I took a trip out with the Chamonix 4×5 camera last weekend. I had two reasons for doing so. The first was that I had some free time, the weather was nice (even if the skies were a little too clear this time), and I wanted to go out and take pictures. The second reason was to shoot some pictures without my yellow filter to see if I would still get any out of focus areas without it being used.
The answer to the second was that, no, I didn’t, which is a relief. I did get some out of focus areas, but these were ones that I can explain away to camera operator failure. 🙂
I went out to North Leverton Windmill and took five photos there, some of which I’ll publish here in due course. After photographing the windmill I headed over to Sturton-le-Steeple to shoot my final sheet of film, with the idea of photographing West Burton Power Station which sits a mile ot two away, taking advantage of the nearby River Trent.
I did take a picture of the power station but with the Bronica, which I’d also taken out with me, and which had my 150mm lens, giving a better view of the station (one day, I think I’ll go for a walk around the power station, and try to get some nice atmospheric pictures from closer range – there are a whole bunch of public footpaths surrounding the facility).
In the end, I shot my final sheet of Fomapan in the village itself, with the church as the subject, and it has come out quite well. A functional yellow filter might have added some more “pop” to the skies and, annoyingly, the new box of Fomapan I’ve just received appears to have the same issue with white speckles on the negative that I’ve encountered before, which means I now need to try and get a refund and the messing around that will entail. I think I might stick to Ilford film in future, even though the cost is higher.
Chamonix 045N-1. Fujinon NW 135mm f/5.6 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken 2 September 2023.
Steel City Snapper photography 
Can you get Arista EDU Ultra where you are? I really like it for a budget, messing around, lemme see if this works sort of thing. This is ortho, but…
https://www.freestylephoto.com/category/2-Film/Black-and-White-Film?stock=0&mfg%5B%5D=5&attr%5B%5D=1-4&q=
I don’t know if it’s available in the UK, though.
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Arista is sold/marketed by Freestyle in Los Angeles, so I doubt it’s available in the UK. Anyways, current Arista is simply repackaged Fomapan (labels state it’s made in Czechia, and there’s only one film maker there) so it does not matter.
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Perhaps, but I’ve had fewer problems with the rolls of 120 with Arista on it than I have had with Fomapan on it.
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You can find Arista film in the UK, but given it’s the same stock as Fomapan, it’s not worth the extra it costs.
I’ve managed to secure a refund for my faulty Fomapan 100, so once I get that through I think I’ll buy a box of Ilford Delta 100. Half as many sheets for twice the price, but hopefully without the risk of quality issues.
I do like Fomapan 100 – it looks really nice – so I might take a chance on it again one day.
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