Black and White

Head Space

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  For the last month, I have shot a lot of (often dubious quality) test images using Delta 3200 and Delta 400 exposed at EI1600, in an attempt to find a suitable image style for a higher ISO exposure setting than usual. With both films, I like the results best with low light and without a strong contrast filter fitted. The daylight shots are interesting, but I find the darkened skies provided by the red filter just a bit too grainy for my taste. On balance I prefer the pushed Delta 400 to […]

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Black and White

La Sagrera

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Part of the incredibly sad railway building works at La Sagrera, Barcelona (incredibly sad, because as with so many construction projects here, they are currently “paused” thanks to appalling failures in the cost estimates and budgeting). Part of a test series for Ilford Delta 400 pushed to EI3200 in Microphen with one-stop over-exposure. Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35 in full daylight using a deep red filter. Here the sky is darkened by the red filter, but there seems to be a lot more grain in the sky than I […]

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Black and White

Skateboards

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Medium-light (dusk) image shot inside the courtyard of the CCCB, Barcelona. This was taken using the same lens as the previous shots, but this time with a deep red filter fitted. The combination of the filter and the light seems to make the grain more prominent.  I think that the overall image “look” is still quite good, however. Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35. Ilford Delta 400 exposed at EI1600 and processed for EI3200 in Microphen.

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Black and White

Holala

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High contrast illuminated shop sign, shot as part of a test sequence for push-processed Ilford Delta 400. It is a clothing shop, not really a plaza in the American sense :-) Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35. Ilford Delta 400 exposed at EI1600 and processed for EI3200 in Microphen.

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Black and White

Barcelona Street Scene

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Continuing the series of high-ISO film tests, this is the first of a set of images taken using Ilford Delta 400, exposed at EI1600 and processed as if for EI3200 (ie: equivalent to rating the film at ISO3200 but over-exposing each image by one stop). These were processed in Microphen stock. The results are clearly different to Delta 3200 shot under the same conditions and the same developer. The images are clearly less grainy and although the tonality is not quite as good, the results are quite nice. The scans […]

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Black and White

La Boqueria

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Low-light test shots with Ilford Delta 3200, shot at EI 1600 and processed in Microphen stock for 6:30 at 24c. This was probably slightly underexposed (1/2 stop), despite the implicit 1 stop push from the developing time. Shot with the M7 and ZM 2/35.  

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Landscape

Black and White Film Workflow with Capture One

Lake Silvaplana, Switzerland. Leica M7, Zeiss ZM 2/35 and Ilford Delta 100.
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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:

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Landscape

The Naked Mountain

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The swiss alps, between Silvaplana and St Moritz. In winter this are would usually be full of skiers, but in summer the ski-lifts provide a quick (if expensive) start to a hike in the mountains. Although the mountains are rather barren, if you time the trip well there are usually many photogenic flowers to explore – and maybe the odd naked hiker, if that thing is still allowed near St Moritz. Leica M7 with Zeiss ZM 2/35 and  Ilford Delta 100 , processed in HC110 Dilution H (1+63 from concentrate) for 7:30 […]

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