Ian's Contact Sheets

[sirch]

TBH I like the look of the over exposed shots, the ethereal glow is quite appealing

 

[Harlequin565]

I'm curious about the horizontal branches in #6. Are they from a fallen tree or something?

Yep. It's a trail through woodland that used to be alongside and old railway so it doesn't get maintained like proper woodland and feels almost forgotten. Much of my Nomfup project - esp the out takes were taken in these woods.

I really like Washi F and Z. I know Lomig doesn't make that much of it, but I really enjoyed his interview on PhotoGeeks (https://filmphotogeeks.libsyn.com/film-washi-interview-with-lomig-perrotin)

I did a couple of prints today too. Really happy with them.

 

[Harlequin565]

2 more...

1st up a present from AG who scanned my E-6. Perfectly clean this time. This was a bit of comfort photography really as I do like the autumn colours. Pentax 645n and the 75mm.

Some looks at "Fire", another attempt at the Tree Signs zine-copy-project from Allan, my daily walk in autumn, and someone's homework. I quote - in summary of the anglo-saxons - "The anglo saxons were very bad people who fought all the time and lived in smelly places with their animals". There's places like that round our neck of the woods today!!

Dissappointed with the leaf shots (6 & 7) because all it would have taken would have been to have removed the similarly coloured leaves from the frame.

THyen I got a hankering for a macro lens and realised that when I've tried one (twice now) it's sat on the shelf until it's been sold. I bought a Raynox DCR-250 a long time ago which is plenty good enough, but I've never tried it with film. So with my new found confidence in DD-X to deliver decent pics at high ISO, I chucked a roll into the 1v and started taking pics of things in low light.



It's not proper macro, but definitely close-up. Very difficult to hold still too and razor thin DoF which has spoiled the cat photos sadly. Quite liked the lens shots and the watch shots, and I now have *another* portrait of Monkey. The litle 40mm EF STM lens is very handy. I do like the 40mm FoV - I bought the Bessa R3A just for it - and the little Canon pancake is very portable.

 

[FishyFish]

So, given your results so far, is the additional cost per roll using DD-X worth it do you think?

I'm always a little envious as to how other 645 cameras manage 16 frames per roll, yet my Bronica ETRSi only allows 15.

 

[Harlequin565]

So, given your results so far, is the additional cost per roll using DD-X worth it do you think?

Yes.

I picked up another bottle. I've spent a lot of time with HC-110 on some films (Konica, Washi and Rollei specifically) to not want to change, but with it's still long shelf life, I can just use it for those occasional times when I choose those unusual films. For my Ilford films though - Ortho Plus, Delta 100 and HP5 Plus, I'll almost certainly use DD-X.

The one caveat is P3200. I have quite a few rolls of that because when it was released it had a relatively short life and many shops are selling it off reduced because it expired Dec-19. The last real test is finding something I can shoot at 3200 for when gigs become something that one can attend again. I've not pushed 35mm HP5 to 3200 and Delta 3200 is quite expensive, but none of it matters because worst case I can default back to HC-110 and not worry about how long it's been in the cupboard.

Cost isn't a concern for me. As you pointed out, it's still cheaper than lab dev and highly likely to be better, because I suspect the labs use D76 or some other powdered stuff. DD-X is a very "gentle" developer and the grain reproduction is brilliant. At 400 it's hardly visible vs HC-110 which is "annoying" vs Rodinal which is "terrible". At higher ISOs, you'd be expecting grain, and whilst HC-110 is a country mile more acceptable than Rodinal, DD-X beats them both into a cocked hat.

IMO of course....

 

[Harlequin565]

2 rolls of Lomochrome Purple back from AG.

I won't show their scans because they were utterly terrible. I contacted them about it and they said that they provided no guarantees with colour shifted film. They have a warning about it on their site (somewhere!). Lesson learned and I think that will be the last roll of film I send to AG. At least the Lomo Purple that went to Filmdev came back looking as though someone had tried to get it right.




