Kodak T-Max 400

Kodak Color 400

Like for all of us, photography is an exercise of capturing moments and memories. My main goal is always to create a timeless & classic shot. I am 27, from Long Island, and have been bottling memories for as long as I can remember. My favorite subjects are my friends and family as well as my pre-school students. I shoot with a 1972 Konica T-3 Autoreflex, mainly, as well as a Canon Rebel from high school, a thrifted 1950s Kodak Rentina and also with toy cameras.

xx. ali

Share your photos and stories with us. Click here to find out how you too can be part of CGSF. Boys welcomed too :)  What is your favorite subject to capture on film? People? Architecture? Landscape? Still life? Macro? Your lunch? Yourself? Tell us, we want to know!!—CGSF

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 T-Max 400 on Nikon FM2
(developed in Kodak T-Max Developer @13:45mins)

Believe or not these were all shot using my Lensbaby Sweet 35. So when it’s not all bendy and angled awkwardly, you can expect to shoot pretty darn clear and sharp pictures with it. These were all shot very close to dusk, with ghastly gray clouds hanging low in the sky. The weather was horrible, but that is when a roll of 400ISO film comes in handy. It takes the drab away and replaces it with a touch of sombre mystery.

-eleanorrigby236

Kiev 88 w/ Shanghai GP3

Kiev 88 w/ Kodak TMax 400

I was going through my old scans and found some pictures of my Prince, the almost 9-year old Maine Coon kitty I left behind with my family, thanks to work abroad. I miss the tubby old bugger, especially taking pictures of him. He was quite an agreeable model as he doesn’t move a lot.

The pictures above were all shot on my Kiev paired with an Arsat 80mm f2.8 lens. This lens is no doubt very sharp, you can see it work its charm even on the ultra grainy Shanghai (just check out the glinty focus on my kitty’s eye in contrast to the rest of the image). When you put Kodak TMax film next to the Shanghai though, you can’t help but just fall in love with the former’s smooth and inviting fine grain. I love the Shanghai despite its erratic results, but my heart still belongs to the more faithful and dependable Kodak Tmax (and Tri-X!!) films.

I’ve just recently purchased another medium format camera which I will announce after I shoot my first roll on it, but let’s just say I won’t be purchasing any cameras for awhile after this. I’ll try not to at least. As for lenses, I can’t say I won’t shop for more. I do have my eyes set on the Arsat 30mm f3.5 fisheye lens, just look at this wide view and now a close-up. Absolutely stunning!! Oh well, that’s one more lens added to my ever-growing wish list.

-eleanorrigby236

This picture just didn’t belong with all the kitty pictures above but I wanted to share it anyway to flaunt the allure of this Arsat lens, cheap and not as sought-after in the market, but still able to produce satisfying images.

Kodak T-Max 400 on Nikon FM2 w/ Lensbaby Sweet 35
(developed in Kodak T-Max Developer @13:45mins)

These images were shot in Rome in December 2012 using one of my favorite Lensbaby optics, the Sweet 35, which is a huge upgrade in terms of usability compared to the Glass Optic, thanks to the built in 12-blade adjustable aperture. It not only saves time, it gives you more control over capturing your compositions, without having to physically swap out aperture discs especially when you’re trying to get that quick shot. The Sweet 35 glass is sharper, so if you like a softer look to your photos, the Glass Optic would be a better option. I am a proud owner of many Lensbaby optics and I love that there is always one made just for every occasion.

-eleanorrigby236

Kodak TMAX 400 on Nikon F80D, Lensbaby Sweet 35

(Ilfotec HC  1+31 @ 6:30mins, Epson V700)

Yup, this was way overdue. 

The shots were taken some 6 weeks ago at an abandoned shoplot somewhere in Shah Alam. For the first we weren’t bitten by bugs so everything was cool and the outing turned out quite well.

Honestly I’ve forgotten the experience I had during this particular shoot since it was so long ago, LOL. Damn my university life!

Anyway, I’ll be posting more shots from the shoot in color soon so look forward to that.

Till then, keep the analogue spirit alive.

