Tag: Bronica ETRSi

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mossy topped rock

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I shot my first (ever) roll of Velvia last weekend, and today’s picture is the first of them that I’m posting. It’s a fairly simple shot of some autumnal leaves atop a mossy rock.

I underexposed most of the shots as I wanted to try and get nicely saturated colours, and they’re definitely there on the transparencies. Scanning them satisfactorily on my Epson V550 flatbed has taken some work though and they’ve needed quite a bit of Lightroom faffery to get them close to looking like the originals.

I think part of this is down to shooting it in somewhat gloomy conditions – I think I’ll try shooting something in better (or at least sunny) weather next time. I also noticed that a number of photos are a little soft. I have a feeling that this is down to the longer shutter speeds that I needed. Although I was using a tripod, I have a feeling that I ought to have made use of the mirror lock-up switch for these to prevent vibrations.

Oh well, I’ll try that next time.

FILM - Punk rock

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fujifilm Velvia 50.

Taken on 23 October 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A walk in Whitwell Woods

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The weather has been typically November-ish of late which, for the UK, means grey, wet and somewhat miserable. I’ve got several rolls of slide film with “Autumn” written all over them, but I’m starting to think that it’s going to be a somwhat lacklustre year for the colour. We’re in a situation (or at least we are in the part of the country where I live) where many of the trees have already turned and lost their leaves, while others are still largely green.

Despite this, there was a short break in the grey weather on Sunday, so I took a trip out to Whitwell Woods to see if there was anything to be seen and photographed. It was my first trip out with the Bronica in a few months (I think only the third time I’ve shot it, for that matter), and the first time shooting it without the metered prism and speed-winder / grip. As I took a tripod and lightmeter with me I didn’t envisage this being an issue, and it wasn’t.

That being said, my slight unfamiliarity with the camera resulted in my wasting three shots at the start of the roll, and for a couple of shots where I decided to open the 75mm lens to it’s widest f/2.8 aperture, largely missed focus. I’m not sure why this was as, although the depth of focus is pretty narrow at this aperture – particularly when the subject is close to the lens – I was confident that it was in focus in the viewfinder (with a split-prism screen). I think I might set up a test shot in a controlled environment to see if it was user error, or something else.

The woods themselves were very pleasant to walk through, although the paths were a bit squishy, and here are a few pictures.

FILM - Whitwell autumn

FILM - Lost in a forest all alone

FILM - Shattered

FILM - Autumn bokeh

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fujifilm Provia 100.

Taken on 3 November 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A path through the barley

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When thinking of a title for the picture shown today, I was forced to find the answer to that age-old question that has puzzled our species for so long: Is it wheat, or is it barley?

Turns out it’s barley. The main visual differentiator, so I’ve learned today, is that barley has a long beard (the bristles that protect the kernels). So there you have it.

Anyway, here’s a photo of some wheat barley.

FILM - A path through the barley

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 20 July 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Returning to old paths

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Back in January 2018 I took this photo. I liked the location, and the area it was taken (the Moss Valley to the southeast of Sheffield) is a very pleasant agricultural area criss-crossed with footpaths and narrow lanes, and dotted with pockets of woodland. Although I’ve re-visited the Moss Valley a few times since then – albeit not as often as I’d have liked – I’ve not returned to the place where the linked photograph was taken until this weekend just gone.

Today’s photograph was taken on the same footpath as that shot, although just a little further down the hill. The main difference between the pictures is the height of the crops in the field through which the footpath cuts. In the previous shot the field shows nothing but early signs of growth, while in the recent shot, the crop (I believe that it’s Oilseed Rape) is almost ready for harvest. Had I ventured here a couple of months ago it would have been in full bloom and presented itself as a sea of vibrant yellow. Maybe I’ll return for that next year.

FILM - We've been here before

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 20 July 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Urban poppies

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At this time of year it’s commonplace to see lots of photographs featuring fields full of poppies. The scarlet blossoms are in full bloom and make for an arresting sight, often contrasting beautifully with green fields of barley and wheat.

I don’t have one of those shots.

So, instead, here are some hardy poppies making a life for themselves in a somewhat less photogenic location. But who cares about the placement? The poppies have nontheless made themselves the star of the show in this incongruous patch of concrete and metal fencing.

FILM - Urban poppies

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujifilm Pro 400H.

Taken on 7 July 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Kelham Island

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I’ve been out to the cinema this evening (to see Spiderman: Far From Home) and so don’t have much time to write a post unfortunately.

This is a shot I took last weekend of the Kelham Island museum in Sheffield. I posted a similar shot from a slightly different vantage point about eighteen months ago.

FILM - Kelham Island

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujifilm Pro 400H.

Taken on 7 July 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Testing out the Bronica

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As a treat for my birthday this year, I decided to get myself a Bronica ETRSi. I’d been thinking about a different aspect-ratio medium format camera for some time (and almost bought one a few months back), so my birthday seemed a good time to take the plunge. The camera I got is in nice condition and came with the 75mm Zenzanon f/2.8 lens, the speed-grip, and the AEII prism finder. The camera is very heavy in comparison with any others I own and, especially when the lens hood is fitted, looks like I’m carrying a movie camera around with me!

The camera came fitted with the standard, plain ground-glass focussing screen. While this is in pristine condition, I found that it was very difficult to finesse my focusing – especially when using wider apertures at closer distances. However, I managed to find a split-prism finder that someone had advertised as faulty and scratched, so I took the plunge and took a chance on it. The new focusing screen works fine and, while it’s certainly seen some action and gained a number of battle scars in its time, it’s still nice and bright and the focussing is much, much easier with the split prism.

I took a few family shots last week and decided to finsh off my test roll this lunchtime so headed out to the nearby village of Ridgeway for a short walk and to shoot the remaining six frames.  While the camera is very weighty, the speed-grip makes it pretty comfortable to handle in both landscape and portrait orientations, and I had no problems controlling it.

I dropped the film off on my way back to work and was very fortunate when the lab were able to process it before they closed this afternoon, so a big thanks and shout-out to the great people at Peak Imaging.

Here are three of the shots that I’ve scanned and uploaded.

FILM - Little landscapes

FILM - Church gate

FILM - Resting places

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Tri-X (expired).

Taken on 4 July 2019