ChrisR's One Camera, One Lens, One Film exercise

ChrisR

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Edit 2021: images on Ph0t0bucket now replaced with uploaded images. This may mean reduced numbers of images in some posts...

Edit: now moved...

Edit: This opening post is substantially edited because of my plan to move it from Photos from Film to the Personal Projects and Themes sub-forum, adding context from a previous post in Talk Film & Conventional.

I quite enjoy The Online Photographer blog, which seems to be an interesting mixture of photography stuff, great value print sales (though I have not yet succumbed) and some interesting Off Topic (OT) articles. Recently he wrote a piece about the digital version of "One Camera, One Lens, One Year"; this article referred back to an earlier article called The Leica as Teacher. In that, he wrote:

I suggest shooting with nothing but a Leica and one lens for a year. Shoot one type of black-and-white film (yes, even if you're completely devoted to color and digital, and hate film and everything it stands for. You don't have to commit to this forever; it's an exercise). Pick a single-focal-length 50mm, or 35mm, or 28mm. It doesn't have to be a "good" lens—anything that appeals to you and that fits the camera will do. Carry the camera with you all day, every day. Shoot at least two films a week. Four or six is better (or shoot more in the spring and fall and less in the dead of summer and winter). The more time you spend shooting, the better. The amount of film you shoot is related but not so important. (Photographing is like jogging: benefit accrues to time spent doing it, not how fast you go or how much ground you cover.)

Proof the rolls of film by contact and file them sequentially in a notebook. Get or make between one and six workprints per roll, however you choose to do it (even if you scan your picks and look at the pictures on a computer screen), and, every five or ten rolls or so, have one nice print made, or make it yourself. Craft well, but don't crop and don't fuss; just take what the camera gives you.
The aim is to improve your photography...

... I'll say this: A year with a single Leica and a single lens, looking at light and ignoring color, will teach you as much about actually seeing photographs as three years in any photo school, and as much as ten or fifteen years (or more) of mucking about buying and selling and shopping for gear like the average hobbyist.
He had some reasons why a Leica was a good idea (particularly the viewfinder, getting away from the seductiveness of the ground glass image), but they are a bit pricy, and he pretty much suggested picking any camera. The more recent piece has further practical suggestions for how to make it work.

This has been at the back of my mind for a while. I'm really intrigued by it. It's pretty much opposite to a lot of the general "buy/try as many cameras as possible" approaches (very valid and lots of fun). A few people here [on F&C] come pretty close, at least as far as the shots they post coming almost exclusively from one camera (or maybe two). But while I'm intrigued, and while I do think it would be valuable (reminds me of those first few years in the late 60s with only the Werra 1 and black and white film), I'm not sure I'm quite motivated enough to want to give up a second camera with colour (or, for that matter, my little digi beast for appropriate moments).

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OK, having mentioned [the section quoted above] on the main F&C thread last year (discussed here), and dithered a bit, I have decided that I'm definitely going for a One Camera, One Lens, One Film challenge. Like Dean (@Strappy ) I'm not sure I'll make it a full year, but since I've sort of been doing it for a month already I'll try to make it at least 6 months, and more if possible. As [F&C members] might have guessed, the camera is the Leitz Minolta CL, with the Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 lens, and the film is Tri-X because... well because it's lovely and I've now ordered a couple of dozen rolls.

I'm a bit more comfortable with the CL now, though a bit worried that the light meter only works intermittently, so when I get a chance I'll take it back to Cameratiks in Edinburgh for them to have a look at. And if they had a Voigtlander R3M, who knows what could happen :).

One thing, I intended to couple this with doing my own processing, but I haven't got that part of the act together yet, so sent the first two films off to Peak. One benefit I expected from processing my own was actually looking properly at the negatives. Recently I've been taking XP2 and getting them scanned at Photo Express, so the negs generally don't get out of the sleeves! Anyway, I had a good look, and despite the intermittent metering they don't look too bad. I guess with black and white film you don't really need to be adjusting the exposure every shot, unless something has really changed.