-delusiana

Kodak T-Max 400 on Holgamod 120N

Just going through my old scans and found this set of pictures discarded in the ‘No Good’ pile. They are from a crazy trip across the globe on work last year where I was spending 40% of my time in transit or flying across a whole continent, and not enough time shooting on land. Most of the pictures shot on film from my window seat came out super blown-out, as the sun was just too strong up there. I was hoping to be able to capture something good, something better as the shots I randomly snapped on my iPhone turned out lovely. All 5 pictures above were taken in different parts of the world, in the air upon lift off from Kuala Lumpur, over Japan, over California, over Russia, and finally in Mexico. Pretty cool when I see it from that perspective ;)

Next time, I hope for more time on land! Yes, on land where the action really is!

-eleanorrigby236

Fuji Neopan Acros 100 on Gevaert Gevabox (Flipped Lens)

At CGSF, we weren’t just busy preparing some tasty soup for colorful film adventures, we’re also brewing some Tea in Vitamin C to develop our black & whites in! Thanks to Paul Gadd of The Print Room KL who’d kindly allowed us to use his space & darkroom to demonstrate how to make your own film soup & develop your BWs in tea, we’ve finally managed to achieve this feat which has been eluding us since we first featured this technique courtesy of the lovely Firda Beka of Many Cameras.com!

Yes, I know the results aren’t that great, the photos look almost like a badly xeroxed version but this set was from one of my experimental phase. I’ve yet to discover the exact developing times & agitation scheme for the Neopan Acros 100 & Kodak TMAX but I’ll be sure to post here once I get that figured out.

So, the first set was taken with my vintage Gevaert Gevabox with flipped lens, which explains the crazy flared out effect & lack of focus.

The recipe: (to make 1000ml of stock solution)

5 bags of black tea (I used Lipton) in 600ml freshly boiled water
10 tsp of washing soda
5g of crushed Vitamin C

- Let the tea steep for 30 mins and squeeze every drop out, you should get about 500ml of tea
- Dissolve the washing soda & vitamin C in about 400ml of water and add the two solution together and mix them well,
- The solution should stay usable for about 24 hours

- First minute continuous agitation, then 3 agitations every minute for 30 minutes
- Stop bath, fix & rinse normally.

Kodak T-MAX 400 on Gevaert Gevabox (Flipped Lens)

For this set I used the same recipe but with 8 bags instead of 5 (6 bags of japanese green tea & 2 bags of black tea) to avoid the excessive fogging & staining by the black tea which could hamper your scanning (and printing if you plan to do it  traditionally with an enlarger!)

I also cut down the developing time to 15 minutes, with continuous agitation during the first minute and 3 agitations every 30 seconds (that’s an almost continuous agitation scheme!). I found that the negatives are much less foggy but I guess it could still be fine tuned. 

This recipe works really well with the cheapo Shanghai GP3 100 though, and I’ll be posting  the results from that set in my next post so stay tuned for that.

Oh, and say hi to my lovely Gevaert Gevabox!

-delusiana

Kodak T-Max 400 on Diana 151

(self-developed: Ilford Ilfosol 3, 1+9 at 6 mins)

Even Sora wants you to know that our beloved Kodak is here to stay and that FILM IS NOT DEAD! 

-delusiana

Kodak T-Max 400 B+W on Minolta XG-1 w/MD Rokkor 45mm f/2.0  

Went for a day trip to Kutna Hora while spending my holiday in Prague. One of the main attractions there was the Kostnice (Church of Bones), Sedlec, Kutna Hora. All the bones used for the church were from the black death plague in the 14th Century. The decorations and sculptures were created though by a woodcarver named František Rint.It was done so to create a reminder of the impermanence of human life and inescapable death. 

From the outside, the church looks like a small church serving a small community. Nothing special and nothing too fancy. Stepping into the church, one cannot help but start to feel a sudden chill and sense of eeriness upon seeing so many bones and skulls. It was not long before you fully appreciate the artistic decor and sculptures by the creator. Overall it was an interesting sight and experience and I hardly doubt one would be seeing bones and skulls to that extent!

These photos were meant to be shot at ISO 400 on the camera but due to my forgetfulness, I left it at ISO 100 from my previous film. Since the labs in my area do not do push or pull processing, I was worried that the film might not turn out correctly exposed when developed at 400ISO. Surprisingly though, when the negatives came back and after scanning them, they were marginally overexposed but still very useable. The only downside was some of the pictures were not as sharp as I had hoped but that was due to the manual focus of the lens in a low light place. Overall it is a good lesson learnt!

