Final Post

It is with a mix of sadness and gratitude that I write this final post for my film photograph blog. For the past 10 years, I have explored the beauty and magic of the analog world, sharing my passion for film photography with you. I have seen the community grow and evolve, and I have been honored to be a part of it.

To all of my readers, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you. Thank you for your support, your comments, your feedback, and your shared love for the art of film photography. I have cherished the conversations I have had with you, and I hope that I have been able to inspire you to pick up a film camera and explore the world around you.

Although this is the end of my blog, it is not the end of my journey. I will continue to share my work on social media, and I invite you to follow me on Twitter at @rickscheibner to keep in touch and see what I am up to.

As a final tribute to the art of film photography, I want to share a photo I took on Vancouver Island using Kodak Ektrachrome E100 slide film on a Canon F-1. The image was developed by Blue Moon Camera in Portland, Oregon and scanned with a DSLR. The photo captures the rustic beauty of a barn on a summer day, with the rich greens of the surrounding trees providing a lush backdrop. The film's fine grain and vivid colors give the image a sense of warmth and nostalgia that I believe is unique to film photography.

Thank you once again for joining me on this journey. I hope that you will continue to explore the world of film photography and keep the spirit of analog alive.

 

Why don't you live for the people?

 I'll follow up with a summer check-in, but I thought this image deserved a post of it's own, sans commentary.

Arts Center + Ilford Delta 400

 My new job this year has me in a new town. I stayed after school one day a few weeks ago and explored an area near the Arts Center. These were shot on the Canon F-1 with (mostly) 28mm f/2.8 lens. Ilford Delta 400 developed in DD-x, 1:9 at 75°F.  The negatives looked great, even if my compositions and subject matter were less than inspiring.

 

As an aside, I'm probably just posting this for an audience of one these days. Even though I'm using Feedburner to create a (theoretically) seamless transition if you change your url, it seems that my viewers here dropped off dramatically after I changed from my personal domain to blogspot. Or, perhaps no one is just reading blogs anymore. Who knows. In any case, I'll keep using this place for the time being to get my thoughts down on this subject, when social media just won't do.

Mid-Year Directions: Looking forward by looking back

I've been shooting more film lately, especially the last month or so, but it hasn't been showing up on this blog. I thought I would do a mid year check in and do some reflecting around my film use. 

First of all, a quick look at a FilmTrackr report shows that HP5+ has now replaced Tri-x as my all-time most used film stock. I made the switch a few years ago as the cost and curl of Tri-x had finally become more than I wanted to deal with. It's taken this long for the data to catch up with that decision. But man, I have shot a lot of different film stocks over the years. Take a look:

Part of the fun of shooting film is trying different stocks, even from obscure brands that get put out from time to time. In the last year, though, I've narrowed down my selections quite a bit, with the vast majority being shot on HP5+:

Likewise, my selection of cameras has narrowed as well. I used to shoot both Canon and EOS systems, as well as medium format and a few different compacts. This is my all-time gear used:

 

 Not surprisingly, my sell-down last winter shows a marked drop in the gear I'm currently using. This is what I did over the last year:

 

Six months from now, that graph will narrow even further as I'm only using an F-1 and an A1 for my current camera gear, and possibly a little compact if I decide to.

Current film prices are causing me to shoot color less and less. I'm not great at processing it myself, and if I put good money toward that medium, I want it to look right. My current plans are to shoot some Ektar, ProImage100 and new Cinestill 400D this summer. Most of that will be while on vacation. For the rest, my current black and white stash is dwindling. I'm really down to my last few rolls, but I did just order a bulk roll of HP5+. I've got a bulk loader and plenty of recycled cassettes on hand (including black holders), so this is my most economical and versatile option without dropping down into Kentmere/Ultrafine territory. In addition, I might pick up a few rolls of Delta 100 and/or FP4+ for some lower speed/smaller grain options. Delta 400 has also been fun to shoot and process, but I likely won't buy any while I have this much HP5+ at my disposal. 

And finally, it's been interesting to see how my film habits have changed since 2013. My palette of choices is narrower but also more focused. It's taken me this long to get a sense of - and fully accept - the realities and limitations of the film medium. Shooting older equipment requires maintenance and upkeep. Which direction do I want to funnel my financial resources? Unto that end, I had to choose between medium format and 35mm. Now that I have two reliable, recently-CLA'ed camera bodies, I don't necessarily have to worry about what's going to break down next. I can shoot for consistency instead of just combinations of emulsions and developers.

