FishyFish's Contact Sheets

Contact Sheet #44

A roll of Agfa APX 100 (AKA Kentmere 100, I think) shot through my Sure Shot Supreme. Although I'm pretty sure that my temps and times were correct (as dictated by the Massive Dev Chart) these look overdeveloped to me. Some of them have ended up with a nice gritty, grainy feel that I like nonetheless, but it wasn't my original intent. I'll have to see how the next rolls turn out - I have four more to shoot.

Canon Sure Shot Supreme
Agfa APX 100
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10.5mins @ 20°



2020-07-11 Canon Sure Shot Supreme Agfa APX 100
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Contrasty contact sheet!

Frame 24 is a boomer. Brill! I have Fay Godwin's book which (for me) shows that she was just a plain genius photographer whether she wanted her photos on display or not. The work she did with selfies and mirrors was incredible and it's great to see similar instinctive work here. Big thumbs up. Cut those heads off and be damned!!!

Frame 37 looks juicy too which makes me chuckle because "no frames left but it's a cracker".

Do a proper book. I'd buy it.
 
Just to add because this is a forum for normal photographers...

Frame 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 25, 27, 30, 31 & 34. "Great shot".
 
Thanks Ian. I only have one of Fay Godwin's books (The Edge of the Land) and I don't think she has any selfies in that one. Any recommendations on her other books (assuming they cost less than their weight in gold as most out-of-print photo books tend to!)?

When I saw the mirror in #24 I knew there was some sort of shot to be had. I didn't want it to be a selfie especially, but there was no avoiding it if I wanted a decent composition. Cutting the other guys head off was deliberated, but I which I'd cut my own off more as I think it would have made for a nicer symetry.

#20 is one of my favourites. You can't really see it in the contact sheet above, but there's a leading line that curves through the entire shot takeing you to a pair of feet just leaving the scene. The arrow on the floow points towards them too.


Left past the crane
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Contact Sheet #45

A roll of Portra 400 consisting mostly of street portraits. I'm planning on one of those "One hundred portraits of stragers" things, but these are the only ones I've made so far. It was mostly surred on by the need to get a picture for July's Film Photographer of the Year theme of "Stranger Portrait". Most of these turned out pretty well given my lack of experience in making portraits, and even greater lack of confidence in approaching people to make them! I missed focus on #4 & #12 unfortunately. I've also got a somewhat unflattering reflected selfie in #4.

I couldn't resist the shot of the cafe at the start of the roll. :)

Yashica Mat 124G
Kodak Portra 400



2020-07-11 Yashica Mat 124G Kodak Portra 400
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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Contact Sheet #46

A full roll shot while out for a walk with my wife a few weeks ago. It was an afternoon of bright, contrasty light. The sort of light that is supposed to be bad for photography. But how else are you to capture bright, hot summer afternoons unless you shoot your photos during them? Sometimes it's about tailoring your photography for the conditions you have I think.

Yashica Mat 124G
Ilford HP5+



2020-07-21 Yashica Mat 124G Ilford Delta 400
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
2 and 8 really work for me from sheet #45, probably because of the backgrounds.

With sheet #45 I know what you are getting at with shooting in bright contrasty conditions but I'm not sure that B&W really makes the most of the atmosphere however #6 stands out for me
 
2 and 8 really work for me from sheet #45, probably because of the backgrounds.

With sheet #45 I know what you are getting at with shooting in bright contrasty conditions but I'm not sure that B&W really makes the most of the atmosphere however #6 stands out for me

Thanks Chris. #2 from the portraits was my second choice for the comp mostly because of the distinctive background. I like #8 too, even though he's not looking at the camera (perhaps despite it in fact).

I don't mind B&W for the sunny shots. It becomes about the contrast with no colour to distract. That said, I'm happy to shoot colour in these circumstances too. :)
 
I only have one of Fay Godwin's books (The Edge of the Land) and I don't think she has any selfies in that one.

Lol, I got confused... Vivian Maier was what I meant...

I'm not a fan of stranger portraits. I think it's because I really don't see the point. I get candid portraits, and street photography of people and their faces, but just taking formal portraits of strangers... I don't get it. Don't get me wrong, they're great images, but it's not something that appeals to me. It often feels like it's more about the bravery of asking than the photography. Anyway, what do I know?

Much prefer the B&W set... Love the composition of #9
 
Contact Sheet #47

A few shots taken while out on a walk with my better half, and then the rest shot on a trip to North Leverton Windmill. The fixed focal length lens on the Zeiss didn't help matters as the mill is surrounded by hedgeros that somewhat limit where you can stand to make a photograph. I think frame #6 and #11 are my favourites (although the sail is very close to the edge of the frame in #1). I'm also fond of the egg cupboard. :)

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16
Ilford Delta 400
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°



2020-06-24,25 Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524-16 Ilford Delta 400
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
4 & 12 for me. 12 Especially. Love the sense of scale and how such a large structure can still feel lost in the landscape. Really like 8 too as it appeals to my sense of humour. Never seen an image that makes me think a windmill is peeking over a hedge before!
 
