Pentax 67 and the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 180 2.8 - a match made in Heaven (or more specifically Poland)

A few years ago I very foolishly dropped my beloved Pentax 67 - it was such a traumatic experience (for the camera as well as me) that I wrote a blog about it HERE. Ever since then my P67 has not been a happy bunny - frame spacing was out of whack and the film advance mechanism sounded like a bag of spanners…. I did get it repaired but this was just a patch up job and it was never the same after, I would regularly lose a frame or the advance mechanism would jam…. considering that the P67 is my absolute main battle camera (and responsible for 90% of my portfolio work) I am amazed that I managed to limp along with it in this sorry state for so long.

It had gotten to the point where I was avoiding using it and leaving the P67 in the camera bag makes no flipping sense so I decided to bite the bullet and get my beautiful Pentax 67 repaired and serviced. After a bit of research I opted to use ASAHI PHOTO for the repair work and I am very pleased to say that they did a fantastic job - the film advance mechanism was replaced and the camera also had a full CLA and service, they repaired the bottom plate which was cracked and replaced some of the leatherette which had come loose too - it feels so awesome to have my Pentax 67 in full working order!!

While it was away being repaired (it only took a couple of weeks) I made the decision to finally let go of my Soviet built Kiev 60 and lenses - I was really only keeping this camera because it gave me access to the absolutely AMAZING Carl Zeiss Sonnar 180 mm 2.8 lens and I decided that since I was getting the Pentax 67 repaired I might as well do something else that I’d had on my wish list - to have the Sonnar lens adapted from Pentacon 6 to Pentax 67 mount!!!

I’d heard of a place in Poland called Bokeh Factory who could do the conversion - when i contacted them I discovered that they were closing down!! eeek! Not only that but they had no more conversion kits and only a couple of lenses left!! So I decided to go for ANOTHER Sonnar lens and to sell my Pentacon 6 lens (are you still paying attention at the back)??!

Anyway loooooong story short - here we are!! What a combination this is!! The lens pairs beautifully with the Pentax and is a much more pleasing experience than using the big Sonnar lens on my long since sold ARAX CM or soon to be sold Kiev 60.

The conversion process takes a little bit of length out of the barrel which helps, also because of the change to a 6X7 sized frame rather than 6X6 the effective focal length in 35mm terms is about 100mm so it’s a perfect portrait lens!

I decided that I couldn’t wait for a portrait shoot to take this new combo for a spin - I wanted to road test the P67 and the Sonnar together so I took a short walk around the block with a roll of Fomapan 100 and grabbed a few ‘nothing’ shots.

I shot the Fomapan 100 at box speed and developed in what is becoming my favourite developer 510 Pyro if you haven’t tried it out yet then I strongly suggest that you do, it’s lovely stuff, buy it from Zone Imaging HERE - the data sheet recommends rating Foma 100 at 80 but since I shot it at 100 I extended developing time by 90 seconds.

Please excuse the dust marks - I didnt have time to remove them! Anyway, what do you think? I am VERY happy to have my P67 in full working order and to have it matched with one of my favourite lenses the wonderful Car Zeiss Sonnar 180mm 2.8 - what a fantastic piece of glass!

As you can see in the images, the lens is capable of creamy and dreamy Bokeh, SUPER sharp where you want it too - the fall off between these two extremes create a wonderful 3D pop to the images too I cannot wait to bring this combination to my next Portrait shoot!

I tested how the lens handled strong back light with the sun just out of the frame top right - I am very impressed!! There’s a drop in contrast that you’d expect but it’s not unpleasant, in fact i like it!

It felt good just to get out and shoot whatever situations presented themselves to me, I used to do this kind of thing ALL.THE.TIME - note to self: more photowalks please!

Our first Shoot, Develop & Print Workshop

As I write these words it’s been a couple of weeks since our first ever workshop at the Adventures on Film Darkroom and I am STILL buzzing from the experience!

Three people took part in this workshop - all of whom had shot with film in the past but were looking to get back into it, brush up on their skills and learn some new ones too.

The format for the day was a location based portrait shoot with our wonderful model and long time creative collaborator Danni, after which we then went into the Darkroom to develop our film and create some prints.

You’ll have no doubt noticed the preponderance of video in this blog - yes friends I’ve recently rejoined Instagram after a long hiatus - I have been enjoying creating some video reels of our workshop shenanigans! Give us a follow HERE

A lot of work went in to getting the darkroom ready to welcome our first guests and we had a wonderful day together shooting portraits, developing the film and making some prints.

A huge thank you to Gary, Andrew and Damian for taking part and of course to Danni for being such an amazing model and to Jony Hunter for shooting the video and BTS shots of the day!

We’re going to be organising some regular workshops beginning in the new year covering so watch this space for details and if you’re interested in taking part then please see HERE for more details or get in touch via email info@chrischinnockphotography.com

Fomapan 400 Review - Street Portrait Shoot

Back again after a little break - life has been WAAAAY too busy of late! In a good way though so I have no complaints, except that my blog has had to take the back seat for which I apologise! I have been managing to get a few shoots in though and I’ve been trying out a bunch of new (to me) film stocks - prompted in no small part because of financial considerations, but also because, well… there are still loads of film stocks out there to shoot so why not take them for a spin?! Today we’ll be looking at Fomapan 400 in medium format.

I am no stranger to Fomapan film having shot quite a lot of 200 HERE and I figured it was high time that I took their faster speed 400 film for a spin and it did not dissapoint! After a bit of research online I decided to rate the film at 200 and I love the results!!

I really enjoyed shooting with KC on this one as we had a walk around Bradford City Centre making the most of the urban landscape. Fomapan 400 in medium format gives lovely clean and crisp results - I’d be interested to se how it performs in 35mm, i suspect a bit more gritty / grainy which would be no bad thing!

I really like the tonality and texture of this film, shot in good light and over exposed two stops is certainly a good starting point, I think I’d like to experiment with shooting at box speed too as I feel it might add some more charachter / contrast.

I love shooting with the Pentax 67 - it’s a wonderful camera, so easy to shoot with and with the 105mm Takumar lens mounted it’s pretty much perfect! Dreamy and creamy bokeh and razor sharp where you want it, this lens gets a lot of HYPE but I think it’s well deserved, my only gripe with the P67 is that some idiot (me) dropped it a couple of years back and it needed to be repaired but ever since it’s not been the same and I’ll often lose a frame or two from a roll as they overlap, not good when you only have ten shots per roll to start with! And it is almost always some of the better shots which end up being ruined - as in this case :(

I’ll have to send it off for another repair I think, but at least we got some more good shots! Really enjoyed this shoot and it felt good to try out a new and relatively cheap film, prices are going up and up so Fomapan is really viable option for me

In this final shot we snuck into the National Film Museum and I grabbed this reflection shot of KC - I was surprised at how well it came out since I think I metered the scene as 400 and then held my nerve with the Pentax 67 at about 1/30 of a second at f2.4 - lots of punchy contrast in this due to under exposure, I like!

Can you dig it? Shooting Rollei Retro 80S with an Orange Filter

A few weeks ago I scheduled in some much needed time to get out and about with my camera and shoot some film - the existence of this blog may give you the false impression that is literally all I do - gadding about awash with film and film cameras - don’t believe the hype my friends!!

In fact of late I’ve been finding it very difficult to make time to get out and shoot - I am very pleased therefore to present these images as proof that I recently carved an hour out of my busy schedule to do just that. These images represent a much needed reminder to myself to make space for creativity for the pure sake of it, to stretch my legs - literally and metaphorically.

This little micro adventure on film (it literally lasted about an hour) was a stroll through Magwoods just outside Huddersfield - a beautiful stretch of woodland along the edge of a valley, I had no particular goal in mind except that it was a sunny day and having spent far too long staring at a computer screen I grabbed my Nikon F2 and the Nikkor 24mm 2.8 lens, an orange filter and a roll of Rollei Retro 80S film and set off on my expedition!

Rolle Retro 80S is a film I have shot quite a bit over the last few years I’ve travelled with it HERE and shot Portraits with it HERE and I’ve always been really pleased with the results - it’s a super contrasty film which absolutely sings in good sunlight - I was very interested to see what effect an orange filter would have and I was not dissapointed!! Using an orange filter with black and white film gives you even more contrast, the blue sky shows as more dark and contrasty and if there are clouds present it will make for a bolder and more dramatic sky - the image above is a good example!

As well boosting contrast and making the sky look AWESOME an orange filter when combined with a film like Rollei Retro 80S will also give a look verging on the infrared - with lots of bright whites and deep dark black tones, I love it! Rollei Retro 80S is such a finely detailed film in the first place and the orange filter has just dialled everything up to 11 (how much more black can the shadows get? None. None more black) ;)

Gone are the days when in my working life I would travel up and down the land, thus having plenty of opportnities to shoot some street/travel/casual day to day shots - in fact aside from portrait shoots I can’t remember the last time I went out and just shot a roll of film for fun! It was great to just be present and focus on my surroundings - allowing my eye to be drawn where it may - as it turned out I was particularly drawn to the texture and details of the trees (well I was in a wood so it’s not too surprising) I love the punchy contrast in these images which works great with the textures of the wood.

After strolling through magwoods and along the valley I remembered that there’s a derelict mill along the route (to be fair - in this neck of the woods you are never too far away from a derelict mill) but I had completely forgotten about the derelict digger that rests near by (or maybe it just wasn’t there when I last came this way a few years back) either way my attention was completely taken with this mechanical monster.

I have a thing for abandoned things. Is it just me or do you feel it to? The ineffable pathos of ruin…The machine stops….amidst a tangled mass of weeds, slowly being engulfed by the twisting tentacles of branches…. great innit?!

I proceeded to cover the scene like some CSI photographer covering all the angles, looking for clues to this long forgotten crime!

