I haven't forgotten about this! Some shots from roll 8 below.
I'm not happy with the way a lot of these images turned out; I rushed the development as I was trying to get something to enter for March in POTY and I think I've over-agitated. The results are quite grainy and the contrast isn't as good as I was hoping. It probably doesn't help that I was using XTOL for only the second time too. I'm trying to remember that this is supposed to be a learning process but at the same time, it still feels like a bit of a kick in the tits after things had been going well. Guess that'll teach me to get complacent, another lesson learned.
Duke 2 by
Dean Varney, on Flickr
Leathers by
Dean Varney, on Flickr
Some Welsh bloke by
Dean Varney, on Flickr
Light trails on the IDR by
Dean Varney, on Flickr
The bike images were taken at Cartagena race track in Spain. I went out there with a bunch of friends for 3 days on track in early February, which knocked the project out for a while and led in a roundabout way to the delay in my posting more pictures. A change of job mid-way through didn't help, though these are excuses rather than reasons for not being as consistent in my updates as I was previously.
Overall, I think this was definitely a worthwhile exercise. It got me thinking much more about the pictures I was taking rather than the gear I was taking them with and forced me out of my comfort zone and into properly considering how the image would look. On one hand, I don't think three months is long enough to really get that message embedded but then on the other I've found more recently that I've really missed the simple pleasures such as metering within the camera and the instant gratification from digital shots.
Yeah, my OCOLOF project has improved my appreciation of digital photography, not one of the results I was expecting! I think it's come from having a better understanding of using the appropriate tool for the job. My last couple of rolls (one being scanned as I type, the other awaiting development as I've run out of Kenro pages) was taken when I took t'missus away for the weekend for her birthday early in March. We went for a few walks along the seashore and it was more about us having some time with each other than a photography break - that would be an appropriate time to take a digital camera and chimp a few shots here and there rather than asking her to wait while I take various light readings and consider how best to capture the view on grainy B&W film.
Likewise, a digital compact would probably have been a better choice for the bike trip. Easy point and shoot photography with the option to get a bit more creative if the mood takes you. Trust me, after you've spent three days hustling a bike around a circuit in a full leather gimp suit when you're as unfit as me, you don't want to faff about more than you have to. But I really like those images and one of the chaps I went with said that I'd really captured the spirit of the event, so maybe there's a middle ground to seek out.
In summary, I'm glad I committed to it. I think it's helped me to improve and helped with my GAS, until I decided to buy into large format at least. I probably will continue, though on a reduced level as I love the low contrast results that the little P captures on colour film and I really need to take the 'blad out for a walk sometime soon.