I had an email this week about someone wanting another copy of my 13 seconds zine and after flipping through it, it made me want to give it another go. So I took a few ICM, 1 second exposure. Being a Cure fan, 17 Seconds sounds like a good evolution and is the next prime number... Also have a "Passanger Project" of slow shutter expsoures whilst being a passenger and got a couple more. Finally, the EOS-30 developed an issue where the mirror/shutter would lock, requiring a power reset by opening and closing the battery door to fix. A rocket blower in the battery compartment seems to have fixed it (fingers crossed) but I ended up with some double exposures and completely blown frames.

Not an entirely wasted couple of rolls though.

 

[Mr Badger]

Do you think it might be worth trying fresh batteries in your EOS 30, if you've not done so already? Sometimes a cell can develop a fault that shows good voltage but dies under current load such as when powering the shutter and mirror. Other than that it's probably a trip to Miles for it, or a replacement while they're still fairly cheap - I bought a spare one last year when I saw one going for a song on eBay.

 

[FishyFish]

It's a shame you didn't get the results you'd hoped for from the scans Ian, but those ICM shots look very distinctive and eye-catching. The double exposure is nice too.

I've accidentally discovered this evening that you can make double-exposures on the Plustek by setting it to double-pass and them moving the negative holder while it gets ready for the 2nd pass. I didn't mean to do it, but it might be something worthy of further investigation.

Or it'll break my scanner...

 

[Harlequin565]

Do you think it might be worth trying fresh batteries in your EOS 30,

1st thing I tried sadly. I have a standing watch on eBay, but after resigning myself to selling it on (as not working) I thought I would probably just keep the 1v. It feels like a much more solid camera and I don't use the eye-AF. It doesn't owe me anything because after I sold the 2 lenses it came with, it ended up cositng me a bit less than £0. Downside is that I spent a can of lighter fuel and a couple of hours scrubbing at the grip material to remove the tackiness and it does feel nice in the hand.

After fiddling with it, I fired the shutter a *lot* without having a problem, and haven't had it since, so I'm hoping it was maybe a bit of grit under one of the contacts...

It's a shame you didn't get the results you'd hoped for from the scans Ian, but those ICM shots look very distinctive and eye-catching. The double exposure is nice too.

I think my issue was having to rescan both films after paying for AG to do it. I've got a preset now set in LR to tweak it from a standard scan, so decided to keep the other 2 rolls and complete a "17 seconds" project. Might work well with all the Christmas lights at the moment.

 

[Mr Badger]

1st thing I tried sadly. I have a standing watch on eBay, but after resigning myself to selling it on (as not working) I thought I would probably just keep the 1v. It feels like a much more solid camera and I don't use the eye-AF. It doesn't owe me anything because after I sold the 2 lenses it came with, it ended up cositng me a bit less than £0. Downside is that I spent a can of lighter fuel and a couple of hours scrubbing at the grip material to remove the tackiness and it does feel nice in the hand.

After fiddling with it, I fired the shutter a *lot* without having a problem, and haven't had it since, so I'm hoping it was maybe a bit of grit under one of the contacts...

In that case I'd hang on to it and give it another chance (perhaps with a test film loaded) and see how you go. As you know, I've got an EOS-3 (with power drive if I want it) but it's the compact size and light weight of the EOS-30 (and 30v) that I like (plus the fact it does most of what the EOS-3 and EOS 1v will do, apart from keep the weather out and survive a thermonuclear attack!).

The weight and size issue sounds like a minor concern until you think about attending an F&C locals meet-up (or other such photography day out), when you probably want to take along two or three cameras (each with different film), then the weight and bulk factor kicks in! Your EOS 30 with that 40mm pancake will be ideal for that sort of thing, even as an accompaniment to your 1v and zoom (as you can swap lenses between them and shoot different film in each). So do think twice before passing it on, especially if it's not cost you a penny.

