Shooting B&W With Asher

[Jim Galli]

Hi All,

I tried some Fomapan 100 film (exposed at ISO64) for the first time last weekend. It's really cheap, and "different":

"Caught by a chain link fence"

(Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 90mm at f/2.0, Fomapan 100 @ ISO64, 8x10in analogue hand-print)

"Opposing elements"

(Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 250mm at f/2.0, Fomapan 100 @ ISO64, 8x10in analogue hand-print)​

What do you think? The film is a little bit grainy for such a low speed film (not really better than Ilford FP4+) but I do like the tonality. Anybody else make any analogue B&W images recently to share? This is such a wonderful medium.

As a side note, if you want "Leica-special" lenses without paying Leica prices, the OM Zuikos are the closest I've ever gotten. I am enjoying these tiny, solid-metal, superb lenses very much indeed...

Both are lovely. I like the grain. I used to hate grain, but now that I've been successfully bombarded with 1 trillion digital pictures, grain is sort of like a '58 Edsel. It looks better every year.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Just a quickie. HP5 in Aculux. Zeiss C-Sonnar 50/1.5

Mike

A Light shone down - Mike Shimwell

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Hello fellow monochom'ers - this past week-end I printed three more of my "experimental" negatives using Fomapan 100 (exposed at ISO64) film:

Holes and Grains

(Olympus OM-1, 90mm Macro at f/11, Fomapan 100 at ISO64, 8x10in analogue print)

Butterfly Trust

(Olympus OM-1, 21mm at f/2.0, Fomapan 100 at ISO64, 5x7in analogue print)

Streaking Skyward

(Olympus OM-1, 90mm Macro at f/4.0, Fomapan 100 at ISO64, 8x10in analogue print)​

My keeper rate is certainly low (not so much in terms of negatives, but in terms of darkroom prints I like the end-result of) but when ti works, it really works for me... What a fun medium.

I recently upgraded my EL-Nikkor 50mm f/4 "budget" enlarging lens to the brilliant last-generation EL-Nikkor 50mm f/2.8N, and though I still get some serious light falloff that I have to try and correct with burning in the edges (not always evenly as the images above suggests!) it is a seriously high-resolution printing lens, much better into the corners. It truly does justice to the Zuiko taking lenses, that's for sure.

(EL-Nikkor 50mm f/2.8N)

 

[Jim Galli]

Hello fellow monochom'ers - this past week-end I printed three more of my "experimental" negatives using Fomapan 100 (exposed at ISO64) film:

My keeper rate is certainly low (not so much in terms of negatives, but in terms of darkroom prints I like the end-result of) but when ti works, it really works for me... What a fun medium.

I recently upgraded my EL-Nikkor 50mm f/4 "budget" enlarging lens to the brilliant last-generation EL-Nikkor 50mm f/2.8N, and though I still get some serious light falloff that I have to try and correct with burning in the edges (not always evenly as the images above suggests!) it is a seriously high-resolution printing lens, much better into the corners. It truly does justice to the Zuiko taking lenses, that's for sure.

(EL-Nikkor 50mm f/2.8N)

Excellent. That first one is so grainy it looks like beach sand.

Here's a couple of recent try's.

mud lake, tailgate

model a, weeping willows​

The first was made just past sun down at mud lake near Tonopah, NV. We rattled out there in the '39 pickup and proceeded to listen to absolutely nothing while night fell and an excellent Zin was retired. Even if I did have a buzz, finding my way off the 'lake' with 36 candle power 6V headlamps was sobering.

The second is notable because the lens used was recovered from a Korean war era gun spotting scope that had been trashed. I rescued it, measured the focal length at 375mm f5 and surmised it would make a dandy soft focus lens on 8X10, which I believe it does.

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Excellent. That first one is so grainy it looks like beach sand.

I guess it does! Need to find a better film for photographing beach sand

Here's a couple of recent try's.

Jim, both images are wonderful and atmospheric. Much more than "tries" I especially love the first one, and the story behind it. That sounds like a wonderful outing with some great conversation.

Did you contact print or scan the negatives directly?

 

[Jim Galli]

I guess it does! Need to find a better film for photographing beach sand




Jim, both images are wonderful and atmospheric. Much more than "tries" I especially love the first one, and the story behind it. That sounds like a wonderful outing with some great conversation.

Did you contact print or scan the negatives directly?

Hi David. Not printing near as much as I once did. No these are just scans "for now". I usually print in the winter when the darkroom is cozy and out doors is hostile. I have a freezer full of AZO waiting, and usually DO like the prints better than the scans.

