Author: timdobbsphotography

Day out to Mumbles with some Ilford Delta 100 ….

img014-EditI had to pay a visit to a doctors in Swansea the other week to have a Steroid injection in my foot in the hope to ease the pain from arthritis and as I was not sure where it was or how long it would take we popped along on a Sunday morning just to get my bearings.

It was pretty easy to find and didn’t take to long so we decided to carry on along the Gower coast to Mumbles, somewhere we have not been since the kids were little.img001-EditWhen we left the weather was pretty poor and was still pretty gloomy when we arrived but the clouds dispersed and we got some lovely sunshine now and again which was nice as I had some ilford Delta 100 in the Canon T90 with the 50mm f1.4img017-EditThere was not a lot to do there really as the Pier was shut for renovations but I did manage to get some nice shots.img011-EditI have not shot Delta 100 very much unlike 400 which I quite like and I was very happy with the results, the grain is very smooth and the tonal range is great, not as contrasty as my favorite HP5 but hey …. horses for courses.img005-Editimg006-Editimg015-EditI may push the next roll that I use just to see if I can bump up the contrast a bit, I could do it in Lightroom after the scans but I try to leave the scans pretty much as I get them with a bit of dust spotting and slight tweaks.img037-Edit img021 img019 img018-Edit img009-Edit img007-EditAll in all it was a nice day and I was happy with the T90, 50mm and Delta combo.

click an image to view larger……..

Thanks for looking … I also have a “Film Only” blog over at  usingfilm.wordpress.com if you want to take a look:-)

ilford HP5 @ 1600 …. I love the look ….

img015-EditAs a follow up to my recent post “Fathers Day” on the 52 Rolls project blog …. link in post below.

Here is the rest of the roll that I shot with my F80 and some HP5 at 1600 iso which I love shooting at even more than box speed.img012Even though the grain is more pronounced it does not impair the image in fact in my opinion it ready adds to the look that I love when shooting B&W.

The sharpness of the images also compares well to when shooting box speed too, the only slight drawback is the slight loss of shadow detail but if scanning there is a bit more you can do to the image whereas in the darkroom (I am not a master printer) it is a bit harder to do.img016I did a few test prints in my darkroom of the top image of this post and the level of detail in the negative/print is very good and so is the overall tonal range.

I did get a little more detail in the scan and would also get a slightly sharper print if I went the inkjet route but there is something much more satisfying printing in the darkroom.IMG_20160627_194001Overall I think that HP5 looks great at 1600 iso and gives me the look I love in my B&W, the grain/contrast and sharpness. I process all my B&W films using ilfotec HC so I don’t know if it would look better or worse using other developers and I may try a few others in the near future.img014img024img023img022img019-Editimg018img013img011click on an image to view larger …..

Thanks for looking … I also have a “Film Only” blog over at  usingfilm.wordpress.com/ if you want to take a look 🙂

Week 23 – A day at the fair & a local walk with some Cross Processed Velvia 50

I have been experimenting recently with a couple of different cross processed slide films, this time it was the turn of the lovely Fuji Velvia 50. I know that some people think that it is sacrilege…

Source: Week 23 – A day at the fair & a local walk with some Cross Processed Velvia 50

Eventually tested my Zuiko 75-150mm f4.0 ……

R1-02755-021AA few months ago I picked up a mint Zuiko 75-150mm f4 from Ebay for next to nothing, I didn’t think I would probably use it a lot as the Zuiko 35mm f2.8 is my goto lens whenever I shoot my OM1 or OM2s but for the price I had to get it.

R1-02755-009AI was going through one of my camera drawers and noticed the lens sitting there all alone in its case so I thought it was about time I gave it a test.

I loaded the OM2s with some Fuji Superia 400 and went out for a little walk to see how it performed.

It is quite a compact lens with its own pull out lens hood which as I was shooting in quite bright sunshine worked well and I didn’t get any lens flare.R1-02755-008A-EditOut of all the frames I shot I only missed focus on one and the sharpness and contrast were good and the Bokeh was quite pleasing in a few of the frame too.

All in all it is a really nice lens, I will try some portraits with it next  🙂

Film processing and scans as usual by http://www.filmdev.co.uk/
R1-02755-013A

Thanks for looking

I have a film only blog over at usingfilm if you want to take a peek ……

Click on an image to view larger ……