Author: johnmeadowsphotography

An amateur photographer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

More Petzval Portraits

· 3 Comments ·

On Sunday of this past weekend I met up with my friend and fellow film photographer Ori, who agreed to pose for a couple of portraits shot with my 1950’s era 4×5 Speed Graphic camera, with my mid 1860’s Brass Petzval lens. The film was expired EFKE, with a speed of 25, sadly no longer made. This stock is orthochromatic, meaning not sensitive to red light, which was pretty standard for the 19th century, and great for male portraits.

I am finally happy with the results from this lens, meaning that I now want to shoot as many people as possible with it! 🙂
Second Portrait of Ori

Petzval Portait

Liking the Combination

· Leave a comment ·

I don’t recall if I have shot this combination before, but I really like the results of shooting Ilford Pan F film on my Rolleiflex, and using Rodinal as the developer (1+50 for 11 minutes @ 20 C). The sharpness is what I was expecting, but what I did not expect was the highlights to hold so well, and not block up, even in contrasty forest scenes. We may not see much sun in Scotland, but I be taking some of this film along!

Pan F Rolleiflex006

Pan F Rolleiflex010

Pan F Rolleiflex005

An Adventure

· 1 Comment ·

So on Saturday I thought I had a roll of Kodak Tmax 100 loaded in my Rolleiflex. I was shooting it at EI 50 to try a technique I had heard about. When I finished the roll and unloaded the camera I found to my horror that it had been a roll of Tmax 400, thus I had overexposed by 3 stops. I did some research/guesswork, and tried developing it in Pyrocat HD developer for 10 minutes and I got very usable negatives. When I mixed up the Pyrocat HD solution it turned bright green, which I have not seen before, but it still worked!

Near the Water

On the Cusp of Spring

· 2 Comments ·

Today’s image is from a week ago, when it was not quite as springlike as it has been this weekend. The trees in High Park were still bare, and there was more texture than colour. so perfect for black and white, especially a sharp contrasty film like Rollei Retro 80s.

High Park

 

Voigtlander L, 15mm/4.5 Super Heliar lens,
Rollei Retro 80s Film
developed in Rodinal 1+50 for 14 minutes @ 20c

By the Beach

· 1 Comment ·

This image is from about a week ago, at the Beaches. I shot this with my Voigtlander Bessa R body and Leica 90mm/4 Elmar lens, a short telephoto that I should really use more!

By the Water 3

New Work

· Leave a comment ·

With my show now up on the wall, I actually have some time for new work! I finished off a roll yesterday on my Voigtlander Bessa L camera with the Voigtlander 15mm/4.5 lens. I love the dramatic perspective of this lens!

TTC

The Bridge Revisited

· Leave a comment ·

I love this bridge on Queen Street a bit west of Broadview Avenue in Toronto, and the 15mm lens suits it.

Bridge

 

Voigtlander Bessa R 35mm Rangefinder, 15mm/4.5 Voigtlander Super Heliar lens
EDU 400 film, developed in TMax developer 1+9 for 12 minutes @ 20 C

Revisiting the Cemetery

· Leave a comment ·

I’ve been to the St. James Cemetery in Toronto a few times to shoot, and I went again this past Saturday. It was a dull day, but the combination of EDU 400 film (from The Film Photography Project) and TMax developer brought out some nice light.

In the Graveyard

 

Voigtlander Bessa R Rangefinder, 15mm/4.5 Voigtlander Super Heliar lens
EDU 400 film developed in Tmax Developer 1+9 for 12 minutes @ 20 C

Finally a New Photograph!

· 3 Comments ·

Preparing for the show, so little time for new photos, finally got a roll developed today. A couple of weeks ago I was at Koerner Hall in Toronto to take in an amazing concert. It is a lovely hall, so I decided to take a chance with a photograph. No flash of course so I had to use a shutter speed of 1/8th of a second. Pleasantly surprised!

Before the concert

 

 

Voigtlander Bessa R, 15mm/4.5 Voiglander Heliar lens
FPP EDU 400 film, developed in Tmax 1+9 for 12 minutes @ 20 C

What Am I Working On These Days?

· Leave a comment ·

My friend (and talented author) Alice Dugan contacted me today, to ask me if she could tag me in a “Work in Progress Blog Tour” that she was involved in. I said it sounded like fun and it has been a couple of weeks since my last blog post, so it serves as a kick in the pants to get me going.

The ironic thing is that I have no time for making new photographs right now, since I am very busy preparing for my upcoming photography exhibit The Silver Path. It’s been pretty labour intensive, since all the prints are hand-done by me in the darkroom. I’ve gotten to the point where all the printing is done, and now I have to select forty prints from the roughly sixty I’ve done to be hung at the exhibit. Next, I need to hand retouch any dust spots etc. from the prints, then cut mattes and frame the prints, plus various other logistical items in advance of the opening show reception on April 10th. Exciting and scary times!

I’ve also started podcasting again, after a multi-year absence! I am involved in two podcasts: The first is Classic Camera Revival, which I do with three friends, where we geek out on film-based photography. (No surprise, right?) The second podcast is my new personal journal podcast called MPP. What MPP stands for changes with each episode 🙂

Next, I am thoroughly enjoying being with the Exultate Chamber Singers this year, after attending their concerts for a quarter century. I’m looking forward to our next concert this Friday, where I get some solo quartet work. Another exciting/scary combo!

Finally, my other two big goals this year (along with the photo exhibit) both have to do with writing. I am trying my hand at writing an urban fantasy novella, inspired in no small part by Alice’s enjoyable efforts in this genre. I have posted three snippets so far, here, here and here. My other writing goal this year is to finish the first draft of my musical done (started in 2014). Here is a sample of one song.

I think  I must be out of my mind! But I don’t think I could handle life any other way: if I keep my life crowded, I can keep the demons on the waiting list forever.

Now I am going to tag my good friend (and fellow film photography fanatic) Mike Bitaxi: a talented and clever fellow!