Take me to the beach!
Lomography Color Negative 400 on Fujica ST605N
I thought these looked so awesome when I saw them in our mailbox. I’ve always avoided anything with an ISO above 100 whenever I plan to shoot under the hot sun in fear of overexposure. But in this photo set, they simply worked!
I love the warm, bleached out tones that made them look oh-so-vintage, it’s great! Good job May Rodrigo!
Dammit, I so need to go to the beach…like right about now!
Oh, before I forget, here’s the camera used in this set. I “google-imaged” it from The Camera Site.
Film Soup Noob
Klick Max 200 on Supersampler
Say hi to fauxt0grapher of http://fauxt0grapher.tumblr.com who’d creatively implemented his first film soup attempt using a Supersampler! We think it produced a very interesting effect, and with tea & color negative film nontheless!
Here’s what he has to say:
Finally got the chance to try to do the film soup!
So my first soup was just a simple cup of tea which I kept in the fridge for 36 hours or so. I made the soup before I had the film exposed, so it was a little sticky when I tried to load it into my camera (even after it dried).
I didn’t want to take any chances with the Nikon as I was afraid it being sticky would break something when winding the lever.
Hence, the Supersampler :D
The results are as anticipated, although I only got 17 frames out of 24. No doubt I’m gonna try and do this again. But maybe next time I should put the film in the soup after exposing it.
Thanks again for sharing with us! Also, for those of you who have flickr, come and join this new group we’ve created called Film Soup & Analogue Experiments and share your film soup results & recipes. It’s all about experimenting & being creative, the weirder the better!
Sometimes I need color too
Lomography Color Negative on Kiev 88
Having been shooting mainly in B&W these days, I thought I wanted to bring some color back into my pictures. As I am not a fan of cross-processed slide (E6 processing is hard to come by where I am right now) I decided to go back to my roots. I have never tried the Lomography Color Negative on medium format before so I popped it into my Kiev and shot away in the comforts of my living room. It was a warm day with an orange overcast that late morning which contributed to the nice and subdued glow.
I shot these images using my newly obtained light meter to see how accurate it is, and removed the TTL spot prism from my Kiev to shoot with the waist finder. I have to say the Kiev waist finder is super bright and clear that it makes focusing and framing a breeze. I did it hand held, then propped it up on my tripod, and it was all plain fun and easy. 12 frames went by in an instant.
I love how the pictures came out, the tone is right and real albeit a little softer in the pictures than what I saw with my own eyes but close enough. Watching how the light moves and shooting from different angles will result in different color casts on your final image, which is why it’s cool to take a moment, recompose, and shoot your subject twice of even thrice to get that perfect shot. Tomorrow, if the sun is high again, perhaps I’ll try to flip a 120mm color negative film to create a DIY redscale roll.
-eleanorrigby236
Golden or broken dreams?
Kodak Gold 200 on Nikon F80D, Lensbaby Composer & Double Glass Optic
I know that I haven’t been shooting with color negatives for a long time, and if you click “Film Index” at the navigation bar, you will realize that the Kodak Gold 200 used to be heavily featured at CGSF by our fellow readers & contributors.
The warm, golden tones compliments your shots really well, especially with careful lighting & composition. I’ve yet to discover a more versatile film, as I find that even the Ektar 100 produced cooler hues compared to this film. I’ll sorely miss the demise of this film, as with the terminated lives of Kodak’s beautiful color positives.
Btw, meet Valentine. She was really fast that I only managed to catch her ghostly blur. She’s 14 years old.
Old is definitely gold.
-delusiana
The kaleidoscope of “Kolors” that is Revolog
Revolog Kolor on Pentax ME, Zenitar 16mm f2.8 Ultra Wide Fisheye
I took my time to finish all 36 exposures of this roll, and I must say that the results are unpredictable. You’ll never know what rainbow hues you might get on your shots, each frame differ with various light intensity.
The first set was taken at noon during an overcast afternoon, with the unpredictable Malaysian downpour. I find that you tend to get all 7 color spectrum in slightly shaded areas and especially when shooting directly with the sun in front of you. We revisited an old haunt, the abandoned house just a few turns past the Malaysian National Monument.
This second set was taken somewhere along Jalan Tangsi in Kuala Lumpur, where you can find several heritage buildings, mostly in bad shape and with little or no conservation efforts to secure these crumbling relics of the past.
A shame, really.
