Struggling with adding more film photography to my allotted time, which reduces my daily photo stock. The past few days I’ve been shooting with my Rollei and the Nikon F3, but that doesn’t give me anything for my daily post. I still haven’t started developing my own film yet, and I haven’t been to the lab. This is a problem I need to sort out. Hopefully, when I get a good developing routine down, I’ll have more photos to work with.
When I go out for dedicated photography time, I’ve been carrying one digital and one film camera, which increases complexity and weight. Not sure if I should keep doing that or just make dedicated time for one style. All good problems but ones that need tweaking.
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Film Journey Update: Getting really close to trying my first few rolls of B&W developing. My nature makes me read and study far too much before I do something, so that is slowing me down but should minimize errors.
You can go super simple and use a developer/fixer combo (Cinestill DF96) and just be done, but I want to understand some of the chemistry and the pros and cons of different developers with the film I’m using: Ilford DDX, Rodinal, Bellini RDL, Pyro, Cinestill DF96… which Stop to use, which Fixer to use. Pros and Cons of using a WashAid or PhotoFlow. How hard is my water, etc. You don’t need to know any of that, but I want to. I’ve been watching YouTube videos, reading Darkroom books, reading blog posts, and mostly reading film and developer documentation. That has been the best source of factual information.
I’m getting closer and will probably start with a Paterson tank, AP reels, and Ilford DDX developer, Stop and Fixer. Next, I’ll try Adox Rodinal developer, then the Cinestill DF96 Developer/Fix combo, which seems to have mixed results, so I’ll use a roll of film with nothing too important on it.
I’ve had three sessions of practise in the dark bag transferring film onto the different reels. Which I will say is mandatory. You will find problems, I promise. Use gloves? Which reels do you like? What happens when the film binds on the reel? What are your options if you can’t do it and need to take a break? How sweaty do your hands get? Which scissors work best for you? 35mm and 120 are two different animals; you need to practice with both. Just bite the bullet and sacrifice two rolls of film and practice with them. Trust me, it will pay dividends.
I’m happy with my film scanning setup, so no issues there for now. Just need to shoot more film and start developing.
I love big gate numbers. Maybe I’m just getting old, but some jetways have really small numbers, are hard to see, or have no markings at all. Boise does it right. Big and Bold!
Well, what a day. I had planned to get up early, take two cameras to the Wildlife Park, and wander around before the heat really ramped up. But I woke up to text messages and emails saying I had used airline miles to buy tickets on Qatar Airways, along with two credit card charges for additional mileage purchases. I logged in to my account and found 185k miles missing. The one damn account I did not have 2FA on. WTF OVER!
So it took all morning to clean that up. By the time I was done, it was quickly climbing toward today’s high of 113°F/45°C, so my photo walk plans went by the wayside.
So you get this mediocre iPhone shot instead. I do like the moody feel, though…
I’m aiming for the Wildlife Park photo walk tomorrow. Planning a digital-and-film camera walk. I was able to get out a short while today with the Nikon F3, trying to get through a 36-exposure roll of Ilford Ilfocolor 400 Vintage Tone. I wanted to start tomorrow with a fresh roll.
Hope your day went better than mine.
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Well, I’m convinced that developing at home will save money and might just be fun. Might be fun, heck, I know it will be fun! I have such fond memories of working in the dark room, and this will be a tiny step toward that feeling.
I’m waiting on some C-41 chemicals, and I have my black-and-white chemicals to start with. I’ve watched numerous videos to refresh myself and have practiced rolling film onto the spools in the dark bag a number of times, both 35mm and 120. I’m sticking with the AP plastic spools for now. You can see what I’m using, what videos I watched, and other resources here.
I’m going to start with a few rolls of black-and-white film. Get comfortable with that, then dive into the temperature-sensitive C-41 developing.
I’m starting with rolls that don’t have anything precious on them to make sure I know what I’m doing. Any great shots will be brought to the local lab until I get my process down. Too many ways to screw it up.
I hope to get a blog post up soon about my process, what I used, and how it went. I’m guessing within a week or so, I’ll have time to start.
Equipment for this first round of B&W developing
ILFORD:
Developer: DD-X
Ilfostop
Rapid Fixer
Washaid
Wetting Agent
Paterson Tanks, AP and Paterson spools/reels, dark bag, scissors, film retriever, hanging clips, Pec Pads, and distilled water.
Went to a new doc today. He had the coolest, laid-back, 1930s-style office I’ve ever seen. And it was peaceful and empty!
It was the best medical office I’ve ever been to. With that said, you don’t want to have to go here; it means you have a nodule on your thyroid. Ya, you can pass on that.
The Indigenous flag was designed by artist Curtis Wilson (d 2019).
The renowned artist was born and raised in the Ligwilda’xw territories, and he was a member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation in Campbell River.
I probably shouldn’t write anything today.
I’m tired, didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and to top it off, I wasn’t happy with any of today’s photos. None of them.
My only bright spot was getting to futz around in my office all day, and my Ilford vintage tone film came in the mail. I’m excited to see what it produces. I promptly loaded it into the F3 and shot a few frames around the house. Maybe tomorrow, if it’s cool enough, I’ll take it out for a little outing after seeing the doc. I have to see a surgeon about whether he thinks it’s time to remove a thyroid nodule. Good times…
May you have good light!
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I wasn’t happy with any pictures today. I’m posting just because it’s what I shot today.