[EDIT to note: decided to change shot numbering by including a film number prefix to try to reduce confusion in the thread, assuming I keep it going for a significant time...]

1-1) So, this was the very first shot, already mentioned in another thread, but here for completeness. It was perishing cold, I was wearing gloves and unsure how everything worked, focus and aperture rings are totally back to front compared with my Pentax MX, so it took me about 3 or 4 minutes to make each of these early shots. Not surprisingly, infinity focus is out. Scan-150226-0001

Scan-150226-0001.jpg

1-2) Second trip out, not quite so cold, I could actually hold the camera without shivering. I like this sort of shot, but I think this illustrates why this exercise might be good for me. You'll perhaps picture this wall, range of different textures and those lovely ferns contrasting against the wall... except that I always forget that in black and white they pretty much tone in and fade away. I've got to relearn how the coloured stuff I see translates to tones, used to be able to do this, but maybe for me colour's too seductive unless I cut it out completely. Edited to add: knowing the edges of the frame is proving a problem at this stage, I'm not sure this is quite the framing I wanted, but it's a learning process. Scan-150226-0007

Scan-150226-0007.jpg

1-3) Steps and a doorway. Have to meter in landscape, then turn and focus and frame in portrait. Quite like this... Scan-150226-0010

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1-4) Steps and a couple of bikes. As above. Scan-150226-0013

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1-5) Graffiti and Pampas grass. I really liked the contrast between the brutal street furniture with its ugly graffiti and the graceful fronds of pampas grass behind (plus a shed and inviting doorway behind that). Too much competing for attention and nothing but the graffiti is really getting any notice here. Scan-150226-0020

[Too many to upload]

1-6) This alley and building between the Meadows and Buccleuch St has wonderful curved walls, but I couldn't find a shot to show them off as I wanted. Luckily this couple wandered through, and I managed to get my mind into gear sufficiently to get this, which I think works OK. Edited to add, sorry wrong pic for a while there! Scan-150226-0024

Scan-150226-0024.jpg

1-7) ... and just along that alleyway, complete contrast in style, 40mm lens really worked I think. Scan-150226-0025

Scan-150226-0025.jpg

Just two more to show you from that roll...
 
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1-8) This one is an experiment with closer focusing, and to get an idea how well the lens works for texture and detail. Pretty darn nice, I reckon.

Scan-150226-0034.jpg

1-9) It's Edinburgh, there has to a bike rack shot. I think this may have been cropped, and maybe I shouldn't be cropping at this stage, so I don't use the crop as a crutch to avoid learning to frame with the framelines?

1506AVB3BW36.jpg

Up to this point I had no strap of any kind on the camera, so I was quite worried about dropping it, and still finding it less than intuitive. I've now scanned roll 2, and tomorrow I may put some shots and thoughts up from that, although I do need to work out if any of my "cold" shots are worth submitting in POTY15...
 
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So, on the the second film. Maybe worth remembering I hadn't seen the results from the first film before shooting the second film. In the mean time I got a Cordy Classic wrist strap and added a Hoya yellow filter (I'm wondering about an orange filter, which is what I've been using on the black and white MX). I'm also getting more used to the camera, developing more of a "muscle memory" on what's where, and getting less befozzled when it's so out of focus you can't even see the double image in the RF patch!

2-1) What I've still to get used to is framing to the framelines, particularly at the RHS. This was supposed to read "Demon"!

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2-2) I have managed to learn to focus more quickly, eg when turning the corner and coming across this tree felling. I don't think the meter kicked into operation, so I was just lucky that the exposure wasn't too far out (or maybe the lesson is once again about the flexibility of this film).

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2-3) They pruned my favourite tree, making it somewhat less interesting as a subject. Retains nice tones in the trunk though, I thought.

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2-4) Bit of a test for flare; not directly at the sun (ie sun in the frame), but pretty close. Not much sign of internal reflections, but a significant loss in contrast, perhaps not surprising...

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2-5) The castle, as per usual...

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A few more to follow.
 
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Great to see how you're coming on with this Chris...
I particularly like number 7...
 
