Family, Photography and other misc news
There seems to be a growing interest in Black & White recently, and as part of this tread Ilford have now released some Black & White Disposal Cameras, so if you want to give Black & White a try you can, even if you do not have a film camera.
You have the choice of sending the camera to Ilford or getting it processed yourself or even have a go at processing the Black & White yourself.
Post date Blog Post Day 2 Sunday 2nd December.
The plan for today was a trip to the harbour and the Abbey, I had three shots in my head for the Harbour, but knew that I would likely be only able to get the one. After that we would be heading up to the Abbey, I had three shots in mind here but it was likely I would only be able to get two of the shots.
We were stopping at Hillcrest Bed & Breakfast, and over a breakfast of Whitby Smoked Kippers I checked the iPad to confirm the tide times and also using ‘The Photographer’s Ephemeris’, checked the sun position. Unfortunately it looked like unless i could be in two places at once I would have to give up on one of the shots. To get the Sun and tide in the right spot for one of the harbour shots I would not be able to get across the harbour and up to the Abbey to get another shot I wanted.
Still we would try and get at least a couple of shots.
As a bit of an experiment I had borrowed Caroline’s Crumpler Bag and packed the Ebony Camera, two lens and some dark slides. It’s a lot smaller bag then the ruck sack i usually keep it in. I also had the Nikon V1 with me. While the kit all fitted in the bag, the weight could be telling.
First off we walked into town and across to the other side of the harbour using the swing bridge. Once down onto the beach to the area where I thought the first shot was, I was unsupprised to see that the sun was unable at this time of year to rise to the point where it would illumiate the main focus of my photograph. So it was 0/1 for the first attempts.
In fact it you could say it was 0 for 2 as there was another shot I wanted but it meant being on the other side of the harbour and it just would not have been possible to get across and capture both shots before the sun had moved.
Next I climbed onto the Harbour wall to shoot the stone seabed. There are some interesting features visible at low tide that I wanted to capture.
As you can see in the quick snap I took with the Nikon V1, the sun was not high enough to illuminate what I wanted to photograph. I will just have to go back in the Spring.
It was now time to head up and take a shot of the harbour from part way up the cliff face. The ramp up was somewhat icy and it made the climb up a little tricky, but we managed.
I’ll blog about the next shot which I took with the Ebony 45S later once I have the film developed in Day 2 part B.
Finally it was time to shoot the Abbey. There was two shots I had in mind, but it was unlikely I would get the first one as by the time we got up there the sun would have moved round too far, but we should get the second, which I did. Again I’ll blog about that shot later.
Once the Abbey shot was in the can, we headed back down for a Spicy Mocha Latte and a toasted chibatta.
Then a last walk round the shops and back to the Bed & Breakfast for a rest. My back was by this time killing me. The Crumpler bag while fine for a short while was not good for a full day of carrying the large format kit. Still now I know.
Overall a pleasing day.
Leica M4
Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron
35mm, 1/60 Sec at f/8, ISO400
Ilford HP5 Plus Processed in Kodak X-Tol developer
Scanned and Post Processed in Adobe Lightroom V4.2
On a Mac MacBook Pro, OS-X 10.8.2
Medium Format 120 Ilford HP5 Plus.
Its been a few years since I shot much Black & White film. About twenty years I had a two year period where I shot nothing but Black & White, developing and printing it myself, but apart from a few rolls of medium format film in the last couple of years shot on my Hasselblad, I have not shot any. Most of my Black & White has been either digital or Colour film converted to Black & White.
During the summer I tested some Ilford HP5 Plus on the Hasselblad in quite bright and contrasty conditions, I was very impressed with how it handled the dynamic range.
The last couple of weeks I have been trying out some Ilford HP5 in my Leica M4.
Its generally rated at 100ISO but you can go much higher, its a bit grainer then some people would like but even in these duller shots its handled itself quite well. When the sun came out and the contrast increased it certainly looked better. A Black & White film for those high contrast days I suspect.
When shooting people with the Leica, I used zone focusing in the shots above, which meant setting the aperture to f/8 to give me enough depth of field, this meant on occasion the shutter speed was a little low resulting in blurred movement, in this shots they still work but it is something I need to be more aware of. If I was shooting with my DSLR’s (Nikon D200) or my CSC (Nikon System One V1), I would just ramp up the ISO to give me a faster shutter speed, but with film or a camera with poor high ISO capability, that is something you cannot do.