 

[Harlequin565]

So on Saturday I managed to grab a couple of hours to go out, so I took the 6x17 to Delamere. It was sunny when I set out and by the time I got there, I had about 2 hours of daylight left. Because it was sunny, I decided on IR using SFX and Rollei 400 with a Zomei filter. I am going to order a red filter I think because the exposures were all over the place and I was feeling rushed because of vanishing daylight.

The Zomei is about 8 stops on my X-T2 so adjusting for reciprocity my exposures were mostly between 20 seconds and 2 minutes.

Mistake #1 - rating the Rollei at 200.
Mistake #2 - drinking wine while developing one of the rolls of SFX and somehow tipping the dev out, stopping, and getting 2 minutes into the fix before realising I'd only developed for 4 of the 9 minutes... Don't drink and dev. Lesson learned.

I think I over rated the filter as what I did properly was over exposed. Either that or the reciprocity is wrong. That's the problem when you have too many variables.

Aaaaanyway.... In order of taking.... The Rollei. I reckon this is about 4 stops over. What you see here has been pulled back 2 stops in post processing. With 1 stop for over exposiing incorrectly, and 1-2 stops because the reciprocity compounded the issue I'm left thinking the filter is probably 7 stops. Frames 2&4 have the flare which I thought I'd masked with my hand. Frame 1 had branches that were way too close and are thus OOF - even at around f/22. Frame 3 is just boring.

Rollei 400IR in HC-110(B) for 9 mins. Correct dev, incorrect exposures. Le sigh.


Next are the 2 SFX rolls.

This is the one that was way under developed. It's been relatively rescued but thinking about it, choosing IR wasn't a sensible move. The sky was only the lightest shade of blue so has hardly darkened down at all. The compositions are pants too. No subject. Not interesting.

Ilford SFX 200, Incorrectly developed for 4 minutes instead of 9. Because incompetent.


I took the filter off after the first shot because the light had almost gone. 2nd shot is the same scene without the filter. Again, both are boring compositions. Only frames 3 & 4 came out ok, with 4 being my favourite from the day. The winding path through the forest was really pleasing.


All in all, a bit of a disaster, all of which could have been avoided with a bit more thinking and less rushing. Note to self - If I want to rush, I'll just take one of the auto-EOS bodies. On a brighter note, I sat down last night to make my contact sheet book. With these ones included, I've shot 113 rolls of film this year (to date) of which 88 are black & white. Definitely quantity over quality! In 2019 I shot 90 which is surprising because I had a big photography shaped void in July-August-September.



Favourite cameras are the EOS-30 (20 rolls) with the 645n at 18 rolls. Favourite films are Tri-X (23 rolls from the on sale bulk roll I got from AW last Nov) and HP5 Plus (20 rolls).
19 cameras used, with 3 being sold through the year. I like stats.

I'll be doing this again in 2021 but I don't think I'll document it here. I have a notebook to keep notes in now and it's better organised for finding stuff.

Thanks to all of you who have commented. I know Chris kinda dropped out, but it was really interesting to see it while it lasted. Seeing Nige's work through the year has been a bit of a treat too.

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Ian,

I've been quite fascinated by your contact sheets, especially as most of the images are shot in the area local to me. I too struggle with compositions in Delamere Forest!

113 rolls of film is quite impressive, Thats possibly more shots than I've taken across both film and digital this year! My return to film has definitely been at a slow pace!!

 

[sirch]

I think #2 from the Rollei 400IR is nicely composed and has good depth, is that lens flare just right of center?

I empathise and know the feeling well of finding myself with a few hours and rushing to make the most of it. As something of a follow-on from the notebook thread, one thing I have started doing this year is writing down things that I could do, it's partly a response to lock-down and not being able to do "normal" things but I think it is something I will continue to do. So I make a note of something I could do, e.g. shoot IR, then over days or weeks I add very brief thoughts about things like what gear I would need, etc and that might feed ideas of things that I could check or try out before I actually do the whatever it is, e.g. research reciprocity for the film. This way when I have some spare time I can look at the ideas, pick one and know that I am at least somewhat prepared.