I’m trying (and failing) to come up with a snappy metaphor or analagy or something to end on - I was hoping I could think of something smart and (moderately) funny to link the difficulties I’ve been facing in making time to get out and shoot and discovering this burned out digger - so instead I’ll just say this: making time to do creative stuff just for the heck of it gives me great joy…it doesn’t matter one bit whether the resulting images are any good (although to be fair I really like these shots) the satisfaction comes from spending a short bit of time not distracted by this or that, not thinking about the past or what is to come but just being present, keyed in to my surroundings, focussing (literally) on the details, being open to whatever is around the corner and making the most of whatever I find there (especially if it is a burned out digger) hang on a minute - was that a metaphor, similie or analogy??? I need to check google and find out! Until next time friends - stay safe out there! :)

Writing a film photography blog

Hello! In todays post I wanted to take stock of the journey so far with my photography blog, to reflect on the process and what this experience has taught me and of course wax lyrical about photography, film, cameras, lenses - you know… the usual!

I took my first tentative steps into the world of blogging on December 2nd 2015 HERE with what (by my current waffly standards) was a very laconic commentary from behind the scenes of a fashion shoot I was involved in.

My how time has flown! That first attempt felt very much like hurling myself into the void (was there anybody there) in fact that feeling never really goes away - or at least it hasn’t for me (is there anybody there)?!

In a little over 5 years this blog has taken me on an amazing journey! One that I had no idea I was embarking on at the time but a journey nonetheless! I’ve learned all sorts of things about myself, about photography, about writing, about shooting projects for a particular audience, about websites (I’m still a bit rubbish with websites).

In the early days I really wasn’t sure WHY I wanted to write a blog, perhaps I thought that I had more to say on the matter? Perhaps I wanted a platform that existed outside of the realm of social media? Perhaps….

Looking back at some of my previous blog posts it’s interesting to chart my progression from jobbing ‘I will literally shoot anything for money’ freelance photographer, documenting my travels for work (ah how I miss travelling for work)! And then a couple of years ago a definite shift towards film only and focussing in more on portraiture. I think I’ve also shifted from writing gear reviews towards just presenting the results of my work, I can definitely see progression in my confidence as a photographer and a blogger too.

Themes which stand out have been:

Film Developing Semi Stand black and white development and Colour Film at home

Travel photography from London to Berlin

Shooting old lenses on digital cameras HERE and HERE

Gear reviews Nikon F2 and F3 as well as the Pentax 67 and Spotmatic F

Shooting film in Low Light HERE and HERE

Commercial gigs HERE and HERE

What I can confidently say now though is that writing a blog about photography (and more latterly specifically about film photography) is that it has given me a creative outlet beyond the photographic process - it’s been a learning curve but I find joy in the written word and as much as I might be tempted by the showy lights of those ‘vloggers’ over on Youtube and Instagram - I guess I’m just a bit too oldschool for that carry on )and maybe just a bit too old) ;)

What has been most gratifying on this journey is that actually there was someone out there! I am pleasantly surprised to know that there are quite a lot of people out there, not just that but they like what they see/read on this page! I looked at the analytics for 2020 and there were 18,000 visitors to the blog! Now for all those young thrusters over there in social media world maybe thats small potatoes but for little old me who just started writing for the enjoyment of it - this is AMAZING!!

I have shied away from ‘monetising’ the blog - I find it a real put off to see blogs that are festooned in advertisements so I can re-assure you that I won’t be going down that route, I’ve also decided not to go down the Patreon route as I want to keep the blog open to anyone who wants to view it and I don’t like the idea of having a pay wall. Ko fi seems like a happy medium. I’ll continue to create content, and if someone out there feels inclined to buy me a virtual coffee by way of thanks then that would be much appreciated! Here’s a button you can use if you feel that way inclined at this very moment!

Writing the blog has opened so many doors in terms of my creativity and even on the business side of things too, I’ve had several paying jobs as a result of people reading the blogs, seeing my work and commissioning me to create some images for them which is pretty flipping cool! I’ve also been asked to write articles for Silver Grain Classics magazine who found me via my blog and I’m about to get my first editorial published in SGC magazine! So yeah, if you’ve ever sat and wondered about writing a blog my advice is to get going! Put yourself out there, even if you don’t have a clear direction in mind beginning if the first step - the journey really is the destination who knows what you’ll discover on the way!

Creating colourful dramatic portraits with LED lights on film

I’ve been experimenting with LED lighting and coloured gels in my portraiture, in particular I’ve been exploring new creative themes taking inspiration from some of my fave Sci fi movies as a way of experimenting with lighting to evoke the mood of the original films and it’s also been wonderful to play around with characters, settings and stories.

I was fortunate to collaborate once again with Charlie and Jony to create two really distinctive looks. Firstly Charlie channelling her inner ‘Ripley from Aliens’ and Jony doing an amazing job with a ‘Deckard off of Bladerunner’ look. We finished the shoot with Charlie joining Jony in a Dark Future Dystopia by reprising her role as ‘bad ass Terminator Cyborg’ from our previous shoot HERE.

Once again this was an all Kodak Portra 400 affair, I rated the film at 800 and had the lovely folks at Exposure Film Lab push development two stops. Camera gear used:

• Nikon F3 / 85mm 1.4 / 50mm 1.4

• Pentax 67 / 105mm 2.5

We shot both of these looks in their cellar using a simple lighting set up involving one LED panel light and two small LED pads with some coloured cellophane for ‘gels’. Jony provided extra atmosphere by streaming the background music to Aliens during the Ripley shoot too!! ACE!

For inspiration I rewatched Aliens which is one of my favourite films paying particular attention to the lighting and colour pallete used in the film - I picked out blue/green and yellow as the main colours and then tried to replicate that multi million dollar budget movie with a few cheap LED lights and 99p worth of coloured Cellophane! You know what? I absolutley love the results!!

I searched out a suitably sci-fi looking rifle for ‘Ripley’ and Charlie did an absolutely stellar job creating the look with an awesome outfit, hair and make up - she really is one of the most creative souls I have had the pleasure to work with, she’s amazing! :)

Interestingly (well i think it’s interesting and it’s my blog, so get lost) for the Ripley images the 35mm frames look the best, they have a grainy/grittyness which is very appealing and truth be told I missed focus quite a bit on the Pentax 67 shots for Ripley and even those shots which I didn’t just don’t have the same feel as these 35mm shots.

Now we move on to a look inspired by Deckard from Bladerunner another of my all time fave movies!! For inspiration I watched both the original film and the recent 2049 movie and actually took my lighting inspiration from both films - I decided I wanted to combine the darker/noir feel of the original movie with some of the colour palette of the later film.

Jony did an awesome job not only with his outfit but also bringing that noir detective/bladerunner vibe - very very cool! I was so happy with how the lighting worked out giving a very dramatic effect.

Interestingly (yes! it IS interesting - now shush) the Pentax 67 shots look best on this look (if I do say so myself) I was shooting this handheld at 1/30 and wide open at 2.5 so Depth of Field is razor thin and there is a little bit of camera shake creeping in on one or two frames but I care not! Love these shots! Huge thank you to Jony for absolutely nailing the look here!

Props wise I bought a custom nerf gun and also some ‘neon bullets’ which are actual (empty) bullet casings but with a blue LED light inside! There really are some randomly specific/amazing things available in the internet aren’t there?! I think they look great on the shot - definitely add to the sci fi vibes.

In fact the whole Dark Future look is created by the lighting on this one as without the LED lights or the neon bullets then Jony’s look could be from any time period - this is one of the things I love about experimenting with coloured lighting, it really is transformative!

As if that wasn’t enough creativity for one shoot using the exact same location we then stepped it up a gear and brought Charlie and Jony together for a few final images. On these I really wanted to push the lighting to see what was achievable - and wow!! We created a set of promo images for an imaginary Sci-fi Cop show!

With Red light as the main lighting and blue just in the background and picking out little details and reflections - the high grain just adds to the lo-fi/low key appeal! An awesome end to an awesome shoot! It was a real pleasure to work with Charlie and Jony again, such lovely creative folk to work with :)

As for the lighting, I am really enjoying exploring the creative possibilites which coloured lighting brings to my photography. LED lights are a game changer for the film shooter because what you see is pretty much what you get which allows you to control and adjust your lighting by eye. I continue to be amazed at the flexibility of Kodak Portra 400 it really is wonderful stuff! I would urge anyone reading this to introduce some dramatic colour lighting into your film photography and push your creativity to the limits! It is such an enjoyable experience!

From the USSR with Love: Portrait shoot with Soviet lenses on 35mm film

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy the process of preparing for a photo shoot almost as much as the shoot itself! The anticipation of all those endless creative possibilities to come, the excitement tinged with a nervousness that naturally accompanies these thoughts: Will everything work? Am I up to the task? Will it piss it down with rain like it has done all day today....

Film photography invites you to make creative decisions up front (not all of course as development, processing and printing are large factors too) but your choice of film, camera and lens are important considerations. Perhaps more so on film than digital as each film has different characteristics and vintage lenses have their own unique qualities that they bring to the table.

My main 35mm set up is an all Nikon affair but I also have a thing for Soviet lenses, there is just something about them that I am drawn to which allows for some interesting creative possibilities (or maybe it’s because they’re cheap)! While I love Soviet glass I’ve found that Soviet cameras on the other hand can leave a lot to be desired - in my experience they aren’t that reliable and since (annoyingly) M42 lenses won’t easily adapt to Nikon mount cameras I have added a couple of Pentax Spotmatic bodies to my collection which I use for my M42 shenanigans, I’m not going to go into a big review of the Spotmatic F because I’ve already done that HERE suffice it to say that it is a very very fine camera indeed and an absolute joy to shoot with.

