Ian's Contact Sheets

[Harlequin565]

Summary thread here if you want to have a go or join in! https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...oject-idea-for-2020-anyone-interested.703889/

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've got a couple of projects on the back burner at the moment, and one I want to finish. However we had the "redundancy" announcement before Christmas and next week I find out if I still have a job so this idea has been pushed way out to the back of my mind whilst I worry and panic about what happens if I lose my job. 2019 was a crap year, with two close family member bereavements and the redundo announcement at Christmas but photography is what kept me going through it all and it seemed like a stupid idea to stop doing the one thing I enjoy so I could worry a bit more.

The first contact sheet is a roll of Konica 750 IR film I bought off eBay. I've since bought all the other rolls the guy had for sale as I have a project in mind for this too. I have over cooked something here. Not sure if it's the development, or just exposure. I shot the film at ISO 25 (docs recommend 32) with a red filter, with the exception of 2 frames which look pretty bad. With a red filter I'm guessing this is an ISO 8 ish film which means it's tripod time - esp for the 120. A couple of the better shots made it into the Show Us Yer Infrared Shots thread and the Show Us Yer Film Shots thread.

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Ghosts is a project I've been working on since I shot some ISO50 film on an overcast day with a 1 second exposure. I always thought ICM was a bit of a cop out. Wave your camera around and done, but I think there is probably quite a bit of creativity to it. It's one of the fist lessons on my beginners course when we're talking about shutter speed and aperture. Set your camera to Tv, 1 second and go shoot! This particular project documents my daily walk round the village and through the woods so it's easy to do, and as long as it's not too bright, lack of interesting things doesn't matter. It's about shapes, movement, and when I do see people (or their dogs), the occasional ghost!

I'm also using this project to make my first zine, so all the images are in portrait orientation.

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It's frames 15, 16 & 18 that work the best for me. Esp 18 as this lady's dogs are super friendly without the "jump all over you and claw you to death" excitement. I really like the strong dark tree trunk (15) too.

​

That's it for this week. Next week is likely to be my "stay or go" at work so I have no clue what'll happen.

 

[FishyFish]

From the small size of the first contact sheet (the Konica IR roll) it looks like you went out on a beautiful snowy day, especially some of the frames fearuring trees

I like the experimentation of the "ghosts" roll. I'd quite like to do something similar, but the fact that I still pay for processing makes me slightly wary. I do have something I might try (albeit slightly less experimental) soon with a roll of Kentmere 400 I have lying around.

 

[Harlequin565]

From the small size of the first contact sheet

I guess the forums suit a portrait contact sheet. I'll probably give that a go with my next roll. It's probably a good thing though as the shots were all pretty bad artistically. Just wanted to get a roll through the camera as fast as possible so I could see if it was decent. The rest of it should be arriving today so I can get more creative with it.

 

[FishyFish]

The size of the frames is fine, I think - mine are not much larger, just more spaced. I also linked mine out to Flickr which means the forum can display it at a larger size.

One of the things I'm trying to do this year is take more care over what I shoot. Not necesarily shoot less, but try and improve the overall quality of every shot. I have what could almost be described as a compulsion to take photos at times, so it can be hard for me to resist just shooting a roll for the sake of it. sometimes While I still tend to get pictures I like in those cases, the ratio of ones I like does tend to slip.

 

[Harlequin565]

My final contact sheet for my ICM project. I want to get this finished and get a zine out.

Have just got my head around how to make a zine (which is a trndy word for a magazine that's cheap, produced in volume, and usually smaller than A4) thanks to the Viewfinder Vikings podcast and will be using just two frames from this sheet to add to it. (13 & 20). I did experiment with a steady camera and shifting the focus during the 1s exposure, but I think I've lost the impetus for this now. 2 rolls of Polypan F left for the summer I think.



Minor claim to fame was Ian Barnaby Nutt giving me a shout out on the Sunny 16 podcast this week.

In other news, my 645n is sick... I'm getting a stripe across my negs at all shutter speeds. Been bounced from Miles to Asahi Photo to John Pye Technical so far. Noth showing teh contact sheet 'cos it was just a bunch of test shots. Am going to try without auto shutter speed and see if that does the trick as all the shots I took when I set aperture and shutter were fine.