-delusiana
Majestic little box cameras
Imperial Savoy and Kodacolor II 620C, expired 11/81
I came across my Savoy in an antique store and couldn’t resist this cute little camera. I have a soft spot for 50’s-60’s plastic box cameras, and am happy to have a Savoy in my collection. The Imperial Savoy was manufactured between 1956 and 1965, by the Imperial Camera Corp. of Chicago, Illinois. All plastic, with a metal face plate, it was available in a variety of colors and at least a couple of different graphics—-some have satellite symbols; mine has stars. The Savoy is fixed-focus, has one shutter speed, and is as simple as it gets: insert film, frame shot with the tiny viewfinder, click, wind, repeat. I love these cameras for their simplicity…they are all about just having fun!
The Savoy is a 620 roll film camera and gives twelve 6x6cm shots on a roll. While possible to get 620 film on eBay, its very expired and expensive. I’ve picked up a couple of rolls to experiment, and obtain the spools. My Savoy came with one spool, but another is necessary with which to re-spool 120 film for use in this camera and other 620’s that won’t accept a 120 spool. With a lot of trimming and grinding, a 120 spool might fit in the Savoy (CGSF: Like in this post of ours, ”Using 120 film in 620 cameras”), but I find its much easier to re-spool the film. With a dark bag or any darkened room, and a little practice, its quick and easy! There are a number of online tutorials on how to re-spool 120 film onto a 620 spool.
For the Savoy’s test run, I loaded it up with a roll of Kodacolor II 620C which expired in 1981, and set off on a walk around the neighborhood with my daughter on a sunny afternoon. There isn’t much around here, so I went on a further adventure to finish the roll. As the viewfinder is very small, it was a little difficult for me to see but my framing turned out well in most shots. I did tape a flap over the red film counter window to avoid light leaks.
I was hoping for the best from that very expired roll of film, but didn’t have super high hopes. I had it developed at a local lab, then scanned it myself. The film scanned with a heavy blue cast, but fortunately with the color restoration mode on my scanner (Epson V600) I was able to get results I’m happy with. The Savoy produces some nice vignetting, and it shoots double/multiple exposures—-my favorite. If you like cool little vintage box cameras, check out the Savoy. I see them on eBay, usually in mint green, and seem to be pretty collectible. Mine is loaded up again with more expired film—-this time, 120—- its a beautiful day…time for another adventure with the Savoy. :)
-Stephanie
The new Holga 120 PAN camera review
Fujichrome Tungsten 64T on Holga 120 PAN
Fujicolor Superia 100 on Holga 120 PAN
My first time ever writing an article about a camera. Ever! Well there is a first time for anything right? Although it is not my first time using a Holga. Been using it since 2004 as it is one of my first real “toy camera”.
The camera that I am writing about now is the new Holga 120PAN (PAN = PANorama). One of its first kind on a plastic toy camera (open for dispute). I got hold of this camera from my supplier in Hong Kong when it was first announced. It might also be one of the first to land here in Malaysia. It was exciting for as the closest to its “wideness” is the uber expensive Linholf Technorama. Try googling it and be in awe.
It has been in my possession for a while before I finally got the opportunity to run a few test rolls on it while I was back in my hometown of Johor Bahru. I was pleasantly surprised at the results. It still maintains the signature effects of a Holga, the vignetting and dreamy soft focus, but the centre focus is quite sharp. The distortions that are evident on most wide panorama toy cameras are also nowhere to be seen. I love that.
The Holga 120PAN takes two 120mm film frames per shot. So a 6x12 shot will give you six photos per roll of film. If you are the kind that prefer quantity over quality, get a Diana Mini and use the half frame mode. The camera comes equipped with a bubble level for shooting landscape straight. I find it useful when shooting my favourite scenes using my el cheapo tripod that does not have a bubble level.
The camera really shines when shooting wide landscape scenes as the resolution of the 120mm captures more details compared to 35mm films. To me, it is not the camera for you to bring along to parties or gigs as a panorama 35mm camera like the Horizon would suit those kind of scenes better.
The Holga 120N is at the top of my all-time favourite camera and this 120PAN is not far below.
-DemanG
Edit: Demang is our friend who owns the super stellar online camera shop ROFLCAM, and he specialises in Holgas & refurbished Russian rangefinders among others. Do check his shop out and just so you know, ROFLCAM ships internationally!
Pretty in red in Valencia
Lomography Redscale XR on LC-A+
So I tried out the Lomography Redscale XR 50-200 in Valencia. It was really bright and sunny, so I mostly shot at 100 iso, the lowest that the LC-A+ can shoot at. The end results ranged from intense oranges in lower light, through to washed out bluey-greys in the midday sun. I was hoping for the rich orange effect, but actually love the grey tones too. I love the unpredictability of this film and the variety you can get out of the same roll!
