Frugal Film Project 2021 - May

 It's Frugal Film Project time again and for May I had a wander around town and shot a roll of Fomapan 200 at box speed. I mentioned in my previous blog that I was basically doing double duty here in Wigan shooting a roll of Retropan 320 in my Agfa isolette 1. I also had my D700 but that hardly got used as I was really enjoying shooting film. Who could blame me for leaving the dslr in my bag as it was a lovely day of fluffy clouds and sunny spells. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I am doing I have to remind myself I have other options.

I spent a fair bit of time using my Olympus 35RC to find the composition for my medium format shots. I took 2 or three shots at each location before settling on a composition and put my Olympus away and got my Isolette out. It really felt so natural doing it this way and it kept me focused on the task in hand. I freely admit to having a short attention span, but I was able to keep my mind on my photowalk and I think my photographs reflect that.

The more I use my Olympus 35RC, the more comfortable and proficient I become with it. We are often reminded that "practice makes perfect" and it is bearing out in my case. I was helped by glorious weather and clouds to die for that saved me having to deal with blown highlights that clear blue skies are notorious for. I like my photographs to be filled with the scene rather than negative space. Some say it makes an image too busy, but on this occasion it genuinely depicted the day I had. It also made Fomapan 200 shine.

I definitely chose the right B&W film for the first half of the Frugal Film Project. I have learned so much about my camera and the film I chose, my skills are definitely improving. With just one more roll before I make the switch to ColorPlus, I am going to look back at the last few months knowing how much taking part in this year long project has helped me grow as a photographer. There is stil so much to learn and enjoy too.

Here are a few of my photographs from this months roll of Fomapan 200, I have also placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project album on my Flickr account which you can visit by clicking the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2021

Foma Retropan 320

 A few weeks ago my friend Keith asked me if I had ever tried Foma Retropan 320. The simple answer was no, but I was intrigued enough to join him in buying a roll or two and seeing what the fuss was all about. According to Analogue Wonderland, Foma Retropan 320 is said to be "a soft emulsion that delivers low contrast and gives a gentle final look. It is also commonly used in technical photography to reproduce images without imposing harsh contrast constraints." I ordered two rolls of 120 medium format and waited for a nice spring afternoon to head into town. That day came in mid May and, as I had to shoot a roll of Foma 200 for the Frugal Film Project, I loaded a roll of Retropan 320 into my Agfa Isolette 1 and off I went.

The breeze was quite soothing on this warm spring afternoon, but it also meant I would not be looking for mirror shots on the canal. I decided a day of shooting around town was the order of the day and I went exploring. Wigan is a fine town that has undergone many changes in it's long and rich history. many of the buildings in the town centre are "Mock Tudor" in design with a few more modern facades that give the town centre a variety of architectural styles. They also look good on black and white film so a couple of shots on Retropan 320 was definitely the order of the day. I also wandered over to Wigan Parish Church and took a couple of shots there and then headed to the Wigan Life Centre, home of our local council, to grab a shot or two of the statues there.

I think have got the hang of my Agfa Isolette 1, it has given me a great introduction into medium format film photography. The addition of the Watameter rangefinder made a big difference to my skills at using the camera. With it being a viewfinder camera it is important to be able to judge distance accurately, as I discovered with my first couple of attempts being way off the mark. The Watameter improved my accuracy and helps me find the camera's sweet spot whatever conditions I find myself in.

As with all good film photo walks it soon came to an end and I returned home to develop my film and see what results I had achieved. I developed my Retropan 320 in HC-110 dilution B for 8 minutes at 20 celcius and used Ilford stop bath and Ilford rapid fixer before letting my negs sit is Ilfotol wash aid whilst I tidied up. I left them hanging in my bathroom to dry overnight.

 I used a new toy to help me with digitising my film, one of Hamish Gill's excellent Pixl-Latr scanning masks. It is suitable for several sizes, 4x5 large format, 120 medium format up to 6x12, 35mm and also has options for slides too. I will do a review of the Pixl-Latr in a future blog once I get the hang of it, but first impressions are very  promising. I used my Nokia 5.3 to digitize my film and it hasn't done a bad job at all. Who needs a macro lens when a phone camera will do? I edited my images using Adobe Photoshop Express which is available for free in the app store of your choosing.

I am quite pleased with how this film performed in my Agfa Isolette 1. It may be into it's 7th decade but it can still produce the goods when asked. The images have come out great and I have another roll for a sunny day that I am actually looking forward to using. Here are a few of my images from this roll and as usual I have placed them in an album on Flickr so you can see them all in full resolution. I hope you enjoy them.

Foma Retropan 320

Fuji Superia Xtra 400

 Before Christmas 2020 I took part in a Secret Santa organised by Em at Emulsive.org. I received a few rolls of film including a roll of Fuji Superia Xtra 400. I managed to use it in January 2021 and as we have been in lockdown for the last few months my usual lab was closed. This meant I couldn't have my roll of Fuji Superia Xtra 400 developed until recently. Thankfully they survived lockdown and are open again so I can now share a few of the images with you and share my thoughts on Fuji's consumer colour film.