Waterfalls & Ortho+

I finally shot up my last roll of Ilford Ortho+ a few weeks ago.  Covid had delayed me using it somewhat, but truth be told I was underwhelmed with some of the results I got when shooting landscapes. But then I started seeing some photos of waterfalls. What I noticed that, even though the surrounding green and yellow areas could show some muddy tones, the water flow itself would stand apart, separating itself from the rest of the image. It was a look I grew to appreciate. A few weeks ago, I ventured down into the Columbia River Gorge region to capture a few of these waterfalls on Ortho+. I think it was worth the effort. These were shot on my Canon F-1 using (mostly) a 28mm f/2.8 lens. Tripod mounted.  I developed the film in Ilfotec DD-x and scanned the negatives on my own Epson Perfection v550 scanner. 

 

I'm probably not going to rush out and replenish my stock of Ortho+. It has its place, but its just not something I will shoot very consistently. I do like how moving water looks on it, though.

Early January Snow at ISO 800

As I write this in the first week of February, I'm starting to look toward a change of the season just another month or so. We'll be getting out of the frigid weather and into milder temperatures at that time, and on to spring time. 

It was just about a month ago, the first week of January, when we had a snow storm blow through the area. I ventured out to a local hiking trail park near the Columbia River. It had been eons since I had shot anything significant. I loaded up the A-1 with some Ilford HP5+ and set the dial to ISO 800.  Sadly, the sun never made it out from behind the clouds, so none of these really show the lingering light that happens in January at the 45th parallel. Still, it was good to get out and shoot. I also attached the power winder just to automate things a bit. I was a little worried the 25°F temps might slow it down a bit, but it seemed to work like a champ from first frame to last. Also, the 28mm angle of view seems to work perfectly for a few of these. That lens was a great investment last year.

We still have a few weeks where we might get some snow. If that happens, I will try to get to one of my other usual haunts to get a few frames in. If not, this will need to be my one and only post for the winter season. And I'd be ok with that.

More 2022 directions: New blog address

After 15 years, I've decided to let my domain and web hosting go. So, this blog has a new address. I've kept the feed address the same, though (http://feeds.feedburner.com/RickOnFilm) so you're likely not seeing anything different if you subscribe that way. Frankly, I'm not even sure who's still reading this. I'm ok with doing it for an audience of one. 

I've already broke my 'no new film until I shoot what I've got' pledge and ordered a couple rolls of Kodak Pro Image 100. I love the colors from the prints last time I shot it. My color shooting is for special occasions only, but I should be able to shoot it as well as the Ektachrome E100 I've got on hand. Did I mention that Lomo Turquoise was making a comeback? That will be probably be added to my arsenal at some point as well. 

Next time I post, I should have some new images to go with it. I shot a roll of HP5+ in the snow a week or so ago, and I should be able to rescue one or two frames from it. We'll see what happens. 

2022 Directions

 I neglected to do one of these posts last year, mostly because we were moving back into our house after an extensive remodel. Some recent changes to my gear setup will have a significant impact on what I do with film photography in the coming year. The biggest of those is that I'm completely getting out of the medium format shooting category. 

My C220 had started to develop some problems that a CLA might or might not address. I just wasn't willing to put out the capital required to keep it going. Also, I just wasn't using my ZeroImage like I once did. So, in late 2021, I put it all up for auction on eBay. As of this writing, all but one item will be gone by the end of this week. Film included. The only thing that hasn't gone yet is the C220 itself. 

So what's left? Moving forward, my film work will be 35mm only. The Baker's Dozen series will remain unfinished. However, I'm still considering a new project in the upcoming year to take its place. There might even be a new YouTube channel to go with it. I've pared down my gear selection to two camera bodies: A Canon A-1 (with a really cool autowinder) and a newly-CLA'ed F-1 (original).  These two bodies will carry the load of my film shooting in the coming year and beyond. 

Also, I'm going to make a concerted effort to shoot up a good portion of my remaining 35mm film before investing in more. At this time, I have a few rolls of Delta 400, some hand rolled HP5+, as well as a roll or two of Ortho+ and some color rolls. I even found a few rolls of K400 that I had hand rolled maybe four or five years ago. It's not my favorite film, but I'll get it out and see what I can do with it. 

