Frugal Film Project 2023 - November

 This month's roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Baldy the Baldax was shot during a visit to the city of Chester. Our dear friend Keith, who took my wife and I to Blackpool in October, had to head back to Lancashire for a funeral and stayed with us for a few days. After attending the funeral he wanted to get out for a photo walk and suggested we go to Chester for an afternoon. How could I refuse!

In addition to my Baldax loaded with Kentmere 400, I also took my OM-2 with 28mm f/3.5 loaded with Vision 3 250D and my OM-10 with 50mm f/1.8 loaded with Kodak Double-X. Variety is the spice of life they say and Chester is an old city with plenty of architecture to keep photographers busy. One hour's drive later we were unloading Nedward, Keith's chariot, from the car and headed into the city centre.

Oh why did we pick a Saturday to visit Chester? It was very busy, and not just any busy, it was chocker, rammed, heaving, etc! Chester city centre isn't very big as it's mostly built within the walls of the Roman Fort, Deva. It's a city steeped in history and it shows in the names of the streets as well as still having some of its original Roman Wall built to fortify Deva around 100 A.D.

The iconic shot of Chester has to be of the Clock on Eastgate, the once grand entrance to the Roman Fort and now slap bang in the middle of the busiest shopping street in Chester. I think most of the residents of the city and a fair chunk of folk from the surrounding area were in Chester on the day we visited. There was also plenty of tourists doing the same thing we were and taking lots of photos. Did I mention it was busy?

Alas we couldn't climb the steps to walk along the historic city walls, but we did decide pretty early on that our best hope for photos amongst the madding throng was going to involve looking upwards. There are a lot of black and white revivalist style buildings with black timbers and white washed rendering courtesy of Victorian designers who wanted that Tudor feel when they remodelled the city in the late 19th century.

We made our way to the Cathedral and Memorial Gardens. The Cheshire Regiment Memorial and Cenotaph at Chester Cathedral which still had wreaths of Poppy's that were laid on Remembrance Sunday. We didn't go into the Cathedral as it was, you guessed it, very busy. We also had a wander to the Town Hall where the Christmas Market was situated. It was so busy I got a bit jittery and had to find some space. I'm not fond of big crowds.

I finished my roll of Kentmere 400 pretty quickly on our walk as we slowly made our way through the multitude of folks out doing their shopping and looking for bargains. I spent the rest of our time there switching between my OM-2 and OM-10 and a few other films. I will talk about those rolls of film in future blogs, but for now we shall leave Chester and adjourn to my kitchen for a developing session.

I developed this month's roll of Kentmere 400 for 8 1/2 minutes in Kodak HC110 1+47 dilution E for a change. Keith has been raving about this dilution and I thought I would give it a try. After stopping the development with Ilfostop I fixed my film for 6 minutes in Fotospeed FX30, gave it a rinse and a dip in Ilfotol wetting agent. 

When I took my film from the tank I was immediately impressed with the density of my negatives, but the proof would come when I scanned it and I hung my film to dry in my bathroom. Scanning was done with my Nikon D700, Tamron 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 led light pad. Processing the RAW files was done with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few favourites from my Frugal Film Project 2023 roll of Kentmere 400 for November. It was good to get further afield and explore a city I haven't spent a lot of time in. The last time I was there was many years ago with my wife and it was good to be back. As always I have placed these and more in my Frugal Film Project 2023 album on Flickr you visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them, especially the obligatory double exposure. 

Frugal Film Project 2023 - November 

Ilford FP4 - Olympus OM-2

When I was able to get out and about with my Nikon D200 recently, I split my walk between my DSLR and a roll of Ilford FP4 shot with my Olympus OM2 and Zuiko 28mm f/3.5. FP4 is great on sunny days and I made the most of the sunny weather whilst I could. I had been marvelling at my Nikon D200 and needed to slow down a bit. I tend to speed up when I get to use a new toy. I'm like a kid at christmas sometimes, shooting a roll of film helped me to calm myself down just a tad.

Long time readers will have noticed I enjoy using my Olympus 35mm film cameras and it had been a while since I used my OM-2. I have several cameras I use regularly in rotation and it's at the point where I actually enjoy using them even more, if that makes sense? Picking up my OM-2 again felt like meeting an old friend after not seeing them for a while and seamlessly restarting a conversation you were having back then.