Thanks Lee, that would be the first film, I guess. I definitely liked that mix of ancient and modern. Having trouble with loading the others just now, keep getting freezes, maybe wait a bit and try again.
 
Trying again... film 2 no 6) Bare trees in the graveyard, with snowdrops... can't seem to get those snowdrops to be white!

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2-7) Other side of the church, this was intended as a candidate shot for the Shadows challenge, but they aren't really interesting enough.

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2-8) Another attempt at the Shadows challenge... need to remember to think more about the background to make an idea work!

1502BLCLBW23.jpg

2-9) Pile of logs... another framing issue, this time the other way as the RHS was cut off.

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2-10) Failed attempt at isolating these catkins, really do have to think hard about aperture and depth of field, with no visual clues at all other than the focus patch which of course is misleading!

EDIT: decided to delete that pic as it was plain out of focus, anyway.

Comments welcomed!
 
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Off to a cracking start IMO, Chris. :)

Re: cropping; on one hand I have no hesitation in cropping if it achieves what I had in mind when I took the shot or strengthens the image. On the other, I see part of the challenge of OCOLOF is to get the framing right in camera rather than relying on a fix later.

Bit of a contradiction, I know, but I see these projects as end-to-end learning and to me that includes post processing. As long as you're learning and are honest with yourself (such as accepting that you needed to crop to make the image worthwhile), then there's no harm done.
 
Thanks Dean. I'm similarly boonswaggled on cropping. The 52 I did in 2013 taught me that cropping was extremely valuable and could improve a shot no end, so I would normally expect to frame as best I can and then crop as required. However, at least at this stage I think I need to really learn the framing of the camera (despite having read that rangefinder framelines are just hints rather than accurate!). So I'm trying to avoid cropping at the mo.

IIRC the idea is to print "work prints" without cropping (the ones that get dated and go in the box for perusal as evidence of learning etc), but to do proper prints occasionally that would get the full treatment. Nowhere near that stage yet!
 
This is a really interesting challenge and will be following it closely. I agree it's important but I wouldn't get too hung up on framing at first, you might find it helpful to bracket your framing, framing left, central and right in the same way you bracket your exposures and also print out a contact sheet so you can see the effects side by side. Look at the Magnum Contacts book, I know I was really surprised at the 'hit rate' of some very well photographers.
 
Both good ideas, thanks Nick. I used to get contact sheets back in the day when I only had the Werra 1, pasted them in a book that I still have somewhere. A "proper" contact sheet (all frames exposed the same way) has the added advantage of showing up exposure problems. I can easily print a quasi contact sheet from Aperture, but that's after a scanning process that will have hidden most of the exposure problems. Nevertheless, probably worth doing.
 
Just been looking through these again. Looks like a good start, the yellow filter seems to have helped the first set looked a little washed out for my tastes. However the composition is arguably much more important and these look pretty good.
2 has that nice nature reclaiming thing going on maybe needs an orange filter to bring out the tones better?
I like 5, though there is a lot going on but as you say its a nice contrasting type shot.
I'm also really drawn to 6 but I've been doing so many night shots the last few weeks that I'm looking at that street lamp and thinking "wouldn't it be better if it was on." (I might have to swing round when the wind dies down)

What causes the framing issues? Is there multiple frame lines in the VF? The only real RF I've ever used was a FED and from memory it was a crapshoot what was actually in the frame so I can't really advise with that.
 
Thanks Steven... I guess most of your comments relate to the first film (hadn't appreciated the irony of carefully numbering the shots to help people comment and then immediately introducing ambiguity by putting up two films!). On number 2, do you think an orange filter would help to bring out the green fern against the brick? I've only really thought about the filter effects on skies...

The CL with the 40mm lens added has both 40 and 50mm framelines, and neither of them is a "solid" line. IIRC there is one line to the right then two set of lines top, bottom and left. And then of course there's the outside of the viewfinder as well. It's all a bit confusing but I'm getting more used to it. I may have to waste some film by shooting a measuring tape or something and carefully recording how I do it... or just live with it for a while more!