So let’s talk lenses then, we’ll start with the Helios 44-2 which you can see at the top left of the image below - it is renowned for it’s ability to do swirly bokeh. But this is no one trick pony and it’s certainly not a novelty or toy lens. It is absolutely sharp (the caveat being that sharpness as a concept is MASSIVELY over stated) it has lovely contrast, tone and detail too and the bokeh is wonderfully smooth as well having some good swirly patterning. The best part? Mine cost me £10! I bought it attached to a broken Zenit camera for £25 - kept the lens and sold the zenit body for £15 :)

There are loads of versions of the Helios 44, I’ve had several later versions all of which had really stiff focussing rings, I tried out this earlier 44-2 version and it’s my fav so far. The build quality is very good, focus is smooth and it has a preset aperture control so you choose which aperture you want using a ring on the front of edge of the lens, you can then adjust the aperture manually so you focus while it’s wide open and then stop it down to shoot (it takes longer to explain than it does to actually do it) this works well for me as I have a Spotmatic F which won’t mount non Pentax lenses with auto aperture pins (note to anyone reading this wanting to use a spotmatic for Soviet glass - if you have a Spotmatic F then stick with preset lenses or if you’re looking to buy just get an older Spotmatic).

The Lens attached to the Spotmatic in the image above is the lovely Jupiter 9, it’s an 85mm f2 lens - this focal length is one of my faves to shoot, especially portraiture. Slightly more rare than the Helios (but that’s only because they made literally a kabillion Helios lenese) the Jupiter 9 is a very very lovely bit of glass indeed - build quality is excellent, focussing is lovely and smooth. I bought mine via evilbay from a seller in Russia for £70. There were several versions of this lens, this is the single coated version dating from the mid 80’s i think - later multicoated ones seem to be at a premium far above any real world advantage you might expect. One of the most impressive things about the Jupiter 9 is it’s size- it’s almost the same size as the Helios!! It looks like a 50mm prime lens which is amazing! It makes for a very compact and portable portrait combination.

A few words about the shoot itself and then I’ll let the images do the rest of the talking: I chose ilford HP5 for this shoot because it was kind of overcast and we were shooting under tree cover so I wanted something flexible enough to handle any situation, I shot it at 800 and I love the results! HP5 absolutely sings when it’s pushed and I think these have a lovely tone and feel to them. A huge thank you to model Danni AKA Pandora Belle - she absolutely nailed it on this shoot, Danni is a very talented model and it was really great to work her on this shoot.

Jupiter 9

Jupiter 9

Jupiter 9

Jupiter 9

Jupiter 9

Helios 44-2

Helios 44-2

Helios 44-2

Helios 44-2

Once again my thanks to Danni for being such an amazing model and also to Exposure Film Lab who develop and scan all my portfolio work - they’re the best!

To say that I am over the moon with the results would be an understatement! First run out with the Helios 44-2 and the Jupiter 9 and I am so happy with how the images came out - in fact I think they make a good pairing, they have similar characteristics. The Helios has a little more swirl in the Bokeh where as the Jupiter 9 is buttery smooth but they both have excellent sharpness, contrast and detail but then you already know that as you’ve just seen the images right?! I’ll certainly be using this set up again in the near future and putting and I’ve really enjoyed shooting black and white portraits for a change, i use colour a lot in my portraiture so I wanted to mix it up a little, for me casual/day to day and personal work I’ve found Ilford HP5 to be such a versatile film, but I’ve never shot portaits with it - I love the results!

Dark Future: A shoot on Kodak Portra at 1600

It’s almost November 2019 and that can mean only one thing: we are now living at the time that the original blade runner movie was set!! While there’s certainly no denying that at times it can feel like we’re already living in a dystopian Dark Future, as with all things the reality is often less stylistically pleasing than our celluloid fantasies would suggest – to rectify this, my latest shoot was a Dark Future/Neon Noir/Blade Runner inspired look with the very awesome Charlie Hex 

This shoot presented me with a number of new creative challenges – first and foremost amongst these was lighting. Having scouted out a suitable location (and a huge shout out at this point goes to The Arcade Club in Leeds for hosting us) I also wanted to have some control over the lighting too, but given that we were shooting in a public space and the fact that I also have two cameras to lug around I needed something fairly compact – enter the LED light pad! I then used a couple of sheets of cellophane to create my own lighting gels and voila! 

Ignore the F90X in this pic - I changed my mind at the last minute and went for the F2 instead :)

In the run up to this shoot I rewatched the original Bladerunner movie which has been a firm favourite of mine for as long as I can remember, I also re-watched the sequel Bladerunner 2049 (a film which I went to the cinema to watch when it came out and honestly thought it was a bit rubbish) what was interesting was to re-watch both movies but specifically to pay attention to the lighting and how it is used to enhance the narrative of the story – as it turned out I actually really enjoyed 2049 the second time around and one thing I took from the film as a major inspiration was the amazing colour palettes – in particular the strong use of orange lighting, obviously the creative lighting budget for both of these films far exceeds any resources I was able to throw at this project (my orange lighting gel is just two pieces of cellophane, one yellow and one red laid over each other) but as you can see here with a little thought and a cheap LED light, creative possibilities abound!

 A Dark Future inspired look has been on my wish list for a long time and I was delighted when Charlie got in touch after a casting I posted on FB. The images speak for themselves of course but it’s still worth stating that Charlie absolutely smashed it on this shoot!! I shared a few mood boards with Charlie and she came back with the makeup and outfit looks you can see in these images, this combined with her being super confident in front of camera really helped to realise the vision, a proper creative collaboration! Big thanks too to Charlie’s boyfriend Jony who did a sterling job as human light stand by holding the LED light for me :)

 During the shoot itself we were in the midst of a very busy Arcade location, mixed and changing lighting and I didn’t have chance to visit the space ahead of the shoot (something I had planned on doing) armed with my trusty light meter, Pentax 67 and Nikon F2 I felt confident I could handle things but as always with film you don’t know until you get the films developed how things really turned out.

Looks like my P67 still has a bit of an issue with the frame spacing with this accidental double exposure - fortunately in this case, I flipping love it!

 I was also using a brand new (to me) lens the amazing Nikkor H C 85mm 1.8 and wow has this lens blown me away!! It’s perfect for lowlight shooting – most of these images were shot around f2 or f2.8 and for the Pentax 67 I was mostly wide open at f2.4

The Nikon F2 and the amazing Nikkor H C 85mm 1.8

As it’s turned out I think most of my fave shots are with the F2 and the 85mm lens, given the low light and relatively slow shutter speeds (all around 1/60) I am very pleased with how they came out.

Now let’s talk about film stocks -  I used Kodak Portra 400 for both 35mm and 120 formats and again, wow! I am blown away at how awesome it looks! I rated the film at 1600 and asked the lovely people at Exposure Film Lab who do all my colour developing to develop the film at 1600 (push it two stops) the results speak for themselves – colour balance is spot on and to my eye they just look RIGHT!

This is the beginning of a wider Dark Future project I’ll be exploring on future shoots mainly cos I’m a Sci Fi geek and have always loved that Neon Noir vibe ranging from Bladerunner to Akira and beyond - I Can’t wait to add some more retro futurist looks to my portfolio and to explore some more creative lighting techniques!

High Fashion in the High Peaks - Portrait Shoot with Chanel Joan Elkayam

Welcome to the latest in my series of creative collaborations which have the express purpose of helping me to grow my photography portfolio as well as grow connections, grow confidence and grow creatively - basically it’s all about growth!

On my travels through this universe I have had the pleasure of meeting some really cool, talented and interesting people - on very special occasions I sometimes have the opportunity to work with them and for that I am supremely grateful! My latest (and perhaps greatest) collaboration so far has been with the very wonderfully talented Chanel Joan Elkayam!

The background to this shoot is that I met Chanel a few years ago when I was 2nd shooting for my friend Ruth, ever since then it has been wonderful to see how Chanel has grown into her amazing success as an Industry recognised Fashion Designer, Chanel is the youngest person to have showcased at all 4 of the major fashion shows London, Paris, New York and Milan and she achieved all of this by the age of 18 - basically she’s the real deal! As you can tell I am full of admiration for Chanel’s achievements and I can’t wait to see where her journey takes her next! you can see more of her work HERE.

For this shoot we wanted to showcase some of Chanel’s fashion designs in a natural setting, we chose Dovestones as our location in part because it’s really local for us both and also because it’s amazingly beautiful too! The weather even behaved itself and gave us lots of lovely sunlight to play with too.

I relied on my now favourite combination of the Pentax 67 as primary camera and Nikon F2 as a second body - this set up gives me tip top quality lenses in both medium format and 35mm and I just really like working with them both. Filmwise it was again an all Kodak affair with Portra 400 loaded in the P67 and a couple of rolls of Portra 800 and a cheeky roll of Kodak Pro image 100 for the F2.

It was so much fun working with Chanel on this shoot, and also a huge thank you to Chanel’s mum too who joined us - it was really lovely to meet her and a big thank you for taking the behind the scenes photos you can see at the start of this blog too! :)

We managed to shoot 4 different looks over the course of a few hours on a sunny afternoon at Dovestones, I really feel like these are some of my best images to date and of course a major part of this is down to Chanel and her amazing designs as well as her talent in front of the lens too, Chanel was lots of fun to work with and made my job easy!

Enough talk!! Here’s some of my fave shots…

So there we go! We got so many great shots together!! I really enjoyed this shoot and loved working with Chanel and her amazing designs. On the technical side of things once again Portra 400 has proven itself to be utterly dependable in mixed lighting situations and every time it renders beautiful tones, contrast and colours - for this shoot I rated it all at 400. Also once again Kodak Pro Image is proving to be another wonderful addition to the line up and some of my fave 35mm shots were from this film :)

The Pentax 67 continues to astound me with the image quality it’s capable of and it’s just so flipping enjoyable to shoot with - here’s to many more creative collaborations to come!

Kodak Pro image 100 & Portra 160 review - Portrait shoot out

Now that I have FINALLY settled on some camera kit that I’ll be keeping around for the long term I can focus my energies on exploring different film stocks - not that I wasn’t doing that anyway but I was finding flitting from one camera to the next a bit of a distraction, for the record the cameras which have won my heart are the Nikon F2 and Pentax 67 - today’s blog features a portrait shoot on the F2 shooting with a shiny new portrait lens and using two different film stocks Kodak Pro Image 100 (a new film to me) and Kodak Portra 160 (a film I have used a few times before)

Whilst the main focus of the conversation will be on looking at the two film stocks first up I’ll take a moment to show you the kit I used on this shoot, I’ll then take you through the shoot itself.

