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
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