I very much like being able to see outside the frame, and I get how useful that must be for street photography, which with the SLR is always quite a lottery as to what is going to march into the shot as it's taken (particularly at the festival, so many times that's happened). I think I'm subconsciously composing for the whole viewfinder, and that's what I'm going to have to get used to. It must be even weirder with a 90mm lens!
 
Yes the first roll. Yeah filters will help separate the colours even on smaller scale, I find an orange filter quite good for separating architectural tones.

I'm not sure I'd waste film on a tape measure but just keep at it with some framing bracketing. But I agree the ability to see what's about to enter the frame is really handy especially at events like the festival, lost a few frames from that.
 
... print out a contact sheet so you can see the effects side by side...

I thought this was worth an experiment or two. I popped the sheet of negatives in their transparent cover onto the all-in-one scanner, scanned to JPEG, pulled it in to PSE9, inverted it... and the result was pretty rubbish as you might expect! It might go a little way to showing really off exposures, but not much else!



I then created one in Aperture, much better!



I think I should print one of these out for each film and put it in the (currently empty) print box.
 
Shame that didn't work, not unexpected, but it would have been very handy. Because of the way I (and I expect everyone) scans exposure issues are only really noticeable when its been completely messed up.
 
Scanned film 3 today, pics later... for now, just to say... I now know why the light meter wasn't working on some shots! 7 blank frames. Must remember to take the lens cap off! :(:mad::eek::coat:
 
So, film 3. As noted, 7 blank frames, mostly but possibly not all because of forgetting to take the lens cap off. I seem to remember some trouble on the first fram that required rewinding, reseating the film, then firing off a few shots that deliberately had the lens cap on. However, the ones in the middle of the reel were definitely down to stupidity. There were also a few over-exposed shots, including two where I was asked to take shots of the U3A walking group I'm in (I don't think they realised I was fumbling around with a fairly new camera and black and white film)... I was too rushed to make sure the meter was reading properly. Anyway, there were a few I was happy with.

3-1) The Tone Bridge in Taunton, while I was visiting my sister down there.

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3-2) Doorbell at my sister's farm!

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3-3) Cedar (of Lebanon?), taken on the U3A walk near Leamington. Perhaps over-exposed? And I probably should have been closer... strange as I remember framing and then moving back!

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3-4) Boat on the Millennium Trail behind Kenilworth Castle. This boat celebrated the Great Mere, and the Pleasance nearby (the earthworks for which still stand), where Castle guests were brought by boat for a bit of late-night clubbing. The boat used to have a little poem engraved on its seats, now pretty much rotted. This shot needs more headroom, should have moved further back.

1503ALCLBW22.jpg

Plus another 25 or so even more humdrum shots that I'll spare you! Comments welcome...
 
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Thanks Shane. I'm getting more used to it, though I'm finding getting the meter to work a little bit tricky. I'm learning, though: when the meter absolutely refuses to work, I should take the lens cap off!

BTW I was thinking of writing a review of the CL... if I draft something up and PM you, could you comment and/or add some stuff?
 
Like the door bell, maybe just a little too central? Dunno. 3-3 Looks okay, I wouldn't say its overexposed, did you use a filter? Maybe the large volume of green is throwing things out.
 
Thanks Steven. Central was a composition choice, or forced on me, perhaps. I wanted the rough stone texture, I wanted the door to give it context, but I wanted the doorbell as large as the M-Rokkor would let it be, which is not very large with its fairly rubbish minimum focus distance. My feeling is that moving to one of the thirds would have made the pic weirder!

I had the yellow filter on for 3-3. I don't particularly remember it as being harsh sunshine, although there's another pic from the same day that suggests it might have been, and you can certainly see shadows. I just had the feeling that perhaps the meter hadn't dropped into action for that one?
 
Just scanning the next couple of films. My feeling on visual inspection is that the negatives are under-exposed (most of the negatives are light to medium grey, very few obvious dark or light areas). I've had the camera set probably closer to 320 than 250 (it's very hard to see on the CL), so for the next roll in camera I've dropped it to 200. I guess it's possible the batteries are going; I guess they must be Wein cells. Maybe I should order a few more...
 