 

[Ed Sutton]

My final contact sheet for my ICM project. I want to get this finished and get a zine out.

Have just got my head around how to make a zine (which is a trndy word for a magazine that's cheap, produced in volume, and usually smaller than A4) thanks to the Viewfinder Vikings podcast and will be using just two frames from this sheet to add to it. (13 & 20). I did experiment with a steady camera and shifting the focus during the 1s exposure, but I think I've lost the impetus for this now. 2 rolls of Polypan F left for the summer I think.

I like the idea of contact sheets, but I don't think they work on desktop PC coz you can't turn them round to see the vertically orientated ones properly. Maybe OK on a tablet I suppose. Although in Lightroom it's possibe to rotate pics.

How are you proposing to make your zine? That podcast's way of making the page images is needlessly complicated and cludgy. You can do it far simpler in Lightroom IMO. Could do a run through as a post if there's any interest.

Mixam looks cheap - I might give that a go for my next effort.

 

[Harlequin565]

Mixam was what I used. I spent a while trying to use Lightroom's print module, but adding text is a nightmare with LR, and it was a needless struggle. With PS it was very simple and straightforward (if a little repetetive) once I'd got my head round Mixam's UI (which is annoying)

£30 for 25 copies. Can't go wrong!

I was toying with the idea of a zine exchange here, but I was waiting until I had a zine of my own I was happy with before bringing it up. I do think they make great little souvenir's of a project and they're a physical thing that you can put on a shelf and rediscover at a later time. No danger of rediscovering anything on Flickr or Instagram.

I'd totally go for a chicken or sheep zine

 

[Ed Sutton]

Mixam was what I used. I spent a while trying to use Lightroom's print module, but adding text is a nightmare with LR, and it was a needless struggle.

That's easy when you suss it.

I'll start a zine thread in here later.

 

[rick448]

Some interesting shots there, I'll be keep a watch on this thread.

 

[Craigus]

Interesting idea. I will keep an eye on this and may get involved too.

 

[Harlequin565]

OK. So I developed 2 rolls this afternoon. A third experimental roll in my 645n (to try and debug the shutter issue) has 4 frames left so I may get impatient and churn that out tomorrow.

First up is a roll of Rollei 400 IR. I put it in my M6 at the beginning of the week when it was sunny (Monday) but every day after that was pants, and you can see I just wanted it out of the camera by the last few frames. I got a couple of images I'm happy with (still nothing for FPOTY!), but I'm not keen on this film at 35mm. I find the smaller format exaggerates any slight problems with a film that you just don't see in 120. I love this film for medium format, but 35mm is not enjoyable. This whole roll was pretty much a waste of money and that feeling I had shows in my images.



Next up is a bit of a special project. My wife and I lost both our mums in 2019 which coupled with my job insecurity in December (now resolved) just left us feeling like things couldn't get much worse. My dad passed away back in 2011, but A's dad has been sadly left alone after over 60 years of marriage. He's a keen woodworker though and in an effort to keep him occupied, I had a chat with him about my failed attempt to turn a baccy tin into a pinhole camera (my own dad had a million Old Holborn tins and I wanted to hold onto that memory by making a camera out of it - I failed. Epically. Go figure). A few drawings later, and we had a plan to make a pinhole camera from scratch - this time with some bits of wood.

I never really got the draw of pinhole - but I did think that if I'd made the camera myself, any kind of image turned out of it would be pretty cool. Version 1 was a complete failure. Negs all came out over exposed. We had a crack at trying to figure out the light leaks and this second roll through it works reasonably well. The film transport is definitely the issue. And the fact that the front cover just slides on and off like a pencil box. I knocked it twice.



The images are just test images around the house, but it works, and it was hand made. Needs another careful roll through it to determine whether the light leaks are my accidental knocking of the front cover, or whether it actually has leaks in the construction. Judicious use of tape next time.

For anyone interested it is ever so slightly larger than a 2oz baccy tin, has an 0.2mm pinhole with an aperture of f/100 and shoots a vertical 645 (ish) frame so 16 shots per roll. It needs two pound coins under the film spindles so that the backing paper frame number aligns with the hole that was drilled for it...