The few that I shot at 200 iso came out a little on the dark side, even despite the bright sunshine. Looking at the two shots here of the lifeguard tower, the lighter one was taken at 100 iso, and the darker at 200 iso. So I’d say overall that this film loves light, and shooting at 100 iso or less gives the best results.
-Harriet Green
Fat rolled, again!
Kodak Portra 400UC (expired) on Diana no. 151
We already know that the Portra is an excellent color negative film, even the expired ones! The 400UC stands for Ultra Color, which gives higher color saturation than the 400VC. It was discontinued however, leaving only the NC & VC variety before Kodak developed the enhanced present emulsion of the coveted Portra 400.
I shot the photos above during my backpacking trip to Penang, Malaysia where I spent the whole day going all shutter crazy. The first photo was the only salvagable shot of the beautiful Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (or better known as the Blue Mansion), since my precious Portra ended up in a fat roll! I was really disappointed since the whole reason I went to Penang in the first place was to photograph the mansion! *sigh* Oh well, another reason to come back here again in the future. You can read more on Le Maison Blue at its official website here.
The last 3 photos are of the iconic Logan Memorial at the Penang High Court complex, a monument erected in memory of James Richardson Logan - who was the champion of rights of non-Europeans in Penang, where he valiantly fought for the rights of Indian plantation workers against the giant East India Company.
The other shots were taken along my jaunt throughout Georgetown to reach Armenian Street, where Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a Chinese Revolutionary who was also known as the father of Modern China made base, and was the headquarters of Dr. Sun’s political party Tongmenghui. You can read more about 120, Armenian Street here.
As for photos of Dr. Sun’s HQ? That’s for another post on another day. :D
edit: What’s a FAT ROLL you say? Check out this link!
-delusiana
Up up and away!
Kodak Gold (expired) on Yashica FX-D
Look at these photos with their lovely soft tones. Kodak Gold has always been a favorite but I just adore the colors on this expired roll. Thanks for sharing your pictures from your trip with us Aman!!
Aman says,
Simply said, I went on a day trip to the San Bernadino Mountains with my trusty Yashica and came out with some pretty cool pictures.
You too can share your photos with us by sending them to us here to be featured on CGSF!!
Drew was also in Nepal
Superheadz Black Bird Fly
Here are more photos from Drew’s trip around the world! I am convinced now that Nepal is one of those places on my Bucket List of places to visit. If you missed Drew’s previous entry from Tibet, make sure to check them out here. My favorite picture…? Need you ask? Definitely the fourth one from the top!!
-eleanorrigby236
Drew Was Here in Tibet
Superheadz Black Bird Fly
Some of you may remember Drew, our pal from Kodachrome Days who has embarked on a trip to traverse the world ;) He is currently in Krakow, Poland but has jumped continents a few times now hitting places like Thailand, Hungary, Japan, Nepal, etc etc, in his own words, “exploring, adventuring, and collecting new friends”. He got his well spent film developed in a photo lab in Kathmandu some time back, so we will be sharing more from his colorful and fantastic voyage around the world.
Drew when we met him in Kuala Lumpur (yes, we took him to an abandoned house)
And behold Drew all travelled and adventured!!
Film Soup : Color Neg + Saltwater
Mitsubishi MX 100 on Holga 120N w/ 35mm back
The color shifts do not compare to what you get on slide film when soaked in detergent (like this!), but if you like mild and subtle effects, try soaking your film in some saltwater. Most of the shots on this roll were taken under very bright light but still they turned out a tad underexposed. Need to use Bulb mode next time.
Film Soup Recipe
- 300ml hot water
- 2 teaspoons salt
*film roll left in film soup for exactly 48 hours, dried, exposed, and developed.
-eleanorrigby236
Auckland calling
Fujicolor 200 on Canon EOS 300 (Rebel 2000), Pentax Asahi SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4
Another submission from the fabulous Amanda Lee of LUX | noir, this time in perfect autumn shades. We at CGSF absolutely love the colors, it’s just so sexy.
Amanda says,
I was wandering around the central business district in Auckland with some other photographers, and I was the only one shooting film. The lighting was basically sun blazing down at mid-day from a cloudless sky. In hindsight I probably should have pulled the ASA down to 100 or even 50.
The bags on golden legs are actually from the Louis Vuitton window display which changes every month or so and is usually quite whimsical. The two girls having their Starbucks perked up and started posing when they saw us approaching with cameras; I was the only one who lingered and you could see them immediately relaxing as soon as they spotted my unassuming cam! The suit catching a bus was quite interesting given that it was a Saturday. And you might not want to publish the last photo as it’s a bit rude, but I’m quite pleased with how it came out - the lens was wide open at f1.4!
Oh no, nothing is rude or wrong for the sake of art! XD
