Saturday 29 March 2014

photos from week 221 - Minolta Vectis S-100

squeeze box diptych

This is a composite image of two separate frames, I like the way the barcodes suggest the accordion keyboard which is hidden from the viewer.

photo from week 221 - Minolta Vectis S-100

reflected self-portrait with Minolta Vectis S-100 camera and gold cap

This self-portrait was taken using aperture priority so that I could stop down to improve depth of field and mitigate any auto-focus. This of course meant a long exposure, so I used a tripod and the self-timer, the exposure was 2 seconds.

photo from week 221 - Minolta Vectis S-100

coloured panels

I don't have a dedicated APS film holder for my scanner, so I simply lay the negatives strips directly onto the platen. I particularly wanted to scan the full width of the film to show the two perforations per frame that the APS format uses. This is two consecutive frames together.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Week 221 - Minolta Vectis S-100

Minolta Vectis S-100

The Minolta Vectis S-100 is the first APS camera that I have used. The APS (Advanced Photo System) was introduced in 1996, it used 24mm wide film, and had provisions for three different aspect ratios to be selected, though the negative always recorded the full frame, and the different formats were implemented at the printing stage, with data being read from the film to tell the machines which aspect to use.
APS was a short lived format as soon after it was introduced digital cameras started to become more affordable, and the non-technically minded snap shooter, for whom the APS system was ideal, soon switched to digital. The film is no longer made, but is still fairly easy to find online.

Saturday 22 March 2014

photo from week 220 - Loreo Stereo

geometric topiary by pho-Tony
geometric topiary, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This geometric subject is probably a little too far from the camera to get an optimal 3D effect, but I like she shape of it anyway.

photo from week 220 - Loreo Stereo

There was no way to avoid under-exposure in this indoor shot, but it was just about rescue-able! Once again there are unwanted reflection visible on the left.

photo from week 220 - Loreo Stereo

statue by pho-Tony
statue, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
There is plenty of scope for reflections from the various transparent and reflective surfaces that the light has to negotiate on its way to the film. The flare seen here is not as bad as in some of the shots.

Friday 21 March 2014

Week 220 - Loreo Stereo

Loreo Stereo by pho-Tony
Loreo Stereo, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Something of a novelty, the Loreo system included a viewer in which prints taken from the negatives could be viewed as stereo pairs.
There is only one shutter speed and aperture, so this really is a basic camera, although there is a flash built in, it no longer works on my example.
A stereo pair is produced on a single frame of 35mm film, this is achieved by having a series of mirrors to create the required separation between the viewpoints, as without the mirrors, the two lenses would be too close together to gain a satisfactory stereo result.

Sunday 16 March 2014

photo from week 219 - Konica C35

Hepworth Gallery by pho-Tony
Hepworth Gallery, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Another indoor shot this time not under-exposed, the colour is due to cross-processing slide film in negative chemistry.

photo from week 219 - Konica C35

At the other end of the exposure scale this indoor photo inevitably must have used the maximum aperture, and although it was rather underexposed, it has proven more "rescuable" than the over-exposed shots.

Thursday 13 March 2014

Week 219 - Konica C35 EF

Konica C35 EF by pho-Tony
Konica C35 EF, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is a fairly basic 35mm point and shoot with a rudimentary automatic exposure system, it also lays claim to being the first 35mm camera to feature a built in electronic flash unit.
There is a single fixed shutter speed, but a selenium meter adjusts the aperture using the "needle trap" method. The maximum aperture is f2.8, so despite the single shutter speed, it should be usable in poor daylight conditions.

Wednesday 12 March 2014

photo from week 218 - Lomo LC-A+

glass wall by pho-Tony
glass wall, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This one was also taken using the 0.8m distance setting. The colour cast is due to cross-processing slide film in negative chemistry.

photo from week 218 - Lomo LC-A+

The LC-A+ has four focus zones, the closest of which is 0.8m, which is what I used here, taken indoors, this was inevitably at full aperture, maximising the risk of being out of focus, but it could have been worse.

photo from week 218 - Lomo LC-A+

OPEN by pho-Tony
OPEN, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
It seems almost compulsory to use cross-processed film with the LC-A+, so I loaded it with a roll of Rollei Digibase CR200 slide film, which I cross-processed in C41 chemistry. Double exposures are also de rigueur when using Lomography cameras, though, despite appearances, this one is a single exposure with reflections.

Sunday 9 March 2014

Week 218 - Lomo LC-A+

Lomo LC-A+ by pho-Tony
Lomo LC-A+, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
The original Lomo LC-A was a Soviet copy of the Cosina CX2 that I used in week 81. The LC-A+ is an updated version marketed by the Lomography people but made in China. It has some added features and has a cult following which is reflected in the price, luckily I picked mine up quite cheaply.

Monday 3 March 2014

photo from week 217 - Olympus Pen FT

helical staircase by pho-Tony
helical staircase, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Another in-camera sequence, this time scanned to include the sprocket holes in the overall composition.

photo from week 217 - Olympus Pen FT

As a single lens reflex, the Pen FT is ideal for close ups at full aperture, the plane of focus is quite shallow here. Note the vertical format, despite the camera looking like it will produce a landscape format image.

photo from week 217 - Olympus Pen FT

Derwent Walk by pho-Tony
Derwent Walk, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I like making little sequences using half frame cameras, these three were taken around the Derwent Dam, famous as having been the place where the "Dambusters" perfected their technique.