Thanks Shane. I'm getting more used to it, though I'm finding getting the meter to work a little bit tricky. I'm learning, though: when the meter absolutely refuses to work, I should take the lens cap off!

BTW I was thinking of writing a review of the CL... if I draft something up and PM you, could you comment and/or add some stuff?


Of course. Cheers for asking me :)
 
Roll 4, shot around Kenilworth.

4-1) Part of the point of this is not necessarily to show only the best, the "keeper" shots, but also ones that didn't work. This next one is an example. We went for a local walk, and coming back I really liked the low light on some trees in a wood. I let the others go on ahead, went into the wood and shot several frames. I don't think I got the exposure quite right, but mostly it turned out to be more challenging making a sensible image out of what was in front of me than I expected. In low sun light it was very appealing; as a still black and white image, most shots were very confusing with no clear subject. Avenues I saw through trees vanished in a mishmash of branches. [EDIT: the wonderful catkins just disappeared.] This was one of the better ones.

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4-2) One of several shots I took approaching the castle that day, but the only one where I thought the 40mm lens worked well.

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Most of the other shots on that roll were drafts for the Curves POTY15 round, so they'll have to stay out of sight (and mostly deserve to!).
 
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Roll 5, in Coventry.

5-1) I liked these arches in this church, and there was enough distance to get the width of the facade in, and to avoid my own reflection... and this bloke walked into shot (well, I could see him coming in the RF viewfinder, which is really great for this kind of photography).

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5-2) I've always found the inside of the ruined cathedral rather challenging, but several shots this time came out quite well. I liked this one.

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5-3) Canal shot: water, reflections, graffiti, old chimney, modern building, trees, works for me!

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5-4) I'm just a sucker for large pieces of machinery in canal basins and suchlike places. Too much space to the right, but I've left this un-cropped as part of the learning process (a 5*4 crop works quite well). Not sure I've got the tonality right here.

1503CLCLBW34.jpg

Another roll should be back from Peak tomorrow, but this will be the one where the back came off the camera after the first few shots!
 
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4-1) Part of the point of this is not necessarily to show only the best, the "keeper" shots, but also ones that didn't work. This next one is an example. We went for a local walk, and coming back I really liked the low light on some trees in a wood. I let the others go on ahead, went into the wood and shot several frames. I don't think I got the exposure quite right, but mostly it turned out to be more challenging making a sensible image out of what was in front of me than I expected. In low sun light it was very appealing; as a still black and white image, most shots were very confusing with no clear subject. Avenues I saw through trees vanished in a mishmash of branches.

I see this as part of the learning process, finding out what works in B&W and what doesn't. Gets you thinking about whether there's something you could do if you went back there to capture an improved shot or how you could frame it to better suit the media.
 
Chris. Doorbell. It's one of those subjects were you know it's worthy of shooting, but somehow it's difficult to tell the story.
There are great textures here in the door frame and stone work.
I've thought long and hard how I might have shot this.
Landscape with the door closed, showing more stone.
Landscape with the door open and having the clapper handle showing movement.
I'd like to see more shadow, maybe side lit.
Had a little play with yours, hope you don't mind.

Chris's Doorbell. by -Captures...Moments....Forever-
 
Well, thanks Trevor, that looks way better than mine!
 
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A few more from that roll, these were all on the theme Curves for POTY15, but not my final choice (and not like it, either).

5-5) Some barbed wire over a fence; not sure I got the contrast of jagged sharpness and sinuous curve.

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5-6) Old rope. Cropped to a weird shape, and I should have done some gardening before taking the shot:

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5-7) Spiral footpath in Coventry city centre

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5-8) Adopt and Foster, flags under the Coventry arches (not sure what they are called) by the Transport Museum

1503CLCLBW13.jpg
 
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Thanks Shane.
 
Looking forward to the entry if these are the rejects!