4 & 12 for me. 12 Especially. Love the sense of scale and how such a large structure can still feel lost in the landscape. Really like 8 too as it appeals to my sense of humour. Never seen an image that makes me think a windmill is peeking over a hedge before!

Sorry for the late response!

There will be more windmill photos to come soon, albeit in 135 format. :)
 
Contact Sheet #48

Most of the shots here were taken on the same day as contact sheet #47, with alternative and smaller format versions of the windmill and a number of images of West Burton power station. In fact all the shots, with the exception of #1-#4, and #33-37, were made during the trip to and from the windmill.

One thing I've learned is that developing film on a hot day when it's difficult to keep the temperature of the developer low is something to be avoided if possible. The temp crept up to 22.5 degrees and, despite consulting Ilfords compensation table for the film and shortening the dev time, I managed to cock it up and overdevelop the film. It's definitely not a write-off, but not what I'd planned.

Oh, and I'm giving the cat a tickle, not trying to hold it in place while making the picture. :D

Canon Sure Shot Supreme
Ilford HP5+
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7:45mins @ 22.5°



2020-07-23,26 + 08-08 Canon Sure Shot Supreme Ilford HP5+
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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Love the hiding windmill (14) and I really like the look of 16. 21 looks like it would make a nice pano too.

lol at holding the cat down. I'd be bleeding if that was one of ours.
 
Love the hiding windmill (14) and I really like the look of 16. 21 looks like it would make a nice pano too.

I like #16 a lot too. It might be my favourite from the roll.


Windmill and fence
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

lol at holding the cat down. I'd be bleeding if that was one of ours.

I was tickling his belly, despite how it appears. I still have all my fingers to prove it m'lud! :D
 
Contact Sheet #49

Again, a direct continuation of the previous two contact sheets, with more photos of West Burton, plus a few taken at a couple of stops on the way home in North Wheatley and Retford. The final three shots were taken to use up the roll at a later date.

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16
Shanghai GP3 (expired)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 10mins @ 24°



2020-07-25,31 Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524-16 Shanghai GP3
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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There's a Photography Books thread floating around and @Retune mentioned Feininger's "The Complete Photographer" which I ordered off a quote that he inserted into the thread. It's fab (so far), and when I read that 'documentary' was "reading or depicting in an artistic form", I thought of your work. Factual, representative photographs can be boring unless they are presented in an artistic [pleasing] way. To do this requires (I believe) a modicum of talent - moreso in black & white.

Feininger also talks about "Creative-Interpretative Photography" whose purpose is to 'stimulate and enrich the mind'. That is a perfect description for some photos I see that I really like but can't sometimes put it into words the reason why. Frames 1 & 12 drop perfectly into that category for me. Looking back through your thread (we're 2/3 of the way through the year now) that is a common theme throughout.

(y)
 
There's a Photography Books thread floating around and @Retune mentioned Feininger's "The Complete Photographer" which I ordered off a quote that he inserted into the thread. It's fab (so far), and when I read that 'documentary' was "reading or depicting in an artistic form", I thought of your work. Factual, representative photographs can be boring unless they are presented in an artistic [pleasing] way. To do this requires (I believe) a modicum of talent - moreso in black & white.

Feininger also talks about "Creative-Interpretative Photography" whose purpose is to 'stimulate and enrich the mind'. That is a perfect description for some photos I see that I really like but can't sometimes put it into words the reason why. Frames 1 & 12 drop perfectly into that category for me. Looking back through your thread (we're 2/3 of the way through the year now) that is a common theme throughout.

(y)

Thanks Ian. :)

My choice of things to photograph tends to be pretty impromptu. I rarely plan shots beyond choosing a location and then seeing what turns up (although if I find somewhere with scope, I'll sometimes return again, or I make mental notes of things that I'm unable to shoot at the time). For individual photos it's almost always a case of just seeing something and then thinking "that's a photo", framing it up and making the picture. I'm pretty freeform in how I choose my shots and it tends to be reactive as and when I see things.