It's not pretty, it's not sharp, it's of questionable quality and it looks like I over did it with the squeegee, but it's an image!

My dad would be proud.

 

[Harlequin565]

Edit to add a pic of the camera...

 

[Boots]

Sorry to hear about your losses. My wife and I have lost all our parents over a similar time period.

I think the pinhole camera idea is great, and I wish you the best of luck. I rather like the interior shot with the bookcase, but they are very small on my screen, so I'm probably missing some other crackers.

 

[Harlequin565]

Thanks for your words Paul. Much appreciated.

they are very small on my screen,

Nothing here is worthy of putting on the wall, and yet the images are quite special to me. I do tend to pick out my favourite for a larger rendition, but it's typical that someone else finds a different one to be interesting

I'm beginning to see this thread as more of a journal than a "look at my photographic efforts" but it's still nice to see other people coming into the thread.

 

[Asha]

Some interesting reesults in amongst those contact prints Ian, the woodland trees being favourable to me and without doubt the feline taking advantage like cats do, sprawled out in comfort!

I have three and my easy chair, is theirs, in fact chez moi is far from my home, I just have a right to stay here cos i pay the rent and supply food!

2019 was a crap year, with two close family member bereavements and the redundo announcement at Christmas but photography is what kept me going through it all and it seemed like a stupid idea to stop doing the one thing I enjoy so I could worry a bit more.

I hear where you're coming from!

Without going into boring details, like yourself, photography is what is keeping me going through an ongoing difficult period.

LF is far from the easiest format to have chosen to pursue given how much gear i have to lugg around but hopefully I will be able to continue…..I don't give up easily and my love for the format and the kit gives me a surprising amount of "strength" and determination to drag the gear around.

The fact that i live where i do, means that photo opportunities are pretty much on the doorstep so I'm not forced to walk too far if not up to it…...something I am very grateful of at times.

Of course the other beauty of togging, regardless of format or medium, is the PP afterwards which takes up the evenings and spare time when indoors and of course now that i've got set up with darkroom facilities, my mind has plenty to keep it occupied instead of concentrating on less pleasurable things.

Here's fingers crossed that 2020 hands out a better deal for you Ian

EDIT: I might dd that by being a part of this forum, sharing some of my work and having light hearted banter with you lot also helps with motivation........so much so that I've been talked into entering the FPOTY 2020 ( I'm still convinced it aint a good idea:!)

 

[Harlequin565]

I might dd that by being a part of this forum, sharing some of my work and having light hearted banter with you lot also helps with motivation

Totally agree with this.
And thanks for your kind words too Asha. It's appreciated.

 

[FishyFish]

Frames 8 & 10 of the Rollei IR film look nice Ian.

I know what you mean about finishing off a roll by shooting anything that gets in front of the camera. I've done it plenty of times (mainly in eagerness to see the results of the earlier photos). I try not to do it now - even it it's only a couple of frames left, I still try to make them count as best I can.

Sorry to hear of your losses, but happy that your employment situation was resolved to good end. I had a bad time in 2018 and my photography largely came to a standstill. It's good that yours didn't and that you found it helped with the hard times.

 

[Harlequin565]

Thanks Nige. Much appreciated. Didn't want to go on about it, but the home made camera thing didn't really make much sense without the context.

I try not to do it now - even it it's only a couple of frames left, I still try to make them count as best I can.

I probably need to learn something from this I'm actually really happy with frame 8. I need to rescan it because I over-sharpened, but it caught the light just right.

 

[Harlequin565]

Just a test roll with some experimental "openings" to discover whether manual operation of the 645n would remove the shutter drag issue. It has. Couple of nice images of the cats (7 & 14) and my entry for FPOTY but other than that (and proving the shutter is fine in manual) not much to write home about. HP5Plus pushed to 800 and developed in HC-110 (B).

 

[Harlequin565]

Superpan 200. Test roll that I ordered when I snagged a couple of rolls of Frerrania P30. Shot entirely on the M6 and Voigtlander 35mm Ultron.