Here's a new one done earlier this week. I helped a friend retrieve this car from it's 2nd owner. He was a grand fellow but had slipped into some age related dementia where all of his stories were fuzzy so we didn't know which one to believe about the car. His family was offering the car.

roadster, dusk, selective focus​

Here I used focus to tell my story. Shot wide open with a classic Cooke lens on 8X10.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Hi David. Not printing near as much as I once did. No these are just scans "for now". I usually print in the winter when the darkroom is cozy and out doors is hostile. I have a freezer full of AZO waiting, and usually DO like the prints better than the scans.

New from Michael Smith or an older hoard?

Here's a new one done earlier this week. I helped a friend retrieve this car from it's 2nd owner. He was a grand fellow but had slipped into some age related dementia where all of his stories were fuzzy so we didn't know which one to believe about the car. His family was offering the car.Here I used focus to tell my story. Shot wide open with a classic Cooke lens on 8X10.

Jim,

The gradual loss of definition of the car, going from back, the past, to the front, the present, is an apt metaphor for the life of the previous owner.

roadster, dusk, selective focus​

What an enjoyable image! Imagine doing this in photoshop! The ability to do such creative allocation of attention and focus before the shutter is even released, is where the LF camera excels.

Asher

 

[Jim Galli]

New from

or an older hoard?



Jim,

The gradual loss of definition of the car, going from back, the past, to the front, the present, is an apt metaphor for the life of the previous owner.

What an enjoyable image! Imagine doing this in photoshop! The ability to do such creative allocation of attention and focus before the shutter is even released, is where the LF camera excels.

Asher

Older hoard! Some is probably 1957 - ish and still prints beautifully. Thanks!

 

[Steve Robinson]

Wow, this thread has really grown! As the OP I haven't contributed yet mostly because I haven't figured out where to send my roll of Tri-X and have the negs put on a CD. That's assuming there are any worth saving! I guess I'd better get on the stick!

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Have you guys given up? I found that I couldn't dedicate myself to this medium until I sold all the digital stuff. Had some fun printing a couple of (35mm) negatives the past weekend:

Towards a bright future

(Ilford FP4+ 35mm, 5x7in hand print on Ilford MG IV Multigrade paper)

Time Flies

(Ilford FP4+ 35mm, 8x10in hand print on Ilford MG IV Multigrade paper)

Conspicuous Consumption

(Ilford FP4+ 35mm, 8x10in hand print on Ilford MG IV Multigrade paper)

Mousse (Detail #2)

(Fomapan 100 35mm, 8x10in hand print on Ilford MG IV Multigrade paper)​

When you throw technical quality out of the window (35mm film cannot compare to DSLR or medium/large format) you can simply settle on having fun photographing things, and focus on composition and the subject matter. A great training ground for the larger / more deliberate formats, I find.

Who else has been busy? (apart from Jim Galli, whose beautiful 8x10in large format images just seem to keep on coming on the Large Format Users group, and on his website, and are such an inspiration).

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi Dawid

No, not given up - just been short of time and with a broken computer. New one now built!

I've not had chance to develop any rolls of black and white latey, so here's a frame from a roll of Portra 800 in the summer. Mid conversation with my father in law

If anyone objects I'll desaturate it!

Mike.

​

 

[Asher Kelman]

Mike,

I like this in color, but I also see it in B&W, at least in my mind. It should work well. What an engaging man.

Asher

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Asher, thanks for your comment. Yes, it would convert to black and white, but I like the way that Portra delviers such lovely tones. Incidentally, the cyanotype photogram in the background is by my 5 year old

Here's a black and white shot from a walk around Manchester in the summer.

Mike

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Ah, it's just me then...

I've just about caught up with some developing over the last week and done some scanning. Here are a couple of early ones, one from last winter (sledging) on 35mm Acros and the other from November on HP5. Both souped in xtol 1+2. I've also got a rainbow in black and white from November.

Mike

Sledging

Noah on Dad's shoulders

​

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Hi Mike,

Ah, it's just me then...

I've just about caught up with some developing over the last week and done some scanning. Here are a couple of early ones, one from last winter (sledging) on 35mm Acros and the other from November on HP5. Both souped in xtol 1+2. I've also got a rainbow in black and white from November.

Mike

Sledging

Noah on Dad's shoulders

​

It may be just you posting, but I am sure more are looking such as myself. I really like these, the one of your girls with the sledge is especially precious IMO. It seems that they have had great fun. So did most of the children here in the past 2-3 weeks when it was still snowing. But now it is dreadful rain pouring down on us.