 

[Harlequin565]

I think #2 from the Rollei 400IR is nicely composed and has good depth, is that lens flare just right of center?

Yep.

 

[Boots]

Ian, I really enjoy seeing your work. As a sometime IR photographer, mostly with an unconverted digital camera with a lump of welder's glass on the front, I can understand and share your issues with composition, exposure and general rushing.

Please keep up the good work!

 

[Stegosaurus]

I'm impressed by your output. A few years ago, I decided to attempt a film a week and failed dismally!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Thanks to all of you who have commented.

I would comment on these contact sheet threads but I find the 'contact sheets' impossible to judge on a desktop screen. Probably be OK on a tablet which can be reorientated.

 

[Harlequin565]

As part of a test, I've just shot a roll of HP5+ at 3200 alongside some TMAX P3200 to see what the difference is. This is the HP5 result. I think the P3200 will be my last roll of the year.

I shot this in the EOS-1v mostly with the 40mm f/2.8 and in some cases a Raynox. Negs have appeared in a bit of a random order.
In DD-X, at 35mm, HP5 Plus is infinitely useable at 3200 (3 stop push) and to my eye looks like what I'd get shooting at 800 and dev'ing in Rodinal. Very curious to see what the P3200 will do and am unsure what to develop it in to provide a comparison.



Cats paw, frame 5 or 6. Really just trying to show the grain which is more visible in those zone 2-4 areas.



With my experience with P3200 I very much doubt it will hold a candle to this. Got to say, that Nige's contact sheets and results with DD-X have turned it into my new favourite developer. Maybe the next stop will be a 6400 test.


Resolution by Ian, on Flickr

 

[Boots]

That looks excellent; really useable negs.

Any processing tips, or did you just give it the recommended 20 min at 20 degrees

Maybe the next stop will be a 6400 test.

That looks to be off-piste according to the data sheet. What processing time would you give that?

 

[Harlequin565]

Any processing tips, or did you just give it the recommended 20 min at 20 degrees

Yep 20 minutes at 20 degrees as per MDC. MDC also reckons multiplying the time by 1.3 for every stop if there's no measurement, so 26 minutes would be my ball park.

 

[FishyFish]

Apart from the utter tedium of 20mins developing (not counting the stop, fix, and wash!) I was really pleased with my results using 120 format HP5+ at 3200asa. It's good to see your 35mm results - they look great, with gorgeous blacks and creamy tones. I think pushed HP5+ will be my go to for any situations where I'm likely to need to shoot handheld in low light. Shooting P3200 at box speed gave me pretty grainy results when I tried it last time, and I prefer the smoother tones that HP5+ gives even when pushed beyond recomendations.

 

[Harlequin565]

. Shooting P3200 at box speed gave me pretty grainy results

I've just literally hung my P3200 up to dry and I think I can tell by the negs that it's not as good. Which is very dissappointing because that's ten rolls in the fridge I'm unlikely to use.

 

[Boots]

Which is very dissappointing because that's ten rolls in the fridge I'm unlikely to use.

I'm sure if you advertise them for sale here, you'll get a reasonable price.

 

[Harlequin565]

This is my P3200. As I mentioned in the comparison thread, there isn't much in the way of deep blacks in the shadows which is something I really like. I did get some useful comparisons though, and there is no need for me to sell it all on, because I do quite like "the look" of it vs HP5.

Shot at 3200 and developed in DD-X for 11 minutes. MDC has 2 times - 9 & 11 minutes and after doing a bit of research, it felt tlike 11 minutes was the way to go.