I think part of it comes down to the fact that I'm far more drawn to photographs than photography itself. I have an ever growing pile of photobooks, but barely any books on technique. Looking at other people's photos provides me with inspiration to make my own images but also, I think, imprints certain ways of looking at things into my mind. So when I'm out with the camera it's like a kind of facial-recognition system where certain scenes jump out at me almost automatically. Whether they're any good or not is another matter. :)
 
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Contact Sheet #50

A roll of "expired" Fuji Velvia 100 that I bought from ebay for just over a quid. It wasn't boxed, so I had no idea on it's actual expiry date or how it might have been stored. I wasn't sure about how to expose it, so I ended up shooting it at 80asa and relying on the OM-2n's meter. I'm very happy with the results - although they did take some jiggery-pokery in Lightrom and Photoshop to get them to closely match how the transparencies looked to my eye. One thing I learned is that Velvia has attained the nickname "Redvia" when it comes to scanning it, as it produces notable red tones in the shadows. I removed this with a curves adjustment in Photoshop and they look much better as a result.

I've bought some more expired Velvia 100 off the back of these results. Although still far cheaper than new stuff, it was sadly not just over a quid per roll. :)

Olympus OM-2n
Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8
Fujichrome Velvia 100 (expired?)



2020-08-02 Olympus OM-2n Fujichrome Velvia 100
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
PP work looks cracking - only a hint of Redvia! I wish my Velvia images looked like this - expired or not! I've stepped away from it now to Provia (and hopefully Ektachrome) to provide realistic colour.

31 & 32 look nice & muted. Almost "antique" in their look. Nice.
 
PP work looks cracking - only a hint of Redvia! I wish my Velvia images looked like this - expired or not! I've stepped away from it now to Provia (and hopefully Ektachrome) to provide realistic colour.

31 & 32 look nice & muted. Almost "antique" in their look. Nice.

Thanks Ian. It was the slightly faded look of the flowers that attracted me to make the shots. They're in a Georgian-style window in a pub and probably get direct sunlight for at least some of the day. I liked how one of the bunches appeared to be wilting.


Wilt
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

The beige curtains and nets in another pub window (plus the sign!) caught my eye in a similar way later on:

Crazy blonde by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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If you get any better at this no one will believe it's film, let alone random old Velvia off ebay :D

Liking 36 too, the red post box against the green door is a pleasing combination

Thanks Chris.

I'd hapily shoot Velvia 100 every chance I got based on these initial results. Sadly you need to have the income of Elon Musk to buy a single roll of the fresh stuff. :D

Unfortunately, #36 is the one shot from the roll where I missed focus a bit - although it looks ok if you don't view it too large:


What's that secret you're keeping
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Contact Sheet #51

Ever wondered what photos from a cheap disposable camera, past it's expiry date, shot mostly on a day of miserable rainy weather (although, hey! it's waterproof, so why not?), and... with a faulty lens that makes double images? Well, look no further, I've saved you the bother. :D

They don't look too bad at this scale, but believe me, you don't want to see them any bigger.

s***ty Kodak Splash disposable with a knackered lens


2020-08-16,20 Kodak Splash disposable camera
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Thinking about it, could the weird double image be due to the waterproof case. May be it wasn't wet enough? :)
 
Thinking about it, could the weird double image be due to the waterproof case. May be it wasn't wet enough? :)

I did wonder about that - I believe that specialist cameras have systems to counter refraction when shooting through water. However, I've seen pictures taken with this same model out of water that look fine. It's almost certainly designed to allow people to take snapshots in the sea or swimming pools rather than Jaques Cousteau-type images of schools of hammerhead sharks. :D
 
Contact Sheet #52

A disappointing roll of Provia 400, mostly down to two things:

  1. The first 10 shots were taken on a rushed outing to Higger Tor in the Peak District one evening after work when the weather looked nice. I wasn't paying proper attention to what I was doing (because I was rushing) and buggered up a lot of the exposures. There were a lot of people around on the tor that evening, so I was often forced to get a shot set up and taken before one of them wandered inadvertently into the frame. #6, #9, & #10 are a particular mess. I quite like #4, #7 & #8 though - the latter is the best from the roll, closely followed by #15 I think.
  2. Scanning them was a proper pain in the ar$e. Fresh from my success with the roll of Velvia 100, I had good expectations, but the roll just looked awful when scanned. In the end I reverted to Epson Scan as it seemed to give me better results than Vuescan. They took a lot of fiddling with in Lightroom and Photoshop to get close to how the transparencies look, and many of them are still lacking by a considerable amount.

Bronica ETRSi
Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8
Fujichrome Provia 400 (expired 2014)



2020-08-23 Bronica ETRSi Fujichrome Provia 400
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Contact Sheet #53

Just as I felt like I was catching up with these, I've slipped behind again, with (at present) another 13 rolls as yet unfeatured.

This roll is a slightly random "I had some time to go out and make photographs and didn't want to waste it" type thing. I just got in the car and went for a drive, following roads I've not driven before to see what I might find. Shot's #9-#14 where made a place called Cuckney, where I have been before, although not via the route I took on this occasion. The final shot was taken on the edge of Clumber Park.

The first three shots were made prior to the outing. :)


Bronica ETRSi
Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8
Fomapan 100



2020-08-23 Bronica ETRSi Fomapan 100
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Bah, missed alerts...