Curve-billed ThrasherCurve-billed ThrasherGila Woodpeckers, a male and his offspring from this year - I'm just amazed at the odd angle that they can hold on. How they push off and fly from such an awkward position is amazing to watch.Then, how they hang on to a vertical wall.
Bread-making day today. We have a small local bakery close to us that we really want to keep in business, so we purchase most of our bread and croissants from them, but we still make some bread at home. It’s fun and something that my wife and I can do together. I say together, but she does most of the work. My main job is Sourdough Maintainer. I’ve made and maintained a sourdough starter since I was in my early 20s. Not sure why, I just always thought it was cool. I keep a small batch healthy and happy to use in bread and pancakes. If you want a resource for sourdough, here is a good one.
Worked most of the day in the office on learning more about photo scanning, posting about having a Life Manifesto on Cliff538.com, and I wanted to make a dedicated page for my foray back into film before I got too deep into the weeds and started to forget things. Just a page to list out my posts and the resources I have found worthy in this journey for anyone interested in exploring film or film scanning. Plus, it’s for me to look back and reference things. You can see it here.
I also really enjoyed Jasper’s: Kent 1, Kent 2, and Kent 3? series. Great photos from a part of the world I haven’t spent that much time in. And this great YouTube video about the very last Polaroid factory in the Netherlands. I had no idea how complex it is. Great behind-the-scenes look. It will help you understand why film is so expensive. Haven’t looked at Polaroid recently? Check out their cameras, film and printers. The factory now employs about 150 people; in its heyday, it was 1200+. The film is still supported in cameras that are 50 years old, kudos to Polaroid for always supporting their legacy cameras. Blue pasta goop, pudding, roller pressure, aging, spread factors, it’s incredibly complex to maintain legacy cameras with the new film. You get to see the old 8x10 peel-apart machinery, which they only run from time to time, hence the perpetual shortage. They love 8x10 and say they have no plans to stop producing it. The machines are old and finicky and in desperate need of an overhaul.
Sad day for taking photos, but a good day on the film scanning front!
More down in Stray Pixels about the film journey.
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Film Journey:
Today was mostly an office day to see if I could do my own scans of my negatives and get them close to the professional lab results.
I’m going to post the professional lab scans, then my camera scans. My goal is to be able to scan my own negatives and at least come close to lab-quality. I know labs vary widely, and I only have one lab to compare to right now, but I don’t think mine are that bad, especially for my first attempt. There is a pretty steep learning curve, and I’m sure I’ll get better as I learn more and practice. Please ignore the photo content; these were test shots to make sure my grandfather’s Rollei was still working, and my light metering technique was working. I was just shooting random stuff around the house. Oh, and ignore the dust! My word, the dust on my black-and-white negatives was horrible. I’m going to have to be way more careful in the future.
I’m also going to have to decide where I’m going to document my film journey. Here in Stray Pixels, or I should probably just make a proper page over on Cliff538.com. I will give this some thought.
The last photo is a Vlads Test Target. It’s a simple concept that works really well for testing sharpness, especially in the photo corners. Setting up your camera and film scanner so that everything is straight and parallel is really important. Then figure out which aperture setting on your lens gives you the best focus, especially in the corners. I was using f/8 on my lens, and there is some softness in the corners. This warrants some testing with other apertures.
I used my Nikon Z8 with an MC 105/2.8 lens and a Valoi 360 system. Processed with LightRoom Classic and Negative Lab Pro.
All shots taken with a Rolleiflex. The color film was Kodak Portra 400, and the B&W was Ilford HP5 400.
Professional Lab ScanProfessional Lab ScanProfessional Lab ScanMy First Attempt at ScanningMy First Attempt at ScanningMy First Attempt at ScanningMy First Attempt at ScanningVlad's Test Target
Four A.M. sharp is van time. I was out by the curb early with a cup of coffee, sitting in the dawn’s first light, all alone, listening as the birds slowly woke and began announcing the day. A peaceful little pocket of quiet before the hectic day ahead: airports, crowds, and full aluminum tubes streaking through the air at 500 miles per hour.
Four legs today. Only an hour late by the end of the day. Not too bad for Summer flying.
Pro Tip: If you are traveling by air, take the first few flights out in the morning. Morning flights always leave on time. These planes fly all day long, and by early afternoon, they are running hours late due to mechanicals, weather, and a hundred other reasons. Do yourself a favor, and fly out early. I know it’s hard to get up early, but it’s better than getting to the airport only to be 3+ hours delayed or canceled.
What a day. Full airplanes, lots of thunderstorms, delays, holding, waiting, plane changes, and more! Glad to be done. 10 hours' rest, and let’s go do it again. Let’s get people where they want to go!
Weak photo today, but it’s the only one from today.
Hope it was a great day, thank you for stopping by.
Nice day at work. Good weather and easy flying. Overnighting in SJC, and it’s crazy busy here. I guess there is a World Cup game(s) going on right now.
Ah, road life. Not always fun or pleasant. Another rough night’s sleep. The resort limits how cold you can make the room, and it’s just too hot for me. I like to sleep cold. But mediocre coffee and a good breakfast shake off the lack of sleep this morning.
Out walking this morning, I was wondering why some bushes are filled with purple flowers while another right next to them is bare. You can see down in Stray Pixels, why.
Well, the plane is already over an hour late; it might be a long day, life on the road.
