Olympus OM-1 - An Ebay Bargain

 I was having a look through ebay in September, mostly checking up on prices for popular cameras, when I came across an Olympus OM-1n with a 50mm f/1.8 lens for not a lot of cash. I did my usual due diligence to check the vendors rating and feedback history and decided to bid for it. You never know when you might get lucky, so I placed my bid, sat back and let it run. 

Yes, I already have an OM-1, but it's had a hammering and really needs a Clean, Lubricate and Adjust. Could I land another in reasonable condition for less than the price of a CLA? I am also saving up to buy a Nikon F2 or an FM2 and this could eat into my savings if I am not careful. I needed to stay below my max bid even if it meant missing out.

A few days later I got an email, I was the highest bidder and now had to pay £49 plus £3.99 postage and packing. This was well below my maximum bid and I duly completed the purchase. The camera looked ok in the pictures, but you never know for sure until you get the item in your hands to really see if those pictures are a good indicator of the condition. I didn't have long to wait to find out, a few days later the OM-1n arrived.

On first look I could see the vendor had accurately described the camera. It was in really good condition, much better in my hands than in the photos and the lens was free from fungus and scratches on the glass. Olympus OM cameras do have a history with the prisms losing some of their silvering thanks to the foam around them decaying over time. This one was not bad at all, a little dirt was evident through the viewfinder, but no de-silvering at all.

The vendor had declared the shutter worked at all speeds and the meter was indicating a reading, but they couldn't be sure of the accuracy of either. A little honesty is always appreciated and there was really only one way to find out if the camera worked properly. I fitted a new SR44 battery in an adapter and installed it into the camera. I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 into my "new to me" OM-1 with 50mm f/1.8 lens and went for a wander in my local countryside.

I was pulling double duty on this walk as I had Baldy the Baldax with me so I could get my Frugal Film Project roll of HP5 for September sorted out. I was also cross referencing my meter reading with my Gossen Trisix against my OM-1n to see how accurate that meter was. My first few photos were just checking the shutter was firing at a few speeds, the aperture on the lens opened and closed properly and would the built in meter correlate with my Gossen Trisix.

It didn't take long to find out the built in meter in my OM-1n was in agreement with my Gossen Trisix light meter. They weren't absolutely identical, but close enough to make me happy. Anything within half a stop isn't going to make much of a difference, this was definitely my lucky day. I took photos of the trees on The Wash, a few of the derelict car that was dumped there several years ago and also photographed the horses as I made my way towards home, happy with my newly purchased OM-1n.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+400 a few days later using Kodak HC110 1+31 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius, stopped the developer with Ilfostop, fixed my film with Fotospeed FX30 and hung it to dry. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, K&F Tripod, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size LED light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

How did I fare with the new addition to my collection? Rather well indeed. Once I had gained confidence the camera was working as it should I was able to work quickly. The film was nicely exposed and, after digitising it, I didn't have to do much editing on my photos. Just a few basic tweaks and removing dust spots and scratches were needed.

I have got used to doing quick edits with Affinity Photo 2, the invert, auto level and contrast features are often all I need along with a couple of other tweaks, and that was the case with this first roll of film in my OM-1n. I am very happy with my decision to bid for it. The vendor is a decent chap who accurately described the camera as best he could and yes, I got a bargain.

Here's a few photos from my first roll of Ilford HP5 shot with my OM-1n and Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Olympus OM1n - Ilford HP5+ 400

Frugal Film Project 2024 - September - 120 medium format

 September came along and the weather has definitely turned to a distinctly autumnal feel. I didn't get out often, but I did manage to shoot my Frugal Film Project roll of Ilford HP5 medium format film with Baldy the Baldax whilst out and about in my local countryside. Autumn has definitely arrived and the trees have started to change the colour of their leaves and shed them in readiness for their annual slumber. This makes it a tad treacherous underfoot, so take care when you're riding your bicycle, motorcycle or just out for a walk.

