Earlier in the year I sold a set of spare Porsche wheels and on a whim and spurred on by friend and photogear collector Roger Putnam I spent the proceeds on a HasseIblad camera and a couple of lenses. Since then I have added another lens .So it's back to film (analogue) photography albeit in the medium format which I had not used before.
I posted some of my first Blad shots on an earlier post and a couple of my latest efforts are below .I now am processing the films and rediscovering how much dust there is the atmosphere but I have no intention of going back into the darkroom to do my own printing.I was never that good in the darkroom anyway so now I am scanning the film negatives into the computer .Hardly pure - more like hybrid photography -- part digital and part analogue -and it works in a way that a darkroom never did for me.Both photos were taken locally on the Central Coast of NSW .Both were taken using a red filter- the beach scene was taken on Kodak Tri-X and the lake jetty on Ilford FP4.
Using film again is a challenge.Even fast film is slow by digital standards and being stuck with just the one speed takes some adjustment after digital where the camera can adjust the sensor sensitivity to the prevailing light conditions.Also having just 12 shots on a roll (and each one costing real money) really concentrates the mind and encourages/forces me to think about what I am taking-a practice which I am now also employing in my digital photography .I have probably reduced the number of photos I am taking with my digital camera by 80% yet I am still getting the same number of worthwhile shots.So effectively I am eliminating most of the dross shots -- before I take them.
Those are great pictures, John! There is something special about the look of film, and the square format is so elegant. I shot some pics with the $30 Minolta today - mostly to see how accurate it's meter is and whether I need to replace the light seals. It was a big, bulky brick with angles that hurt my hands. Probably not a keeper even if everything works, but it was fun in its way. You do make medium format look enticing with these shots though.
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