I have just bought the very wonderful Nikkor 105mm 2.5 a lens which has a HUGE reputation as an amazing portrait lens, when i bought it the focus ring was quite stiff so I sent it off for repair to a chap called Miles Whitehead who did a great job of fixing it and it now has silky smooth focus action - I would highly recomment Miles if you have some camera kit in need of some TLC check his site out HERE. In fact as I write this I am reminded that Miles also serviced my F2 when I bought it so double thanks!! :)

I was originally going to include a few thoughts on the 105mm lens in todays blog but I loved using it so much that I think I’ll reserve that for a dedicated blog all of it’s own - suffice it to say that it’s reputation is very well earned, an amazing piece of glass!

Ideal for portrait, weddings and social events dontcha know…..

I think most people will be familiar with Kodak Portra 160 which is a mainstay of Kodak’s professional line up, but what’s this Pro Image 100 all about? I’ve been shooting a lot of Portra 400 and 160 recently and whilst I love both film stocks I am always interested in trying new things and the results I’d seen from Pro Image appealed to me - the other great thing about Pro Image is the price! I got this for £25.95 for 5 rolls!

This film stock has only recently come to the UK/European market - despite being around since the mid 90’s, the stock was only sold in warmer climates, big thanks to the good folks at Nik & Trick for being instrumental in making the case to Kodak for getting this film available in Europe :)

Ok so I have a lovely film camera - check, a great portrait lens - check, a shiny new colour film - check, a beautiful location to shoot in….check! What’s next? I need someone to photograph! Fortunately I’m part of a great facebook group for photographers and models to network and arrange shoots - Danni is someone I met through this group and we’ve shot together before when i was testing out my Pentax 645, you can see those images HERE.

Also worth mentioning at this point that i had my films processed and scanned by the good folks at Exposure Film Lab who I must thank again for their brilliant work, I use them for all my colour films these days because I just love the results I get from them - check them out HERE

The vibe for this shoot was a really natural summer look to make the most of the bright sunshine, we had a beautiful location filled with light, flowers, tall grass and trees - let’s GO!

First up i loaded Kodak Pro Image 100…

Ok then at this stage in the proceedings the word at the forefront in my mind is wow! Danni is a very talented Model which makes my job much easier and the Pro Image film is just lovely :) Let’s move on to the Portra 160 which I loaded up next and we’ll do a bit of a comparsion at the end, here’s the Portra shots…

The entire shoot lasted about an hour (if that) we went for a stroll through some lovely scenery and together we created some properly beautiful portraits full of light and life! Danni is a great model she did a brilliant job on this shoot, she puts lots of character into her work and is just a natural in front of camera, this really shines through the images - we’ve worked together before which I think always helps so we’re relaxed and comfortable working together and meant we were able to just get right into it and enjoy the shoot. I’m over the moon with the photos we created together - thank you Danni :) Check out her portfolio HERE.

In summary then both film stocks are clearly capable of wonderfully sharp, textured images with great skin tones, colour balance, contrast and detail - I therefore love them both! They each have their own look so whilst they’re comparable I think there are some differences to take into consideration. This was never intended as a ‘one film versus the other’ contest in which we have a winner and a loser but rather an opportunity to look at how these two film stocks worked under the same conditions - to that end I simply invite you to make your own mind up which you like best - or maybe like me, you like them both?!

Here’s a few of my thoughts on each stock:

Pro Image 100 - it has a wonderful grain structure, punchy contrast and I love how it handles the greens and yellows, shadows perhaps not holding as much detail as portra, it has a classic film ‘look’

Portra 160 - minimal grain as you’d expect from portra, slightly muted colour palette although in these images it produced stronger contrast than I’d expected, Portra definitely holds on to more shadow detail and also perhaps slightly sharper.

What does all this show us then? Well they’re very close actually, much closer than I’d have thought! One aspect which does create an opportunity for comparison is the price with a five pack of Portra 160 retailing at around £35.99 and a five pack of Pro Image around £25.95 then clearly if budget is the deal breaker then Pro Image is your winner, if you absolutely must squeeze every bit of detail out of the shot then perhaps Portra is the one to choose - ultimately we’re all winners here as we in the UK now have access to the lovely Pro Image and I’ve got 4 more rolls sat waiting to go! I can’t wait to shoot it again.

Postcard from Berlin Pt1 - Travel Photography on Rollei Retro 80S

Recently I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Berlin! I was there working for my other job (yes that’s right I have yet to find a way to make waffling on about film photography pay for my lifestyle - yet….) I made some extra time to visit my super cool cousin in law(is cousin in law a thing)?? anyway we’re family and I was really excited to explore Berlin, I’ll just get this out of the way right now… the place is amazing!! I was struck by how laid back and chilled it was especially for a big Capital City - I mean yeah the place was buzzing but just a proper friendly vibe about it, I really loved my time spent there.

Having finished my work I hit the street armed with my trusty NIkon FE2, Nikkor 50mm f2 (a new lens) and some Rollei Retro 80S film - one of my faves film stocks and fitting to shoot the German capital on some German film :)

This isn’t really a camera review type blog but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t spare a word or two about my kit for this expedition - so first up the camera body; the Nikon FE2. A wonderful camera, I wrote a blog about it’s older sibling the FE HERE a fine camera itself, but I have long since replaced it with the marvellous FE2. On the surface it looks like a fairly standard 1980’s era SLR but it has a trick up it’s sleeve which makes it a standout - a 1/4000 second top shutter speed :) it is very solidly built and although mine has a few scars gathered during the course of it’s life it works perfectly!

Attached to the camera you can see the Nikkor 50mm f2 - as you’ll see in the images that follow this lens is very capable!! I picked it up on ebay attached to a Nikkormat FT2 which cost me £40 - I sold the FT2 for £30 so this lens basically cost me £10!! This makes it a perfect travel lens as I’m not carrying around some big expensive piece of kit - but the key here is that there is no compromise on image quality, this thing is amazing!

The 50mm f2 is also very solidly built, the focus ring is lovely and smooth and even though the lens looks like it’s been booted down the road (and probably has a few times during it’s life) it can create beautifully rendered images with great contrast. It is also an enjoyable challenge to just take a simple 50mm lens with you - no more fretting about which focal length to use, no lugging about loads of lenses which you probably wont use anyway. I enjoy the creative possibilities that working within limitations brings and choosing one lens does this effectively, anyway - enough gear talk!! (for now)

Two key things to note - Firstly you can see some Adox Silvermax and Agfa APX films pictured here that i purchased whilst in Berlin but the images that follow were shot on Rollei Retro 80S which was loaded in the camera at the time of the ‘look at me and my camera, film and booze’ lifestyle type tomfoolery and Secondly, yes the beer was a very good accompaniment to the proceedings.

So, without further ado - willkommen in Berlin!!

The images are presented in roughly chronological order of when I shot them, first up is this interesting monument in ‘Invaliden Park’ and was just round the corner from my Hotel - I’m a fan of brutalist architecture so obviously this really ticked that box for me!

It was a bright, swelteringly hot day - cloudless blue sky, these sunny conditions worked well with the Rollei film which has a good deal of contrast and lovely tones.

There is LOADS of graffiti in Berlin, I mean LOOOOAAADS! and stickers too! everything is either covered in graffiti or stickers - I love it!!

Remember what I said about Graffiti? Well there’s loads of street art too! This piece really captured my attention - the building is an abandoned Art School which was either in the process of being knocked down or possibly renovated (or something in between) The building high mural makes the bold statement ‘How Long is Now’ (note no question mark) the blank face, the staring eyes - dark portals keeping watch over the machines at their work.

The City is alive with the sound of construction work - cranes, diggers, the whole shebang - there was a palpable sense of ‘growth’ about the place

The Berliner Dom sits right next to the River Spree, most of this side of the building was in shade but a patch of shimmering light reflected from the River illuminated the middle row of windows. And below the dome of the building - really love the contrast in these images, a combination of the light in the scene, the film and the lens all coming together!

From the lofty heights of the splendid Cathedral to the minute details of human life - these are ‘love locks’ left by couples seeking to declare their undying love to the universe by placing the lock and casting the keys into the nearest water course, hence there are often to be found on or near bridges.

Maybe it’s a natural impulse to give physical form to such an intangiable emotion, warding off future relationship woes by locking that loved up feeling in place, space and time… or maybe it’s just a daft tourist fad… whatever their intent, whoever and wherever they are now - I wish them well :)

Neptune sits atop the fountain - again wonderful tones and dynamic range with this film, shot in mid afternoon bright sunshine but the camera meter, the film and developer all working to produce an image which captures the detail in these carved statues, the water stains rendered in white adding a layer of depth to the carved features.

The Alexanderplatz TV tower dominates the skyline of the City - if someone asked me to design a TV tower, it would definitely look something like this! I have no idea what purpose the huge disco ball serves (in fact we have a huge TV tower near home which seems to function perfectly well without one) but if the choice is “do you want the huge massive disco ball or not” then the answer has to be yes! Good work people of Berlin!

Overhead Tram lines make for some interesting compositions…

Details at street level - Rollei Retor 80S is such a lovely film, it sings in bright sunlight and can also render wonderfully contrasty tones too, the front of the image was awash with light - it made the bicylce wheel really stand out from the background which has translated onto the film as a difference of tone and contrast, the lens is showing off it’s sharpness here too.

I am a sucker for leading lines, come on - who isn’t? whether it’s a run down, poster covered side street or a neo classical collonade the effect is always the same; a visual invitation… step right this way!

Neo classical architecture abounds…..

….none more so than the Reichstag!! I wasn’t quite prepared for just how HUGE the building is! such a wonderful piece of architecture and rich in history.

Just visible in the background is the huge glass dome which surmounts the building (it’s a shame i didn’t have more time to go and visit properly but it gets very busy and you have to book)

The final stop on our mini tour of Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate - a beautiful neoclassical monument and famous landmark of the city, during my visit it was closed off in preparation for a concert so I couldn’t get a full length photo of the columns, but it prompted me to work the angles and I quite like how these compositions came out.