I shot my 35mm film at the power lines and chose this time to walk towards the old spoil heap in the hope of having a couple of frames left for my favourite tree. I have been continually tweaking dear old Baldy the Baldax over the last couple of months and I am determined to reduce the light leaks. Baldy is being sent for a much deserved CLA and possibly new bellows in 2025 and to be fair it has more than earned it.

I wandered towards the fields where the Horses graze and took a few photos along the way of the scenery. The weather was kind to me on the day and I was also testing an Olympus OM-1 I recently purchased for the bay of evil. I was using my Gossen Trisix to get my light reading and applying them to Baldy as usual, but I was also using the same settings to test the light meter on my "new to me" OM-1. I will speak about that camera more in a future blog.

The Horses were keeping their distance from the fences and humans as they grazed. They were content to munch on the grass and enjoy the beautiful autumn sunshine. I can't fault them for that as it was a glorious afternoon and I was having fun finding compositions.

I eventually made my way onto the old spoil heap, locally known as The Wash. The sun was starting to dip lower in the sky as the afternoon wore on, the shadows were getting longer as I walked to my favourite tree on there. I had two frames left and used both on the tree to finish my film.

The next time I visit I will probably have my Digital camera with me as well as a film camera. I just hope the weather is as kind to me as it was on this day. With my September roll finished I put Baldy the Baldax away and continued on my way for some fun with my OM-1 as I made my way home.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 a few days later in Kodak HC110 1+31 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius and hung it to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size LED light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Here are a few of my favourites from my September roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 shot with Baldy the Baldax for the Frugal Film Project 2024. I had a a very enjoyable afternoon taking some exercise and fresh air whilst taking photos and I'm pleased to say Baldy performed better than I did this month. I had a brain fart and must have moved the lens when I gave it a wipe with my lens cloth and forgot to check it afterwards. The last few shots are all out of focus.

I also ran out of time and weather to dash out to shoot another roll of HP5 and I'm not going to be late again. Half a roll is better than nothing so I'm owning this one. I'm just glad I got some nice exposures to share with you. As always I have placed them in my Frugal Film Project 2024 120 medium format album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - 120 medium format

                                                                            Blurry one!

Frugal Film Project 2024 - September - 35mm

 For my September roll of Kentmere 400 35mm film shot with my Olympus OM101 and 50mm f/2 power focus lens, I decided to be daring and shoot the roll using a filter on the lens. Coloured filters affect black and white film in several ways. Yellow, Orange and Red filters can darken a bright sky and alter the tonal range of grey to brighten foliage and lighten reds depending on the filter you choose.

A yellow filter is the classic choice and is quite subtle in the changes it makes to your photos. A red filter makes more dramatic changes, it can darken a blue sky to black and makes the clouds pop! An orange filter is in between the two and is a favourite of mine when I fancy using filters, but this time I wanted to experiment and went for the red one. There's more info about filters, courtesy of IlfordPhoto, that you can read by visiting their website using the link below.

I chose it because we had a mix of cumulus clouds and hazy contrails on the day and I felt a red filter would cut through that haze and add some drama to compositions I have shot a thousand times before. I would normally use the park as my classroom, but on this day I felt the power lines and poles would make for an interesting study with the clouds and blue sky backing them up.

I have used orange and yellow filters with Kentmere 400 in the past and got some decent results, but this was the first time I went for the red filter. It was also a great test of the metering ability of my OM101. I like the built in light meter and program mode on the OM101 as it produces nicely balanced exposures, but I had no idea how it would cope with a red filter, so this was going to be a steep learning curve.

I wandered up the farm road and began taking photos as soon as I reached the first pylon. I photographed the farm house across the valley from my location, my favourite power lines and pylons also got a few photos too. The big trees at the side of the farm road always have me looking for a composition or two and of course the gnarly trees that form a field boundary were also photographed.

