Photography by Naomi Drew
I went out around noonish when I decided to shoot the roll of Tri-X 400 and have it pushed in processing. Is this the result of pushing, or did hte lab fail to do it.? I have no idea! Nonetheless, I really enjoy the silhouette of the tree and branches against the midday sun.
Another one of the bronze statues in the complex which houses our public library, teen center, and senior center. Behind it all is a neighborhood park, complete with pond, some hiking trails, barbecue and picnic areas, as well as a creek and playground. It’s a place where you can do a lot of things and find a number of resources for all ages. It’s a true asset to our community.
I decided to load up a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 and have it pushed at the photo lab to +2. I had done this with Ilford HP5 with good results. Here – did they push it or not? I am completely unsure!
We have a wonderful library where I live. There is a huge children’s section, separated from the main library. Child-size chairs and tables, activities, fun books and research books. I go there often just to enjoy what kids (and big and old kids) get to read. This statue is outside the entrance to the children’s library, one of a small number of statues found scattered around the grounds.
This once was a black and white photo! Really! Look what post production playing produced . . .
Below is the original black and white image, shot on Ilford FP4+ with an orange filter – an Orange 21 specifically – using an Olympus OM-1n and 50mm f3.5 macro lens.
This was the first pass with a preset I made in On1 Photo Raw 2019.
I added the same preset to the above a second time and got the very first one you see at the top.
I am not sure if I can replicate it, but plan on trying.
Meanwhile, I need to read a lot more about orange filters – some of the images came out ok, some great, and a lot were just worthless.
I just had to put this photo out there today.
I recently acquired a new-to-me Certo 6 camera, It has the legendary Carl Zeiss Tessar 80mm f2.8 lens. The camera and lens date from around 1953 (give or take). I shot this at f2.8 to check out the DOF and sharpness of the lens. I’m amazed. The Ektar 100 came through, too, with beautiful colors.
The Certo 6 is an odd folder in the sense that it has many features that other folding cameras (bellows cameras) of the same time era do not have. Also, because current 120 film is thinner than that of the 50s, there is a potential for overlap of images – which I did not experience – and other quirks that need to be worked out. I really like folders because they force you to slow down and think, as well as consider what you want to see on your film.
Square format is a compositional challenge as well. As this is part of my first roll through the camera, composition was not of any real importance for me, but using the camera was. For some reason I got only 9 out of 12 exposures on the film, but that is something I think I have figured out, and will run another roll of play film through the camera to check out my ideas . . . like I said, ya gotta think sometimes!
More to come.
This is an image desaturated to black and white from the Dubble Bubble Gum film I won over a year ago. I cropped it, and cleaned it up a bit for this post, but the original unedited and uncropped version is below!
I decided to send the Welta Weltur our for a bit of a CLA. The rangefinder / viewer is a bit foggy and makes it difficult to focus easily. That is taken care of by using a smaller f-stop, thus increasing the DOF. I am not sure how this light leak occurred – perhaps when it was being developed.
Taken with Ilford XP Super 400, Welta Weltur from 1937, Xenar lens. Guestimated exposures. Scanned with Epson V600.
Another view of the local botanical gardens. Today’s image is much sharper than yesterday’s – less muddy from a bit of blur. Again, Weltur, Ilford, and Xenar.
It seems the Xenar is quite good at handling contrast. The LR historgram shows both in its display. As well, the Epson V600 handles C-41 processed B&W film with Digital Ice – very little clean up done in post. With one roll of the XP Super film left, I am tempted to get some more . . .
A tree, a sunny day, a canyon, a 1937 folding Welta Weltur camera, a colored filter, 120 film shot in6x4.5 film, Ilford film, a Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 2.8 80mm lens. Such a delight to get back from the lab (even if I have to do a bit of cleaning up in LR)!
If you look closely, you will see there is blur in the image. I finally figured out that the way I was pressing the exposure button was the fault. I did it too quickly, and the result was a sort of little jerk. Motion and blur. That is why some pictures from this roll are sharper and others softer. Interesting how you have to really think about things differently depending on the camera you are using.
While not where Wordsworth was, this little bit of local beauty is always a place of tranquility and quiet – a place, a place to be thankful for each day.
