Author Topic: Weekend 22nd - 24th March 2019 (Read 6059 times)

Kai-san · « **on:** March 22, 2019, 06:54:37 PM »

I'm starting this weekend thread with my experiments on the Polaroid Swinger 20. I managed to seal the back very efficiently, no light leaks. But to achieve that the gate where I pull the 120 backing paper out got very tight, so that in the end the paper snapped. I used a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 as the original Polaroid film was ISO 3200. Using the camera with flash at short range indoors I did get a few images, although somewhat underexposed. I had to crop this image due to some overlap on the film, but the real format is 6x7. I think the idea of advancing the film by pulling the backing paper is not feasible. I shall have to think of some advance mechanism, but that will take some engineering.

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2019, 07:31:06 PM »

That's a very nice experiment, Kai. I hope you fix the advance system.

I received my Bronica SQ-Ai last weekend and shot a couple of rolls of B&W with Satish. Lens is the 80mm 2.8 Zenzanon-S. Yes, I know I should clean my scanner glass

The first one is Ilford FP4+, shot at 100 and developed in DD-X 1:4 for 6 minutes.

Untitled by Miguel Campano, on Flickr

This one is Kodak Tmax 400 pushed to 1600. Developed in DD-X for 12 minutes 1:4

Untitled by Miguel Campano, on Flickr

Take care!

jharr · « **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2019, 08:59:09 PM »

Was up in the "mountains" this week with some Ektachrome Slide Dupe in the Pentax K1000. Souped in DIY ECN2 chems. I think the x-pro makes the tungsten balanced film even bluer. Of course being almost 40 out of date might contribute as well.

K1000-SlideDupe-023 by James Harr, on Flickr

cs1 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2019, 09:03:16 PM »

Great start, you guys. The Tmax @ EI 1600 looks brilliant, Miguel. Are you happy with your Bronica so far?

I've started a long term project that I call "Periskoporama". I'm trying to use my Altissa Periskop as a panoramic camera by taking three consecutive shots of a scene (I try to reduce the gap between the shots by not winding the film all the way to the next number on the backing paper). There's still room for improvement, e. g. I learned that the actual image is a lot wider than the frame in the viewfinder (which shows maybe 2/3rds of the scene?). I'm still quite happy with the results, I love the imperfection. Here're two shots of four from the first roll of film. (Fomapan 100, Caffenol-C-H (RS))

Willow by C S

Sunset by C S

EarlJam · « **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2019, 10:53:56 PM »

A pair of Pentax photos to keep James' K1000 image company. My Pentax MX turns 40 years old in a few weeks (along with the daughter whose birth prompted its purchase). The camera never let me down and had not had a proper service in all that time, so I recently sent it off to Eric Hendrickson for some attention. These shots were taken just ahead of the service, to allow for a "before" and "after" comparison.

Image #10 - Pentax 28mm f2.8; image #31 - Pentax 50mm f1.4; Tri-X

hookstrapped · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2019, 11:08:43 PM »

I like that first one a lot Earl

A few more Zeiss Jena Biotar 58 mm tests.

Late Developer · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2019, 11:26:09 PM »

Some superb photos on here this weekend. I haven't posted for a while but this one's fairly recent and taken with a Rolleiflex 2.8gx on Ilford XP2 Super. The subject is Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire. I'm not at all religious but I am fascinated why so much time and money was spent on such buildings almost a 1,000 years ago when the common man was living in abject poverty....

cs1 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2019, 05:45:07 AM »

Quote from: Late Developer on March 23, 2019, 11:26:09 PM

I'm not at all religious but I am fascinated why so much time and money was spent on such buildings almost a 1,000 years ago when the common man was living in abject poverty....

Great shot! Your observation is valid, interesting, and important. It's a reminder of the fact that "religion" and "institution" are not the same thing. And while the doctrine of the religion (charity, peace, love, respect) should be the fundament of the institution, it unfortunately often wasn't/isn't. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the image, it adds a lot to it to know what you as its photographer think when looking at it.