By the time I reached the stile that allows access to the footpath across the wheat field I had finished the roll. I thought it was a 36 shot roll, but I had loaded a 24 shot roll of Kentmere 400 and to be honest I was glad of that. I often struggle to finish a 36 shot roll and the shorter roll was a welcome change. I rewound the film and put my camera away until I arrived back home.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 in HC110 for 8 minutes in 1+47 dilution E at 20 celcius and soon had my film hanging to dry in my bathroom. When it was dry I digitised it with my trusty Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and led light pad. I processed the Raw files with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few of my favourite photos from my September roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my OM101 through a red filter. I was expecting something different from this experiment, but not the results I got. The red filter saw through the haze and gave me some nice photos, but I was hoping for darker skies to make the clouds pop more than they have.

Maybe it's because I cheaped out on the filter or maybe Kentmere 400 just doesn't have a great sensitivity on the infrared end of the spectrum. It's still a great film, cheap enough to experiment with and I had fun doing it. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Using Colour Filters for B&W film photography 
Frugal Film Project 2024 September - 35mm 

Shitty Camera Challenge

 Papa Shitty Cams issued a challenge to all photographers who enjoy using crappy cameras to come together from July 1st to August 31st 2024 and use a Shitty Camera for some photography shenanigans. Some folks explored the recent trend for early compact digital cameras to pursue some low resolution digital whilst others, myself included, found a P.O.S.* and shot some film. 

Of course I had to dig out my Praktica Sport Royale, which is still looking really awful with cheesy go faster stripes. I loaded it with my last roll of Wonderpan B&W film and I went for a wander on a late summer afternoon in September. Yes I was late to the party, but I had committed to it before I struggled with my health in the summer and better late than never comes to mind.

I enjoy the #ShittyCameraChallenge as it gives some often overlooked cameras a little love and can be a catalyst for the spark of creativity to pay us a visit. This year it definitely found me eventually. I took a couple of photos at the start of my walk and then concentrated on shooting my roll of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project. Once that was done I got stuck into my roll of Wonderpan for the #ShittyCameraChallenge.

I walked along the footpath across the wheat field, which had been lined with windrows of straw the last time I walked that pathway. The farmer had been busy getting it all raked up, baled and put away over the preceding days. I noticed the birds were enjoying feasting upon the kernels of wheat that had fallen to the ground during harvesting as they took full advantage of the last food supply before winter comes along and the farmer ploughs the chaff into the ground.

I was expecting the footpath to be closed as there is drainage works scheduled, but it remained open on this day and I got to say hello to the horses in the top field. I thought I might not have been able to see them again, so I made the most of our encounter and took plenty of photos.

My last stop was my favourite tree on The Wash. I wanted to see if its leaves had started to change colour to mark the arrival of Autumn and it is just on the edge of that change, as are many of the trees on there. I will have to come back with some colour film or my DSLR to document the final display of colour for 2024, but for now, having finished my roll of Wonderpan shot with my Praktica Sport Royale 35mm P.O.S, I headed home.

I developed my roll of Wonderpan in 510 pyro 1+100 for 17 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

My Praktica may be a P.O.S, but fitted with fresh batteries and film, it works. Most people wouldn't give it a second glance and you can find them on ebay for not a lot of cash. They are just so easy to use. The lens cap slides to one side and doubles as the lock for the shutter release. It has a built in flash which you can switch on when you need it or set it to automatically fire if the light is too dim for a regular photo. 

The DX code reader chooses your iso, if your film is not DX Coded it automatically sets itself to 100 iso, so I have to be careful with that. The film advance is a motor wind and a switch on the bottom of the camera puts the motor in reverse to rewind your film back into the cassette. Simples!

Here's a few favourites from my roll of Wonderpan shot with my Praktica Sport Royale for this year's #ShittyCameraChallenge and I rather like the results. I know they are crap and I'm not putting them on Flickr, but the whole point of the Shitty Camera Challenge is to give shitty cameras some love. It's supposed to be fun and I had a lot of fun doing it, which is all that matters. I would normally hope you enjoy them, but as they are crap I hope you bask in all their shitty glory!

P.O.S. = Pile Of Shit.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - August - 35mm

 First I have to tell you that I missed the deadline of August 31st for my August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Olympus OM101. However, I was allowed 14 days grace to get it done and I didn't need telling twice. I have mental health issues stemming from traumatic times in my life. Sometimes I can get through August relatively unscathed, but this year it slammed me and I was unable to do anything other than take the hit until it passed. PTSD is not something I enjoy having, nor is it going away. I will always have it, I have learned to live with it and that's all I'm going to say about it.