The final shot from this roll of film is taken looking up as I walked alongside the Brandenburg gate; I love the gradation of light to shade on the right hand side and also the contrast of the neo classical and the clean, straight lined modern building next door.

It’s worth noting at this point that I developed the film in Kodak HC110 dilution H as per the Massive Development Chart for Rollei Retro 80S, this is one of my fave film and developer combinations especially for work in bright sunlight.

Berlin is a city with a rich history - one that it wears on it’s sleeve; it’s such an eclectic and vibrant mix which I hope I have conveyed in some small way here! This is Part 1 of my postcard from Berlin - next time I’ll share some images that I took with some film bought locally from the good people at Fotoimpex, in the meantime thanks for joining me on this trip!

Portraits on film - Night shoot with Cinestill 800T and Lomography 800 Colour

Sharing details of another portrait shoot, this is part of a major ongoing series I’ll be working on as a I rebuild my portfolio - it gives me an opportunity to share some insights on the cameras/films I’m using, the story behind the shoot itself as well as a place to share those photos which might not make it into my main portfolio.

Having made the switch to full time film only and also recently adopting the very wonderful Pentax 67 as my main camera I have been keen as mustard to rebuild my portfolio, to explore the creative possibilities (and challenges) that shooting with film offers and basically have a shed load of fun along the way :) To that end I have been seeking out opportunities to collaborate with some of the very creative souls I am fortunate enough to know - hence this series of blogs! :)

This shoot was for my mate Paul who is a Music Producer under the pseudonym ‘Gamma Prime’ he’s been working on some new material and wanted a set of publicity images to help promote the new work.

The idea was to shoot at night and make use of available artificial lighting to add some creativity to the portraits, this assignment called for some special film stocks - Cinestill 800T and Lomography 800 and I also used a roll of Kodak Portra 400 too. I’ll give you a bit of an overview of these film stocks along the way and some thoughts on their particular qualities in use. I hadn’t used either the Cinestill of Lomo films before so I was excited to try them out - Cinestill is an expensive option and Lomo is more of a budget offering so we’ll see how they stacked up against each other.

First thing to consider when shooting in low light/night time is to take account of sunset! Golden hour light is there for the taking either side of the actual sunset so before I broke out the Cinestill and Lomo films I used a roll of Kodak Portra 400 to snag some of that golden hour light.

Kodak Portra 400

Shooting with the Pentax 67 you only get 10 frames per roll of film so you really have to make each frame count! As the light fell I loaded the roll of Lomography 800 and since we were still in golden hour I used the first few frames here. At this point it’s worth stating that in a stand up contest Portra 400 vs Lomo 800 there’s really not a huge amount in it, they’re both great films although I think Portra has the edge - crisp grain structure as you’d expect from portra and shadows hold up well with lots of detail. That being said the Lomo film is no slouch and it has a very definite character and feel all it’s own.

Lomography 800

We drove into town for the night shots and took a walk through the University Campus to take advantage of the artificial lighting and interesting architectural features. These first couple of frames are still on Lomo 800 and I really like how they came out - a very definite grain charachter which I like very much, shadows don’t hang on to too much detail but in this artificial lighting I think it adds to the effect.

Lomography 800

The images below are all shot on Cinestill 800T - this film stock is repackaged motion picture film, the stuff they use to make Hollywood movies! I was very excited to try it out and it did not dissapoint! the letter ‘T’ in it’s name designates that it’s a Tungsten balanced film so it was designed to be shot under artificial lighting - as you can see the tonality and detail are really great here.

Cinestill 800T

Note my iphone acting as a fill light here! Focussing was getting a little difficult as it got darker so this helped - I’m thinking of getting a little LED light to help in future

Cinestill 800T has been processed to remove the Anti Halation layer which in some conditions gives lighting a strange glow, it also appears quite prone to light leaks as you can see on the left side of the above image - although in this case I kind of like the effect!

This shoot was planned as a portrait shoot for a friend to create some promotional images for his work as a Music Prodcuer - you can check out Paul’s music HERE :)

I hadn’t planned to compare and contrast these film stocks but the differences between the final images and the way I shot them presented the opportunity to reflect on the different charachters of each stock, overall I like all of these films and very happy with how they came out - here’s my thoughts on each in turn:

Portra 400 - what is there to say about this film which hasn’t been said already? It’s a classic for a reason and is one of my firm faves - clean grain, great details and rich colours. I’m tempted to explore how flexible this film stock is maybe pushing it to 800 and beyond in lower light to see how it coped. Portra is my go to film, a quality product capable of wonderful results.

Lomo 800 - this was a bit of a wildcard choice and it’s a very solid performer, espeically when you consider the price for a pack of three rolls of 120 is about £18. I shot it in good light and in low light in both situations it doesn’t hold up shadow detail as well as the other two stocks but this shouldn’t put you off, the grain structure is more prominent than either Kodak or Cinestill but this is also not bad news - it gives the film a look all it’s own which is good.

Cinestill 800T - this film blows me away - I love the colours, contrast and tones but more importantly for these shots it’s how the film handles shadows with details holding up really clearly even in very low light, it’s expensive stuff that’s for sure but it’s definitely worth a shot in the right conditions. It’s proneness to light leaking could be annoying if you have ‘THE’ killer shot and some random leaks could spoil your hard work - on the other hand it could just add something to the image!

It’s worth stating at this point that I was really pleased with how the Pentax 67 worked on this shoot, I was able to achieve useable images down to 1/30 of a second in low light which pleases me very much! The 105mm 2.4 lens continues to impress me with it’s ability to create 3D like images with pristime sharpness and beautiful bokeh too.

I have some more creative portrait shoots lining up over the next few months so I’ll be continuing the portraits shot on film series and looking forward to exploring more wonderful film stocks!

Nikon F2 review

Having owned the F2 for 6 months now I can confidently say it has become a firm favourite (yes I know i say that about all my cameras)! The F2 has a big reputation for being a seriously kick ass camera and I can heartily confirm that this reputation is well deserved! The Nikon F2 is an absolute joy to shoot with - I’ve used it on portrait shoots, taken it hiking and shot landscapes with it, used it for street photography and candid portraits of my little boy running about and playing at home - in every situation the F2 is the right tool for the job.

Often when we think of professional spec cameras we assume that these are complex esoteric beasts which require some form of initiation rite to operate and only the enlightened few can master it - and while that may ring true in some cases, not so for the F2! It is a VERY simple camera with an intuitive set of controls laid out in a such a way that it allows the F2 to do what all great cameras do - it gets out of your way and allows you to concentrate on your subject, lovely.

I’ve already introduced you to the F2 on this blog HERE but it’s such a great camera that I feel it deserves it’s very own blog review! I’ll give a run through of the features and operations of the camera and then we’ll get down to the business of sharing photos taken with it on various shoots and thoughts on using the F2 in practice.

The F2 is a modular design and when it was originally released back in 1971 it was a major selling feature that you could choose from a range of different focussing screens, in later years different prism heads were released which were interchangeable with any F2 body made at any time during it’s production run - this allowed you to decide on which kind of metering system (or no meter at all) worked best for you/a particular situation - my F2 is an F2A which means that it has a metered prism head that uses a needle meter readout, I much prefer this form of read over LED’s but if you like an LED readout then you can check out the F2AS head, or if you don’t want a meter at all you can get a plain prism - lovely! These days the interchangeable nature of the F2 is probably less of a selling point although it will be nice to experiment with some alternative viewfinders at some point in the future.

OK so we get it, its a nice camera - so what? how’s it different to all the other bloody cameras you have…. great question! I’m glad you asked! let me explain:

Form factor: it’s a big camera! bigger than your standard 35mm camera, I like this! fits in my hand comfortably, the F2 is perhaps the most ergonomic camera I have had the pleasure to shoot with so far!

100% viewfinder: What you see is what you get! the viewfinder shows the whole of the frame (not always a given on some cameras) it’s big, it’s bright, it’s beautiful!

Mechanical: The body requires no batteries to operate, it’s powered by springs and gears - I like this very much! (obviously the meter needs a battery)

Build quality: The F2 was hand built to a very high specification for professional shooters, in an age when things were built to last, its like a Swiss watch that you can also use as a hammer from to time (or just maybe, make photographs with it)!

Looks: yes I am shallow enough for this to be a ‘thing’ in my choice of camera, but flipping heck look at it! Industrial Design at it’s finest - an exercise in form following function if ever there was one.

I enjoy shooting with the F2 so much and I am such a big fan of the amazing Nikkor lenses that I’ve decided to concentrate my 35mm kit around two Nikon F2’s (I just bought a second one) and an FE2 which I already own (and who knows what other Nikon F mount bodies I’ll take a shine to in future) in part because these are simply amazing pieces of equipment and also because running several different lines of camera (Olympus, Pentax, Canon and Nikon) at the same time gets a bit expensive!

I’d much rather own several bodies which can all utilise the same lenses - giving me more capacity to get some killer glass and shoot it across any camera body that takes my fance. Obviously for Medium Format shenanigans the indomnitable Pentax 67 will be a fixed feature and for just the sheer lunacy of it a Holga 120N is also firmly on my ‘keeper’ list of cameras!

I want to share some of the images I’ve taken with the F2, to date I’ve used it on several portrait shoots and also a few hikes into the wilderness to shoot landscapes, I’ll start with some of the portrait images which I took on a shoot with my friend Arya Ravenswood you can see the full shoot HERE these were all shot on Portra 400 on the F2 with the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 AI lens.

And now a few images from out and about in the moors around my home, the following images were taken on the same day at two different locations - first three are from Dovestones Reservoir and the rest are from West Nab, all shot on Fomapan 200 on the F2 with the Nikkor 24mm 2.8 AI lens and an orange filter (the observant will notice this is also the same time that I took the header shots for this blog - planning ahead you see, I don’t just throw these things together you know)!