I shot this with a red filter because I heard that Superpan had extended red sensetivity. I'm glad I ordered 2 rolls because this one looks a bit over-cooked. 24 was UCM and frames 35 & 36 were knocked shutter buttons. Frames 26 & 27 were taken to catch a lady in the background doing exercises, but she got lost in the 35mm frame and the depth of field. I think I was down at f2. ISO 200 and a red filter meant I shot the roll at around 50 which is great when it's sunny but not great otherwise. Couple of "didn't work" openings for FPOTY (3, 4 and 6 which was an epic fail)



Quite liked this one and...



This one is the first of my new, tenatively titled "We Are Not Alone" project. The cat one is OK too, so three frames off the roll as keepers is pretty good for me.

 

[Harlequin565]

Out today for the first time this year with some me-time that isn't my usual snatched walk around the village.

I took my Tomiyama out to Shakerly Mere with a couple of rolls of Pan F Plus that's expiring this year.




Really pleased with frames 1, 4 & 6. When I was framing up for 3, I thought the tree would make an interesting frame but it's overshadowed the image. It works much better in frame 4 with the child feeding the birds. The 1/15sec shutter has caught some nice motion and I really like the image. I waited for the birds to do something interesting in frame 6, and "Bottoms Up" is an obvious - and probably very cliche'd title. I'm considering a big print of frame 1 because the tones in the sky are lovely.

Frames 7 & 8 were taken on the way home and I was too lazy to cross the river and do it from the other side. Bad photos the pair of them.

I really like Pan F Plus. At a fiver a roll, it's an absolute bargain. The detail at 100% is incredible and the utter lack of grain is just fab.

 

[Boots]

Numbers 1 and 5 for me, from a very good set. Nice to see panoramas.

 

[Harlequin565]

I took the Automat out with the Tomiyama last weekend but didn't shoot the whole roll. So this week I've been taking it out with me to finish it off. Another lesson to just take the one camera and focus on getting shots with that. The images here do nothing for me. I can do better. Uninspiring. Frame 1 isn't terrible, but they are all snapshots really. Was trying to capture the light coming through the trees on frame 6, 8 & 11, but it hasn't really worked. One frame was a "shutter knocked in the camera bag" hence not included.



One the plus side, we've had some sunny days this week and I have taken the M6 out with a roll of Washi Z in it. Am forcing myself to stick to giving the film lots of light. It'll be a while before it gets finished though.

 

[Harlequin565]

So after my disaster with the TMAX 3200 I picked myself up and stayed inside last night to try something a bit different with my lights and the RB67. This months Black & White photography magazine landed on the mat during the day and the front cover really inspired my to do some high contrast still life.

Mrs T has an orchid she hasn't killed yet, so with my subject set, I went into the lounge and had a play. I took my last roll of Acros and cracked open a new pack of TMAX. I wanted to shoot two films a) to compare TMAX 100 to the Acros, but mainly because the Acros is very expired and I didn't want another disaster.

Note to self: When shooting images that are "mostly black", cutting the negative is quite tricky because you can't see where the frame edges are. Nice one Ian.

Also, the light spill onto the background is shown here in the contact sheets, but I cleaned it up in post. Getting the balance between a soft enough modifier to not cause too many shadows but also not so big it chucks light around the rest of the room was difficult.


As it turns out, I needn't have worried. All the images are lovely. Taken with the 180mm, this was as close as I could get and still focus.

The TMAX isn't as nice as the Acros. It's not as sharp, and whilst it's a clean, grain free film, it's not as grain free as Acros. After a couple of shots, I swapped the lens for the 127mm which allowed me to get a bit closer.



In the end, my favourite shot of the set was taken on the TMAX. And whilst it's not my entry into the FPOTY (it's not black enough) I may just try a print, even though I shudder at the use of all that black ink!!

 

[FishyFish]

Out today for the first time this year with some me-time that isn't my usual snatched walk around the village.

I took my Tomiyama out to Shakerly Mere with a couple of rolls of Pan F Plus that's expiring this year.

View attachment 267532
View attachment 267534

Really pleased with frames 1, 4 & 6. When I was framing up for 3, I thought the tree would make an interesting frame but it's overshadowed the image. It works much better in frame 4 with the child feeding the birds. The 1/15sec shutter has caught some nice motion and I really like the image. I waited for the birds to do something interesting in frame 6, and "Bottoms Up" is an obvious - and probably very cliche'd title. I'm considering a big print of frame 1 because the tones in the sky are lovely.