Cheers,

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Ah, it's just me then...

Oh no it's not! First of all, those are two very nice images Mike, and I agree with Cem that the first negative is the epitome of a precious memory captured in what has become a "romantic" medium (B&W film).

I have been spending a lot of time diverging into two different directions (two types of cameras I have not used much before) - a rangefinder and a view camera. Both were picked up locally, and film gear is practically given away here in South Africa because nobody seems to know what to do with it! I refuse to scan my negatives, and all my LF prints have been way too large to scan with my current scanner, so those have to wait a while. But these were from the rangefinder:

Waiting for transport

(50mm f/3.5 Heliar taking lens, 8x10in analogue print)

Riverside Café

(50mm f/3.5 Heliar taking lens, 8x10in analogue print)

Wishing the outside inside

(50mm f/3.5 Heliar taking lens, 8x10in analogue print)​

It may be a subtle thing, but the little Voigtlander lens (27mm filters!) absolutely blows my mind. Never used anything like it for 35mm film. Coupled with modern ISO400 B&W film (the above was on Delta 400, but I have since switched to Kodak TMY-2 400) one has to ask why faster lenses are necessary, when a slow lens can be so darn good, on a body where 1/8s can deliver good results. It's all very quirky (the little Voigtlander lens with its weird ergonomics, the primitive but beautiful Leica M3 body from the 1950s) but this is a superbly accurate tool, for when a "normal" lens will do.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Cem, Dawid

Thanks for your comments. As I get older I value these pictures more than any. On the one hand I find myself reluctant to post pictures of my bairns for fear of being thought a fraud or 'just a family snapper', but not to do so would deny some of the most precious pictures any of us make. Of course, Noah isn't mine, so that's fine.

Dawid,

Thanks for your pictures. Your making good use of that rangefinder. I'm intrigued to know how your finding it? I have to say that I find the film rf, with the not terribly accurate framing, no chimping and delightful 'feel' to be a very freeing way to take photos. Contrary to the arguments advanced by quite a lot on why they like slr's, evf's or ground glass I find the rf viewfinder encourages a focus on subject rather than image. Of course, I could just be justifying what I like, because I'm not conscious of taking different pictures with either. The Ikon fits that bill perfectly for 35 and 50mm lenses - a superbly accurate tool.

The M3 is well thought of, though I've never tried one, and the Heliar is renowned as one of the sharpest lenses ever. Modern film is really quite amazing too. I've just ordered some new stock of 35mm TMY2 and HP5+, very different, but both beautiful in their own ways.

I like all three pictures - the first is made by the half figure, the second tells you where you are quite simply and effectively and the thrid, my favourite, is the sort of 'life's moment' that leaving a camera on the side is perfect for.

Just planning on extending the utility area and hoping to include some blackout blinds...

Mike

 

[Jim Galli]

Christmas from Mom

My dear mom usually strikes out badly at Christmas, but this year she got 2 home-runs;

pears and fishermans cap​

for me a box of pears from Oregon. The best I've ever tasted!

scotch thistle crystal set​

and for my wife a family heirloom, scotch thistle crystal ware.

Done in full plate with a Hugo Meyer of Goerlitz Doppel Anastigmat lens.

 

[Asher Kelman]

.........for me a box of pears from Oregon. The best I've ever tasted!

Jim Galli:pears and fishermans cap​

This, even without the option to eat even one, would be delicious to have before me! I love the softness and the hat adds to that gentility, cradling them! Good job, Jim and great job once more for Hugo Meyer!

Asher

 

[Maris Rusis]

scotch thistle crystal set​

and for my wife a family heirloom, scotch thistle crystal ware.

Done in full plate with a Hugo Meyer of Goerlitz Doppel Anastigmat lens.

Mmm, nice crystal set but look at the window frame too. For a thing that is nearly not there that window frame offers surprising refractions and reflections to all those elegant edges and facets.

 

[Jim Galli]

Thanks Maris and Asher.

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Dawid,

Thanks for your pictures. Your making good use of that rangefinder. I'm intrigued to know how your finding it? I have to say that I find the film rf, with the not terribly accurate framing, no chimping and delightful 'feel' to be a very freeing way to take photos. Contrary to the arguments advanced by quite a lot on why they like slr's, evf's or ground glass I find the rf viewfinder encourages a focus on subject rather than image. Of course, I could just be justifying what I like, because I'm not conscious of taking different pictures with either. The Ikon fits that bill perfectly for 35 and 50mm lenses - a superbly accurate tool.