Very useable in poor light, and absolutely nothing that I find offensive. It is expensive though and vs HP5, I can't see a justification for buying any more of it.

Just popped a roll of Washi Z out so there may still be a couple more rolls to do this year.

 

[Boots]

To my eyes the grain looks pretty similar between the TMax and the HP5+, but the Ilford film looks more punchy. At almost twice the price, I struggle to know why I would get the TMax (especially as I like punchy contrast).

 

[Harlequin565]

To my eyes the grain looks pretty similar between the TMax and the HP5+, but the Ilford film looks more punchy. At almost twice the price, I struggle to know why I would get the TMax (especially as I like punchy contrast).

If I was tied in to Rodinal I'd consider it. Also I have no idea what developers the labs use for B&W so your lab might give you poor results when pushing HP5 (or worse than what I've done here).

I do really think DD-X is quite a magical soup.

 

[Harlequin565]

Washi-Z that I thought I'd shoot in sunlight. What was I thinking. Even a red filter couldn't make it work.

All on my M6 with the tiny 35mm Voigtlander f/2 Ultron.


I don't know much about where the best place to find IR light is. Sunny days are going to be better, but I wonder if winter sun has less IR than summer sun? 1 dead frame at the beginning of the roll, and 1 shutter misfire with the lens cap on. I picked up a couple more rolls of Rollei IR before Christmas just to compare, because I'm really not getting what I want out of this film. It seems rare that I can get those truly dark skies and the halation in the greens that I really like with HIE or Konica 750. Perhaps I should just stick to Washi F which has all that in spades - even if it isn't an IR film.

 

[Harlequin565]

End of year summary... To quote myself from my own OP on page 1...

My intent was to spend the year looking at my contact sheets in order to try and improve my photography. See if I could spot any learning points, or ways of approaching things differently

I don't think my photography has improved. But the biggest learning point for me, is "that's ok". I'm not trying to make a living out of it, I don't even want to "sell fine art prints". I just want to make my own prints that I like to look at.

Starting my own notebook to just keep track of some of my observations over the year has been a really useful tool. I've tried a *lot* of different films in 2020, and that - at least - has helped me realise a few things.

1. Film. I don't need anywhere near the amout of film I actually have. Pretty much everything gets compared to either Delta 100 (for tripod work) or HP5 (for anything else). I really love Tri-X and if it were more affordable, I would spend more time with it. But HP5 is the main competitor to it and is so hugely flexible, especially in DD-X. I really like the new Ortho 80 film too and will probbaly run that alongside Delta 100 going into 2021. My only unsatisfied itch is a decent IR film. SFX 200 and Rollei IR are the only 2 films still being made regularly and neither give me the results I get from my stash of Konica 750 and Kodak HIE.
Colour wise, I've had a pretty bad year. I gave transparency film a good go with Crossbird, Provia, Velvia and E100 all getting trial runs, and I have to say that overall they were "ok". It's the magic of holding a transparency negative that elevates them, but once I evaluated the images as standalone prints, they were all very meh. There isn't a colour film at 400 that I like with the exception of some Agfa Vista 400 that's no longer made so I end up using Lomo 800 in bad light and Gold or Color Plus in good light with POrtra 160 reserved for tripod work. I also don't think I'm a very good colour photographer which doesn't help with enthusiasm when out in the field.

2. Developers. I really though there "wasn't much in it" when I started developing, but that was a serious misconception. I'd even argue that choosing the right developer is more important than the film choice. I don't know what Ilford put into DD-X but it gives me far superior results especially with Ilford film.

