4/19 – Freese’s Pond, Deerfield, NH
4/20 – Sprinkler
Both shot on Portra 160 with the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. I like the results.
Brownie Hawkeye (4/19-20)
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Category Archives: Project 365
Experimental photography (P366)
With #MarchofFilm completed, I need to pay attention to Project 366 again. I’ve still been doing as much film shooting as possible. This past week saw two experiments, one successful and one not so much.
First up was an attempt at red scale photography. Redscale is a technique where film is respooled backwards so the light passes through the film base before striking the emulsion. The resulting images show a red or orange color cast.
4/1 “Medic 9″
I shot my first roll in the Nikon N65. The auto DX coding made it difficult to get enough overexposure, resulting in dark, grainy images.
4/2 Emmett
4/2 Dover Point
4/3 Negatives!
First negatives out of the new darkroom, and the first ones at home in over a decade. Ilford HP5+ black & white.
4/4 – Beth ‘training’ with Cricket.
Voigtlander Vito B with Ektar 100.
The end of the week brought a different experiment. I attempted my first roll of cross-processed film, Fuji Velvia 100 shot in the YashicaMat LM. Cross-processing (x-pro) also involves a color shift, based on processing slide film in negative chemistry. The results vary based on the film and chemistry used. In contrast to the redscale, these came out stunning.
4/5/12, Old Town Hill with Beth & Cricket:
4/6/12 “Locust Towers”:
4/7 – Sunrise over Stetson St. Vito B/Ektar 100.
4/7 – lest you think I forgot (iPhone)
4/8 – the ambulance bay (again) Voigtlander Vito B, Kodak Ektar 100, handheld slow exposure. It’s a lucky effect but I love it.
Also 4/8. Another lucky shot.
4/9 – Newburyport waterfront. Vito B/Ektar again.
4/10 is already here.
Expired film
This is a little film geek-y, but please bear with me. The $100 darkroom included a shopping bag full of expired film. Some people like expired film for its unpredictability, but I’d never tried shooting any. The Tri-X 400 shouldn’t be too hard to handle, the Portra 160 might have some interesting colors, but the 12-year expired Tmax 3200 could be trouble. Internet wisdom tells me that faster films are subject to more degradation and fogging.
There is no formula. It’s all dependent on how long ago the film expired, how it has been stored, how you shoot it, how you develop it, and a bit of luck. After much reading I decided to try overexposing my Tmax by two stops (800ASA). Beth grabbed the Holga 135BC, I loaded up the Olympus 35RC, and we headed out to Maudslay State Park.
Most of my shots were junk, but I was able to salvage a few in post-processing. The results are very grainy and very cool.
Swamp
Path
The Mighty Merrimac
Field
Tower
For those who care, development was in D76 for 13 1/2 minutes, per the standard instructions for Tmax 3200.
Do It Yourself
- 50 year old camera: $20 on eBay
- fully equipped darkroom: $100 on Craigslist
- Epson film scanner: $75, Craigslist again
- Spending time with my daughter, capturing images like these, and being able to say we did it all ourselves: PRICELESS
Old Town Hill by Mack505 on Flickr
Old Town Hill by Mack505 on Flickr
March of Film wrap-up
Week four, all rolled into one post.
#YELLOW
Kodak Gold 200 in a Voigtlander Vito B
#BEFORE / AFTER
This was supposed to be a double exposure, but I wound the camera out of habit. Oops.
Shot on a Super Ricohflex TLR, another eBay find.
#SPRING
I am an engineer, after all.
Olympus 35RC with Kodak Gold
#CLOUDS
Shot with the Olympus at –
#CORNERS
Beach Access #1, Salisbury
#HOOP
I snuck this one with the Voigtlander Bessamatic (Kodak Gold 400) while passing through the USCG Station Portsmouth Harbor on the way to shoot Fort Constitution.
And finally
#MADNESS
Holga 135BC, Kodak Gold 400
My madness for the month has ended, but I’ve recently installed a darkroom so this is not the last of my film photography.
Olympus 35RC follow up
A nice fat package arrived from the photo lab today. I’ve spent much of the evening importing, tagging, and correcting dates. My notes aren’t really what they should be.
As promised, here are a few highlights from the first roll through the Olympus 35RC. I’m very pleased with them.
“End of Trail” but not really. Cross at your own risk, though.
Bridge
Shutterbug
Spring!
Paradise.
It’s not as versatile as my big SLR’s simply because it does not have interchangeable lenses, but its small size weighs heavily in its favor. This one will be high on my regularly-carried list.
March Film Madness – Week 3 wrap up
I had a nice visit this morning with the guys at Old School Photo Lab, and I picked up a few rolls from last week. Here are the rest of Week 3′s themes:
#SPRING BREAK
Holga 120N medium format with wide angle lens
#ET
Holga 135BC with Ilford HP5+
30 minute time lapse
#INCLINE
Holga 120N with wide angle lens
And jumping ahead to Week 4 gain:
#HOOP
USCG Station Portsmouth Harbor, Newcastle, NH
Voigtlander Bessamatic, Kodak Gold 200
My Flickr set has all of these and more.
March of Film – Week 3 partial
#LUCKY
Holga 135BC
We’re lucky to have her, and it was a lucky shot.
#SECOND CHANCE
Nikon FM2 with 20mm lens
All of our pets are rescues. Cricket is living a dog’s life now.
#SMELLY
Nikon FM2/20mm
Self explanatory, methinks.
And a bonus from week 4:
#YELLOW
From a test roll shot today in my newly-acquired Voigtlander Vito B.
The rest are still off at the lab. I’ve been shooting a lot, but it has been divided among 4 cameras. I’m really looking forward to the first roll in the Yashicamat LM.
Birds
Birds.
I usually don’t notice them. Spring has suddenly returned, though, and I hear them everywhere. Shore birds populate the trees and dunes behind me, the occasional gull swoops past, and a pair of cormorants bob peacefully in the channel.
Small waves lap gently at the shore while the river gurgles past the jetties. I have lived all my life virtually within sight of the ocean, yet I fail to appreciate it. I’m a mountain person; my solace is found in trails and trees.
Yet here this morning with the sun on my face and the breeze at my back, with the smell of salt in the air, facing the limitless expanse of the mighty Atlantic, I can steal a few moments of peace.
Salisbury Beach by Mack505 on Flickr
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I’ve written before of my first experience with critical incident stress. Tonight I had occasion to attend another debriefing. I felt pretty good going in. I knew we’d had an awful call, but I was still feeling OK. I feel I have a good support system. I rode the emotional roller coaster, learned a few things, had other things affirmed, and gained some insight into how the other side works.
The debriefing was a good experience, but I could still do without the triggering event.
It’s a beautiful night. Today was sunny and 82 degrees. As I was leaving the hospital, one of our units pulled up beside me in traffic. The sound of the Diesel, the warm night air, George hanging his bare arm out the driver’s window. Suddenly I wanted to be up there, in that seat. These are my people. We take care of each other as much as the city.
Summer nights have a magic in the city, and we are nocturnal. I’m in the middle of 4 days off, and suddenly all I wanted was to be back in that truck.
The light went green and they drove away before I could shout a hello. I’m sure the city will survive a few more days without me. I’m off to enjoy the night air and try my hand at photographing stars.
March of Film -#IDES
#IDES, to complete week 2.
Taken at “the Ides of Topsfield” along the old B&M Newburyport Branch. Nikon FM2 with 20mm lens and Kodak 400 Gold