more soon.

film order update

I've ordered:

10 x Neopan 400
5 x Fuji Pro 160S

from Fuji Lab UK. A much better deal than ordering from Vanbar, despite the higher postage. It helps that the films are short-selling stock, but the Neopan is still good until July, and the Pro 160 is good until April. I understand that it will still be fine well after it's "expired" (it's like a serving suggestion), so I'm not too fussed. Even a slight colour shift or minor fogging can be corrected these days.

It's sad that it's a better deal to order from the UK (on the other side of the planet) than to order from within Australia. But I guess the issue is that Vanbar probably pay postage to get their stock, and then add their markup. Can't blame them, but then I can't be blamed for enjoying the benefits of a global marketplace. I prefer to buy local if possible, but if the deal is significantly better non-local, what would you choose?

New film purchases, Zeiss Ikon film, and NZ...

Some new film purchases from Vanbar. They seem to be trying to move a lot of their obscure B&W films, and my stocks are depleted since New Zealand, so I thought I'd pick some up:

5 x Paterson Phototec 400 pan 36exp
5 x Lucky SHD 100 36exp
5 x Maco -UP 400 plus 36exp
5 x Paterson Phototec 100 pan 36exp

I have no idea if they are any good, although I think I read that the Lucky 100 is supposed to be similar to TMax. We'll see! And I'm sure I'll just send it up to Black & White Photographics in Invermay to get developed/printed. The gentleman there did a good job with the Rollei Disposables from the wedding.

UPDATE: Vanbar just rang to say they only have the Lucky film. Not really worth it now! I wanted a good stock of miscellaneous B&W film for cheap-ish, so I think I'll just cancel the order and re-think my re-stocking strategy. It's a bit annoying, as this is the second time I've ordered something from Vanbar from the website which they didn't have in stock. If I knew of a better place to order film internet-wise, I'd use it...

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I've just put my first roll of film (some recently expired Agfa colour 200) in the Zeiss I purchased in February. I haven't taken many shots yet, and I'm relying on Sunny-16 as the light meter appears to be buggered. We'll see what the results are like...

--

I will start getting film developed from NZ this week. We have about 8 rolls of Reala and 2 rolls of Velvia 100, I think the Velvia will probably be the last off the rank as I think it's going to cost $26.95 for develop & mount. As for prints or scans, I might have to wait! Expensive, but I seem to recall Black & White Photographics charging exactly the same 6 years ago when I was at uni.

Fujicolour 200

Non-expired Fujicolour 200. Much better. Where's the poo?

Also, these last two images came with my first use of a UV filter. I'm not sure whether it's had any effect (common opinion seems to be that UV filters are good for protecting lenses, nothing else). Might have an effect when we're out & about in NZ/Tasmania, what with all the extra UV we get down here at the mouth of the ozone layer hole.

wedding shots

To be used on the wedding day - separate from our official photographer, of course. The idea is that these will be left beside a guest book. When guests get the urge to leave us a note (hopefully not "I kill you scums"), they will be urged in turn to take a photo of themselves using one of these bad boys. The photo will then accompany their note when we can be bothered getting the photos developed.

These disposables are loaded with Rollei Retro 400, which as I understand it is a true B&W film that imitates the look of 35mm films from the 50s & 60s: fine grain, high contrast, etc. Some examples can be seen in the dedicated Flickr group. I'll entrust this to Black & White Photographics on Invermay Road for development.

I also picked up some Rollei Pan 25 for use at a later date. I'm thinking a trip into the highlands, but I'm undecided. Not until after the wedding for that one.

Incidentally, I have always pronounced it "rol-eye" (as it's a German company), the person I spoke to at Vanbar favoured "role-ee", even picking me up on my "error".