3. Cameras. I've sold a few cameras this year and bought 2 more. However I don't really have a desire for any more now. I know my Tomiyama is still in the classifieds, but I really like shooting 6x17 with it. The RB67 is great for slow tripod work, and the 645n is great for run & gun MF. I'm in a love-hate relationship with the Automat and as it was a gift, I think I shall keep it just to carry on trying with it. I do like the square format but square-non-wlf-MF cameras are pretty much exclusively folders and I don't feel the need for a new camera to cover this. I wonder if there's a square back for the RB67...? On 35mm I've got all I need. I could probably sell the T90, but I have a certain fondness for it's ugliness and it's a perfect size for my hands. My M3 hasn't had much use this year, but I can't bear to part with it. I've slimmed down to just the Yashica MInitec and a Sureshot Ace which cover my "compact P&S" needs and the Oly 35RC and Minolta Hi-Matic cover the toy brigade. I may sell my Instamatic 500 because it's a great little camera, and I don't use it because it's a faff to load.

4. Content. It's been difficult this year to do any street photography. Mrs H has been in and out of hospital so we've had to properly isolate for much of the lockdown. Occasionally though I did manage to get out and about but the majority of my photography has been in the same 3km walk. I don't mind it, as there's always something new to look at and it has given me the chance to approach the same subject over and over (and over!) again.
I've made quite a few prints this year, and got at least 2 I'm really very happy with, so as I said in the beginning, I think that's achievement enough. I'm not a beginner photographer, so settling into just enjoying the hobby has been nice.
I'm considering a 52 in 2021. Mainly to get me thinking about subjects I might not think about. I'll enther the FPoTY too for the same reasons. I do find these things to be useful when I get to see others' interpretation of the themes. My vision of the world is nowehere near as good as some people's and that is where I think I can gain the most improvement. In terms of the technical aspect of photography I think I have the knowledge to get what I want out of the film/developer/camera combination. But I'm still a beginner at seeing. I think I always will be.

Phew!

 

[Boots]

IR in the winter is, I find, problematic. I took some late January, and there was very little interest, apart from dark skies. The ones which worked best had some wispy clouds, trees with some leaf buds and young crops. Bizarrely concrete structures at a reservoir had some of the best "pop" that day.

That said, frames 9 and 12 of your roll catch my eye, what are they like larger?

 

[Stegosaurus]

I've been reading this thread with interest, although I haven't worked all the way through yet. As far as IR goes, I've found that you only get dark skies and white foliage in full, clear sunshine. The slightest haze in the sky kills the effect. Also, the stronger the filter, the more pronounced the results. My favourite is 850nm. Having said this, I've only done digital IR so far, and I don't know how successful film would be with such a restrictive filter. I have some Rollei IR in the fridge awaiting the right conditions.

 

[Harlequin565]

I've only done digital IR so far, and I don't know how successful film would be with such a restrictive filter

It's a pain in the bum. The problem with film is that you (generally) also have reciprocity to deal with on top of a filter that's 6-9 stops out which adds further complication. I've only managed 2 or 3 really successful IR film images with Rollei/SFX whereas a red filter on HIE or Konca 750 gives fab results. A simple red filter is about 3 stops which means reciprocity and long exposures are far less common. I have an IR Converted X-T1 which gives great results, but I hate the sterile look of digital. It's getting worse as time goes on. I have taken less than 20 pics with my X-T2 this year. My phone gets more use as a camera.

That said, frames 9 and 12 of your roll catch my eye, what are they like larger?

Boring sadly. Compositionally ok, but they're not setting the world on fire.

Frame 9 is now deleted off my drive, but I kept hold of 12.



Lost shadow detail on the RH side despite a 1 stop pull to try and retain it. With it being 400 speed film, I may try pulling it a bit more to 100. As you can see from the soft edged shadows, it wasn't that sunny either. Note in my notebook: "Shoot this on sunny summer days with california blue skies".

 

[Harlequin565]

Almost at the end now. I caught a video on YouTube about the humble Instamatic last week and realised I've put only 2 rolls through my Instamatic 500 all year. Cue lots of swearing in the dark bag as I tried to load the cartridge.