I had loaded my OM-2 with Ilford FP4 and fitted my Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 wide angle lens before I headed into town and finally got to use it when I had captured all the photos I needed with my D200. I had also decided to shoot my film at it's box speed of 125 iso. Ilford FP4 is great for sunny days and I soon got back into the groove I have come to enjoy when using my Olympus OM-2 in aperture priority mode.

The Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 is my favourite lens to use when I am enjoying a photo walk around Wigan town centre. It's wide enough to capture the vistas without having to stand back too far and narrow enough to be able to get reasonably close up to a subject if needed, without being too obtrusive. It's also as bright as a button and as sharp as a pin.

I documented the ongoing changes as the demolition work continues, captured some general street shots and finished my walk at the Parish Church. It was November 11th, Armistice Day here in the UK as we remember those who marched off to war and never came home. I paid my respects at The Cenotaph with a quiet moment of reflection before heading home.

I developed my film a couple of days later in Zone Imaging 510 Pyro diluted at 1+100 for 10 minutes and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. First impression was my film was nicely exposed, as I expected from using the great aperture priority mode on my OM-2, and I left it hanging to dry for a few hours. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Pixl-Latr and A5 led light pad. I uploaded the RAW files to my PC and processed them with Affinity Photo 2.

I am really happy with how this roll of FP4 turned out, I haven't shot FP4 for a little while and the conditions of the day exuded contrast. Ilford FP4 is a high contrast film and very versatile in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Then there's folk like me who just like to shoot film without filters and see what happens.

Ilford have been making black and white film for over a century and all those years of research and development shows in the ease at which their standard FP4+ 125 and HP5+ 400 films perform in the hands of film photographers of all skill levels. Here's a few of my favourite photos from my walk around Wigan and as always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Ilford FP4+ 125 - Olympus OM-2

Nikon D200

 A dear friend recently gave me his Nikon D200. It had been sitting on a shelf, gathering dust and he thought, "I bet Grav would use that." We had a chat and he arranged for it to be delivered to me. It took a bit of a convoluted journey from 'Muricah to Wigan, but it arrived safely and I set about learning how to get the best from it.

Announced to the world on November 1st 2005, the Nikon D200 was aimed at the semi pro, high end enthusiast market and has a couple of features you can find in the the pro grade Nikon D2X. However it needed a unique selling point and Nikon provided it with the colour profile for its 10.2 mega pixie CCD sensor.

The difference between CMOS and CCD sensors are in the way the processor reads the sensor. CMOS sensors are particularly good for video applications but a CCD sensor is read differently and wasn't able to capture video with any meaningful definition that we all take for granted with our modern cameras and smart phones.

Think back to your 2 mega pixie phone camera that often took pixelated videos that were, frankly, unusable. That was down to the CCD sensor and lack of processing power in your phone. However, the photos you took were often quite decent and could be printed with very little difficulty. When used in DSLR's it is sometimes called the "Photographers" sensor. Anyway, enough about the technickery of digital witchcraft, how did it perform?

I have to say I am very happy with my D200 (no Mr Bob, you can't have it back). I fitted my 18-55mm DX lens on it and went into Wigan. The D200 has a magnesium alloy chassis with full weather sealing throughout. It was a tad moist on the day and I soon discovered the weather sealing is top notch. 

I also found the colour rendition from the sensor is the best I have seen since I got my D700. I would be willing to theorise that the colour profile written for the D700 was based on the one used by the D200. The colours are spot on and my only regret was the sun didn't make an appearance.

I was shooting at 1/60th of a second at f/8 and 800 iso and I managed to get some decent shots despite the horrid weather. I knew I needed to have better weather and light to see what this camera was truly capable of, but the forecast was a bit grim for the next few days.

That changed on November 11th and I headed back into town to make the most of the sunshine we had that day. It didn't take me long to get my base settings dialed in and a floated betwwen 1/125th second at f/11 to 1/250th using the same aperture. I also used a wider aperture at f/5.6 for close up shots when I needed to. I could see on the led screen on the back of the camera that I had some decent exposures, but I needed to see them on my PC monitor.

