Need To get Snapping

16-05-2023

Found at the back of the refrigerator.

Completely forgot about this tub of expired film at the back of the fridge (there are more). Judging by the prices being asked on auction sites it’s probably worth more than the fridge freezer. Two of the rolls are Kodak High Speed Infrared, and a roll of Konica Ir 750, so there’s a good incentive to get out and about with a camera.

I don’t go into the city very much now, just once a week to meet up with some old friends. It seems to have changed a lot since lockdown, most of the interesting shops have gone being replaced by fried chicken outlets, and the centre seems to be a gathering place fast food delivery E-Bikers, they remind me of herds of wildebeest blasting down the pavements/sidewalks, pedestrians beware.

So now the weather is getting a bit warmer and drier I’m planning days out in the county and a few day trips to the coast.

Advertisement

Ilford SFX 200 – And The Spinney

23-04-19

I had the Olympus OM2sp CLA’d a few months back but after using it I noticed the selector lever for the exposure modes was loose and getting looser. So I sent the camera back and they adjusted it foc, and it’s now working as it should. Took it with me to Dams Spinney last week loaded with Ilford SFX 200 (expired 2009) with just one lens a Vivitar 19mm wide angle with a Red 25A filter attached to try and bring out some infrared effects, because the film was so expired I wasn’t sure what I would get. Developed the film in D76 stock solution and was pleasantly surprised by the results, good job as I have another 2 rolls in the egg compartment of the refrigerator. 

New Growth

Fallen

Stand

Atmosphere

Next time I use this film I’ll try an R72 filter to get more of an infrared look. Really enjoyed using the Oly OM2sp, it has a lovely big viewfinder and spot metering, which I used for most of the film to help with the tricky lighting in the spinney. And best of all the negatives were really clean, I filtered all the chemicals before pouring into the developing tank and added a little bit of IPA (not beer) isopropyl alcohol to the final rinse.

Non Photowalk

26-05-18

Arranged to meet the PhotoBuddies on Friday for a walk around the town, but the weather was awful so we ended up coffee drinking and going to the Peace Cafe for some homemade soup and ciabatta, it was very good.

 Photowalk Weather

Sigma DP1

Earlier in the week I finished off a roll of expired Fuji Reala 100 that I had run through my Pentax MX. I was impatient to know if the camera was working OK so had the film processed by the local High Street quick photo store. What a difference compared to a professional lab, lots of scratches and an overall green tint that took a bit of tweaking in Lightroom to tame. Fuji Reala seems to have a natural bias towards Green and is quite soft and muted.

Fern

Olympus DC

Hope to be using this over the next few weeks.

Mimi

Even using digital ICE on the scanner couldn’t eliminate the scratches.

In The Garden

Pine

I will try and curb my impatience and send all future rolls of colour film to the professional lab.

Zenit 19 (House Brick !)

23-12-17

My sister bought the Zenit 19 from a charity shop for £10.00p hoping it would be a good starter film camera for my niece, and would I try it out to see if it works. I’d never seen this model before, it’s quite old but has some good features, shutter speed to 1/ 1000th of a second and stop down metering. The bad thing about it is that it should take two PX625 mercury batteries, I used 675 hearing aid batteries and a coil of silicon tube to hold them in place. The Zenit weighs a ton and the meter is really slow to react compared to a more modern film camera.

It came with a Bell & Howell 35-105mm zoom lens, which looks very similar if not the same as a Tokina. I decided to try it with my newer version Helios 58mm lens and a roll of Kodacolor 200, expired in 2001. The hardest part was trying to find a day with some semi reasonable weather.

Still Clinging On
 

Contre Jour Cafetiere & Hands

Watchful Eye 

Bokeh and Barbwire

St Stephens & Winter Sky

Barbwire & Snow

Captured Star

Knot & Ice

Not really a camera for a beginner, although I really enjoyed using it. Managed to get a Pentax Z50p with 28- 80mm af zoom lens for my my niece for only a couple of pounds more than the Zenit, it should be a lot easier for her to use, it’s certainly a lot lighter ! 

Konica Lexio 70W

22-10-17

Put a couple of rolls of film through this Konica in September for the first time. I bought the camera about 2-3 years ago for £7.99p, It didn’t look as if it had been used very much at all, It came with a case, the instruction manual and original box. 

