After finding out that my Kodak Retina 1a is light tight and able to produce nice B&W photos, I wanted to see how it fared with Kodak ColorPlus 200, my favourite colour film. I had to wait a while until the wet weather abated. You have seen enough wet weather photos from me over the last couple of months, I wanted a dry day for a change. It's also been many years since I shot Kodak film in a Kodak camera. My love for photography began with my Mum's Kodak Instamatic loaded with 126 Kodak colour film in the early 70's and I still have a place in my heart for Kodak cameras and colour film.
Eventually the rain abated and we started getting proper spring sunshine. I loaded a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 into my Kodak Retina 1a and headed out to see what I could find. I also took my trusty Gossen Trisix selenium light meter to help me get decent exposures and my Watameter rangefinder to help me with the zone focus this quirky camera uses. Nostalgia definitely came into play for this walk and not a single battery was required.
I took a walk around my local neighbourhood hunting for colour. Post boxes and traffic cones are always good for a photo and it was whilst I was taking photos of them that I had a nice chat with a local resident who is also a photographer. We agreed it was about time we got some nice weather and she had been out and about enjoying it with her camera too. It's always nice to say hello to fellow photographers when I'm out and about. It always puts a smile on my face, albeit a slightly wonky one.
Shop fronts are also good for colour photography as are things found around the farm. The tanker and the animal feeder both looked nice in the dry weather after being dripping wet for months. I also captured some blossom and plenty of foliage adorning the trees that tell the world spring has definitely arrived here in the northern hemisphere. As always when I am having fun, it seemed like I had only been out for a few minutes when my last frame was shot and I headed for home.
I sent my roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 to the good folks at Analogue Wonderland for developing. I can do it myself, but I'm impressed with their service. I don't shoot a lot of colour film these days, I don't really want to spend a lot on a home colour developing kit unless I am going to use more colour film or It would only go to waste. A week after sending it to them I got the email saying my scans were ready to download and I could see how I had done.
Analogue Wonderland did a great job of developing and scanning my film. The day I shot the film was overcast with sunny spells and it shows in my photos. The scans are basic jpegs, colour corrected and rotated where needed. I can use them as they are and I also know I can easily do a few quick edits if needed further down the line. I like to get my photos right in camera, this no frills camera is simple, but quirky to use and it's very satisfying to see I got most of them right with my basic gear to help me out.
Here's a few of my favourite photos from my Kodak ColorPlus 200 shot with my Kodak Retina 1a. I really enjoyed my no frills photowalk with not a single battery powered device needed to help me out. Trust in technology is great, but trust in the skills you build over the years is by far more rewarding, especially when the tech you use is older than yourself.
Analogue Wonderland celebrated their 6th Birthday on May 16th. They have a wide range of film, developing supplies and cameras in stock. They also develop 110, 35mm, 120 medium format, both colour and B&W. You can visit them and maybe buy something using the link below. No, I'm not sponsored, I just like to give a shout out for folk who provide a great service. This
Kodak day out definitely made me happy and I got some decent photos too. 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.
Kodak ColorPlus 200 - Kodak Retina 1a
Analogue Wonderland
No comments:
Post a Comment