I am gradually working through the stock of unusual film cameras here, today arriving at the Lomography Belair X 6-12 “City Slicker”. This is a contemporary medium format camera, which on paper at least should be able to offer some amazing photographic opportunities without a huge expense. Unusually, this is a folding camera with rubber bellows and an external viewfinder, making it very much a modern version of early 120 format Kodak folding cameras.
Some more from the first two films with the Lubitel 166. It is very very hard to frame exactly with this camera, and all too easy to get light leaks and (sometimes) accidental double exposures. But I still quite like the results, perhaps because of this… All images on Delta 100 film, processed in HC 110 1+63 for 13:40 at 19c, then processed for uploading in Photoshop and Capture One Pro 9.
Abstract architectural image, shot on HP5+ and mirrored in Photoshop.
Another abstract, aiming to construct in a contradiction (I am trying very hard not to call it a supposition) that recalls both direct and inverse characteristics from the previous post. And a slightly more airy view. Leica M7 with ZM 1.5/50 on Ilford HP5+, processed in Photoshop by merging two images.
Amazing wooden decking and some very sharp towers. The architecture is fascinating as it somehow gives the impression of an immense open space, while hiding large sections of the library under your feet. As an aside, maintaining all the wood here in Paris’ notoriously damp climate must be challenging. Shot with the M7 and 50mm on Ilford HP5+ 35mm film and processed in HC110 1+63 (“H”) for 8:30 at 24c. The Zeiss C-Sonnar is a great general purpose lens, but it has a bit too much distortion for these kind of straight-line […]
The Passerelle Simone-de-Beauvoir, Paris. The same bridge as the lead photo in the previous post, but taken facing in the opposite direction, and using a film camera rather than a phone. Not withstanding compositional differences, whether or not the film images are better or worse than their phone equivalents is really a matter of taste – all that you can really say is that they are different. I started shooting film last year to help make the photographic process more deliberate and considered, and to a certain extent I […]
Three string chairs, at a cafe on the beachfront near Barceloneta. Minolta XDs with MC 24mm f2.8 and Ilford HP5+ processed in HC110 1+63 (dilution B).
The Design Museum, Barcelona. The wooden scaffold is a sun-shade from the adjacent square. Minolta XDs with MC 24mm f2.8 on Ilford HP5+ processed in HC110.
Old books at the Els Encants market, Barcelona. This is a market whose origins date back to the 14th century, yet which is now housed in a new ultra modern permanent building. Despite the architecture, the market retains much of the character that you might expect if you were to mix a 14th century trading style with 21st century goods. The aim was to capture some candid images of people browsing the second hand books, furniture, ceramics and general bric-a-brak:
Three images of the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona. Still very unsure if this is inspired or terrifying architecture, although all I can think of when I see its military grey straight walls is all those 70’s dystopian science-fiction futures. All images shot on HP5+ with the Minolta XDs and 24mm lens, for a change of perspective.
Basilica di San Giacomo, Bellagio, Italy.
Landscape (lakescape?), shot on Lago di Como, Italy. The ghostly halos around the reflections are the rendering from the Zeiss C-Sonnar lens, which was used here with a stack of ND filters to allow it to be used nearly wide open while not burning a hole in the M7’s shutter curtain… Shot on Delta 100, processed in HC110 at box speed.
“We are Narcissus” – temporary art installation at la Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona.
I finally figured out a workflow that allows me to scan and then process black-and-white images with reasonable efficiency using Capture One… The main challenge is that C1 fails to handle the 16 bit grayscale TIFF images that the scanner produces, necessitating a conversion to a 16 bit colour TIFF file before the imported images can be edited. The trick is to use ZIP compression, which leaves the file sizes virtually unchanged. As a result, my film processing workflow currently looks something like this:
Cable car, Switzerland. This is definitely a country for the lazy hiker… Leica M7 with Zeiss ZM 2/35 using a red filter and Ilford Delta 100 processed in HC110 dilution H.
Mountain stream in Switzerland. Ilford Delta 100 processed in HC110 dilution H.
Transient Eye 