Film – Up Close And Personal

A lockdown plan, for the expulsion of boredom.

7th Nov 20207th Nov 2020 awendesLeave a comment

Now I’ve started scanning film, I’m having trouble stopping. The other day I found out a file of old negatives in my darkroom, shot mostly with my old Mamyia C330 on 120 Tri-X. I’d forgotten they existed, so it was a nice surprise. I’m now in the process of scanning and editing them. This should keep me busy for the most of lockdown, at any rate!

Here are a few so far, all of which were shot in 2008:

Old man at the bottom of the steps.

I like this old tree, it has plenty of character. It’s at the bottom of the steps, up to Mnt. Joy. 2008.

Mamiya C330, 80mm lense,
Kodak Tri-X 400,
Xtol 1+1, 8 minutes with 4 minute pre-soak,
Canoscan 8800f and Vuescan x64,
Edited in Exposure X5.

Steps… lots of bloody steps.

These are the side steps up to Mnt. Joy. 2008.

Mamiya C330, 80mm lense,
Kodak Tri-X 400,
Xtol 1+1, 8 minutes with 4 minute pre-soak,
Canoscan 8800f and Vuescan x64,
Edited in Exposure X5.

Parkhurst Trees 1

Mamiya C330, 80mm lense,
Kodak Tri-X 400,
Xtol 1+1, 8 minutes with 4 minute pre-soak,
Canoscan 8800f and Vuescan x64,
Edited (barely) in Exposure X5.

Also, today’s film scanning music is provided by The Black Keys 🙂

Time and a plethora of scans later…

4th Nov 20204th Nov 2020 awendesLeave a comment

So, last time I said that I didn’t know how to scan film properly. Well, I’m not saying that I now know how to do it properly, but after 2 days of going through old negatives I’m getting a feel for it. Vuescan is now a friend.

Zeiss Ikon Nettar, Ilford Delta 400 @ 400, Ilford DD-X, 1+4, 8 minutes @ 20C, Canoscan 8800f, Vuescan x64, Exposure X5

I’m surprised by how many scans I like, for negatives I’d forgotten all about. I suppose they got developed, given the once over and then I went on to other shiny things.

Taken with my Diana F+, Ilford Hp5+ @ 400, Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 at 20C for 9 mins. Canoscan 8800f and Vuescan x64, Edited in Exposure X5.

It has however, given me a new taste for film photography again. I love the results I get from my Zeiss Ikon Nettar. A lovely little camera. It doesn’t lend itself to quick photography, but that’s not necessarily bad thing. Also, the Diana F+ is a bit of fun. In some ways, medium format is where it’s at for me, being the middle ground between small negatives and really bloody heavy cameras!

Nikon f100, Probably Tokina 19-35 Lense, Ilford Delta 400 @ 400, Ilfotec DD-X, 1+4, 12 mins @ 20C, Canoscan 8800f, Vuescan x64, Edited in Exposure X5

I’d love to do some more street photography, with film. For me, it’s a matter of confidence. I can take photos of people walking away from me, no probs, but if they’re heading in my direction, I chicken out!

I also can’t forget my old friend, the lensbaby. It adds a new approach to street photography, isolating a subject. I also lament the fact that my Petzval 55 MK II is a Z mount lense. It’s great on my Z6, but I’d love to be able to use it on my f100. That would be fun!

Anyway, I’ll be shooting more film and scanning it now. Once my darkroom is up and running again (I’ve not really been in the mood to sort it out) lith printing will resume too. I’ll finish with one last scan:

Nikon f100, Lensbaby Composer, Sweet 50 Optic, Ilford Delta 100 @ 100 Ilfotec DD-X 1+4, 20C, 12 min, Canoscan 8800f & Vuescan x64, Exposure X5.

Things I have learned

1st Nov 2020 awendesLeave a comment

These past few days, I have learned some things.

You can’t always win…

After shooting a roll of film, it doesn’t mean that that’s the end of it. I shot a roll. I developed it. And after developing it, I found there were major light leaks at some point. Could barely make out the frames and there were no details on the negative. Bugger. Had to shoot another roll to check it wasn’t the camera. It wasn’t. Either I’d cocked up, or there was a problem with the film.

I don’t know how to scan film…

I really don’t. Today I’ve spent some time scanning films with Vuescan. Sometimes I’ll get a good scan, sometimes I won’t. The silverfast demo gave me some better scans, but again, very hit and miss. This is something I’m going to have to teach myself. It doesn’t help that my scanner is getting a bit long in the tooth.

My darkroom isn’t clean enough…

When scanning my film, you notice all the blemishes. Lith printing is my preferred printing process, and it’s very forgiving of crap negatives. Scanning negatives however, is less forgiving. There’s dirt on the scanner, for sure, but there’s also dirt on the negatives. After drying the last film, I noticed there was a lot of dirt. Hairs even. Time to sort out the darkroom I think!

I have a soft spot…

I do love the Pentax ME Super. It was my second camera and when my old one died, I got a refurbished one from a popular auction site. Bought a 28mm lense for it, so I could go walkabout with it (not that I can now, with another lockdown in sight). I’m not sure if it was a good investment, as I seem to get very contrasty negatives from the SMC lenses.

Taken with a Pentax ME Super, with 28mm f/2.8 Pentax SMC-A lenses. Scanned with Canoscan 8800f, vuescan x64. Edited with Exposure X5.

The past, or the future?

I’ve started scanning my back catalogue of negatives too, as what often happens is I’ll choose a shot or two for lith printing, then abandon the other shots. Worth a punt anyway!