Frugal Film Project 2021 - June

My final roll of Fomapan 200 for this years Frugal Film project is a little different to the rest. I finally got the confidence to use my Agfa Isolette 1 and shoot Fomapan 200 in 120 medium format. It's not easy learning a new skill, it takes a fair bit of persistence and it made my brain hurt, but I think I managed to do it justice.

I'm still not perfect with the Agfa Isolette 1, it's a basic viewfinder folding camera with  zone focus and you would think it would be a doddle, but my memory isn't great. I keep forgetting the method I have tried to learn and the odd double exposure sneaks in. It's not all bad, I have got some rather nice images from an almost 70 year old camera and have managed to put my toe into the world of medium format photography.

I had always thought about giving medium format a try, but never had the cash for a camera until the Photography Gods smiled upon me. I have been making the most of the generosity of my dear friends who gave me the camera and hopefully bringing a smile to their faces with my efforts. I'm currently ten rolls of 120 into it and the old saying about your first ten rolls of film seeing your quickest progress has certainly rung true for me.

Here are just a few of my images from my roll of Fomapan 200 and I have also placed my images into my Frugal Film Project album on Flickr so you can view them in all their glory. The only problem I have with this film is the banding on some of the images. I have no idea what caused it, the camera is light tight and I have taken care to cover the little red window with  piece of tape as well as slide the little door closed. Any tips on what caused it are gratefully received.

I have really enjoyed taking part in the Frugal Film Project 2021, six months with one film stock has taught me a lot and improved my skills as a photographer. July sees me begin my colour film and I have chosen a favourite of mine, Kodak ColorPlus 200. I will also be opening a new album for my colour films as I felt it was good to keep them separate. My B&W shots can certainly stand up for themselves and I learned a heck of a lot about Fomapan 200 along the way. It was a challenge to get anything in the winter, but it really came alive during the spring. I hope you enjoy them and you can visit my Flickr album via the link below.

Frugal Film Project 2021 B&W Album

 

 

Ferrania P30

This week I tried another film I have wanted to shoot to see what the fuss was about, Ferrania P30 from Italy. This film is a tale of a once big player in the film business that fell on hard times and became a casualty of the digital revolution as it tore a huge swathe across the film industry. Ferrania was an Italian film company that supplied film to photographers and cinematographers not just in Europe, but around the world. They also undertook contract coating for other film suppliers and made highly regarded B&W and Colour film for stills and motion pictures. Such was the high regard for Ferrania that 3M bought the company in 1964 and rebranded Ferrania film as Scotch Chrome and Solaris. When the digital revolution happened the collapse of the film market saw the closure of the Ferrania factory in 2010.

That's where the Ferrania story should have ended but for the efforts of some passionate Italian film photographers who thought Ferrania could be brought back from the dead and set about buying the things they needed to rebuild the brand. They also set up a Kickstarter campaign with the aim of bringing one of Ferrania's legendary slide films back to the market.

Sadly that kickstarter has thus far come to nothing as several hurdles caused many setbacks and delays. Give the guys their due, they are building a new film production facility from scratch and have not had an easy time of it. Most folk would have given up and refunded their kickstarter backers, but they wouldn't accept defeat. Each challenge presented was faced with a determination to succeed.

To give their kickstarter backers something rather than nothing, plan B was brought into play. Although there was no colour film, the machinery and raw materials to make a black and white cinema film from Ferrania's past was painstakingly put together in the former Ferrania Research Lab on the vast Ferrania campus. That film is Ferrania P30.

P30 is a B&W film available in 35mm format and is derived from a legendary Ferrania cinema film stock of the same name from Ferrania's golden age. Italian film directors remaind loyal to Ferrania due to this film and the chance to ressurect a legend was too good to pass by. The story of Ferrania is a lot longer than my recap and you can read about the history of Ferrania by visiting the Ferrania website using the link below. It is a great story and worth a read.

So, what is this legend like to shoot? I loaded a roll into my Nikon F801s popped my 50mm f/1.8 D lens on it and headed out. I shot this film at the same time as last weeks roll of Cinestill bwXX, countryside first and town second. P30 is a nominal 80 iso rated film designed for the cinema, but, as I discovered, also excels in 35mm stills cameras.

Ferrania P30 is a high contrast B&W film that, like Cinestill bwXX, excels in an urban landscape. My countryside shots really could have done with a suitable filter to tame the shadows and contrast. Next time I shoot it I will definitely pick a better day and see what filters I have so I can really get into what made this film a favourite of Italian film makers. I have a lot of reading to do....