- Ben

Kodak T-Max 100 on Holga 120 WPC

When the opportunity to acquire a Holga 120WPC (wide pinhole camera) came my way, I couldn’t resist. I’ve been interested in pinhole photography for awhile, inspired by work I’ve seen on Flickr, and by the idea of getting closer to the basics of photography with a slower, more hands-on process. I’m also happy to add another Holga to my collection.

The WPC doesn’t have a viewfinder; images are sighted, composed, and leveled using three line/points on top of the camera, along with a built-in bubble level which is very handy.

There are two mask: a 6x9 for 8 images, and a 6x12 for 6 images. According to the specs, the WPC has a horizontal exposure angle reaching as far as 120 degrees. A standard tripod mount and threaded shutter release button accommodate the tripod and cable release necessary for long exposures, and on the back of the camera is an exposure guide. 120 film is loaded in the same fashion as a regular Holga, and in order to get the correct number of exposures, the film is wound by advancing to odd numbers; i.e., after 1, you wind to 3, then 5, and so on.

The pinhole itself is approximately 0.3mm, which translates to f/135. There’s a lot of information out there about correct exposure times but for now I’m going to follow the simple guide and experiment to find what works best for me. Also, I know there’s going to be a learning curve figuring out the subject framing and distance.

My WPC came pre-loaded with T-Max 100, compliments of the friend I got the camera from, and it was a great choice. I’m fairly new to T-Max, and have been pleased so far with the results in other cameras, and here, too. The 6x9 mask was in place.

For my first pinhole adventure, my daughter and I went to China Camp Beach, which is the site of a long-abandoned fishing village that thrived in the late 1800’s. Right on the bay, with a few abandoned buildings, old boats, and a pier, its a very atmospheric and interesting place to take photographs. These images were shot mid-day, but since its winter the sun was low, and the sky was fairly overcast. Following the exposure guide, I did approximately 10 second exposures, except for the double exposures in which I split the time. 

I had very little idea what I was doing, so I’m pleased with this first attempt and encouraged to do more. I love the dreamy quality to pinhole photography. I also love the process of setting up to capture the image. I’m looking forward to many pinhole adventures, and am excited I can return to places I’ve already been and capture something completely different.

-Stephanie

LOMO LC-A, Colorsplash Flash

Avroco (1974-2011) passed away on 14th July, 2011 leaving us for another one hell of lotsa parties up there. In mourning we decided not to lose to him; he’s the epitome of punkrock. A (Benefit) Party was held for him. At Rumah Api, Pusher rocked the stage. Kojek’s portrait of Avroco avrocoly looked at the avrocoes dancing merrily in the pit. He ought to be happy. Rest in peace.

-J.K

edit: A little bit on the film - we found out that the T-Max 400 worked really well in dark places, even when the only light source was the dim disco ball and the odd flash from various drunken photographers. Sure, T-Max was supposed to be superior in terms of its fine grain but bear in mind that in a dark live house with the musicians constantly in motion, I think the above pictures turned out spectacular. These were rated at the box speed of 400ISO, automatic shutter setting and illuminated by the Colorsplash flash (green gel).

-delusiana

Superheadz Ultra Wide & Slim, 22mm, f11, 1/125

This B&W negative film is usually used to capture details in subjects for maximum print quality as all other film tagged with “Professional” do. As you can see above, images produced have high sharpness and very fine grain. However, you can also see that I used the roll to shoot space and lines instead, which I think worked out pretty well, as the contours and outlines of the clouds and the other subjects came out crisp and nice. I read somewhere that this film “sees” color the way our eyes do so now I am curious to see how filters will effect the contrast when compared to regular B&W film. 

-eleanorrigby236

Here are more pictures from my visit to the abandoned tin dredge a few weeks back, this time shot on my Holga. (I posted some pictures of the interior in color shot on my Olympus Trip 35 here.) This is my first Tri-X roll and I like that my blacks and blacker and whites whiter, but time again I am convinced that I need to start developing my own B&W film. The photo lab I send my rolls to just do not do my photos any justice and it is rather frustrating.

I am loving my Holga more and more with every roll I shoot on it. You can see again here, that my pictures are very sharp in the middle and gradually softens towards the corners, producing a rather nice dreamy look that isn’t too much just like the pictures from my last roll. So far, I am getting consistent results and that is always encouraging when shooting with a plastic camera. I just placed an order for another Holga with a plastic lens this time (just in case you don’t know the GCFN is fitted with a glass lens, hence the “G” in its name) as I would like to see some vignetting action in my Holga photos next. 

-eleanorrigby236

Holga GCFN