I think you're right, the barbed wire is missing "something" that would really help with the contrasting elements.
 
Thanks Steven. Not sure the entered image is any better (just very different). I kept seeing flaws in the ones above, although they were on my shortlist. I've cropped the spiral path a bit; when I took it, I wanted to contrast the modernist path with the older building behind, but it didn't really work. In the end I felt that the path going out of shot to the left was a problem, even though the shape was dramatic. The arches... again a dramatic shape, but there didn't seem to be anything bringing the eye back down, and I reckoned no-one would have an idea what they were!
 
This film has been sat in my Aperture folders for ages; I think overall I've got something wrong. Either the choice of subject, light or the exposure, or my mindset when taking them, I'm not sure. There are a few Suburbia candidates, not very successful, and these are some of the better of the rest.

6-1) Path through Kenilworth "Common". I'm not sure what's wrong here; there was plenty of shape, contrast and definition to my eyes when there!

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6-2) That pond again...

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6-3) A walker came by who feeds this swan, which was waiting for her and came quickly out of the water...

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6-4) Later... walking down Castle Hill, past the cottages with the castle profile in the middle distance. Not right yet!

1503DLCLBW32.jpg
 
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I feel I'm at a bit of a crossroads with this; very much enjoying the RF experience, though finding the CL not entirely to my liking, and the 40mm lens sometimes a bit limiting (and a bit low in contrast?... definitely a longish near focus). While I'm tempted to try replacing the CL with the Bessa R3A in the classifieds, overall suspect this is one of those low periods that's rather the point; I need to get through it to discover some creativity I didn't know I had. Or something!
 
I think this is definitely the stage where you need to stick with it. A bad case of gas is only going to take you off playing with new gear rather than dialing in with the current camera.

Contrast is easily sorted, a small bump in the software goes a long way.

6-1 I like but does need more contrast I think.

6-3 I like the swans reflection but the whole frame is a bit empty with a fairly small subject a bit too central for my taste.

6-4 the ideas there but those trees obscure the castle to the point of having to go look for it. Not sure if it might work further up the hill? It's funny how the eye and brain sort out the noise from the tree when in a place but within the photo it's hard to differentiate.
 
Thanks Steven. I'll certainly not change the lens but not yet sure about changing the camera.

6-1 has already had bot an S-curve for contrast AND a boost on the contrast slider; I just clicked them both off and the original was completely insipid. Might have a look at the negative tomorrow.

6-3 yes, I should have been lower and closer... although with a 40mm lens that's getting quite close with a swan that's coming towards me, so maybe look for a safer shot!

6-4 maybe in the morning with some strong light from the left onto the castle, might show it up more behind the trees and make a bit more of a feature of it? Pretty sure there was more cloud action than is showing up in these shots, too. Not terribly impressed with this Hoya yellow filter I got...
 
I did consider suggesting getting lower and closer but then I remembered the subject! Quite close enough!
 
So, onwards and upwards! I batched up a set of 4 films, ready on the doormat from Peak last week, but that then meant a marathon scanning, and they need a bit of time to marinate before choosing some. I'm still not happy with the exposure; I had the TriX at around 250 but for some reason in the later films I changed that up to 320. The negs don't look dark at all, and the scans were very flat and needed quite a contrast boost (with Aperture curves rather than the contrast slider) before they came alive.

7-1) One of several too-late suburbia candidates!
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7-2) A better alternative than the one I entered?

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7-3) I was looking for something that really showed a suburban street, up-market style). This came closest...

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7-4) Intrigued by these boat prows in Fisherow... came past the next day and all the boats were in the harbour rather than on the quay!

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7-5) Finally, most of my shots of this wee fella have been with the X10, which does a great job, but I couldn't resist a couple with the CL. It's tricky as near-focus is just rubbish; you end up moving the camera rather than the focus tab, but I liked this one. First grandchild at a few days old, very distracting...

1504ALCLBW21.jpg

The soft release button I bought has improved the shooting experience quite a lot... more like squeezing a trigger than jabbing at a button I can't properly feel!
 
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