September came along and I started feeling better. Two of my daughters have their birthdays at the end of August-beginning of September, along with two Grandchildren, my Brother from another Mother and Sister from another Mister and it cheered me up enough to head out around town with my Olympus OM101 loaded with Kentmere 400 35mm black and white film. I actually took 2 shots in August and really needed to finish my roll.

I wasn't photographing anything special. I took a few of the old Wigan and Leigh College buildings being demolished to make room for a new building and it's interesting to compare the development of the college over the years. Wigan and Leigh College has gone into partnership with the University of Central Lancashire and the new development will be in support of that partnership.

Who would have thought an old mining and market town would become a university town. It was at Wigan and Leigh College I gained my English GSCE 30 years ago which, in a bit of a circuitous way, led me to this blog. I enjoy writing and it has helped me through some tough times over the years. Photography was the icing on the cake. I never dreamed I would have as many friends in the Photography community as I do in the Biking community and I appreciate those friendships enormously.

My theme for the second half of this roll is "windows". We see them every day and many folk, me included, don't give them enough attention. Most people just get on with their day and don't notice them, but here in darkest Wigan we are blessed with a wide range of architectural styles that follow the history of the town as it has evolved.

The Mock Tudor buildings hark back to the true Tudor buildings that once graced the town before the demolition crews pulled them down and up went the "modern" buildings in the late 19th century. The 20th Century saw various revivals of Georgian and Edwardian styles before the town was hit with the 1960's concrete brutalism of the Civic Buildings.

More recently the stye has seen large glass walls, brick facades and large, rectangular windows to maximise natural light. I finished my roll at Makinson Arcade and headed home, glad to have finally got my mojo kind of running again and I actually looked forward to developing my film.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 in Kodak HC110 dilution B for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few of my favourites from my August roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Olympus OM101 and 50mm f/2 lens for the Frugal Film Project 2024. Despite it being a suitably autumnal day with plenty of gloom, I got some decent shots and I think concentrating on one thing for the second half of my roll has done me some good. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - 35mm

One photo that was actually shot in August!

Frugal Film Project 2024 - August - 120 medium format

 For my August roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 shot with Baldy the Baldax, I went for an informal approach. I loaded the film and took the camera out with me on two separate days, I was shooting some colour film and hoping to catch the farmer harvesting this years wheat crop. Sadly I missed it again as on the first day I was too early and the second I was too late, the crop had been harvested. I picked the wrong day to go for a photo walk before Storm Lillian hit the UK. Wigan got it's share of wind and rain for a few days as the back end of Hurricane Ernesto also swept to the north of the UK and soaked us.

It's not often we get named storms in August, but as we live near the northern extent of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic current, we can get them at any time of the year. North Atlantic storms often batter the British Isles and Scandinavia, having named ones is still relatively new here and it's the first time we have had one so far up the alphabet.

Enough moaning and groaning and waffling about the weather, I'm British and we are masters at it. My two walks in the local countryside did try to elevate my spirits and I got my roll finished on my second walk when I visited the Horses in their pasture. I enjoy having a chat with them, but I'm not so sure they enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs. You can tell a lot about an animal by seeing which way their ears are pointing. One wasn't feeling too happy so I left them in peace and headed home.

I would have developed my film a day or two later, but I got hit by a hefty dose of poor mental health that put all my plans on the beck burner until it passed. It's one of the banes of my mental health troubles over the years and I can often get through it, but sometimes you just have to take the hit. I still managed to shoot my August roll of Ilford HP5, despite taking two attempts, and that's all that matters.

When I did eventually develop my August roll of Ilford HP5+ 400, I dunked it in Kodak HC110 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi film holder, Pixl-Latr and led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few favourites from my August roll of Ilford HP4+400 shot with dear old Baldy the Baldax. I'm still getting light leaks, but there are one or two that turnd out rather nicely. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 120 medium format album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - 120