I thought I'd be a little sad about unloading all of the 120 gear, but it's been remarkably freeing. I don't have to make a decision about what to shoot; everything I need fits into one bag. The money I make from the eBay sales (and a few private ones as well) will go toward a wider angle lens I need for my Fuji X-T4. Speaking of which, my vision for shooting in the coming year is to do film work alongside, and not instead of, my digital images. Shooting Fuji makes this more achievable. 

So here's to a happy and productive 2022. I sincerely hope you and yours are well. 

Video: How I process my film negatives using (mostly) FOSS software

I shoot film, but that doesn't mean I'm a purist. After the development stage, I'm happy to use whatever technology is available to me in order to get the best presentation out of my image. This is a video I did last month on how I scan and edit my photos using a combination of GIMP, AnalogExif and the native Epson scanning software. Specifically, this photo is for an Instagram channel that I run called Columbia Inland Pinhole. Interestingly, AnalogExif is a FOSS application that lets the user apply Exif info to film photo scans fairly easily. It hasn't had an update since about 2010 or so, but it continues to work on my (Win10) machine. I wonder how it will hold up to the next iteration of that OS.  

How are you scanning your film images?

The Glass Blower

While on a recent trip to the Oregon Coast, we stopped by a glass shop. I hadn't planned on taking many pics, but the owner started putting on a demonstration shortly after we arrived. Luckily, I had my Canon A-1 with me, so I quickly loaded it with some HP5+. 

The light inside the building was constant but a little on the iffy side. A curtainless window on the opposite wall would have thrown the internal meter off by quite a lot. Rather than taking the time to get my exposure reading on each frame I just set my shutter speed to 1/125 and aperture on the 50mm f/1.8 to f/2.8.  Afterward, I checked the light levels with the metering app on my phone. Turns out I was at EV 6.  I was effectively shooting at ISO 1600, well within the pushing limits of this film. 

I ran out of film just before he showed his final presentation of the glass ball. But, I was able to fill up the entire roll with some frames without worrying about the metering on each one. Sometimes you just have to shoot first and ask questions later. 

Processing was done with d-76 at a 1:1 dilution ratio, then scanned with my Epson v550. I'm still don't have DSLR scanning 100% down yet. 

All in all, I was happy with the results. Given the subject matter, I think HP5+ was the perfect way to go in this instance. Not only did I show off the versatility and adaptability of this film, I figured out a new approach to metering in the moment.

JCH Streetpan + R72 Filter

 I've been promising to settle in to HP5+ for my every day shooting, and I will follow through with that plan in the coming weeks and months. However, I do have a few other stocks laying around, including some rolls of JCH Streetpan. My stash includes four rolls of 35mm format and a roll in 120. All of them expire this year, so I believe this is the 'older' emulsion. 

It's rated at 400, but it produces pretty thin negatives when developed at suggested settings. After having shot a few of these rolls now, I'm pretty sure it could be safely shot at 100. Either that or developing for a longer time. I might suggest the lower speed, though, as that approach has the potential bring out shadow detail. The highlights are far from being blown out, so there's plenty of headroom here. 

Most of the time I'm a straight Sunny 16 shooter. I don't know if that's the correct approach for this combination or not, but that's how I roll. In this case, I allowed for five extra stops to compensate for the R72 filter. All of these photos were 1/15 sec. at f/16.  An extra two stops would have put me at 1/4 sec.  I'd like to shoot at least one more roll of this before our summer is over and test that out. 

Without question, JCH Streetpan doesn't have the latitude of a Tri-x or an HP5+. You really have to get it right in camera. And next time I shoot, I might even bracket it just to be sure. I do love those jet black tones, though. 

I developed in D-76 1:1 for 10:30. I'm also seeing some times for DD-x, but I don't have enough of that left over right now to do the rest of my rolls. Plus, I'd like to only change one variable at a time. So, I'll stick with D-76 at least until I can get exposure times right. Ultimately, my goal will be to get the kinks worked out with the 35mm so that I can have some success with my lone 120 format roll. 

Newport, Oregon - Canon AE-1P - Ilford HP5+

I'm still working on my DSLR scanning. When it works, it's great. However, I'm getting too many missed focus scans with my manual setup. I'm told that autofocus works great, but that's just not an option for me right now. My Fuji X-T4 has a 100% zoom preview option, but that doesn't seem to be enough. My next option will be to use a physical loupe on top of that to see if I can focus in on the grain a little better. 