Indofunk · « **Reply #8 on:** March 24, 2019, 05:44:31 PM »

James: love the color palate on that shot! You still have that slide dup film sitting around? I gotta dig into my "cool, expired film" stash to see what I can trade you for some of that

CS1: love that concept. I do something similar on my Holga 6x9 pinhole ... I do 360^o shots by advancing 1/2 a frame between each shot. The resulting partial overlap creates cool effects, like this one.

cs1 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2019, 05:48:04 PM »

Very impressive panorama, Satish. Advancing to half the frame is a really good idea. I'll keep experimenting a little. My first two goals are to get rid of any space between the exposures (overlap is perfectly acceptable) and to figure out the difference between viewfinder and actual image.

Indofunk · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2019, 05:50:53 PM »

Here's a shot from my "pseudo-scientific" study on new Ektachrome. This one is exposed at ISO 200 in super-sunny southern California, and cross processed in fresh C41. Read my entire "study" here.

Francois · « **Reply #11 on:** March 24, 2019, 08:23:28 PM »

So, you were sick of the Winter and decided to go to warmer climes?

Blaxton · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2019, 12:15:56 AM »

I was in a city—New York, actually—on the clear, sunny, and cool Tuesday of last week for a mid-day meeting. I decided to walk from north to south on the High Line, a few hours after sunrise and again, south to north, a few hours before sunset. I ended up with quite a few photos that I like. The light seemed to be more interesting in the afternoon—more reflected light.

The first two are morning shots; the second two, afternoon. All four were made in an Olympus OM1 with a 50mm lens on Fomapan 100, semi-stand developed in Caffenol C-L.

High Line Park, New York by William Blackstone, on Flickr

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2019, 03:43:33 PM »

CS1: yes, definitely. I like it a lot. I found a 150mm 3.5 lens for $35 so I ordered it and it arrived last week. Haven't tried it yet, but overall I'm very pleased with the camera, even with the 220 back. Haven't had any issues at all with loading/winding 120 film in it.

cs1 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2019, 05:33:01 PM »

William, I really like the first shot with the overpass. The contrast between shadow and light is great. I'm very happy with the results that I get with Fomapan in Caffenol and your shots just confirm my impression that Fomapan and Caffenol are a perfect fit. Great shots, wonderful film.

Miguel, you got the 150mm f/3.5 for $35?! That is a *fantastic* price! Nice catch! I haven't tried a 220 back yet. I'm glad that it works for you.

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #15 on:** March 25, 2019, 06:50:07 PM »

I got it off the "Ugly" condition lot from KEH. They had a 250mm 5.6 for a good price, but it seemed like too much lens.

Francois · « **Reply #16 on:** March 25, 2019, 09:10:47 PM »

That was definitely a good price.

Blaxton · « **Reply #17 on:** March 26, 2019, 02:18:17 AM »

Quote from: cs1 on March 25, 2019, 05:33:01 PM

William, I really like the first shot with the overpass. The contrast between shadow and light is great. I'm very happy with the results that I get with Fomapan in Caffenol and your shots just confirm my impression that Fomapan and Caffenol are a perfect fit. Great shots, wonderful film.

Thanks, CS1. Several months during the year, I live in a place where I can’t get the ingredients to make Caffenol so I use Rodinol. I like it as well but I do notice a difference between the two developers. Caffenol C-L really shines in contrasty light. The negatives require very little post-scan adjustment. Plus, I like the smell of the developer.

EarlJam · « **Reply #18 on:** March 26, 2019, 02:20:20 AM »

Quote from: MiguelCampano on March 25, 2019, 06:50:07 PM

I got it off the "Ugly" condition lot from KEH. They had a 250mm 5.6 for a good price, but it seemed like too much lens.