It's not very economical sadly (14 frames out of a 24xp 35mm roll), and whilst I love the square format, the sprocket hole "effect" is wearing thin and I just want a proper square photograph. A brief dalliance on the internet looking for square 35mm shooting cameras (50 frames to a roll dontcha know!) reveals most of them are fugly or stupid expensive.

I was going to sell this, but eBay reckons I might get £50 if I'm lucky and that Schneider lens is too good to just let go. Besides, I actually quite enjoy shooting it, and it's very easy to use. As ytou can tell I've already forgotten what a pain it was to load - although I am getting better.



I scanned in the bottom rebate just for balance but it doesn't add anything to the photo. Frame 9 was a real "doh" moment as I rotated the camera because I had to crouch down really low. Didn't think it would make a difference as "it's square right?" but the sprocket holed down the side proved me wrong. Quite like fram 8 for an interesting take on the same walk I've been doing for years. It's just been very muddy and grey recently. Maybe some snow tomorrow?

 

[Boots]

End of year summary...

So, quite a lot to unpack in there...

I don't think my photography has improved.

I think that any artistic or craft pursuits can be really difficult to identify improvement, just as "Good" and "Bad" are rather irrelevant and unhelpful words. I think there is a progression through your work in the year - it may not always come off, but often we learn more through things which don't work, than the ones which do.

Pretty much everything gets compared to either Delta 100 (for tripod work) or HP5 (for anything else).

I'd even argue that choosing the right developer is more important than the film choice. I don't know what Ilford put into DD-X but it gives me far superior results especially with Ilford film.

If it were not for anything else, surely these two conclusions are very valuable. Certainly the work you have done on testing HP5+ and DD-X is of great help to me, so thank you for that.

My vision of the world is nowhere near as good as some people's

Perhaps, again, the word "Good" doesn't help? Why not say your vision of the world is different to some people's? That's got to be a positive, hasn't it?

Please keep up the good work!

 

[Boots]

my Instamatic 500

Not sure I would have the patience to load the cartridge, and the sprocket holes and edge markings in frame would drive me seriously crazy. You're on you own with that one!

Square format though, there I am keen. Hmm, ponders... not another camera!?

 

[Harlequin565]

Perhaps, again, the word "Good" doesn't help? Why not say your vision of the world is different to some people's? That's got to be a positive, hasn't it?

Honestly, everyone has a different view. Mine is less mature than where I'd like it to be. Occasionally I surprise myself, but all the photographers I admire share that single quality of being able to see the world in a more mature way. And I use the word mature because that's really what it's about. I'm sure that if I keep taking photos, my vision will improve but it's improving at a much slower pace to my technical ability.

I'm not putting myself down here. It's more of a clinical and honest evaluation of my own work. Nine times out of ten my image doesn't get a star because it didn't replicate what I wanted to achieve. And in all cases that's because of poor composition, framing, or simply just not pausing to think about what it is I'm trying to do.

Thanks for your comments Paul. It's much appreciated.

 

[Harlequin565]

Square format though, there I am keen. Hmm, ponders... not another camera!?

The Zeiss Ikon Tenax (v1 or 2) is quite highly regarded and reasonably priced. However the Robot cameras are very unreasonably priced and I believe need a cassette similar to the Instamatic. No sprocket holes though. Same for the Minolta 24 which is the least ugly of the bunch but needs a cassette. My Google-fu search ended there because... I have enough cameras...

 

[Boots]

The Zeiss Ikon Tenax (v1 or 2) is quite highly regarded and reasonably priced.

Thanks Ian... food for thought...



... must resist ...

 

[FishyFish]

I don't think my photography has improved. But the biggest learning point for me, is "that's ok". I'm not trying to make a living out of it, I don't even want to "sell fine art prints". I just want to make my own prints that I like to look at.

Starting my own notebook to just keep track of some of my observations over the year has been a really useful tool. I've tried a *lot* of different films in 2020, and that - at least - has helped me realise a few things.