Frames 7 & 8 were taken on the way home and I was too lazy to cross the river and do it from the other side. Bad photos the pair of them.

I really like Pan F Plus. At a fiver a roll, it's an absolute bargain. The detail at 100% is incredible and the utter lack of grain is just fab.

I like how, in frame 6, the two diving ducks at the right of the frame look like some sort of weird hedgehog/rabbit hybrids stood in the water.

 

[FishyFish]

I took the Automat out with the Tomiyama last weekend but didn't shoot the whole roll. So this week I've been taking it out with me to finish it off. Another lesson to just take the one camera and focus on getting shots with that. The images here do nothing for me. I can do better. Uninspiring. Frame 1 isn't terrible, but they are all snapshots really. Was trying to capture the light coming through the trees on frame 6, 8 & 11, but it hasn't really worked. One frame was a "shutter knocked in the camera bag" hence not included.

View attachment 268048

One the plus side, we've had some sunny days this week and I have taken the M6 out with a roll of Washi Z in it. Am forcing myself to stick to giving the film lots of light. It'll be a while before it gets finished though.

Frame 2 looks quite nice on the contact sheet, with the path winding through the birches.

 

[Harlequin565]

Not very exciting. Juts a test roll trally to make sure I hadn't stuffed the bulk roll of Tri-X I got from AW back in December. Also wanted to see how it loked shot at 800 because HP5+ in Rodinal looked awful. However Tri-X in HC110 looks absolutely great. This was just an early trip into town to get a new watch battery. The weather was pretty miserable and I was feeling pretty uninspired except for the escalator shots which I really liked. Last few frames were shot off on my daily walk - again in the rain.

Am really really loving the Bessa R3M. Probably enjoy shooting it more than the M6. The only downside is the lack of any wider framelines than 40mm.

I'm a bit pigged off that I under exposed 22 & 23 - esp 23. Was hoping to try and portray a bit more with frame 18 but it's not quite achieved what I set out to. Spent a long while going round the market (which caught fire a few weeks ago and is now cordened off) trying to find a vantage point. Frame 16 (inside Timpsons) was interesting but I stuffed up the composition and the shoes are disappearing out of frame when they should have been dropped into it a bit more. Esp as there's nothing interesting in the lower part of the frame.

Lesson is to slow down. My "street photography" is often rushed and snatched at, and I can see the outcome of that here. Onwards and upwards!

 

[FishyFish]

I'm guessing you were inside someplace with a petal design on the window for shots 7-9 & 13-15 (and not wearing some sort of "Peter Gabriel in Genesis" costume)?

 

[Harlequin565]

You assume correctly. Costa "through the window" stuff. I was after a shot for my SIlent Sentinels project and I got it, so was happy. Shame about the petals though.

 

[Harlequin565]

2 more sheets this week...

With the job insecurity at the beginning of the year, those people that were "selected" have gone, and our team has been reduced by 2. On Thursday I went over to Leeds to have a pint and say goodbye. I took my Sureshot Supreme loaded with Tri-X and my R3M with some TMAX 3200 that I wanted to shoot at 1600.

First, the Supreme...


It was a hand rolled roll of 24 exposures, and the camera was just left on the table for people to shoot with. Sad day. Really pleased with the output of the little 2.8 lens in this though. Everything was flashed, but the images are quite sharp!

The roll in the Bessa R3M was intended to be me trying some street photography but it pretty much poured down the second I landed in Leeds and didn't stop until I left. Train delays meant rushing to my meeting too, so it was all a bit of a panic.



The negs have come out a bit disjointed, but I have to say I'm much happier with this film at 1600 rather than 3200. Grain is much more under control. Would definitely shoot this at 1600 again.

Frames 7, 8 & 9 will go into my Passengers project folder and I really like frame 11. It's the second time I've tackled that bench and this was in pre-dawn light, so it's come out nicely I think. Frames 19 on (as well as 1-6) were taken towards the end of my evening and on the way home and I really shouldn't have been in charge of a camera. Frame 33 is a great example of when AF is good. How the pigeon shot (32) came out in focus is beyond me.