When I first used a Hasselblad 500 C in the mid-70s, we had a 250/5.6 in the lens pool. It was a beast to use - too long a focal length to comfortably hand hold, and difficult to focus accurately due to the max aperture. I might have used it once or twice in the studio, but that was about it. I have a 150/4 as part of my 501 CM kit now, which is a much better shooting experience all around.

cs1 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 26, 2019, 07:41:59 PM »

Quote from: MiguelCampano on March 25, 2019, 06:50:07 PM

I got it off the "Ugly" condition lot from KEH. They had a 250mm 5.6 for a good price, but it seemed like too much lens.

I agree with your assessment. I'm quite happy with 150mm, it's also a reasonable portrait focal length for the Bronica.

Quote from: Blaxton on March 26, 2019, 02:18:17 AM

Thanks, CS1. Several months during the year, I live in a place where I can’t get the ingredients to make Caffenol so I use Rodinol. I like it as well but I do notice a difference between the two developers. Caffenol C-L really shines in contrasty light. The negatives require very little post-scan adjustment. Plus, I like the smell of the developer.

Your observation is really interesting because I made the absolute same observation. Fomapan works with most developers, especially Rodinal. However, before I started using Caffenol I used Foma Film's own Fomadon LQN and I was absolutely baffled about the difference that this developer made. I read somewhere that it's called the "magic Fomapan juice" because it gives you at least 1-2 stops more latitude with Fomapan compared to other developers. And I can definitely confirm that this is the case. You get much more shadow detail and also retain more detail in the highlights while still having a nice and contrasty tonality. When I started with Caffenol-C-H (RS) I expected results that are equivalent to those that I get with Rodinal. However, to my surprise Caffenol performs absolutely the same as Fomadon LQN. If you put the negatives side by side it's impossible (at least for me) to tell which developer was used for which negative -- the results are so similar. I do see the difference between Rodinal and Caffenol, though. So it's safe to say that Caffenol and Fomapan are a dream team in my eyes.

Francois · « **Reply #20 on:** March 26, 2019, 08:11:19 PM »

This is good to know 'cause I've been struggling with Fomapan (well... Arista.EDU 400) ever since I got a long roll.
At nominal speed in HC-110 Dil.B it comes out almost like lith film. The contrast is really biting. You get no highlight and no shadow detail. That's mainly why I've always used it at EI 250 and developed in a more diluted solution. But it bugs me a bit that I have to sacrifice almost 1 stop to reign in contrast...

cs1 · « **Reply #21 on:** March 26, 2019, 08:41:19 PM »

Give Caffenol a go. It looks like any form of Caffenol (you've seen the results with C-H (RS) and with C-L in this thread) seems to work really well with Fomapan. The current developing times that I use for Caffenol-C-H (RS) at 20 °C are 14 minutes for Fomapan 400 at box speed (agitate for the first 30 sec., let it rest 30 sec., invert 3 times and then invert 3 times every full minute) and 8 minutes for Fomapan 100 at box speed (same agitation scheme). I've recently shot Fomapan 400 @ EI 800 and it worked really well. In Caffenol-C-H (RS) you need to develop it for ~20-21 minutes (I still need to run a few tests but it looks like that's a useful time). It's quite unusual to get good results with Fomapan 400 @ EI 800 because Fomapan doesn't have the reputation of being a "push friendly" film. Fomapan 400 also works really well @ EI 100 (I had to use it once that way because I wanted to use it for a box camera on a very sunny day). I simply exposed it at EI 100 and developed it as I would the Fomapan 100.

Francois · « **Reply #22 on:** March 26, 2019, 08:59:12 PM »

The agitation schedule you use is quite surprising. I'm used to the 5 seconds every 30 seconds technique...
I guess I'll have to re-calibrate my brain for doing Caffenol

Indofunk · « **Reply #23 on:** March 26, 2019, 11:24:43 PM »

Quote from: Francois on March 26, 2019, 08:11:19 PM

This is good to know 'cause I've been struggling with Fomapan (well... Arista.EDU 400) ever since I got a long roll.
At nominal speed in HC-110 Dil.B it comes out almost like lith film. The contrast is really biting. You get no highlight and no shadow detail. That's mainly why I've always used it at EI 250 and developed in a more diluted solution. But it bugs me a bit that I have to sacrifice almost 1 stop to reign in contrast...