Thank you Mike. I will soon scan a number of better images I've made with the M3/Heliar combination, there were just the first roll of "trying it out". I really, really like the haptics of the M3. And the focusing accuracy certainly inspires confidence.

The M3 and the OM-3Ti are fighting it out to see who will be my "always with me" camera, since I'm switching between them both on an almost daily basis. I get to savour their differences, and their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Rangefinder cameras certainly do have a place in the film world. You are right, I must agree that the rangefinder does encourage focusing on the subject. It makes you "one with the subject", whereas the (much superior in all ways) OM-3Ti viewfinder makes you "one with the image" - and the Linhof Technika makes you "one with the complex picture-taking process"!

I simply love the simplicity and the smoothness/quietness of the M3, it's certainly legendary for a reason. Not that I'd pay the crazy prices some of them fetch, but when found at a bargain, I can really recommend it. The build quality is spectacular, and the big 0.91x finder is a treat (as far as rangefinders go, anyway - as I said, the brighter, more accurate, 0.9x SLR finder of the OM-3Ti is better on almost all fronts).

The second aspect I love, is that the M3 clearly looks "different" - people are not used to a small, old, chrome camera like this, and probably don't take you seriously. Ironically for an all-mechanical camera, the OM-3Ti looks like a small (it's actually smaller than the Leica, sans lens), quality, modern digital SLR. If only such a DSLR were available though!

The M3 is well thought of, though I've never tried one, and the Heliar is renowned as one of the sharpest lenses ever. Modern film is really quite amazing too. I've just ordered some new stock of 35mm TMY2 and HP5+, very different, but both beautiful in their own ways.

I like all three pictures - the first is made by the half figure, the second tells you where you are quite simply and effectively and the thrid, my favourite, is the sort of 'life's moment' that leaving a camera on the side is perfect for.

Just planning on extending the utility area and hoping to include some blackout blinds...

Mike

When I started out with film (medium format, really) I also dabbled in 35mm to help me practice. I started by shooting only Ilford FP4 and HP5 for a year or so. I still shoot HP5 on medium and large format, but the Kodak TMY-2 400 is simply astounding in 35mm. I really think it gives Ilford Delta 100 a go for resolution and fine grain, it's that good. For the next couple of months, I will exclusively use it in 35mm to get to know it better.

Good luck in extending your utility area to include a darkroom! It's worth it...

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Jim, Dawid

I'll catch up later. I'm away to bed now, but thought I put this up before I went. Rollei Retro 80S in xtol 1+3.

Mike

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Mike, am I wrong in supposing this has "Zeiss Sonnar" (ZM, 50/1.5?) written all over it?

I love images with shallow DOF and a simple composition, I bet this makes a nice print. Pity about the hair on the top left though, would be a quick job to clone out - even more so in a tool like Apple Aperture / Adobe Lightroom which practically does it for you...

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi David

Yes, this is the ZM 1.5/50 C-Sonnar, probably close to wide open as it was dark in there and the Rollei is a bit slow. Yes, it makes a lovely print, and I cloned out the hair first - missed it on downsizing as I usually prefer to use the healing brush in photoshop to lightrooms spot tool. Four little spots and a hair isn't too much to deal with, and the spots could be left really. I think the hair must have caught in the film gate on the scanner or it would have been blown away.

I'm glad you like the composition.

Mike

 

[Sandrine Bascouert]

If you use Camera Raw with your Photoshop, and if you have the same hair at the same place on the negs. there is a tool that can be applied on all the shots at the same time (works fantastically well for sensors black holes). It's a bit like a healing brush (works pretty the same way) and does a good job...

 

[Jim Galli]

A quick revival

prickly soft

I had the venerable Nikon FM2 out today with 300mm F4AF Nikkor and some Aerial Recon Plus X film.

This is a double exposure with 2 very slight focus differences to introduce the softness I seem to love.

Isn't grain nice?​

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Isn't grain nice?​

Indeed it is! But it has to be the "right" kind of grain. As soon as digital artifacts start interfering with grain (poor sharpening, JPEG compression, etc) it starts to bother me...

Nice Image, BTW - though I suspect you'd have more fun with the same subject and one of your Cooke lenses...

 

[Jim Galli]

Nice Image, BTW - though I suspect you'd have more fun with the same subject and one of your Cooke lenses...

Tough to argue with brute force.

soft prickly​

6.5X8.5" full plate with antique Darlot Achromatic Meniscus lens.

 

[Dawid Loubser]

Tough to argue with brute force...

Now that's more like it (I remember this image from a previous post of yourse, which is why I thought...).