 

[Harlequin565]

So I finally got out today to finish another test roll through my "new" Kodak Instamatic 500.

My first roll went in the bin mainly because it was just me dancing around the garden firing off shots at different shutter speeds to see if everything worked ok. It did. Everything was soft though. This time I went out with the express intention of seeing whether it was my focussing or whether the lens was soft. I also wanted to see if the meter still worked properly.



So the internet reckons that the meter on the 500 is set to ISO 800, so I stuck some Tri-X 400 in there and shot it, intending to push the development. However today was bright sun, then dank cloud, then bright sun, with ridiculously British randomness. In the bright sun I was up against the max aperture of f/22 and the max shutter speed of 1/500. Because of this, I darkened everything down by a stop in development and just developed at 400. Turns out it was a good decision because the exposures are pretty close. My rule of thumb going forward is that if I do use the internal meter, it'll be as ISO 640.

Three shots of each scene. The first at infinity, the second and 7 feet and the last at 4 feet which are indented stops on the focussing ring. At 7 feet and 4 feet, the images are pretty soft right through the frame.. Sadly, I didn't check dofmaster before I went out, assuming that 7ft at f/22 (38mm lens) would get me to infinity. It doesn't! Also, there are no really close subjects so that'll be my next test. At infinity though, I'm really quite pleased with the sharpness of the results.



Compression down to acceptable forum limits has killed this (looks better on Instagram), but it looks "acceptably sharp" to me - which is great for an Instamatic camera!
So overall, shooting this camera has the following issues:-
1. Loading it is a PITA even with the Camerhack cartridge. Top tip - tape a match to the end of your film so you get resistance when you get to the end thus knowing you've finished the roll!
2. It's not economical. I ran a 24exp roll of Tri-X through it and got 18 exposures - 4 of which overlapped. Because of the sprocket hole differences, you have to wind on twice which results in big gaps between frames.
3. The operation is iffy. The wind on lever is on the base of the camera. There is no tab to move the focus wheel, and aperture, shutter speed and focus are all very close together. After taking a shot, you need to wind on, cover the lens, take another shot, wind on, then you're ready to go again.
4. Scanning is a pain if you want the sprocket holes and/or your scanner tray is set up for 35mm.

Despite all these issues I really like it. All metal construction, it feels solid and reliable. The shutter is the quietest of clicks. And I love the square format. Really nice to have something pocketable that shoots square natively.

 

[Harlequin565]

Finished my roll of Washi-Z



Test roll to get times for HC-110 as the Film Washi website basically says "do as for Delta 400" then produces Rodinal times that are longer than Delta 400!
After much to'ing and fro'ing I settled on 6 minutes for this roll which I over exposed with the intention of pulling to retain shadow detail. Very pleased with the results.
Shot with a red filter, but we never had California blue skies so I've ended up with only a slight darkening to the sky.



Still quite a significant grain to this which even LR struggles with.

 

[FishyFish]

2 more sheets this week...

With the job insecurity at the beginning of the year, those people that were "selected" have gone, and our team has been reduced by 2. On Thursday I went over to Leeds to have a pint and say goodbye. I took my Sureshot Supreme loaded with Tri-X and my R3M with some TMAX 3200 that I wanted to shoot at 1600.

First, the Supreme...
View attachment 269495

It was a hand rolled roll of 24 exposures, and the camera was just left on the table for people to shoot with. Sad day. Really pleased with the output of the little 2.8 lens in this though. Everything was flashed, but the images are quite sharp!

The roll in the Bessa R3M was intended to be me trying some street photography but it pretty much poured down the second I landed in Leeds and didn't stop until I left. Train delays meant rushing to my meeting too, so it was all a bit of a panic.

View attachment 269496

The negs have come out a bit disjointed, but I have to say I'm much happier with this film at 1600 rather than 3200. Grain is much more under control. Would definitely shoot this at 1600 again.

Frames 7, 8 & 9 will go into my Passengers project folder and I really like frame 11. It's the second time I've tackled that bench and this was in pre-dawn light, so it's come out nicely I think. Frames 19 on (as well as 1-6) were taken towards the end of my evening and on the way home and I really shouldn't have been in charge of a camera. Frame 33 is a great example of when AF is good. How the pigeon shot (32) came out in focus is beyond me.