I had very similar experiences when using Fomapan (Arista EDU). The only thing I'd add is that I'd always get huge grain with HC110, which was annoying to me. I should really get into Caffenol using cs1's recipe...

cs1 · « **Reply #24 on:** March 27, 2019, 05:41:09 AM »

Quote from: Indofunk on March 26, 2019, 11:24:43 PM

I had very similar experiences when using Fomapan (Arista EDU). The only thing I'd add is that I'd always get huge grain with HC110, which was annoying to me. I should really get into Caffenol using cs1's recipe...

The recipe I use comes from Reinhold et al's excellent Caffenol Cookbook (I only use the Reduced Soda Variant which is also explained in the cookbook). I use iodised salt instead of KBr. If you want the scaled metrics for each ingredient for 300ml and 500ml, please let me know. I recommend using very precise scales which makes the Caffenol experience predictable and the results repeatable.

Francois · « **Reply #25 on:** March 27, 2019, 01:55:30 PM »

I got a cheap precision scale from China last year just to try caffenol, but never got to try.
Since I have a roll in a never used point and shoot, I guess it's the right time to try it.

cs1 · « **Reply #26 on:** March 28, 2019, 08:15:52 PM »

Caffenol and Rollei Retro 80S work really well together, too.

Francois · « **Reply #27 on:** March 29, 2019, 02:31:49 PM »

Yesterday I printed and began to read the caffenol cookbook.
Quite interesting.
Some of the ingredients are hard to find around here. I did manage to find over time some mystery sodium carbo. Ascorbic acid powder is another thing. I'll have to crush, dilute and filter some tablets.... I might be able to find some in powder form at a restaurant supply store but I have my doubts...
I have the coffee....worst I could find.....

Close to being all set.

cs1 · « **Reply #28 on:** March 29, 2019, 03:32:47 PM »

Quote from: Francois on March 29, 2019, 02:31:49 PM

Some of the ingredients are hard to find around here. I did manage to find over time some mystery sodium carbo. Ascorbic acid powder is another thing. I'll have to crush, dilute and filter some tablets.... I might be able to find some in powder form at a restaurant supply store but I have my doubts...
I have the coffee....worst I could find.....

The most important thing about the soda is that it doesn't contain water. As for the ascorbic acid: as long as the tablets don't contain additional ingredients you should be fine. Have you checked on Amazon for ascorbic acid? There seem to be plenty of offerings of pure ascorbic acid in powder form.

Before I forget: if you add salt, make sure it's iodised salt. Salt by itself doesn't do anything useful. It's the iodine that does something. You mileage may vary, it's very well possible that you don't need iodised salt at all.

cs1 · « **Reply #29 on:** March 29, 2019, 07:22:45 PM »

One more unsolicited piece of advice: when you mix the coffee (stir really well before adding anything else), then put the soda into the mix and (again after stirring it well) and after that add the ascorbic acid, an exothermic reaction will take place. It's so strong that it adds ~5 °C to the liquid. A good way to deal with it is this: put water at 20 °C to the side (enough to create the whole Caffenol mix). Use cold tap water (about 1/3 of the final amount of Caffenol) to mix coffee, soda and ascorbic acid (as well as iodised salt if you decide to use it). Stir it really well. When the exothermic reaction is finished, measure the temperature. Normal tap water usually has ~12-15 °C and after the reaction it often has ~20 °C (often a little more). Add cold water to get it down to 20 °C and top off to the final amount of Caffenol with the 20 °C warm water. This way you don't need to the whole mix down too much. If you have a 300 ml Caffenol mix and start mixing with 20 °C water it can be a really close call to get it down to 20 °C after the exothermic reaction without adding too much water. It sucks having to cool down the mix in the fridge. TL;DR

Francois · « **Reply #30 on:** March 29, 2019, 09:33:57 PM »

Thanks for the tips.
I'm going to check locally first for the Vit.C.
But I might have to go web hunting for some... hope it's going to be inexpensive.

