Last open weekend

[JamesT]

A few from Dry Sandford Pit and Parsonage Moor, the last weekend before lockdown.

Roots in the cliff:

Ferns (I've been trying for ages to get enough light on these even with 400 film and a tripod).

Fallen Tree (I think it looks a bit like some sort of ceratopsian):

All taken with the Bronica ETRS on Ilford Delta 400.

[Clicker]

 The Bronica appears to look like a nice camera to handle James ... Out of interest how many  analogue cameras  do you have now and do you use all of them  from time to time .... and  do you have a favourite for specific types of shots ...  I really enjoyed seeing your set up that you posted on Van's thread too .

http://www.tipf.co.uk/forums/topic/42185-out-of-date-35mm-film/?tab=comments#comment-207869

 

[JamesT]

19 minutes ago, Clicker said:

Out of interest how many  analogue cameras  do you have now and do you use all of them  from time to time

Too many!

There is a core group that I use regularly:

Minolta X500 -- actually the only 35mm full-frame SLR I've ever used

Bronica ETRS

Intrepid 5x4

Lord 5D -- no relation of the Canon 5D! A late 50's to early 60's fixed lens 35mm rangefinder

Then there are a few like the Kiev 60 and the Super Ikonta and the half-frame Olympuses that I use for a bit and then get frustrated with their idiosyncrasies and put them aside for a while. And some that I only use very occasionally.

[Clicker]

  Quoting you ...."I think it looks a bit like some sort of ceratopsian"

That seems quite apt given the relative age of some of your cameras James !!

  Do you  think that still using  film and all it's accompanying constraints ( in as far as time consumption from clicking to printing goes)  makes one  far more analytical  in deciding  when  and what  to photograph  James .... ?  My biggest worry was always about wasting  film  and I would rarely feel  uninhibited about experimenting purely due to the expense... 

[CMunzel]

I’m also interested in your reflections on using film vs digital, James.
The bronica ETRS is a medium format camera, I assume. I have a Hasselblad with a couple of lenses that I haven’t used for about 15 years. I don’t have access to a darkroom nowadays though have considered getting a bag etc to develop the film then paying for the negatives to be scanned to digital files. Last time I enquired, maybe 2 years ago, the advice I got was only a drum scanner would do which was quite expensive per negative and only available in capital cities so additional time and cost for p&p so I put the whole idea on hold.

I’m curious how you process your film. Do you have access to a darkroom? 

[Clicker]

This may answer part of your question Cheryl ... Vanguard's post recently shows what he has done with film and James has posted  showing how he manages film ....

 

http://www.tipf.co.uk/forums/topic/42185-out-of-date-35mm-film/?tab=comments#comment-207869

 

[CMunzel]

26 minutes ago, Clicker said:

This may answer part of your question Cheryl ... Vanguard's post recently shows what he has done with film and James has posted  showing how he manages film ....

 

http://www.tipf.co.uk/forums/topic/42185-out-of-date-35mm-film/?tab=comments#comment-207869

 

Thank you Polly. I read that after I asked my question . 

[JamesT]

10 hours ago, Clicker said:

That seems quite apt given the relative age of some of your cameras James !!

Most of them are not that old—80's & 90's, of the reasonably-regularly used cameras only the Super Ikonta is pre-war.

10 hours ago, Clicker said:

Do you  think that still using  film and all it's accompanying constraints ( in as far as time consumption from clicking to printing goes)  makes one  far more analytical  in deciding  when  and what  to photograph  James .... ?  My biggest worry was always about wasting  film  and I would rarely feel  uninhibited about experimenting purely due to the expense... 

It depends – for medium & large formats, yes it does make me think a lot more, at the other extreme the half-frame cameras have one major advantage, and one major disadvantage—they take about 80 shots on a roll.

9 hours ago, CMunzel said:

The bronica ETRS is a medium format camera, I assume. I have a Hasselblad with a couple of lenses that I haven’t used for about 15 years. I don’t have access to a darkroom nowadays though have considered getting a bag etc to develop the film then paying for the negatives to be scanned to digital files. Last time I enquired, maybe 2 years ago, the advice I got was only a drum scanner would do which was quite expensive per negative and only available in capital cities so additional time and cost for p&p so I put the whole idea on hold.

Yes, the ETRS is a modular medium format SLR, similar in concept to the Hassleblad but using 645 format rather than 6x6 and being a more recent camera it has electronically controlled shutters.

For black & white, I use a bag to load the developing tank, and scan my own negatives on a Nikon film scanner for 35mm and a flat bed with appropriate holders for medium and large format (I think that for most purposes the very high-end scanning setups are OTT, especially as most labs only scan at 8-bit depth). Colour I have processed commercially as I'm not too sure about the temperature control and the short developing times.

I do occasionally convert the kitchen to a darkroom for printing (http://www.tipf.co.uk/forums/topic/36172-red-is-for-safe/) but I'm very much a beginner there.

 

[Monomania]

I'm going lockdown crazy: I can see the tops of two heads peering at me at the bottom of the first one!!!

[JamesT]

5 hours ago, Monomania said:

I'm going lockdown crazy: I can see the tops of two heads peering at me at the bottom of the first one!!!

I'd not seen that!

It's helped by the bit of root making an eye detail in the second hole from the right.

[Clicker]

Once you see it ...it can't be unseen can it ?  Aghhhhh !

[Ryewolf]

An interesting set of images James, I also saw the 2 sets of eyes in the first image. Last year I had planned to start doing a bit more b/w film photography as there was a studio/arts centre place in Blackburn where you could have access to a full dark room setup with enlargers to develop and print B/W 35mm and medium format film for a fairly minimal cost of £3 per session including the development of 1 film, unfortunately there was a major fire and I'm not sure if it's backup and running again.

Apparently the Obscura Darkroom is back up and running but alas closed due to Coronavirus.......