Friday 31 August 2012

photo from week 139 - Kodak 66 Model III

bunting by pho-Tony
bunting, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
The colour shifts caused by cross-processing are very obvious in this photo, though I'm not sure why the large background flag has come out with hues markedly different from the foreground bunting.

photo from week 139 - Kodak 66 Model III

Another indoor photo at the limit of hand holdable available light. I had to use full aperture in order to have a shutter speed with a reasonable chance of avoiding camera shake, 1/25th sec. I used a tape measure to set the focus, and the shallow depth of field is quite apparent.

photo from week 139 - Kodak 66 Model III

I used a colour slide film and cross-processed it to get the contrasty, colour shifted images.
The Granelli ice cream vans are a familiar sight in Sheffield, I like this non-motorised one which is towed onto site and then left to fend for itself.

Thursday 30 August 2012

Week 139 - Kodak 66 Model III

Kodak 66 Model III by pho-Tony
Kodak 66 Model III, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I've had this one a long time and can't remember where it came from or what I paid for it, it won't have been much though. Although it has a plasticy feel to it, there is a good range of shutter speeds and apertures, and I've read that the lens is quite good.
I loaded it with some expired Fuji slide film to cross-process, perhaps not the fairest of tests for a camera!

Monday 27 August 2012

photo from week 138 - Polaroid Image System

Helter Skelter by pho-Tony
Helter Skelter, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is the same helter skelter that I photographed with the Wembley Sports camera in week 136. That one showed severe camera shake, this one is much better IMHO.

photo from week 138 - Polaroid Image System

As Polaroid cameras go, this one is pretty well spec'd with long exposure possible in low light situations. I put the camera on a pedestal (literally) and used the self timer setting, it sounded like a couple of seconds exposure (I was careful to turn the flash off, which would have ruined the photo).
The "sonar" autofocus is confused by glass or mirrors, and there is no manual focus, so I was expecting this one to be blurred, the incomplete spread of chemicals adds another layer of imperfection to the image!

Friday 24 August 2012

Week 138 - Polaroid Image System

Polaroid Image System by pho-Tony
Polaroid Image System, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This camera was given to me by a work colleague, it came with a set of special effects filters.
In the USA (and probably elsewhere) it was called the "Spectra". Polaroid stopped making film a while ago, but "The Impossible Project" - TIP - has resurected some formats, though they are in a testing stage and not very reliable. I sent off for a pack of PZ 600 Silver Shade, which is a black and white film in a dark coloured mount. I took a test shot when I first got the film back in January, but as the film needs warm conditions to work properly, I have waited to use the rest until the "summer".

Wednesday 22 August 2012

photos from week 137 - Ilford Sportsman

Jessica's Golden Box by pho-Tony
Jessica's Golden Box, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I decided to shoot a couple of "joiners" this week, partly to get through the 36 exposure Agfa Vista film (Poundland) that I loaded.
This is the gold postpox in honour of local hero Jessica Ennis.

photo from week 137 - Ilford Sportsman

Another example of shooting at the extremes of hand holdability indoors. The "B" setting on this camera doesn't work, so I didn't have the option to use a tripod meaning that I had to use full aperture and 1/30th second at the closest focussing distance. All of this is apparent in the result.

photo from week 137 - Ilford Sportsman

cheerful barrel organist by pho-Tony
cheerful barrel organist, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The camera was quite simple to use, though the rangefinder patch is rather dim, and most of the time I simply used the scale to focus after estimating the distance. There is quite marked flare on any photos where there is any backlighting.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Week 137 - Ilford Sportsman Auto RF

Ilford Sportsman Auto RF by pho-Tony
Ilford Sportsman Auto RF, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Week 137 sees the last couple of days of the London 2012 Olympics, so in a lst minute spurt, I loaded up another sports related camera. There were various versions of the "Sportsman" brand, this is one of the more sophisticated models. I've loaded it with Agfa Vista film from Poundland.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

photo from week 136 - Wembley Sports Camera

(r)evolutionary graffiti by pho-Tony
(r)evolutionary graffiti, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
The camera performed fairly well when I was able to avoid nudging the lens when releasing the shutter. When the focus was set to infinity (as here) the corners of the image are cut off, this does not occur on the closest setting, when the lens barrel extends further away from the film plane. The Kodak Portra 160 film was part of a giveaway donated by Kodak for the Film Photography Pocast London meetup in June.

photo from week 136 - Wembley Sports Camera

The camera has a "B" setting, a tripod mount and a cable release socket, so I was able to use f22 to maximise depth of field at the closest focussing distance. The exposure was around 4 seconds.

photo from week 136 - Wembley Sports Camera

shaky helter-skelter by pho-Tony
shaky helter-skelter, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Three of the eight exposures showed considerable camera shake, I think I might have jogged the retractable lens barrel at the same time as I pressed the shutter release. I suppose it gives a holiday snapshot feel that might have been made by someone not used to the camera (which is what it was really!).

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Week 136 - Wembley Sports Camera

Wembley Sports Camera by pho-Tony
Wembley Sports Camera, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is the second week of the London 2012 Olympics. In 1948 the London Olympics were centred on Wembley Stadium, this Bakelite camera from the early 1950s seemed like a good one to choose for this week.
It takes 6x9cm photos on 120 film, there are 3 shutter speeds and 3 apertures, zone focussing is achieved using the helical lens mount, which also allows the lens to retract into the body when not in use.
I've put a roll of Kodak Porta film in it.

Sunday 5 August 2012

photo from week 135 - Zenit EM

picnic by pho-Tony
picnic, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I recently picked up an orange/green split filter for £1 in a camera shop. When used in the landscape with black and white film, this filter makes the blue sky darger and the green grass lighter. The 58mm Helios lens is rather long for landscape photography, so I chose to focus on an individual tree rather than go for the wider view.

photo from week 135 - Zenit EM

Cycling is very much in the news in the UK at the moment. I dusted down this cycle helmet, and used the olympic edition of the Zenit to make a tribute to the British cyclists.

photo from week 135 - Zenit EM

film olympics by pho-Tony
film olympics, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I decided to enter into the olympic spirit and make some compositions to match the five rings logo on the camera. This was taken with the 58mm Helios and a supplementary close up lens.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Week 135 - Zenit EM - Moscow Olympics edition

The London Olympics opened this week, and it seemed like a good excuse to bring out this relic from a former games 32 years ago. In 1980 the Olympics were held in Moscow, boycotted by the USA among others. The serial number shows that this camera was made in 1978, I don't know whether the Olympic Logo was added post-production, or if the Soviets were planning their special edition 2 years ahead of schedule.

photo from week 134 - Falcon Miniature

penny farthing by pho-Tony
penny farthing, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Taken on a nice bright sunny day, there wa no problem with light levels here, but the focus is still not sharp for the main subject, even though he was about 3m away. The film is Efke100 developed in Ilfosol 3.

photo from week 134 - Falcon Miniature

Although stylish in appearance, this is a very basic camera, and the results were among the poorest I have had from these simple models. There is no focussing, and I knew I was pushing my luck with the distance on this one. I used the "B" setting to get an exposure of about 1 second.