So there we have it - another blog during which I heap praise upon a particular camera, stating something like ‘so this is the only camera I’ll ever need’ or whatever, clearly I’ve established that I am prone to bouts of enthusiasm when it comes to this kind of thing but this time it’s different… as a result of how much I enjoy working with the F2 I’ve sold off pretty much all my other cameras now, I‘m a photographer not a collector so my ultimate aim here is to shoot not to have loads of cameras just sitting on the shelf - the F2 is a shooters camera, a pro series camera from a time when being a pro photographer was a badge of honour. I make no claims to that badge myself and certainly just owning a decent camera will not make you a better photographer, but owning something as well made with such attention to detail and design is a joy in and of itself - to use it as intended to create work that you are proud of is a whole other level of joy. I can’t guarantee that I won’t buy some other random cameras in future but what i can say is that for me the F2 is the ultimate 35mm film camera.

Portrait shoot with Arya Ravenswood

I recently had the pleasure of working with my friend Arya Ravenswood who is a practicsing Occult Magician & Witch. Arya wanted to create a fresh set of images to use on her website and Social Media (the occult is a very 21st Century operation ya know) and I was thrilled to be asked to help Arya realise her creative vision!

A huge thank you to Arya for the opportunity to collaborate on these images, check out Arya’s website HERE and also a Periscope TV channel HERE Arya has a real gift - go visit her website and find out for yourselves!

Since I am in the process of rebuilding my portfolio it was a great opportunity to put my new Pentax 67 through it’s paces on this shoot. To mix things up a bit I also used my Nikon F2 as a second shooter, filmwise on both 35mm and 120 formats this was an all Kodak Portra 400 affair mainly to give a consistent look and feel to the images so that they can hang together as a set and also because I bloody love the stuff!

Working with Arya was amazing, she created two really strong (and of course very Witchy/Occult inspired) looks for us to shoot, we chose two locations (one for each look) and got to it - here’s the first look shot in a local graveyard.

We didn’t scout the locations beforehand so it was very much a case of paying attention to our surroundings and allowing ourselves to be drawn towards particular details and working with them; having explored one graveyard we moved on to a second just across the valley. As i reflect on these images now I am reminded of the beautiful surroundings, the palpable stillness, the lush green of the grass and moss covered graves contrasting with Arya’s monochrome outfit, the Occult and Christian symbolism, life and death - as above so below….

Our second look for the day was an opportunity tor Arya to channel her inner Stevie Nicks with a more bohemian, naturalistic look replete with lace, jewelry, bangles, occult symbols and also incorporating the tools of Arya’s trade - a bronze knife, a crystal ball, a chalice and cauldron. We chose some local woods for this look emphasising the natural elements and giving us a new setting to explore this side of Arya’s persona.

This second set of images is certainly more expressive than the first and the wooded location was the perfect backdrop - walking through the trees we came upon a rocky outcrop which provided the setting for our shoot being set back from the main path and out of view of inquisitive dog walkers and their dogs! (I’ve never seen people skidaddle so quickly upon hearing that we’re doing a ‘Witchy’ shoot)! ;)

The combination of the Pentax 67 and Nikon F2 worked great for me - the Pentax is capable of some uniquely stunning images with a very distinctive, almost 3D look which I love, the F2 is no slouch either and some of my favourite images from the whole shoot came from the 35mm camera, I think this will be my default combination of cameras for the foreseeable future.

There were so many images to choose from on this shoot! It was great to work with Arya to create these images and full credit goes to her for styling the shoot, she did an amazing job on the day too and as a result we made some powerful images together, I think this is some of my best portrait work to date (if i do say so myself) I wish Arya every success in her Macgickal endeavours!

Pentax 67 review

Ever since I first picked up a film camera and got slowly drawn deeper into the wonderful world of film, I’d heard tell of a mythical monstrous machine called the Pentax 67, today dear friends I am happy to report that my long held dream of owning such a mechanical marvel is realised - behold! the behemoth!!

So… another new camera eh? yes dear friends - let me take a moment to explain… I’ve sold all my Digital camera equipment!! I’m officially now full time film only! regular visitors to the website will have noticed a different look/format - no more commercial/events/wedding pages, in fact I’ve completely re-imagined my photographic practice so that it’s more in line with my passions and interests and one thing that i had realised for some time was that my digital gear only ever saw the light of day for commercial/events work - having decided to forgo that area of work my digital kit was effetively rendered redundant - i loved my Canon 6D, it served me very well in the 33,000 ish clicks that i made with it.

Having decided on this course of action and sold off all my digital kit and studio lights i was in the market for a suitable main battle camera to replace my 6D and of course in a very short space of time my attention rested upon the Pentax 67!

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks putting the Pentax 67 through it’s paces,adding a few more lenses and accessories to the set up, just generally getting to grips with it and starting a complete overhaul of my portfolio with the resulting images, let’s take her out for a spin and I’ll show you around….

A BIG part of the draw towards this camera was this lens - the Super Multi Coated Takumar 105mm 2.4 - it is properly LEGENDARY!! able to simultaneously render dream like out of focus areas alongside super sharp and crisp details, giving a wonderfully 3D effect - it’s my favourite lens ever, ever, ever! Here are three of my fave portraits shot with it so far :)

The 105mm fulfills the ‘standard’ focal length on 6X7 format giving an equivalent field of view to a 58mm lens on standard 35mm format, what’s even better is that thanks to a cheap adapter I can also use this amazing lens on my other Pentax medium format camera the Pentax 645 (see review of that camera HERE) when used in this way thanks to the smaller negative size of the 645 it works as an 85mm portrait lens :)

Anyway back to the Pentax 67 - in use it’s actucally a very simple and surprisingly ergonomic experience for such a large camera, as usual the internet is rife with ill judged, misinformed claptrap perpetuated by people who’ve never even held the camera - first and foremost being the “you can’t shoot it handheld” to which i say (insert swear word of choice) I’ve had sharp results hand holding this beast consistently at 1/60 of a second with no problem at all and with a bit more care and attention 1/30 is totally doable too, the mass of the camera is such that any mirror slap is soaked up by the sheer weight of the camera body, plus most of the vibrations/noise comes from the mirror returning to it’s start position i.e. after the shutter has closed and the frame has been exposed so total myth about handholding.

My version of the Pentax 67 is the thrid version and dates from about 1989 - 1994 (I have no idea how to specifically date the camera by it’s serial number) and to my mind is the best version; earlier models had some mechanical issues present within them from the outset and of course are also much older, there is also a later model the 67ii which is the pinnacle of the range but… it’s EXPENSIVE! and really the only thing it adds is a built in grip (I don’t need this) and an aperture priority mode (I don’t need that either)! so if you’re looking for one of these cameras then go for one that says ‘67’ on the front of the body (earlier models have 6x7 written on the front)

It’s a modular system which means that you can change the prism finder to a wasit level if you like or a metered/non metered head - mine came with a metered head. looking through the prism the finder is about 90% of the actual image which is a bit of a shame but i guess having a 100% finder on a camera this big would have rendered it too unwieldy, it’s not the brightest viewfinder in the world but it’s good and pops into focus well, remove the prism and the focussing screen is HUGE and wonderful!!

let’s get this out of the way… it’s heavy… no denying that, you’ll notice that you have this camera slung over your shoulder!! it’s also big, no getting away from it - although considering the format of negative you’re working with it’s actually smaller than other 6x7 cameras, I really like the straight forward SLR format too - this makes it very easy to transition from your 35mm manual SLR camera and just start shooting straight away.

My latest fave camera combo - the P67 alongside the lovely Nikon F2 a perfect match

My camera came with the wonderful 105mm 2.4 lens already- i swiftly added the very cool looking lens hood to this and then started casting about for more lenses to try out, the great thing about this system is that these lenses are generally very large and so aren’t really coveted by the mirrorless digital camera crowd, this means they are pretty cheap! By shopping around (in the case of the 200mm that meant importing from Japan and in the case of the 55mm it meant not being too picky about cosmetic condition of the lens body) I was able to put together a selection of three amazing additional lenses for my 67 for less than £250 in total! here they are:

From left to right:

55mm f4 - a wide angle lens equivalent to about 28mm on 35mm format

165m f2.8 - a short tele lens equivalent to about 85mm on 35mm format

200mm f4 - a medium tele equivalent to about 100mm on 35mm format

I’m still testing these lenses out and deciding which to keep in my line up, since I love the 105mm 2.4 so much the two portrait lenses don’t get much of a look in at the moment, despite being fine lenses in their own rightonly time will tell if they will remain in my collection; the 55mm on the other hand is a keeper! Just to prove that the P67 is a flexible camera and suitable for landscape as well as portraiture here are a few shots I got on a short hike in the wonderful West Yorkshire Moors near my home and all shot on the 55mm f4.

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It’s a bloody brilliant landscape shooter - I don’t know why this surprised me since it is basically an oversized 35mm SLR, but i was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was to shoot on this walk, it’s weight is a bit of a limiting factor for longer walks and as someone who enjoys the great outdoors I’m not sure I would i regularly take the P67 on a long hike as it is a heavy beast to lug up hill and down dale but I’d definitely take it on shorter walks or to shoot specific scenes with the intention of darkroom printing the results, the 6X7 negatives are wonderful, lots and lots of lovely detail and the 45mm lens is amazing, I’m looking forward to getting into the darkroom soon and printing some of these!

So there we have it, my dream camera is living up to expectations (if not exceeding them) the P67 has helped me to transform my portfolio in a way that no other camera has, it’s flexible enough to shoot on location for portraits and is a very capable landscape shooter too - as with any camera nothing is perfect, but the Pentax 67 is the next best thing!

Review of the Bellini Foto 1 Litre C41 development kit

I realised recently that for someone who says that they don’t shoot much colour film, I shoot a LOT of colour film! In fact over the last 12 months I’ve been shooting colour film stocks more and more regularly - so much so that i finally decided that developing colour at home was a viable option. This was something that I’d done once before a couple a few years ago but I found the results less than impressive and the chemicals difficult to handle, short lived and therefore expensive.