Baker's Dozen: Kodak Tri-x

I recently sold off my remaining stock of Tri-x in 120 format, but I kept one roll back for my Baker's Dozen series. After this, I'm done shooting Tri-x and instead using HP5+ for my everyday 400 speed shooting. 

Pacific Surveyor. Mamiya C220, 80mm f/2.8, yellow #8 filter.

We made a trip to the Oregon Coast, right at the height of the tourist season. As such, it was difficult to get out and about very much. I had wanted to walk the entire stretch of the wharf (including getting some fish and chips from Mo's), but the foot traffic was just too much for me. Instead, I ventured out onto the docks to shoot some of the boats there. Interestingly, back in 2013, I shot a few frames of my very first roll of b/w film at this location, and even came across some of the same boats. 

Newport Harbor. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5.  

My C220 started experiencing a couple of problems with this roll. One of the cover flaps over the viewer came undone at the hinge. I can't tell if it is broke or came unscrewed in some way (it's really tiny), but I now have to be extra cautious when opening it up. More seriously, the winder won't stop at the last frame, but instead keeps going. One work around I haven't tried yet is to manually stop the winding when '12' appears in the little window, and stop it at the point at which the crank usually rests. This should work, but it's a little discouraging to not have such a beautiful (and functional) camera work at 100% capacity. 

Newport Harbor. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5.  

It's been fun shooting Tri-x, but the cost for new stock has me settling on HP5+. This is something I've mentioned here on this blog. It's past the time to narrow my shooting down to one or two stocks so I can get consistent results. Currently, I can buy almost three rolls of HP5+ for every two rolls of Tri-x. 

Newport Wharf. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5.  

I was mostly successful with my DSLR scanning on this roll. Not everything was exactly tack sharp, and I'm finding even with 100% preview on my X-T4, it can be difficult to pinpoint the focus exactly every time. I'm working on it, though, and even these scans show a vast improvement from where I began when I first started scanning this way. Still, I'm not convinced I can't get similar results with my Epson V550 scanner. I'll need to do a side by side comparison at some point. The next roll to be scanned will be HP5+ in 35mm format. I haven't scanned 35mm format yet, so that should offer a challenge until I can make that workflow a routine for me. 

Newport Harbor. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5.  That leak in the upper left corner shows up very, very occasionally with this camera. 

More Scanning Notes

I've got a few DSLR scanning sessions under my belt now.

For financial reasons, I don't use Lightroom. I did up until they moved to a subscription model a few years ago. We purchased a new computer and it was time to upgrade my RAW editor, so I went with RawTherapee. They have a tool in there simply called Film Negative, which is a selection under the RAW tab. It works pretty well, especially when I have some neutral gray in the image to select. It's also important to note that Film Negative only works with Fuji X-Trans and Bayer sensors. Fortunately, I shoot with a Fuji X-T4, and my scanning is done with an adapted Vivitar 55mm f/2.8 Macro. Once I get the colors close, I can further manipulate them with the HSL and LAB tools. The ability to selectively edit one color in a RAW file while leaving the others alone is well worth learning. 

Kodak Portra 400. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5 lens. DSLR scan and edited in RawTherapee 5.8 using the Film Negative tool. 

Kodak Portra 160. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5 lens. DSLR scan and edited in RawTherapee 5.8 using the Film Negative Tool. 

I learned that DarkTable has a similar function known, interestingly enough, as Negadoctor. It had been a decade or so since I had played around with DT, so I went and downloaded the latest version and took a look. On the surface, it's more intuitive and probably a little easier to use. Like RawTherapee, though, it requires some additional manipulation beyond the module itself in order for the scan to look right. I'm not as familiar with those tools in DT as I am in RT, but I did find something that resembled an HSV tool to bring some colors more in line with what I wanted. 

Fuji 400H. Mamiya C220, 180mm f/4.5 lens. DSLR scan and edited in DarkTable 3.6.  I left this one a little on the cooler side, as is a characteristic of Fuji 400H. 

 One thing I wasn't sure about with Darktable was handling the noise inherent in DSLR scans. That will come with time if I decide to settle on DT for this purpose. 

My skill level for scanning color negatives is not where I'd like it to be just yet. However, it's a lot further along than when I started. The pay-for option is to buy into Adobe and pay (yet again) for the module called Negative Lab Pro. I hear it's fantastic. And from the demonstrations on YouTube (and there are plenty) it looks like a fairly simple process. 

That's not me, though. So, I will need to be content with working a little harder to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to accomplish the task. And it will come in time.