Tag: nikon fm2n

My first roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 and home developing fun……..

Last week I decided as I was shooting more and more film I would have to have a go at developing my own negatives. This is something I have not done since school.

When studying for my ‘O’ level Art my teacher Mr Halley who was a keen photographer set up a darkroom and some of us who were interested in photography got to waste our Friday afternoons developing and printing our own stuff which is where I got gripped with the photography bug over 30 years ago.

With a mixture of memory/facebook friends and youtube I ventured into my makeshift darkroom /bathroom 🙂  and thought I had made a total mess of my film.

First it all unwound and dropped to the floor, then I managed to cut the leader at an angle so it would not wind on to the spool, eventually I emerged from the bathroom thinking the worst but I was so pleased after opening up the processing tank when I saw images instead of clear or black film.

It is such a thrill to process my own film it brings back so many memories, I love processing my digital shots too, but there is something about the look/feel and smell of Film.

These shots are far from perfect but as it is all my own work I love them…….

Thanks for looking…….comments are very welcome  🙂

Click on photo to view larger……….

Photo Exhibition and Cardiff Bay……..

We went to the “Cardiff after Cardiff” exhibition at the Wales Millennium Centre this weekend and thoroughly  enjoyed it, I love Street Photography and this was right up my street as they say.

Here is a link to the exhibition   http://www.wmc.org.uk/Productions/2012-2013/18969/79765/?view=Standard

Here is the link to the blog that explains how this exhibition came about  http://cardiffbeforecardiff.tumblr.com/

After the viewing we walked around the bay looking for photo opportunities using my film camera and my D7000 and Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and immediately came across a great couple sitting down enjoying an ice cream. I didnt want to shoot them candidly so I asked if they were up for a portrait and they gladly obliged  🙂

The main image at the top of the blog is of the Seamen’s Memorial Sculpture created by Brian Fell to the sailors of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War and the building in the background is the Pierhead Building built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company.

 

All in all it was a cheap afternoon out and I am looking forward to getting my film back to see the results, Cardiff Bay is a great place to shoot street stuff.

Click on any image to view larger…..

Thanks for looking ….  comments welcomed

Who thought that a Film Scanner could be so addictive?………

As a few of my followers of my blog know I have started getting back into shooting film again.

It’s a very enjoyable experience but is not a cheap pastime so I decided to take the film scanning part of the cost out by purchasing my own film scanner, an Epson Perfection V330 Photo to be precise.

link : http://www.epson.co.uk/Store/Scanners/Epson-Perfection-V330-Photo

Not only can I scan in my newly shot negatives but I had loads of old stuff dying to see the light of day and enter the digital world.

I have noticed that it is far easier to scan the new negs than it is the old ones, even though I thought I had taken care of them every little imperfection really stands out when scanned at 3200 dpi or approx 12 megapixel which is plenty for what I want to use them for.

I have uploaded some of my first scans, a mixture of old ( my daughter Amy on her 3rd Birthday 14 years ago) and some taken last weekend.

I am really impressed with the scanner it is pretty quick and the quality is first class, I scanned the neg of my son that I took a few weeks ago to compare it to the original scan I had when getting the film processed and I must say it was like chalk and cheese this little scanner took the prize.

comments very welcome……..

You have to love Film………..

I took my 1st roll of film to Boots today for their 1hour service just to see the test results from my new Nikon FM2n.

I shot various subjects just to get used to using a fully manual camera on Kodak Ultramax 400 film. The portraits were shot using the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 and the others with the Nikkor 50mm f1.8.

I wasn’t very impressed with printing or the scans from Boots but I was very pleased with the focus and exposure considering I am used to Aperture priority and Autofocus.

I can’t wait to get some Fuji Professional PRO 400H and some Kodak Professional Portra 400 and shoot loads more stuff but get it processed by a decent lab.

The camera is a real pleasure to use and I am so pleased with the results, there is such a difference between using Film to shooting Digital it slows me down and makes me think about the photograph instead of just snapping away and picking the best in post production.

Feedback on the photographs greatly received……..

Am I Becoming a Camera Whore…….?

This weekend I have added another camera to my collection and have come to the conclusion that I am becoming a camera whore……. lol

The Nikon FM2n that I got my hands on is a dream camera, when I was in school I looked at the Nikons and longed to own one but never managed to get one.

I have a few film cameras now and do use them but not as much as I should but this FM2n is definitely going to change that.

I have just put my first roll of film through her and it was such a good feeling ( manual only was very liberating) and really slowed my photography down to a snails pace.

I cannot see myself shooting any sports with this camera even though it goes to 1/4000 sec but having to manage the aperture and shutter speed is not as easy as the Aperture priority I have been used to for the las 30 years or so.

Here are some shots of my lovely cameras messed about with in Photoshop    🙂