I'm sure you photography will have improved Ian. I think it's just that it can be difficult to see when you're up close and personal with your own work. It's easy to miss the progression that's made over the course of a year.

Just the act of trying so many different films will have led to improvement in knowing what works and what doesnt. Plus I think that the act of trying out so much stuff can lead to a lot of test shots where your objective is how the film / camera / developer / whatever works. The photos themselves might reflect this "test roll" ourput to some extent as you learn what you like until you settle on something that works for you.

1. Film. I don't need anywhere near the amout of film I actually have. Pretty much everything gets compared to either Delta 100 (for tripod work) or HP5 (for anything else). I really love Tri-X and if it were more affordable, I would spend more time with it. But HP5 is the main competitor to it and is so hugely flexible, especially in DD-X. I really like the new Ortho 80 film too and will probbaly run that alongside Delta 100 going into 2021. My only unsatisfied itch is a decent IR film. SFX 200 and Rollei IR are the only 2 films still being made regularly and neither give me the results I get from my stash of Konica 750 and Kodak HIE.
Colour wise, I've had a pretty bad year. I gave transparency film a good go with Crossbird, Provia, Velvia and E100 all getting trial runs, and I have to say that overall they were "ok". It's the magic of holding a transparency negative that elevates them, but once I evaluated the images as standalone prints, they were all very meh. There isn't a colour film at 400 that I like with the exception of some Agfa Vista 400 that's no longer made so I end up using Lomo 800 in bad light and Gold or Color Plus in good light with POrtra 160 reserved for tripod work. I also don't think I'm a very good colour photographer which doesn't help with enthusiasm when out in the field.

Colour work for me changed when I went back to scanning them myself after relying on Filmdev. I was happy with the output from their scans in terms of colour and so on, but the image dimensions based scan sizes meant medium format was a hard swallow - my ETRSi 5x4.5 scans were smaller than those from 35mm film! Using the Grain2Pixel pluging to convert my own scans changed things a lot and I can now scan at a resolution that I'm happier with. While the plugin isn't perfect by far, I've been pretty happy with my output so far.

While I still shoot other black and white emulsions, I think HP5+ has pretty much cemented itself as my go-to film now and provides the majority of my B&W output. It could be seen as limiting in some ways, but the versatility of the film means it's such a great all-rounder for me.

2. Developers. I really though there "wasn't much in it" when I started developing, but that was a serious misconception. I'd even argue that choosing the right developer is more important than the film choice. I don't know what Ilford put into DD-X but it gives me far superior results especially with Ilford film.

I'm glad you're pleased with DD-X. Unless I decide to have a go with Xtol at home I can't see me changing to anything else. I only bought it originally because it was cheaper than everything else (for a bottle, rather than per-roll) when I was buying my home developing kit. I'm glad I picked it because I'm extremely happy with the results it gives.

Your recent results pushing it in 35mm have been very impressive.

4. Content. It's been difficult this year to do any street photography. Mrs H has been in and out of hospital so we've had to properly isolate for much of the lockdown. Occasionally though I did manage to get out and about but the majority of my photography has been in the same 3km walk. I don't mind it, as there's always something new to look at and it has given me the chance to approach the same subject over and over (and over!) again.

I think this has been a difficulty for most of us to a greater or lesser extent this year, with either locations being out of bounds, or the need to protect ourselves and loved ones restricting activity. Lets keep our fingers crossed for a healthier and happier 2021!

Finally, just want to say thanks for kicking off this thread (and the zine swap), it's been enjoyable, interesting, inspiring and informative.

Happy New Year!

 

[Harlequin565]

Happy New Year!

And to you Nige. And to others who've had a nose in this thread.

 

[Harlequin565]

Last sheet of the year.

HP5 at 6400 which I posted about here so I won't blather on about it.



2 really nice images form the set. Crow T Cat and my microphone.



Happy New Year everyone. Thanks for your comments and support though 2020.