I uploaded the files to my computer later that day and I was instantly smitten. The colours were bright and vibrant, in part thanks to the sunshine I enjoyed that day, but mainly down to the colour profile written for the sensor. I had been photographing many of the same things I had in foul weather to have a good comparison between them and the phrase "night and day" came to mind. I also now know why my friend Joe loves the D200 and uses one to photograph weddings.

When manufacturers talk about Dynamic Range they are talking about the ability of the camera to capture a decent photo in a wide range of lighting conditions. I think I had both of the extremes for this first impression of my D200 and I couldn't be happier with my photos from both days. I also didn't have to do much editing to my raw files. A few dust spots needed removing and some needed straightening, but that was about it.

If anyone is thinking about buying a digital camera, but hasn't got the money for a new one, there are plenty of Nikon D200's on the market for not a lot of cash. They tend to start at around £100 for a good condition body with less than 20,000 shots on the shutter. The lens I used sells for around £60 and together they will give any aspiring photographer a decent all weather camera to learn the art of digital photography with. 

Here's a few of my favourite photos from both days and you can make a direct comparison between the dull day and sunny day shots. I have placed them all and more in albums on my Flickr account that you can visit using the links below. I hope you enjoy them.

Nikon D200 - Dull Day
A Sunny Day In Wigan

Once More Around Wigan Pier

 Weather and the doldrums got me this week and I ran out of time to bring you some new photos. Here's a few more from our wander around Trencherfield Mill and Wigan Pier. You know by now I can't just take one camera, I have to have a back up and it came in the form of my Olympus OM-10, Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 lens and a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 film. Being sensible is something I am not usually associated with, but I make an exception for my photography.

How often have you been to a wedding where the photographer is carrying two cameras? Any wedding photographer worth their salt always has two cameras. It's the same with press photographers and the paparazzi, they always have a back up just in case things go wrong or they need to change a lens. Having another camera, perhaps with a lens that has a different focal length, is a must in their world.

I was going to take my Minolta X-300 with a 28mm lens, but have often wondered how an Olympus consumer grade camera from the 70's would compare to Minolta's last professional manual focus 35mm camera that was introduced in 1981. I used both cameras in Aperture Priority, all I had to do was select an f stop and the cameras selected the shutter speed.

I am not one for going full auto very often, but I do enjoy using aperture priority. It gives my brain a rest and lets me concentrate on the composition rather than the settings. Both Olympus and Minolta were noted for having great light metering and auto features. I'm happy to have faith in the engineers who designed and built excellent cameras for photographers of all skill levels. Even me.

Many of these photos will be familiar to those who read my blog back in October, but I did try to alter my compositions to suit each lens. You can compare them to the ones I took with my Minolta X-700 by visiting my Wigan Pier Quarter blog post. However, it isn't an equal comparison as I used two different films with different speeds. ADOX CHS 100 ii in my Minolta and Ilford HP5+ 400 in my OM-10.

I like a good challenge and the right film for the afternoon was not as clear cut as I thought it would be. Using aperture priority meant I was able to capture well exposed photos with both my Minolta on 100 iso film and my Olympus OM-10 with its 400 iso film. Both cameras showed me their excellent light metering capability is up to the hype that both companies gave them back in the day.

Both cameras also have their faults. The Minolta X-700 suffered from failing capacitors in the later years as Minolta began using cheaper materials. It's important to note the Minolta X-700 was in production for 18 years. It was in the last third of it's production run where cheaper materials began to be used and capacitors started failing. Early ones are fine.

The Olympus OM-10 was quickly superceded by the OM-20 which put an end to the Manual Adapter, a part that was often lost, and put manual shutter speed setting in the camera body where it belongs. That wasn't the end for the OM-10, it was in production for longer than it's successors. However that came to and end when Olympus discontinued all its consumer grade OM double digit series cameras in 1992. Auto Focus had taken over the world by storm.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 in Zone Imaging 510 Pyro diluted at 1+100 for 8 minutes and 15 seconds at 20 celcius, stopped with filtered water and fixed with Fotospeed FX30. On my first look I could see I had well exposed negatives and hung it to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised my film with my Nikon D700 and Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Pixl-latr and A4 led light source. Processing was done with Affinity Photo 2.