Post dated post – 21st July 2012
Last July I spent some time at Lincoln Cathedral, doing some large format testing. I still have some difficulty visualising the field of view from my 5 x 4 camera. Practice is what I need so I went out to capture a few shots.
My first shot was of a door, I have a long term project shooting doors and windows, and this will join this. The high-lights were metered at EVA 12.4, the darkest shadows at 10.5, this gave me an average of 11.6EV. So I set the lens to f/22 with a shutter speed of 1/4 second.
Inspecting the film with a lupe, the level of detail is simply amazing, yes medium format digital or a 35mm digital stitch on say a Nikon D800 could also produce this level for detail, but there is a simple joy in using the Large Format Ebony that makes the whole shoot an event to enjoy.
There are some wonderful features and details to Lincoln Cathedral and i’ll certainly be going back again to shoot large format again there.
Over the last few years we have been slowly visiting each of the main habitable islands that make up the British Isle’s and photographing them.
Last year we visited the Isle of Skye again (one of our favourite Islands) but also spent a week exploring the Isle of Lewis and Harris.
When shooting film, sometimes you are very pleased with the results, other times less so. I find whether shooting digital or film, its often worth revisiting a photograph months later, when the emotional side of taking the photograph can no longer influence you.
Sometimes you want to like a photograph because of the effort it took to take it. The above shots are a little like this.
There was quite an effort to get down to the coast and setup for 4:30 in the morning to be ready for the dawn. When the results came back I was a little disappointed, all that effort for not a very good result.
I reviewed these shots again, and this time I liked them.
Its interesting what time can do to your opinions on photography and on life.
Generally I shoot colour for clients, with a little Black & White. For myself its a mix, sometimes mainly colour, other times its all Black & White.
Often Black & White images for clients are now more of what I call, selective colour. Its a Black & White Image but some colour has been left in.
Its proving very popular exspecially for Weddings and if it sells then you do it.
I am in a very mixed mind set; not sure if I like it or not
If you click on the above two images you will be able to judge for yourself.
I shot these with my Leica M4 film camera with a Leica Summicron 35mm f/2. I used a colour film, and scanned the results. I suspected at the time that the image might look good in Black & White with a slight sepia tint, but the green bottles would also look good in colour.
Once I had the scans in Adobe Lightroom I produced a Black & White version and then decided to go the desaturated route, while taking out most of the colour, the green stayed fairly strong in the bottles, so I decided to make a feature of it.
Now I cannot decide what I like most. What do you think?
Its another film Friday!
Now that I finally have a Leica M camera, it was time to see what the lens could do. They say that Leica M lens control the light well, even shooting into direct sunlight they handle the contrast and flare extremely well.
I currently own two Leica Lens, Leica 35mm Summicron f/2 and a Leica 24mm Elmar f/3.8.
This set was shot with the 35mm Summicron. Shots into the light work very well, and while it does desaturate the image, flare and contrast is controlled exceptionally well.
While the lens is a good performer stopped down, with the right subject, shooting wide open at f/2 is where you get that lovely dreamy Leica look that everyone wants.
I also took a few sports shots. The other weekend was the Saxilby 5k, and while most people were photographing the event with either Camera Phones, Compacts or SLR’s; I tried the unthinkable, the Leica M4 and a wide Angle lens. Not only that, I picked a shutter speed what would not freeze the movement, but would leave some image blur to the image.
I think they work extremely well. Using a camera that many consider much more restrictive then the 35mm DSLR certainly makes you think more about the photograph, and any mistakes or successes are certainly my own and not due to the electronics in the camera.
After purchasing my Leica M4, I wanted a quality camera strap to go with it. I was torn between a wrist strap and a neck strap. Finally I went for a neck strap, but I may get a wrist strap later.
Looking around on the internet, the prices ranged from expensive to ridiculous. Did you know you can pay over £250 for a camera strap that has the Leica name on it!
I went for one of the cheaper straps I could find, still expensive but of very high quality. Its mentioned on a number of review sites and seemed well liked.
It arrived and was quickly fitted to my Leica M4. Its a quirky looking strap but very nice, and I think it looks great. I’ll be giving it a good test of the next few weeks as I intend to put through a number of rolls of film through my new Leica learning its quirks and follies. Its going to be fun.
