Category: 35mm

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Eastman Double-X

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I was very lucky last Christmas to receive a generous gift from my Emulsive Secret Santa. Included in the box were a number of rolls of film, a camera strap, and a pin badge. Also in the box was a lovely Kodak Retinette IIa camera along with a very nice letter from my kind benefactor.

The film included two rolls of Eastman Double-X and I was very happy about that. Unfortunately, I think my happiness at receiving it also made me very cautious about shooting it. I felt that I didn’t want to waste the film on everyday snaps and that I should use it at a worthy location or occasion.

I’ve come to realise that this is probably not the best thing to do. I was given some great film and instead of getting out and taking some great pictures I was instead hoarding it away like Gollum with the One Ring. Last weekend I visited the steam and vintage rally at Lincoln and as I was packing my bag, grabbed a couple of rolls of HP5+ – my go-to black and white film – before I realised that I should shoot some of the Double-X. After all, the rally would have a load of vintage vehicles and that a classic black-and-white cinema film might make them look really great, so I grabbed a roll and popped it in the bag.

I shot a couple of rolls of 135 colour film first (I shot a LOT of film on the day – for me at least – 2 rolls of 120 and 3-and-a-half of 135. It has been quite expensive getting it all processed!). Then I dropped in the Eastman Double-X and got to work with that, getting through the whole 24 exposures.

After getting the film processed, the negatives looked vey contrasty and I initially feared that I might get almost two-tone images with blown highlights and crushed blacks, but upon seeing the scans emerge, there was actually plenty of detail across the whole range. They were still very contrasty but, hey, if anyone likes contrasty photos, it’s me! It’s certainly a classy looking film, and the way the the higlights show halos (due to the anti-halation layer being removed from the film I presume) is nice too.

Anyway, I’ve not uploaded all of them to Flickr yet, but here are three from the roll…

FILM - Nice little motor

FILM - High voltage

FILM - Dodge

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 & Eastman Double-X.

Taken on 17 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Best before 2007

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A couple of photos today from a roll of expired 200asa film that I shot to test my OM-1 which seems to have developed a fault. The film is branded as Dixons, but a bit of research has led me to believe that it’s Agfa film hiding under the label. Whatever the case, I’ve shot a roll or two of this before and not been unhappy with the results. This time however, there was a much stonger purple cast on the images and I ended up converting most of them to B&W in Lightroom.

A few are ok with just minor tweaks however, including these two, where the reds are quite striking.

FILM - Rural living

FILM - Letterbox

Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 & Dixons 200asa film (expired 2007).

Taken on 12 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

The Riley Graves

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Just to the east of the village of Eyam lie the Riley Graves. This is a small cluster of graves (six in all) surrounded by a drystone wall. Depsite the name, the graves are of the Hancocke family, who all lost their lives to the plague in between the 3rd and the 17th August 1666. The name of the graves comes from Riley’s field, which is where they are situated.

FILM - The Riley Graves

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Morning delivery

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The postman makes his rounds in the village of Eyam.

Someone commented that this picture has quite a vignette, and I guess it does – I tend to add a vignette to most of my pictures in post processing, although I don’t go overboard with it. This doesn’t have any more vignetting than the others I post but it does look more noticeable (although I don’t mind). I think it’s partly down to the two areas of blue sky at the upper corners of the photo that serve to emphasise the vignette more than if it were just white cloud.

FILM - Morning deliveries

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Twisting track

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Another picture from the lane near Eyam. I was on my way back to the start point when I took this one and the track made a short twist here. I’m not sure why – I couldn’t see anything that would physically require the bend, but who knows what might have been there in the past – either trees, or maybe different ownership of plots of land or something?

FILM - Twist in the track

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

For once, they behaved how I wanted…

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On pretty much every occasion that I attempt to take a photograph of an animal, whether wild or domesticated, they never do as I want. A perfectly composed creature will become spooked and turn away as soon as my camera appears. Even the cats we’ve had in our famly – current member included – will look straight at me until the second I raise the camera to my face. Even waist level viewfinders fail to trick them into holding a pose!

So, on the occasion of today’s featured shot, I was very happy when the white faced cow maintained its curious gaze while I made the picture. 🙂

FILM - Ghost face

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

There and back again

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A couple of photos for today’s post, so chosen because they present a pair of images depicting the same location.

They both show the same country lane featured in my image posted yesterday, but about half-a-mile or so further along it’s length. At this point, the track decends into a gentle limestone valley and the route takes on a meander. The viewpoint from both sides of the small valley were very nice, although the light had broken through a little by the time I took the second image on the way up the other side, so that one has a lighter feel.

I’m not sure if the electricity pole detracts from the scene. It probably does if it was a traditional, nostalgic rural scene I was going for, but these poles and other pieces of infrastructure are a part of the landscape these days and, while maybe not as picturesque, no less man-made than the drystone walls that criss-cross the land.

What do you think? Do these sort of objects spoil or enhance a scene?

FILM - Westbound

FILM - Eastbound

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A lane under a tree

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A shot from a walk in the countryside near Eyam on Thursday morning. The trip was ostensibly for a recce of a location (as seen in this shot) and I took a bunch of photos on digital with the plan being, if they look ok, to come back in the autumn for an early morning picture with some colour on the tree.

I also had the Minolta Hi-Matic G2 with me as I’ve been running a roll of HP5+ through it to check it’s all ok prior to selling it on. It’s a nice little camera, but this is only the second time I’ve used it since I got it nearly three years ago, and it doesn’t really do anything that my Olympus Trip 35 doesn’t. The action on the advance lever is sweeeet though!.

I’m not sure if the battery in the camera is running low or if it’s the wrong voltage, but most of the shots came back a little underexposed. This, however, has resulted in some wonderfully gritty and atmospheric results that I’m really taken with. You will probably be seeing more of them over the coming days. 🙂

FILM - Lane beneath a tree

Minolta Hi-Matic G2 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 8 August 2019