Here's a few of my photographs from this roll of Ferrania P30 and as always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account that you can access by using the link below.  I hope you enjoy them.

Flickr Ferrania P30
Ferrania.com

Cinestill BWXX 120 black and white film

 There is a B&W film stock from the folks at Kodak that has earned legendary status amongst the film photography community, Eastman Kodak 5222 XX. Fondly named "Double X" by those who champion it, it is a 35mm cinema film that for many decades has been the black and white film of choice for a long list of Hollywood's finest film makers. You only need to see Schindlers List and Raging Bull to appreciate the cinematic quality of Double X and see why Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorcese insisted upon using it in their multi Oscar winning blockbusters. However, many within the film comunity, in particular those who have only just begun their own journey with film photography, may not have heard of it never mind used it.

Thanks to some truly dedicated Cinematographers, Eastman Kodak 5222 XX has been available in 35mm format for many years and gained a lot of fans who love to use it in their 35mm film camera's, but it wasn't available in medium format, until now. The folks at Cinestill have managed to achieve what many folk thought would never happen, they have released Cinestill BWXX 120 medium format film. I had to get a roll before it all sold out so I could see what the fuss is all about. I have only a little experience of shooting medium format film in my Agfa Isolette 1, but my skills with the camera and the format are steadily growing. I decided it was too good an opportunity to pass by and ordered a roll from the good folks at Analogue Wonderland.

Cinestill are a company based in Los Angeles in the USA and, as the name suggests, have made their business selling rebadged Eastman Kodak Vision 3 colour cinema film. If you have seen a colour film photo of an American gas station at night, chances are it was taken on Cinestill 800T colour film. Their colour film has always been available in 35mm and 120 medium format, but Double X was only available in 35mm. Cinestill managed to get hold of Double X in 120 medium format and the film community has been very supportive of this move.

Double X is a film stock that is capable of being shot at a wide range of speeds from 200-1600 or more and developed in Kodak D96, Cinestill D96 and in all of the popular developers such as Kodak HC-110, which I used after reading the spec sheets from Cinestill. I decided to shoot mine at 250 iso and take advantage of the lovely sunshine we have been enjoying here in the UK. I shot my film in 2 halves, one half around my local countryside and the other around town to take advantage of the mock tudor and modern glass fronted buildings.

My Agfa isolette 1 is as manual a camera as you can get and I metered using Light Meter Free that I found in Google Play. Thankfully it's a decent app I was able to accurately meter my shots and get some good images. I developed it in Kodak HC-110 dilution B (1+31) for 6 minutes at 20 celcius.

After scanning and editing I have to say I like the street shots better than the ones I took in the local countryside, it thrives with the mock tudor architecture just that bit better than landscapes. I can see why this film is so beloved by its fans and I will be using it again at some point as I really like the look of it. I think I will get a couple of rolls in 35mm so I can compare the two, but that's for a future blog. Here's a few of my photo's for you to enjoy and as always I have posted them on my Flicker account so you can see them in full resolution.

Cinestill
Flickr Album

Pentax MV - How it compares to my Olympus OM-2

Last week I mentioned that a dear friend had given me a Pentax MV and shared some photo's with you from my first outing with it. This week I talk about how it compares to another camera with Auto Exposure, my Olympus OM-2. I loaded a roll of Kentmere 400 into each camera, fitted a Hoya 28mm f/2.8 to the Pentax and my trusty Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 to the Olympus and off I went for a wander along the local farm roads on a sunny afternoon.

Holding both camera's it is easy to see the effect the Olympous OM series had on the world of 35mm photography. The OM-1 changed everything. Camera's got smaller, lighter and easier to use with new tech such as auto exposure being packaged into the now obligatory compact body. The Pentax MV was Pentax's attempt at an entry level auto exposure 35mm SLR to compete with the Olympus OM-10 and OM-20. As I don't own either of those I set my OM-2 to auto exposure and didn't use any setting the Pentax MV doesn't have to make them as equal as possible. 

I can see why Pentax pitched this automatic camera to folks trying a 35mm slr for the first time. It is so easy to use. Its built in light meter uses a traffic light system to tell you when the aperture you choose is worthy of a shutter speed. A set of red, yellow and green led lights visible in the viewfinder is all the info you need, Red means no shutter speed available for the aperture you chose so you adjust it open or closed until you get a green light. It's simple and the range of shutter speeds available in auto is 1 second to 1/1000th of a second. A 1/100th setting for manual use should your batteries die or flash sync and bulb is also available.