I really enjoyed our afternoon of film photography around the Pier Quarter of town. Here's a few of my favourite photos from this roll of Ilford HP5 and, as always, I have put them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can view by visiting the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Ilford HP5+ 400 - Olympus OM10 

FujiFilm Neopan 100 Acros II

 During his recent visit Keith gave me a film I haven't used before, FujiFilm Neopan 100 Acros II. I have never had the pleasure of shooting this film before and Keith decided I needed to find out what it was all about. The reason I haven't used this film is the price is a tad beyond my budget. I thanked him for his kind gift, loaded it into my recently serviced Pentax SP500, I fitted my Tamron Adaptall 2 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 CF Macro lens and off we went.

Blackpool gave us a good challenge, as you saw in my previous blog, the sunshine we had when we set off disappeared almost as soon as we arrived. This immediately made a 100 speed film the worst film we could have chosen for the conditions. I was travelling light and didn't take my tripod so running and gunning was going to have to be accompanied by breathing like a sniper.

My first couple of shots were basic compositions purely just to dial my eye in as I recently picked up some new specs and can see properly again. I hadn't realised how much I had come to rely upon the split prism in my SLR's until this first use of a camera since getting my new glasses. I felt confident I could get some half decent photos now I can see clearly again and off we toddled onto Blackpool Promenade.

Keith was having a day with his Mamiya C2 and kindly offered to let me have a try. I have never used a Twin Lens Reflex camera before so I was keen to see what the fuss was about. I might have to get one myself, but having seen the price of a decent TLR I reckon I need to save up a bit first.

With that particular itch well and truly scratched I went back to my SP500 and Balda Baldax cameras. I concentrated on shooting the Acros II whilst the light was still within reason and hunted for compositions for my Frugal Film Project shots. I did pretty good with both of them to be fair and our walk along the prom and onto the North Pier was permeated with regular stops for a photo opportunity. 

We did have one stop for a coffee for my wife who was feeling the chill from the sea air. She can't walk so far these days and we had taken her wheelchair. (It's the only chance I get to push my wife around...) I found her a sheltered spot and continued hunting compositions whilst she warmed her hands on a hot drink.

As we finished our walk on the North Pier and were treated to a small, but welcome murmuration of Starlings. It was a joy to watch them as they flew in harmony with one another and I tried to take a decent shot of them as they darted about the sky above the North Pier.  

There was a few Seagulls about too, possibly hoping one of the Starlings would stray so they could hunt it down for supper. Thankfully I never saw that happen, but I did see a Gull drop a Mussel onto the deck of the Pier, cracking it open. It stayed close by, but didn't go to retrieve it until there was a space between it and the people enjoying a walk on the pier. Gulls may be brave when they pinch your chips, but they will wait for their Mussels.

All too soon it was time to head back to the car as the light had gone and we wouldn't be getting anymore shots that day. It was time to find a takeaway and grab a bite to eat before we drove south along the prom through the world famous Blackpool Illuminations and headed home.

I developed my very first roll of FujiFilm Neopan 100 Acros II in Zone Imaging 510 Pyro for 7:45 at 20 celcius and soon had it drying in my bathroom. On first look I could see I had some decent exposures and I'm glad I had my SP500 given a CLA in the capable hands of Lyndon at Londinium Cameras. This was the first time I had used it in anything less than bright sunshine and I had high hopes when I scanned my film the next day.

I have begun using my Nikon D700 and Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens to scan my film almost exclusively, I love the detail I can get with it thanks to it's legendary dynamic range. I have not entirely retired my Ion Slides2PC 35mm scanner as it is good for a quick scan should I need it. My film was held with my Pixl-Latr and illuminated with my A5 sized led light pad. My RAW files were processed with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few of my favourite shots from my first roll of FujiFilm Neopan 100 Acros II. I really enjoyed using it and I'm grateful to Keith for his kind gift. Acros II has a decent dynamic range that, combined with the dynamic range of my D700, meant I could bring light and detail into the darkest of shots quite easily with Affinity Photo 2. It was still the wrong film for the light we were challenged with, but as you can see It turned out right in the end. As always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you like them.

Fuji Acros II - Pentax SP500 

Mini Murmuration

Ornate cast iron

Nonesense song by Spike Milligan

Got the bugger in this one

Modern Blackpool Tram

Tower and Woolworth's Clock

Dialing in my eye

My first ever photo with a twin lens Reflex camera.