When choosing colour film I freely admit to being a Kodak man, ColorPlus 200 is my film of choice as I love the nostalgic vibe it gives me. A gift of Fuji Superia 400 gave me a chance to get out of my comfort zone and see what this film is all about. The last time I used a different colour film was back in 2019 when I used three rolls of Fuji C200. I wasn't really impressed with that film as It has a magenta cast to it and try as I might I just didn't like it. Having an opportunity to shoot a higher quality Fuji film was great but I was always going to have that magenta cast in the back of my mind as I headed to my favourite classrooms, Mesnes Park and the local countryside near my home here in Wigan.

I chose to use my Nikon F801 and my AF 24-120mm D lens to shoot this film. I can get excellent reults with Kodak colour film using this set up so it was the logical choice for a comparison. As it turned out I shot this film over the course of two separate photo walks with one overcast day at the park being juxtaposed by bright blue skies and glorious winter sunshine at the local farm. (One day I will get fluffy clouds!) To be honest I was just glad to be able to enjoy some fresh air and exercise as I made my way around the locations.  

Fuji Superia Xtra surprised me when I finally got it developed, there was no obvious magenta cast to it as I had feared from previous experience. The colours were nicely saturated and each shot well exposed thanks to my F801. The staff at Max Spielmann here in Wigan did a great job as always on developing and scanning my film with Fuji equipment, I shouldn't really be surprised, but I was. I didn't try anything arty, just tried to get some decent snap shots to capture the essence of the locations on a film I haven't used before.

The sunny day in the countryside definitely saw the best overall shots, but that's not to say the Park was a bust. Pagefield Mill which rises ominously to one side of the park was wonderfully moody in the overcast conditions that reminded me of Blakes "Dark Satanic Mills" from the poem and hymn, "Jerusalem". The mill is derelict today and that's a shame. It could be developed and remain in use for another century, but the current owners are content to let it rot so they can demolish it and build houses on the land.

I am pretty pleased with the reults I got with Fuji Superia Xtra 400, I can definitely see the difference between it and the C200 that I was disappointed with. I still can't figure that out as C200 was rebadged as Agfaphoto Vista 200 and I used a heck of a lot of it whilst I could buy it from a local discount store. Fuji Superia Xtra is a decent choice of colour film when my preferred film is out of stock. Yes I still prefer Kodak, but I wont be as reticient to use Fuji film in future. Fuji Superia Xtra has put my faith back into Fuji film and I might just have to get a few rolls in stock so I can keep shooting colour film if we get another long drought from Kodak ColorPlus 200. That's if I can find it as Fuji has notoriously been in short in supply lately.

Here are a few of my photo's from this film, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them. You can see more on my Flickr account by clicking the link below.

Fuji Superia Xtra 400

Casual Photophile - I Got Published!

Since begining to write my blog I have given thought to seeing how far I can go with it. I have enjoyed writing the blog entries each week, it has kept me busy and put some much needed focus into my ongoing photography education. I have learned so much not only about my ability as a photographer, but also about the tools that I have grown to really love using. In 2020 I spent a large part of the year shooting primarily with my Nikon gear. I would reach for my F801 just as easily as I do for my D700 and head off with a roll of B&W film loaded in my F801 and happily switch between the two. Swapping lenses between them is the main attraction and one particular series of lenses have become firm favourites, my Nikkor AF-D lenses.

As I have become more skilled with my Nikon camera's I have learned a lot about their capabilities and have been trying to improve with each photo walk I do. I have a good knowledge base with which to refer to and that came to good use recently after a chat with a chap named James who owns the Casual Photophile website and F Stop Cameras in the USA. James was looking for folk to contribute to Casual Photophile with their knowledge and experience of photography, primarily film photography with some classic DSLR's for good measure.

After a few emails between us and James having a read of my blog he asked me if I wanted to become a contributor to the website. How could I refuse! I had began my blog as a means of developing my writing and photography skills further after the closure of 100% Biker Magazine left me at a loose end. I also needed to get out of my comfort zone and stretch the old grey matter to see if I could do this without having a dear friend to help me along the way.

Blue taught me a lot about writing and how she wanted articles to look, but now I had to go it alone and take that big step into the unknown. Could a chap used to writing about motorcycles and the life he enjoyed in the biking community break into a new genre? There really was only one way to find out. I wrote an article on the Nikon lenses I have grown to love and submitted it to the website.

You can read the article by visiting
Casual Photophile - A Final Salute to Nikon's AF-D lenses

On the website there is a great wealth of reviews and opinions on camera's, lenses, film stocks and all the accessories that a photographer needs to enjoy this wonderful art form. Here are a few photo's I have taken using my Nikon cameras and lenses, I hope you enjoy them and the article I wrote. This is a new direction for My Journey Into Photography, you're more than welcome to come along for the ride.