Farewell Kurokiba, Farewell....

Death is never more appalling then when it comes to someone who has barely begun to live. Kurokiba came to us after her mother was unable to take care of her at 19 days old. We took her in, bottle fed her and made her part of our family. Unfortunately, the long life that should have been was cut short by an illness the Vet was unable to cure and, at just 18 months, she passed from our lives.

Nikon FE2 Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8 Kodak Ultramax 400 Arista C-41

Scanned using a Kodak Pakon F135 Plus using Pakon's OEM scanning software.

Ilford posts a step by step film processing guide for beginners

Ilford has posted a new guide to black and white film processing for beginners. It is, of course, built around the using their products, but the PDF is very detailed and a great way to get you film wet with processing. Click on the links above to download the PDF.

Loss

Adox Golf Cassar 75mm f4.5 Adox Art CHS 100 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - Sometimes mistakes work. Another shot with the Adox Golf. One where I forgot the rangefinder was uncoupled. The bench should have been the focus point, but obviously things did not work out that way. They more a look at this image the more a like it. It seems to convey some base emotion. Maybe it is just me.

Fun with Color Exposure 12

Kiev 60 Arsat 80 mm f2.8 FujiFilm NPH 400 Arista C-41 Chemicals -  Just a little fun with color and these little creatures. Working with the Arista 41 Liquid C-41 Kit and a PhotoTherm tempering bath. Processing temperature is 101°F in a standard Paterson System 4 tank. I using constant stirring agitation during Developer step, and during Bleach/Fix constant stirring agitation during the first minute following by 10 seconds every one minute there after. I keep the developing tank in the tempering bath during the developing and Bleach/Fix Steps. I am extremely happy not only with the results, but also with the stability and capacity of the Arista C-41 Chemicals. I am storing chemicals in collapsable "Air-Vac" type containers to ensure the best shelf life,

Lomokino Frames

Lomography Society Lomokino FujiFilm Neopan SS 100 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - A segment of film shot on the Lomokino. The frames are almost a quarter of the size of a normal 35mm frame and definitely "wide screen."

Happy Holidays. However You Celebrate

Bronica S2A Nikkor 75mm f2.8 Kodak Tri-X 400 HC-110 Dil. B - From the 1980's. Still one of my favorites. I wish I'd never let that Bronica go.

Drama

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Efke 100R Adox Adonal 1:50 -  My first time using Efke 100R and my first time using Adox Adonal (Rodinal). I always charted a safe course with Black and White developers, sticking to what I knew worked. In my days working in a camera store in the 1980's Rodinal seemed to be of the "Old Timers", too stubborn to try new, modern developers. Pairing it with Efke 100R guaranteed heavy grain, but I know that going in. I like the look of both the film and developer provide. More experiment is on tap for both this film and developer.

Gargoyle Campfire Color Exposure 11

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 FUJIFILM NPH Pro 400 Arista C-41 - The warmth of color and tungsten. No corrections, not filters. I think it makes a nice effect. I have loved Fujifilm's NPH since it first came out.

Gargoyle Campfire Exposure 2

Keiv 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Rollei Retro 400s Arista 76 Developer Stock - Another from the same series. I like these, but I think I will revisit the shot.

Gargoyle Campfire Exposure 9

Keiv 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Rollei Retro 400s Arista 76 Developer Stock - An old Aquarium bulb and some fast film and lead to interesting results. I love the luck of the Retro 400s film, but am struggling with it's tendency to curl, making scanning difficult.

From the Archives - Sometimes the ones you like don't make sense.

Nikon F2AS Nikkor 35-105 f3.5-4.5 (assumed) Fuji Neopan 400 Kodak HC-110 - Most likely shot in 1987 or 1988 this is a one off shot I keep coming back too. It seems to ask more questions than it answers. Grainy, missed focus and contrasting , I have to assume this roll was pushed, but the specifics are long lost to time. Most would consider this a cast off, but there is just something about it I like. Scan is pretty much "as is" which seems fitting for this image.

Large Format no. 1

Grafex Speed Graphic Optar 1.5 f4.7 Kodak T-Max 400 (expired) Arista 76 Developer 1:1 - Sometime around 1995 I bought a 25 Sheet box of 4x5 Kodak T-Max 400, with the intention of using it with the Speed Graphic I bought in the same year. 16 years later I am finally shooting it. Sometimes life gets in the way.  The film held up surprisingly well. The expiration date is 01/1996, but there is minimal base fogging and the sensitivity does not seem to be that fair off. Scanned using a HP ScanJet 5370c.

Autumn in Lynchburg

Canon Canonet QL17 G-III 40mm f1.7 FUJIFILM Superia 200 CA135- Autumn is hitting is stride in Lynchburg, Virginia.  A walk in Riverside part overlooking looking the James River yielded this shot. I love shooting with rangefinders like the Canonet.

Film Noir #1

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Rollei Retro 400s 120 D-76 Stock -  A bit of my Helmet Newton influence showing, or is it Film Noir. I am tired of seeing the world through the filtered, clean, sterile eyes of some ad  executive. Reality is beautiful, plan and simple

Graflex Speed Graphic Image no. 1

Graflex Speed Graphic Graflex Optar 135mm f4.7 using a 6x6 120 Roll Back.  Kodak T-Max 400 D-76 Stock. Using the 120 back mean I am shooting through the best part of the glass and it shows. This lens is tack sharp, The Graflex Roll back requires you to remove the ground glass back to install it so it is important to get things nailed down.

Feeling the Season II

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 FUJIFILM NPH 400 Arista C-41 Processing - Back to color, and the standard Kiev 80mm lens. May retry this when the leaves have changed a bit more. The shelf life of the Arista C-41 procession kit is still impressive. Well over 2 months since I mixed it and still producing acceptable results.

A little Out of Date

Kiev 60 Arsat 45mm f3.5 FUJIFILM NPH 400 Expired 1995-6 Arista C41 - Found some expired film hiding in a box and could not resist the urge to shoot it. Shot at rated 400 ISO and developed normally, film has a some base fogging and appear to be about 2 stops under exposed. I have 2 more rolls, so further experimentation to come.

Voightlander Bessa 66 Shot

Voightlander Bessa 66 FUJIFILM NPH 400 Arista C-41 - Just a quick snap to show the Bessa's Sharpness and Color rendition.

Chess Pieces

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Kodak T-Max TMY 400 D-76 Stock. A few hours spent with my Grandfather's chest set. My Father taught me to play chess with these.

Scanning Film

Nikon 8008 55mm Micro Nikkor f2.8 AIS FUJI Superia 200 Arista C-41 Kit - Scanning film is an art I am still working to master. This is scanned in a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual III using Silverfast SE plus software. Dust us still the enemy as it is with printing, but even more so for scanning. The Dual Scan III does not have Digital ICE like my Epson V500 does but the dust and scratch removal software in Silverfast seems to be excellent.