The weather was really dull when I used the camera, and the film I was using had an expiry date of 2001, so there were some strange colour shifts on some of the shots, but I don’t mind that.

Workplace Plastic Chair & Graffiti 

Down By The River

The water wasn’t this colour, but I like the effect.

Footbridge

This was more like the true colour of the water.

Old Factory

The factory is still be used

Nature & Water

On the Turn To Autumn Colours

This was taken on a brighter day near to home.

I’ve seen a couple of reviews for this camera which really didn’t rate it that much. Well I like the camera, 28-70mm zoom lens, part metal clad body, and you can switch the flash off.

Yashica Samurai X3.0 #3 and Pruning The Holly Tree

25-09-17

Thought it was about time the Holly Tree had a good pruning. With all the rain we have had this year it’s grown like mad and is blocking out a lot of light in my back room. So out came the ladder, and armed with a pruning saw, teetering at the top I managed to reduce it’s height without getting too horribly scratched up. Not quite a work of fine topiary but the room is now much brighter.

Before

After

---

A few more film images from the Yashica Samurai.

Street Art With Waste Pipe

Last Orders

Behind The factory

I love the old Victorian factories in the city, lots of them are sadly being demolished to make way for bland apartment blocks, but some are being converted to living accommodation.

New Living

This was the central post office, I used to top up the franking machine here in the late 1970’s.

Impose Yourself

 

Yashica Samurai X3.0 #1

13-09-17

Yashica Samurai x3.0

Thought it was about time the Yashica had another outing, bought this lovely camera around 10 years ago, and only ever put 1 roll of film through it. So when I met up with my photowalk buddies a couple of weeks ago I took it along loaded with some Kodacolor 200 that had expired in 2001. The Yashica is an auto only camera but has a 35 – 105mm zoom lens and through the lens viewfinder.

Old Lantern

Dizzy

Barbie

Satisfaction

Really enjoyed using the Yashica, and considering how old the film was the results were pretty good. Think it deserves a fresh roll of film for it’s next outing.

Cosmic

Well my Cosmic 35 film camera.

I persuaded my parents to buy me one of these in 1966 as I was going on a school trip to Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, my first visit abroad, and my first holiday without my family. I hadn’t got much of a clue how to set the correct exposure, and soon realised that I needed an exposure meter. So I bought a little Stitz meter that slipped on the flash shoe. The camera lasted about 3 years until the shutter gave up the ghost. The one in the picture above I bought a couple of years ago for very little money, half expecting the shutter to be faulty and the take-up spool missing, but the shutter is fine, the take-up spool is present, and the viewfinder and lens are really clean.

Helsingborg

Mini-Land

Mini-Land and Me

Mini-Land – Model of the ship we sailed on

These were taken on that school trip using Gratispool slide film, you bought the film which included processing and mounting, sent the exposed film off, and got another film back with your slides.

---

So last week I loaded up the Cosmic with some Kodacolor 200 that had expired in 2001 and met my buddies for a photowalk.

Sunshine

Reaching For The Sky

Clouds and City

Blighty

Cathedral

Back Doors

Coffee Time

Underpass

Considering the age of the film, and that I’d forgotten to bring my exposure meter, I don’t think they came out too bad. One of the foibles of the camera is you have to cock the shutter with a little lever on the side of the lens, and it’s very easy (for me anyway) to catch the lever with a finger slowing the shutter when the shutter button is pressed. The pale blue shot of the underpass is an example. 

Canon EOS-500n (EOS Rebel G) #3

17-07-17

Last few from the Canon taken in my garden using the lovely Helios lens and an extension tube. It was really hard to focus with such a narrow depth of field and my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.

Musk Mallow (Malva moschata rosea)


I have to admit I needed to look up this flower as it was a self setter. The Bees really like it.

Rose Campion

Can’t get these to grow where I want them, they seem to prefer the gaps between the paving slabs, so I guess they like a sandy soil.

I enjoyed using the Canon 500n especially with the Helios lens, it deserves another outing with some fresh film.

Canon EOS-500n (EOS Rebel G) #2

A few more images from the Canon 500n, Helios 44-2 lens, and expired Kodacolor 200 film.

Centre Stage

Spotted this on a walk to town, the light was catching the blooms.

Selfie !

As if, used a small extension tube on the lens.