I really like the warmth in the Provia 400, but I know how annoying it is to not have the pohoto look like you want it to. It's one of the things about colour film photography that almost makes me want to go back to digital + presets. Almost... :cool:

Really like the social documentary in the Bronnie contact sheet. Something really optimistic about that last frame.
 
Contact Sheet #54

A bit of an informal walkabout around Chesterfield id featured in this roll, triggered by the desire to shoot my Minolta SRT 101b again - which has sat unused for a few months - and also to see what the results would be from a roll of Kodak Tri-X Pan would be like - and yes, I said Tri-X PAN, not plain old modern Tri-X. I've no real idea how old this film is. The cannister design is different to the new stuff, and the plastic film cannister had a sticker on the top stating what was contained within. I've no idea when that packaging design was discontinued. Anyway, I conservatively estimated it to be around 20 years expired and shot it a stop over at 200asa. Devloped in my usual DD-X the results were great, the only downside being that the roll coiled up tighter than a striking viper, making it a bit of a pain in the backside to get them into the holders for scanning - even after 24 hours being squashed under a big pile of heavy books! Thankfully I was using the Plustek holder, not the Epson one, otherwise I might have rage-quit...


Minolta SRT 101b
Rokkor 50mm f/1.7
Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired circa 2000-ish)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°



2020-08-31 Minolta SRT 101b Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2000-ish)
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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Is that a twisted spire in 27/28? Whilst 28 shows it off really well, I prefer 27 and the connection to the zig zags. Really like frame 7 too. Lovely light.
 
Is that a twisted spire in 27/28? Whilst 28 shows it off really well, I prefer 27 and the connection to the zig zags. Really like frame 7 too. Lovely light.

Yeah, it's the Crooked Spire. Chesterfield is famous for it and numerous businesses and organisations in the area use it as part of their branding. I think the football club's fans are known as "Spire-ites" too.

The light on that day was lovely. You can't really go wrong when the light is nice like that.
 
Contact Sheet #55

I like to try and give all my cameras an outing every so often so they don't fall into disrepair, and it had been over six months since the Sure Shot Z135 had seen a roll of film (although I have other cameras that have sat on the shelf for longer). So this is a roll of two halves: The first shot (mostly) on a walk around chesterfield - the same outing as when I shot sheet #54; The second half on a day trip to Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast. This was the first roll in a long time where I've forgone the scanning services of Filmdev and instead scanned at home and converted the negatives using the Grain2Pixel Photoshop plugin (which works pretty well, but still requires some tweaking dependent on the film stock used).


Canon Sure Shot Z135
Kodak Gold 200
Plustek Opticfilm 8100 scan and Grain2Pixel conversion



2020-08-31 & 9-11 Canon Sure Shot Z135 Kodak Gold 200
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr


Dentist's window
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr


Semi-detatched
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
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Contact Sheet #56

A roll of HP5+ pushed two stops and shot mostly in St. Mary & All Saints church in Chesterfield (a famous "Crooked Spire") and around the edge of Chesterfield town centre, but preceded by a few macro images I made at home. The roll is a little short because I've removed some family photos from the contact sheet.


Nikon F80
Ilford HP5+ (@1600)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°



2020-09-20 Nikon F80 Ilford HP5+ (@1600)
by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr
 
Notifications have failed me again Nige. Great work as usual. I really love Kodak Gold and could easily shoot that as my only colour film.

That HP5 looks nice at 1600 too. How did the DDX treat the grain? I'm too cheap to use it as a developer at that dilution, but it gets extremely good reviews.
 
Notifications have failed me again Nige. Great work as usual. I really love Kodak Gold and could easily shoot that as my only colour film.

That HP5 looks nice at 1600 too. How did the DDX treat the grain? I'm too cheap to use it as a developer at that dilution, but it gets extremely good reviews.

Thank Ian. I‘ve been getting some nice results from Kodak Gold recently by scanning at home using the Plustek and Vuescan and then using Grain2Pixel to convert them. I still need to tweak them further, but I’m getting much higher rez scans than I was getting from Filmdev.

HP5+ looks great when pushed using DD-X. The grain is still unobtrusive and the film holds shadow detail and highlights very well. It’s a more expensive developer, but in the context of me getting B&W lab development as I used to, it’s still a lot cheaper, so I don’t mind the cost too much given the results I get.
 
Interesting. I used Rodinal exclusively in 2019, and have been using HC-110 all this year. After a year's use, I much prefer HC-110 and was going to leave it at that. Maybe I should try a bottle of DDX. Shooting P3200 at 1600 or HP5 at 1600 still results in quite significant grain with either of the developers I've tried. And I occasionally get grumpy with the grain on HP5 at 400.
 
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