So having cast about for a suitable kit to get back in the colour film developing game I landed upon the Bellini Foto C41 kit purchased from Nik & Trick Photo - you can find the kit HERE - I must stress at this point that I am not being paid (or to cut out the middle man, sent free film) to say nice things about the Bellini Foto kit, this is my genuine honest feedback on the kit (spoiler alert: I think it’s ace) these are just my thoughts and experiences using it. Likewise I’m not being paid to promote Nik & Trick Photo either (spolier alert: I think they’re ace too) they’re a great independent film retailer and champion of all things film, so I am a champion of all things them! ok now all that is out of the way - on with the blog!

There’s quite a bit involved in todays blog in which I’ll focus on five things:

1: An overview of the Bellini Foto kit

2: The additional bits of equipment I used

3: My approach to developing

4: Scanning the negatives and the results

5: Conclusion

I think that people (myself included) can be a bit put off colour developing because it’s a bit more of an involved process which is true to a point, but really if you can develop black and white (HERE is a blog i prepared earlier on that subject) then really you can do colour - the key aspect which always gave me pause for thought with colour developing was the short shelf life of the chemicals themselves, with the previous kit I’d used lasting about a month which for my purposes is not long enough - happily there is a solution to this problem which I’ll explain later on, first let me show you what’s included in the kit.

1: An overview of the Bellini Foto kit

The kit i used is the 1 Litre version and comes supplied with Concentrated Developer, Fixer and Stabiliser plus a ready to use bottle of Bleach, mixing the concetrates is very simple as you can see from the instructions pictured above that are included in the kit.

You get enough developer and fixer to make 1 litre working solutions and loads of stabiliser - enough to make 10 litres! more than enough - which is good because I promptly spilled half of my bottle of stabiliser on the kitchen floor! :(

The key thing with developing Colour even more so than Black and White is to ensure you keep water temperature at a constant 38 degrees, it’s critical in fact!

It’s worth stating at this point that whilst none of these chemicals are any more dangerous than stuff you have under the kitchen sink, since you are working directly with the chemicals then gloves are essential, as is working in a well ventilated room - this goes for black & white and colour developing - safety first folks!

2: The additional bits of equipment I used

Getting the Bellini kit is one thing but getting set up to develop colour film you’ll need a few extra items (I’m assuming here that you already have all the kit and caboodle required for black and white such as a developing tank,reels, changing bag, measuring jugs, thermometers etc ) I’ll list the colour developing specific items and provide some explanation of their use along the way:

Sousvide - yes I had no idea what this was until i started looking into colour film developing either!! its a tool used for heating up water for cookery (madness i know) i bought mine for £25 off amazon (other megaretailcorps are available) you can see it pictured on the left below, it’s the U-bend shaped thing which clips to the side of the container and heats the water up. I guess it’s not absolutley essential to have and you could control water temp with a kettle of boiling water I suppose but for me the sous vide just takes all the hassle out of this aspect of the process, you set the control to 38 and wait for the it to do it’s thing - it will then keep the water at that temperature as long as you require.

Water Bath - Heating the water up in a water bath so that you can then heat your chemicals up to the required temp, as you can see from the pictures I used an old plastic box that we had knocking about in the shed, works perfectly!

Wide neck bottles - you can see them pictured above, chemical storage bottles with nice wide tops for quick pouring, and plastic for ease of use, you could use empty pop bottles if you like but these were cheap enough and cost me £10 for a set of five.

Glass storage jars - ok so these I bought to store the chemicals in when not being used, you can see them pictured above at the back of the photo. I got them from Nik & Trick along with a little vaccum pump and rubber stopper thingys (I think they’re supposed to be used for keeping wine fresh but clearly they serve a much better purpose here) fill the bottles with your working solutions of developer, fixer and Bleach - then using the vaccum pump and rubber stopper you pump all the remaining aire out the stopper seals the bottle et voila, your chemicals should now be good for approx 6 months or possibly even longer! definitely worth getting unless you shoot loads of film and can develop regularly so you won’t need to store stuff for long

Funnels - you’ll be pouring chemicals from bottle to bottle and then into developing tank and back into bottle - get yourself some funnels, label them so you keep things seperate

Theremometer - i have a glass photographers thermometer which is nice and accurate I used this to check on the temperature inside my developer bottle during heating

3: My approach to developing
Step by step instructions are included in the kit and there are a number of different steps required in this process and the timings are quite short so you need to be on your toes and paying attention to whats going on, especially when trying out a new process - for me having something like the Massive Development App to guide me along my way during development is usually my preferred app but unfortunatley whilst in all other aspects the the Massive Development App is amazing, it is actually completely RUBBISH at creating custom development procedures, I mean it’s possible to do but it’s very clunky and not as good as it could be….fortunately for us there is another cheeky little phone app out there which can help, it’s called Develop! and it’s great!

It allows you to easily custom build a film developing process with timings and agitation cycles - you can then press ‘play’ and the app will give you a visual guide to keeping on track through the development procedure, lovely! I find this super helpful and takes some of the pressure off and not having to refer back to the print out instructions that come with the kit when you’re trying to keep an eye on everything else that is going on - highly recommend this app, oh and the best part? it’s free! (i think? I can’t remember now - if it did cost something then it wasn’t very much)

Following the instructions (via the help of the Develop! app) made this a very enjoyable process - setting everything up and getting your chemicals up to working temperature is the long part of the process, once everything is set then the whole process is over in less than 15 mins - you can see from the developing timings on the left above how long each stage takes and the agitation process required.

I messed up the stabiliser stage though - i poured the stabiliser away after use when it turns out it is re-useable for a few films before needing to be changing, this coupled with me spilling half of the concentrate as I was getting set up wasn;t brilliant either, fortunately Bellini supply LOADS of concentrate enought to make 10 litres worth so I think I’ve still got enough left for some more developing sessions with this kit

4: Scanning the negatives and the results

The moment of truth! I was blown away by the results! clear and spotless negatives which allowed for lovely colours and tones when scanned - of course scanning colour film at home is an art form in and of itself sometimes, but after a little bit of jiggery pokery i was able to get the colour balance i was looking for (I won’t make an already long blog post even longer by discussing the vagaries of scanning - maybe in a later blog) suffice it to say that the negatives I had developed looked great and with minimal processing work i was able to achieve some really lovely finished photos which you can see below.

For more photos from this shoot take a look HERE I developed 3 rolls of 35mm in one go - two portra 400 and one portra 160, the beauty of the C41 process is you can develop different ISO films at the same time with the same process, really pleased with how they came out, of course scanning wise I would still use a professional development service for critical or professional images as the scans are just so much better but I think for personal projects these are just great.

5: Conclusion

Ok so well done for making it this far! my conclusion? I think that the Bellini Foto kit is amazing! i was very impressed with the quality of the negatives and final images, the process was relatively straight forward and I would feel much more confident in using this next time around. I like that given the right storage that the chemicals will last a while and that they are good for approx 12 rolls of film which makes this a great money saving on having films developed professionally - that being said I do need to spend some more time creating a consistent workflow for my scanning and colour balancing to get accurate colour rendition. On some of the photos they came out perfect straight away but others did require a bit of fettling in Lightroom - which is fine - scanning colour film will defintely be a topic for another day though and I am very pleased with the results I was able to achieve on my first run out with the Bellini Kit, I would definitely recommend it.

Street Portraiture on 35mm film with the Nikon FE2 & F2

Partners in crime - my trusty FE2 (left) alongside it’s new bezzie mate the F2

Lots and lots and lots to update you with since the last blog post which was all the way back in December!! I’ve been mega busy with lots of different projects and got loads to tell you all about, so since it’s almost a quarter of the way through already let’s finally get the 2019 blogging season off to a start shall we!

Remember last time I was saying things like “I’m going to focus more on creating photos” and “I won’t be doing as many gear reviews” and “gear just gets in the way” well I still think that’s true but owing to my contrary nature I’d like to introduce you to my latest gear acquistion… the Nikon F2!! Rather than just a boring old review thought this time I’ll be sharing some images i shot with this amazing camera on a recent portrait shoot as well, but first let me take you for a walk around the F2

Ever since selling my Nikon F3 last year I have had a Nikon F Series shaped hole in my heart/camera collection (check out this link for the reason why I sold the F3) back in mid December I decided (after not very much deliberation) to buy myself an F2, cos ya know..I worked really hard last year and it’s nice to treat yourself every now and again and it was the run up to Christmas and… well, you get the idea…

I found this beauty on Evilbay for the ridiculous price of £70 and so a deal was done, the caveat being that the camera was from Japan so taking a bit of a punt on condition and shipping times, but as with my previous experience of international purchases the shipping is mega quick, it’s really only on arrival into the custody of Her Mahesty’s rip off merchants here in good old blighty that things slow down, after an almost literal ice age in UK customs my camera was finally released to me and there was much merry making and feasting by all….. sort of… two things became clear fairly quickly 1: it was in very good condition and functionally worked perfectly 2: there were traces of dreaded fungus in the viewfinder and in the mirrorbox which didn’t bode well and therefore i was going to have to shell out some more cash (and wait even longer) before getting to grips with the F2 - it’s all sorted now though, fresh from a good clean and service I even managed to negotiate a part refund from the ebay seller which paid towards the cleaning :)

There’s oodles of info out there on the interwebs about the F2 so there’s not much point in me re-hashing it all, suffice it to say that between 1971 and 1980 if you wanted a professional level Nikon SLR then this was it!! Instead of reeling off a list of it’s features and functions I’m going to share with you a series of images I shot with both the F2 and my trusty Nikon FE2 on a portrait shoot recently, I’ll share my experience of shooting with it too of course and no doubt indulge in some techno-babble along the way as is my want…

Oh yes and interesting/geeky factoid alert! The serial number on my F2 is 7865098 and thanks to the wonders of the internet and some Nikon nerds who collate all this info I was able to date manufature of my particular camera to between May & August 1977 - so this camera is only a few months older than me! :)

Ok so that’s enough camera geekery for one blog, what’s the damn thing like to shoot I hear you cry… well… it’s amazing! build quality is second to none, it just feels very well balanced despite being quite a large camera, the viewfinder is HUGE and bright and lovely which makes manual focussing a doddle, alongside the ever brilliant FE2 I now have my perfect 35mm dynamic duo!

