Kodak TMAX 100 on Nikon F80, Lensbaby Soft Focus (Macro) vs Sweet 35 
self-dev: Ilfotec HC 1+31, 6:30 mins

Some 2 months ago I made an announcement on the Cool Girls Shoot Film Facebook page regarding a BW film swap project involving nature vs live model(s). I apologize for my tardiness in replying the emails but to make thing clear  I did  this self-swap series as an example of what I had in mind. The idea is for me and the participant to shoot on the same roll of BW film of choice, and if the other dude chose to do model shots then I will shoot some nature ones on the same roll and vice versa. To those of you who emailed me, I will get back to you as soon as possible for I’m still very much swamped with work >_<;;

For this series I chose to work the nature shots using my Lensbaby Soft Focus optic equipped with a macro lens, traipsing all over my backyard shooting tiny weed flowers through all 36 exposures of the 35mm Kodak TMAX 100 film. Then I re-exposed the roll by photographing the lovely Luthién Ben Ghaffar during the magic hour in a park using the Sweet 35 optic.

I did not want to completely obscure Luthién’s features with the macro so I just shot normally and did not aim for sillhouette shots, however I couldn’t resist the temptation and did just one as evidenced in the last photo.

Overall I’m rather pleased with the results and can’t wait to embark on this international film swap project!

-delusiana

Kodak Gold 200ISO on Mamiya ZE, 70-210mm

“ITALY ROCKS”

Cool shapes shaped by water and wind in the extreme south of Italy, Puglia, where the two seas, Adriatic and Ionic, come together.

Fuji Superia 200ISO on Yashica FX-3, 70-210mm

“FIND THE BICYCLE”

Long exposure using a tripod of the Venice nightlife from a balcony in the Ghetto Vecchio (The Jewish Quarter).

Fuji Diapositive film, cross processed on Yashica FX-3, 70-210mm

“VINTAGE COMO”

A “concentrated landscape” caught at Bellagio, the best of the Como Lake.

Fuji Superia 100ISO on Mamiya ZE, 70-210mm

“A STICK’S TRIP”

The story of a wooden stick that traveled around the Apenninic mountains in Tuscany, central Italy. Here it sat by the fire, while looking upon its burning “friends”.

I used the 100ISO film at night to get more contrast & definition with low light.

 Fuji Superia 200ISO on Yashica FX-D, 70-210mm Macro mode

“SPIDER ICE”

This phenomenon is called “Brina” when water suspended in air - which creates fog freezes. Then you get the “ice-fog” which sublimates and forms ice crystals on every possible surface.

Fuji Superia 200ISO on Mamiya ZE, 70-210mm Macro mode

“RED & GREEN”

The symbol of May: a poppy growing in the middle of a grain-field, after a refreshing spring rain near Pavia city, south of Milan.

We are very happy to feature photos from the talented Andrei Iancu who had generously offered to share some of his near macro shots and other works caught on various film.

So this set comes to show the versatility of film photography, for example we would never have thought that a 100ISO film would work so well in a low light shot. Thank you so much for sharing the knowledge Andrei!

Now, have we managed to convince you that film is the way to go? :)

You can check out more of Andrei’s works at http://www.behance.net/AndreIancu.

Shanghai GP3 on Holgamod 120N w/ Macro Lens 30mm

Shanghai GP3 on Holgamod 120N w/ Close-Up Lens 120mm

(Ilfotec DD-X 1+4, 10mins)

I was contemplating to take a ruler out with me to measure the exact focal lengths between my lens and my subjects on this shoot but decided to just have fun with it. As you can see from the images above, you can produce really sharp images as long as you have the lens as close or as far away as required by the add-on lenses.

These were all shot without the use of a tripod, as you can tell from the blurry images, but with patience and lots of light, I am very sure super sharp images are possible.

I love the blurred edges, and the mystery the macro and close-up lenses bring to my shots above. They actually remind me of some pictures shot on the Lensbaby! We just posted this DIY Lensbaby tutorial on our FACEBOOK (yes, LIKE US!!!) but now you can get this same effect with even less of a hassle by just screwing on a macro or close-up lens to your Holga ;) You can easily find these lenses made specifically for the Holga sold online but with the correct step-down ring you could use any macro/close-up lens out there with your favorite toy camera. 

-eleanorrigby236

Lensbaby just recently released the new Sweet 35 Optic that comes with a built-in adjustable aperture and has a focal length of 35mm, which is really what I want on my Lensbaby. On top of that, it now means that you don’t need to bother with manually swapping out aperture discs as you move from a bright spot to a darker one when shooting with the Lensbaby. This is the ultimate Lensbaby optic for me. It offers sharper images, ease of focusing and hassle free aperture step-down! Unfortunately, the item is already on back order, just a day after its launch. Bummer.

I decided to take out my underused glass optic and try to shoot some macro pictures in double exposures to make use of what I have. To my amusement, the results were actually pretty fun. I really like the soft mesh of colors in the bokeh though I could do with a tad bit more of sharpness on my subjetcs. ;)

-eleanorrigby236

Nikon FE2, Lensbaby w/Double Glass Optic f/4 and +10 Close-up Lens

This here is a B&W film which can be processed using the normal C-41 chemical, meaning you can get it done within 2 hours like any other color negative film. This is essentially a desaturated color film but I love it nonetheless! The sharp contrast, details, everything.

Here are samples of some of my first attempt at macro shots with the 50mm f2.0 Rikenon lens & Zykkor +4 Macro lens.

-delusiana

Pentax ME, Rikenon 50mm f2.0, Zykkor Macro +4