The Hoya HMC 28mm f/2.8 is a hidden gem amongst lenses. It was brought out as Hoya sought to take advantage of the 3rd party lens market in the late 1970's and early 80's to compliment their very popular filters. Hoya lenses are well built and although the optics are not as pin sharp as the Zuiko 28mm I compared it with, they aren't too far behind and are well worth considering if your budget wont quite stretch to an SMC Pentax.

As always when I am having fun, I soon used 2 rolls of Kentmere 400 and headed home to develop them. As it was a beautiful day I decided to wait until the temperature had cooled down before I develped my film, I have had trouble in the past loading reels when it is hot and humid. Later that evening I developed both rolls in HC-110 dilution B for 5 1/2 minutes and left them hanging in my bathroom to dry.

I am very pleased with how the Pentax MV performed against the OM-2, I got bright, well exposed images and found the MV a pleasure to use. I know we all say a beginner to film photography should use a fully manual camera to learn the shutter triangle etc, but for folks who want a little automation in their photography, the MV is well worth considering. It is a very capable camera for all levels of ability. I have put both rolls in albums on my Flickr account so you can see them in full resolution. Here's a few to whet your appetite, I hope you enjoy them.

Pentax MV Kentmere 400
Olympus OM-2 Kentmere 400

Pentax MV

Pentax MV

Pentax MV

Pentax MV

Olympus OM-2

Olympus OM-2

Olympus OM-2

Olympus OM-2

 

The Joys Of Friendship And Photography

Friendship is a massive part of my journey into photography. The kindness of friends whom have given me advice, the tools to enjoy my photography and confidence to try new things is very humbling. I have spoken previously of how I came back to film photography in 2017 after my stroke. I was helped in those early days by a dear friend to choose the right camera and lens to suit my budget. I bought a Pentax SP500 and Helios 44m-4 lens which didn’t cost very much money at the time. That friend also encouraged me to get out and do street photography, which gave me the confidence to get out once or twice each week and give my brain some much needed exercise.

After a few months I was helped by another dear friend who encouraged me to write about local Biker events I attended and take photo’s. The world of photo-journalism was opened to me and my brain really started to ache. I saved up and bought a Nikon D90 and a 70-210mm lens and began getting photo’s and articles published in a UK based custom motorcycle magazine. That gig paid for my Nikon D700 and a few more cameras and lenses during my time writing for the magazine. Sadly the magazine closed in early 2020 and I had to find another outlet for the writing I have grown to enjoy doing alongside my photography, which is where this blog started.

Friendship also helped me when I began to take an interest in Black and White photography. A dear friend found some expired film and gave it to me to help me out as I learned to develop my own film. Another pair of dear friends gave me their grandparents camera’s which included an Agfa Isolette 1 that I have learned to shoot medium format with. Yet another dear friend gave me a set of Pentax K mount Hoya lenses that I was using on my DSLR with an adapter. This led me to a conversation I had recently when I asked another dear friend if I could buy or borrow one of his k mount cameras for a while. He turned up with a Pentax MV and said I could have it as it was just gathering dust on his shelf. One quick clean and a fresh set of batteries later and it's working perfectly.

I am truly blessed to have friends who helped me on my photography journey over the last few years. Photographers are often told that camera’s are a tool, a means to an end, an enabler of our artistic creativity, but it’s much more than that for me. Each time I pick up one of my camera’s it has friendship and a story attached to it. Each photo I take is done with the desire to show my friends how much they have helped me by trying to get better with each photo. It doesn’t always work like that, sometimes I get some great shots and other days are a bust, but I still try to learn from it.

This week I learned that the Pentax MV is a very capable camera. It is an auto exposure camera which means the camera chooses the best shutter speed based upon the aperture chosen by the photographer. A simple traffic light system visible in the viewfinder shows red when the camera can’t choose a speed and green when it can. I also learned that Hoya Lenses are a hidden gem amongst the plethora of lenses from the glory days of film photography. I used a Hoya HMC 35-70mm f/4 zoom lens that produced some very nice images on a roll of Kentmere 400 that I shot and developed at 800 iso. I shot it at 800 due to a schoolboy error of not checking the film speed dial before I started and only realised half way through the roll. D'Oh! It turned out great thanks to the Pentax MV being a great camera for those days when a little automation makes all the difference.

I have also been busy putting my Pentax MV up against my Olympus OM-2, the camera that set the bar for auto exposure cameras. I will share that story and the photographs with you next week. Here are a few of the images I shot with my Pentax MV this week and I have put them and more in my Flickr account which you can visit via the link below.

This weeks blog is a thank you to all my dear friends who have helped me on My Journey Into Photography. May Karma smile fondly upon you always.

Pentax MV - Hoya 35-70 F/4 - Kentmere 400 at 800