I would have shot this with a Leica MP or a IIIc or a Minolta XD11, but I had a Yashica T4 on me that morning. And it did a very nice job. Shot on Kodak Portra 400.
American Museum of Natural History II: 1600
Last visit, I shot the Natural History Museum on Tri-X at 6400 using a lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8. On my most recent visit, I shot at 1600 using a lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4. For those playing the home game, this is a wash—I gained two stops on the lens and lost two on the supposed film speed. Read more…
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History is a remarkably dark place. I guess it’s probably no darker than any other old-school municipal museum packed with dark-stained dioramas and taxidermy, but taking photos anywhere other than in the dinosaur exhibits on the top floor is a challenge. Read more…
Foggy Montauk Morning
A foggy morning in May in Montauk. I hear the dunes have changed since Hurricane Sandy, some shifted, some gone. The walk to the ocean is quiet, an occasional dog trotting ahead of its owner, happy. The terrible ocean is always present. Heard as a hoarse murmur from between scrub and trees, across the road, then in front of you, threatening you with a quiet slap as it hits the shore. On a quiet day it commands your respect. In a storm it is awful, a pure expression of power. You become very small. Read more…
Adox CMS 20 I in Adotech I
Do note that this post is somewhat irrelevant now that CMS 20 and Adotech version 1 are now out of production, but I wanted to follow up properly on my previous post and a conversation on Flickr.
A while back I gushed about Adox CMS 20, which I had developed in Diafine. Having been politely scolded that the proper developer is that which was intended for it, I promptly purchased a small bottle of Adox Adotech developer and put in on a remote shelf. I finally mixed some up and developed a roll of CMS 20 from a few months ago.
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PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2012: The State of Film Photography
The PDN PhotoPlus Expo is (according to the organizers) the largest photography expo in North America. For some reason it doesn’t seem as cool, in terms of product announcements and that kind of thing, to the European Photokina show, but whatever–I’m not in Europe. So it stands to reason that this is a good place to find out where we stand as film photographers. The upshot? As many of us fear, we are in the margins at this point.
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Kodak giving away film at PDN PhotoPlus Expo
If you’re in NYC and thinking of attending the PDN PhotoPlus Expo (passes to the exhibit hall are free if you get them online), stop by the Kodak booth and ask them if you can have a roll of film. They will give you one. They have TMAX400 in 135, TX400 in 120, looked like Ektar maybe in 135 and some others.
New business model for Kodak?
Tri-X @ EI 3200 in Rodinal 1+50
Yesterday I posted about hacking a film cartridge to tell the camera it’s a different speed film. Specifically, I’m trying to fool my Yashica T4 (actually a T4D with a disabled date function) into shooting Tri-X at higher speeds, so I can push process the exposed film. In the last couple of days I’ve shot four rolls of Tri-X (actually Arista Premium 400 – same thing) at 400, 800, 1600, and 3200. Last night I developed and scanned the 3200.
I normally wouldn’t shoot 3200 in daylight—what’s the point?— but there’s something to be said for stopping down completely to get in-focus shots with a long depth of field. Basically, I’m telling the camera that this film is so light sensitive that the camera is going to have to use a tiny aperture (which, to an extent, brings more of the field in focus) and a fast shutter speed (which freezes the action) in order to only allow a tiny amount of light in. Read more…
DX Hacking for a Point-and-Shoot
If you have a camera that can detect the film speed from the DX code on the film cartridge, you can fool it into thinking that the film is another speed. This is useful if you intend to push or pull the film in processing. Read more…
Tri-X at EI 1600 in HC-110
I’ve posted some other photos from this shoot before, but this time I want to talk about this combination of film and developer.
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David Shoots Film 