Right now I'm pretty busy building 2 pinhole cameras.
One is a birdhouse shaped solargraph camera. The other is a long F.L. pinhole inspired by Jeff McConnell's Cronopios camera.

Mike (happyforest) · « **Reply #31 on:** March 30, 2019, 09:32:07 AM »

Francois,

In the uk you can get vitamin c powder from cook shops. It is used in bread making. So see if you can find an souce this way.

Regards

Mike

Francois · « **Reply #32 on:** March 30, 2019, 02:32:54 PM »

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to check this out.

Skorj · « **Reply #33 on:** April 08, 2019, 02:47:27 AM »

Quote from: MiguelCampano on March 22, 2019, 07:31:06 PM

I received my Bronica SQ-Ai last weekend and shot a couple of rolls of B&W with Satish. Lens is the 80mm 2.8 Zenzanon-S. Yes, I know I should clean my scanner glass

Nice!
Coincidentally, my Bessa was out for its first service in over 13,000 frames (I dropped it), and I needed a real camera for a weekend shoot.
The Bronica S2 was my only option these days, with its 75mm f2.8:

With some Portra 400, it got some amazingly creamy, filmy effects, including great glow around some of the subjects.
I bought some more Portra, and will be out with it again...

Francois · « **Reply #34 on:** April 08, 2019, 04:24:52 PM »

Hey Skorj!
Long time no see!

So, what's up?
Which one of those Porsche is yours?

Skorj · « **Reply #35 on:** April 10, 2019, 11:29:38 AM »

Wassup?
Too much!!!!

Just finished reforming parts of our minka and kura, and now have a full stream of guests.
Film of course:

Francois · « **Reply #36 on:** April 10, 2019, 02:03:42 PM »

I must say that this is nicely done. I must admit that construction work is always longer and more complicated than expected. A few years ago we just had to rebuild a back porch and when we tore out the old one we discovered that the contractor left a gaping hole in the outside wall just to save four bricks.... And there was no insulation or vapor barrier in that spot.

Does it often get foggy like that around your place? Here fog is a rare occurrence.

Skorj · « **Reply #37 on:** April 11, 2019, 01:22:54 PM »

Quote from: Francois on April 10, 2019, 02:03:42 PM

I must say that this is nicely done. I must admit that construction work is always longer and more complicated than expected. A few years ago we just had to rebuild a back porch and when we tore out the old one we discovered that the contractor left a gaping hole in the outside wall just to save four bricks.... And there was no insulation or vapor barrier in that spot.

Does it often get foggy like that around your place? Here fog is a rare occurrence.

Gah!
Not good.
One of the benefits of using Japanese professionals, is just that - their professionalism

Being in the mountains, fog is an occasional experience.
Love it!

Nice days, the kura looks like this:

and the minka like this:

Francois · « **Reply #38 on:** April 11, 2019, 02:07:53 PM »

Really lovely...
Definitely nicer than our suburbs. For a long time the Canadian household and mortgage corporation had a plans book that they sold for cheap. So every promoter and developer bought it and used the plans to build new developments. So you end up with suburbs that all look quite similar.

Flippy · « **Reply #39 on:** April 14, 2019, 01:49:22 PM »

I read Edward S. Morse's Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings last year, first published in the 1880s. I wish I had read it before I visited friends in Japan two years ago. If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend it to you, Skorj. It's a not very technical, but surprisingly detailed look at Japanese homes in the Meiji era.

Skorj · « **Reply #40 on:** April 15, 2019, 03:57:23 AM »

Quote from: Flippy on April 14, 2019, 01:49:22 PM

I read Edward S. Morse's Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings last year, first published in the 1880s. I wish I had read it before I visited friends in Japan two years ago. If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend it to you, Skorj. It's a not very technical, but surprisingly detailed look at Japanese homes in the Meiji era.

Indeed, a great book!
I read it from cover to cover last year.
Our Minka Blog, includes a few references to it accordingly.

Click on the header, if you're interested in more minka and kura adventures...

See ya!