I recently tried Street Photography with a Medium Format Camera, now it was time to have a go with a Leica, yep I finally have a Leica!
More years ago then I care to remember, I fell in love with a lovely little range finder in a shop window. I saved and saved and finally managed to buy it. It was not a Leica but it was a very nice looking camera with good optics. Unfortunately it had not been looked after and it just would not work properly, the film advance kept jamming. The shop took it back, but I did buy a rather nice looking Zeiss Ikon Ikophot Light Meter which I still have to this day.
Since then I have been on the lookout for a Range Finder.
There were two makes I would like to own, either a Nikon SP or a Leica M. Nikon SP’s are very hard to get hold off, and while I am a Nikon man, with Nikon SLR’s and 35mm lens to match and Nikkor Large Format Lens to go with my Large Format Ebony 45s; the Leica with its fantastic glass was the one I wanted.
With digital getting more and more popular; the Leica M became a bit of a niche product, and their lens, while new very expensive, second hand were more affordable.
With the release of the Leica M8 I started to think more and more about a digital Leica, and while it had its issues, the M8.2 was a great camera for Black & White with its extended infra-red sensitivity.
So a digital M was on my list, but cost was going to be an issue, and would I get on with a Range Finder. The best thing would be to get an old cheap film M and learn with that.
So to that end, over the last few years I have started to buy Leica M lens. So far I have only managed to get two at a good price, but with the release of the M9 and the increasing interest in the brand, its turned out to be a good investment, so if a Range Finder is not my cup of tea, I can sell the lens at a rather nice profit.
So the choice was a film Leica, but which one. Well it would either have to be the ultimate film M, the Leica M-P, or a classic. Well an M-P retails at the sort of cost I could buy a Digital M8.2 for, so a classic would be the cheaper option, but which one?
To be honest there was only two choices, the original M, the Leica M3 or to get the model that was available the year I was born. The original M3’s are either very much collectors items and have a corresponding cost, or of very poor quality.
The Leica that was manufactured the year I was born was the Leica M4, while not as many M4’s were made as M3’s and the later models still fetch a very high price, the ones from the year I was born are very affordable.
So for the last two years I have been searching the internet for a good copy of a M4, made in the year I was born.
When it arrived I was very surprised at the condition, its very nearly mint, and looks like its been really well looked after.
I popped in an old out of date cheap roll of Fujicolor Superia (I wish people would spell colour correctly), and went out to give it a try. The M4 like the Leica M3 has no meter, thats becoming a bit of a theme with me. Of all my film cameras, only my Nikon FM2n has a meter, my Leica, my Hasselblad and my Ebony all lack meters. So I also took with me my spare studio meter, and my classic Zeiss Ikon Ikophot, I would use my modern meter but compare the readings with my classic to see if it was consistent.
We went for a walk into Lincoln and I shot a few few frames of what every took my fancy.
With the low sun, depending on what direction I was shooting I was getting a stop difference in the light, so I had to keep remembering to change the shutter speed or aperture depending on what direction I was shooting, focusing was another challenge. The technique I used was to make a guess at the distance, and set that on the lens, then I would bring the camera to my eye and make a final adjustment.
Most people have seen the photographs that Leica’s are famous for, a sharp focus and lovely out of focus background. Well possibly not the best subject but when I spotted the ribbon tied to the gate I thought I would give it ago and try a wide open shot.
At lunch time we had a walk to one of our favourite coffee shops. They say Leica M’s are very good in low light, this was a chance to try it out.
In all, I shot eight frames that first day, and fully enjoyed my time. Like my Medium Format Hasselblad and Large Format Ebony, its a very involving experience and there is a lot to think about. Its a lot faster and easier to shoot with then the latter two cameras and a different experience but very full filling.
One has to keep ones wits about you, with it being 100% manual and no meter, catching moments like this can be tricky, but while underexposed its still a pleasing image.
If I carry on enjoying the experience, then i’ll be on the lookout for a Leica 90mm M lens and a 50mm standard to tryout in the studio. I’ll also be looking out for a second hand M9. With the release of the M-E the old M9’s have dropped considerably in price, and I hope this drop will continue when the new Leica M (240 model) is released.
Overall I am very impressed with the results; for an out of date roll of old film, and a basic scan, the results are very pleasing.
Next i’ll try a little landscape and also some sport. They said you could not use medium format for street photography; and they say a Leica M is useless for sports and wildlife, might try and disprove that.