Portra 160 with the FE2 and series e 100mm 2.8

These images were taken on a portrait shoot with Model Rebecca back in Feb when we had a mini heat wave - I was so glad we made the most of the sunshine! The FE2 was loaded with a roll of Portra 160 and with the F2 I shot a roll of Fuji Acros 100 and a roll of Portra 400 - I enjoyed using this combination of film and cameras so much and was very happy with the results that I decided right there and then that I’m going to shoot film from now on for portraiture.

Fuji Acros 100 on the F2 with Nikkor 50m 1.4

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the film stocks used on this shoot - I’ve had a couple of rolls of Fuji Acros 100 on ice in the freezer for a few years now and since buying it Fuji have discontinued production :( having only shot one roll of it before I figured I’d give it a whirl and I love the results, developed in HC110 it has a clean and balanced finished with lovely contrast.

Colour film duties were fulfilled by Kodak Portra one roll each of 160 and 400 flavours - I think i overexposed the 400 speed a couple of stops to 200 and shot 160 at box speed - having developed these myself I had some issues getting the right colour balance when scanning at home and for some frames it took me a little while to get the colours to look and feel ‘right’

Portra 400 on the FE 2 with Nikkor 24mmm 2.8

So there we have it - I was so pleased with how both cameras performed and I continue to be impressed at the quality of the Nikon lenses, the images here were shot on the Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Nikkor 24mm 2.8 and the Series E 100mm 2.8 - super sharp shooters the lot of them! If you’ve not tried an old Nikon camera and lens I would urge you to do so - there’s a reason why these were the manufacturer of choice for professionals back in the day.

Portra 160 on the FE2 series e 100mm 2.8

I developed the colour film at home too - the first time in a long time that I’ve done that, I was really pleased with how they came out and I’ve got a write up of the process and kit that I used on the way, I promise it won’t be another 3 months before I write another blog, in the meantime happy shooting!

Just Passing Through

Hello there! long time no see! It feels like a long time since the last blog although looking back it seems I’ve managed to keep it to one post per month just about! My (non photography) work has taken off in a big way and I’m now working away quite a bit and whilst being on the road is certainly a great experience it does eat into my time for things like blogging and of course being away from home and family for prolonged stints is hard too. It is cool that I get to travel though and see all sorts of weird, wonderful and sometimes just plain ordinary places - it also helps that I have a firm belief that if we have the eyes to see it, the world around us is full of images just waiting to be discovered - good job i write a blog then innit?!

So what have I been shooting whilst out and about, well literally that…these images represent moments on the go, on the bounce, on the hop, out and about, in betweener moments - inbetween meetings, in between appointments, in between places and spaces, hurrying along to catch a train, a bus, a plane - that in between mindest when you’re moving from one place to the next, just passing through, finding a route, not putting down roots…

I’d love to stalk the streets for hours on end searching for the perfect shot, the decisive moment but when I’m travelling it’s often as I’m on my way from point A to point B that I have the opportunity to take in my surroundings, to connect however fleetingly and momentarily through the lens of my camera.

I titled todays post ‘passing through’ by which i mean to draw attention to the difference between being a passer by and the act of passing through places and spaces. Passing by suggests an act of avoidance, a disconnect, whilst passing through a place denotes a willingness to explore, to experience, to navigate, to see…the gift we bring is an outsiders eye, a newcomers curiosity but this is neccesarily a temporary state of being with a transcience that will inevitably lead us out of reach.

As you’ll have no doubt guessed by now this isn’t a technical review post - I definitely subscribe to the idea that the act of photography is about more than a set of techniques and their technical application (althogh these are of course important aspects, they are ultimately a means to an end not the end itself)

So what end is being achieved here? What is the intent? With these images and subsequent blog post I wanted to apply a more intentional mindset to my work so that it’s less about ‘testing’ the various aspects of a camera and film combo in order to write about it on the interweb and more about creating images which have an underlying theme as in todays case, I’m also interested in incorporated elements of storytelling and exploring different themes, thoughts and emotions through my work and I’m working on several projects to that end as we speak (or as I type - whatever, you get the idea)!

These images represent the beginnings of a train of thought for my photography, a desire to create a body of work that is ‘connected’ with the theme of passing through which prompts a reflection on how we navigate the world around us, both physical and metaphorical, are we passers by in our own lives? We are bombarded with imagery online and onland which seek to capture our time and attention, can we make time and space to set ourselves apart from the hubub of modern life and simply ‘be’ in a place, eyes open to the expanse of infinite possibilities of fleeting moments.

And if all of that sounds a bit grandiose then as the great Ferris Beuler once said “life moves pretty fast, you might miss it if you don’t stop and look around once in a while” Amen to that!

For those who are interested the majority of these images were shot on an Olympus 35RC with a couple of shots from my Holga 120N thrown in for good measure films are Kodak Double X, JCH streetpan and Ilford HP5 all developed at home by my own fair hand….I’ll still write gear reviews of course but I’d like to think that at least some of my photography is capable of being more than window dressing for a rambling rumination on the vagaries of X film combined with Y developer to produce Z effect or extolling the virtues of A lens, B camera and C film - this may just be wistful thinking on my part, the true test comes via your contribution dear viewer and how you receive the images, if you made it this far then my sincere thanks for passing through…

Ruth Ellen Psychic Readings - Publicity Photo Shoot

Over the last few weeks I have been busy updating my portfolio and giving the website a bit of a spring clean (yes I know its not spring). This has included re-arranging the layout and also having a bit of a rethink on where I'd like to focus my energies and how i present my work to reflect this.

I've always loved commercial photography and working with businesses large and small to create photographs which visually represent their brand - this can include images for promotional and marketing purposes, product photography and creating team and staff portraits. I want to showcase a few of my recent commercial gigs in a bit more detail and if you want to see my commercial portfolio then you can have a look HERE.

Recently I had the pleasure of helping my friend Ruth create some publicity and promotional photos to help launch her new business venture into the realm of pyschic readings!

We wanted to create a set of images which present Ruth in the context of the spiritual and give a visual language which relates to the services that she offers - and of course how else to convey a sense of the magical and mystical? let's get a horse involved in the shoot! I can take no credit for this idea or for the styling which was all Ruth's work! :)

We couldn't have planned the weather conditions better - it had been raining on and off all day, but the rain held off for just long enough to shoot with the appropriately named Horse 'Cloud' who was very kindly 'borrowed' for the shoot from Glint an awesome local Social Enterprise who deliver 'Horse Assisted Development' where Horses help people to deal with issues, build confidence and manage stress, check them out HERE

For the shoot I used a combo of my Pentax 645 medium format film camera and my Canon 6D DSLR - in fact this shoot has actually given me the opportunity to fall back in love with digital (I know I'm a fickle beggar) All of the above photos were shot on the 6D and all of the following are on the 645 using Kodak Portra 400.

The film shots have a character all of their own which I love - I hesitated to re-edit the digital shots to look more like the film photos, I like that the shots have a different look and feel across both formats, if they all end up looking the same then what's the point in shoot both formats?!

It was lovely to work with Ruth and to help create some images which she can use on her website and for promotional purposes for her new business - I wish her every success! Check out her website here https://repsychic.format.com/aboutruthellenpsychic

Nikon F3 the best camera I no longer own

It's been crazy busy the last few months - so much that film photography has been on the back burner but I've managed to squeeze in the odd frame or three here and there as you do, during this time I also seem to have been infected with Nikonitus - that is the uncontrolable urge to buy some Nikon cameras and see what the fuss is all about, I've already shared my experience with the Nikon FE HERE but since then my condition has deteriorated seriously and I am now irredeemably a Nikonian.... hence why I ended up purchasing this amazing camera....cos.. ya know... it's awesome... just look at it!

The Nikon F3 is one of those cameras that has an almost legendary status - it was manufactured for almost 20 years and at it's launch in 1982 was Nikons professional level camera, this thing could not look any cooler if it tried and having shot a few rolls with it the form and function of the camera really are sublime, it is a VERY smooth and solid shooter... the perfect camera then! finally my quest is over! not quite..... unfortunately by some quirk of fate it would seem that the futuristic (for 1982) LCD readout for the shutter speed is placed in exactly the right (or rather, wrong) position that it gives me a massive eye strain/headache trying to see it.... flipping brilliant!! :(

Given the legions of very happy Nikon F3 users out there I am prepared to concede that the fault lies in my biomechanics rather than the design of the F3 and maybe I have a bit of a blind spot in my eye at that angle - it's a moot point as whatever the case, the upshot is that using the Nikon F3 makes my right eye very tired and strained and since I value my actual eyes sight above any piece of photographic paraphenalia it should be no surprise to you dear reader that as I write this blog to you, I have already sold the F3!

It's a real shame as the Nikon F3 is that kind of camera that could've been a family heirloom safe in the knowledge it will no doubt still be working as smoothly in some post apocolyptic future but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be :( 

Anyway seeing as I'm a glass half full kinda guy (preferably half full of Ale) this situation is a great excuse to console myself on letting the F3 go and buy something REALLY special for my next photographic adventure, and sure enough.... that's exactly what I've done, I've got a good feeling about this next one, maybe THIS will be THE one for me.... what camera is it I hear you cry! ah that'd be telling - all in good time my friends!

For now feast your eyes on the results of a lovely stroll through the West Yorkshire countryside that is my home as I took the F3 out for a final spin, combining it with the amazing 24mm Nikkor 2.8 wideangle lens and loaded with a roll of the lovely Japan Camera Hunter (JCH) streetpan 400 film which I bought ages ago and have been saving for a special occasion! I developed this film at home using Rodinal 1:25 as per the manufacturers instructions (I forget the timings now) but I'd say they were spot on! lovely contrast and detail - a great film which I'll be using again soon!