I picked up a Sure Shot Supreme recently too (to go with my other three Sure Shot models!), I took it out this week to test and it seized up after half-a-dozen shots - but then seemed to be working again when I got home. Not sure what happened there, or whether it's something that will hapent again though yet.

Some of your Bessa street shots look nice on the contact sheet. #11 looks to be my cup of tea, and #13 looks nice too.

 

[FishyFish]

Despite all these issues I really like it. All metal construction, it feels solid and reliable. The shutter is the quietest of clicks. And I love the square format. Really nice to have something pocketable that shoots square natively.

Sometimes the joy is in the process. You can gain a sense of satisfaction from producing results you like with equipment that most people would disregard as too awkward.

 

[FishyFish]

Finished my roll of Washi-Z

View attachment 270051

Test roll to get times for HC-110 as the Film Washi website basically says "do as for Delta 400" then produces Rodinal times that are longer than Delta 400!
After much to'ing and fro'ing I settled on 6 minutes for this roll which I over exposed with the intention of pulling to retain shadow detail. Very pleased with the results.
Shot with a red filter, but we never had California blue skies so I've ended up with only a slight darkening to the sky.

View attachment 270052

Still quite a significant grain to this which even LR struggles with.

Those look lovely on your contact sheet. I love the contrast. Shot #7 looks interesting (I have a thing for power lines and utility poles in photos!) ).

 

[Harlequin565]

Shot #7 looks interesting

#7 was for my xbt project which is basically me reminiscing about spending 10 years as a B T engineer climbing poles (and down holes) A photobook project rather than a zine because no one else will be interested in it!

 

[FishyFish]

#7 was for my xbt project which is basically me reminiscing about spending 10 years as a B T engineer climbing poles (and down holes) A photobook project rather than a zine because no one else will be interested in it!

I dunno about that. Projects are interesting becasue they give an insight into things that you might not otherwise have considered, coupled with illustrative photographs.

 

[Harlequin565]

So 2 more contact sheets to add...
The first is from the Kodak Brownie Starmite which I got in my "Box of cameras" off eBay when I was after my instamatic. It looked clean so I ran a roll of 127 through it.

It works, the quality is pants. I think it'll go in the bin. I may try a run on eBay now I know it works, but I'm doubtful I'll recoup the cost of packaging and posting.

I was also fortunate enough to win a Yashica Minitec on Mike Gutterman's "Negative Postives" episode 300 podcast giveaway. It's a fab camera! Compared to my sureshots it sounds positively professional and requires barely any pressure to fire the shutter. I actually love it!



This was a hand rolled 24 exp Tri-X roll that was expiring. So it was a test of the camera as well as my hand-rolling,





No real object to this. A little more on my silent watchers project but that's about it.

 

[FishyFish]

Glad you like your Minitec. I have a fondness for compacts - I usually keep one in my jacket pocket as a handy way of getting photos when I see them, even if I hadn't planned on any picture making. I picked up another Sure Shot recently - I Supreme this time. It seems a little tempremental, but the first roll I've had back all look pretty nice. I now have Four Sure Shot models - all of whicj are pretty nice to use and capable of good photos.

 

[Harlequin565]

So this was the success story from my Pentax 645N which I thought was broken but turns out it was just the seals in the back. This was the test roll to prove it so no fine art. I seem to have been running test rolls through quite a lot recently and with a T90 on it's way from eBay, it won't be ending any time soon...



I'm happy with frame 3. I do like my tree silhouettes. I also got 1 for my silent watchers project and 3 for my Numfup project so added to the "yes my camera works and isn't broken" this was quite a successful roll. Not done a mirror selfie with this camera yet. Might be another poroject!!

Note to self. You Will Never Get A Sharp Shot handheld with the 150mm lens at f/2.8 at 1/30sec. Would have been a really nice portrait if it wasn't blurred all to hell. I wish I learned from my own mistakes sometimes.

I have taken about 10 shots of this damn can. Finally got one I liked. Into the Numfup folder you go!