Category: Medium Format

An Infrared Outing

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This past Saturday I went to nearby Taylor Creek Park to shoot some Rollei Retro 80s film (with my Rolleiflex). One of the advantages of this film is that if you use an infrared filter (such as an IR 72 that looks almost completely opaque to the naked eye) you can do infrared photography, and I just love the ghostly, otherworldly look you get when doing this.

The Rolleiflex is a perfect camera for infrared: as a twin lens reflex camera, the viewing lens is not covered by the filter so focussing is never an issue. On a single lens reflex camera, the filter must keep coming off (for focusing/composition) and on (shooting).

Taylor Creek Infrared

Taylor Creek Infrared

Taylor Creek Infrared

 

All images taken with Rolleiflex E3, 75mm/3.5 Xenotar lens with IR72 filter
Exposure 1/2 to 1 second @ f16, on Rollei Retro 80s film
Film developed in Rodinal 1+50 for 14 minutes @ 20 C

Early Evening

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Last Thursday in the early evening I was shooting at the Beaches, with my Rolleiflex, a yellow filter and some Ilford Pan F and HP5+ film. The light was amazing, and I did my best to capture it. This post shows four of the Ilford Pan F examples.

Evening by the Lake

Evening by the Lake

Evening by the Lake

Evening by the Lake

 

(You knew there was going to be a gazebo picture in there . . .)

Liking the Combination

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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

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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

Three for the Show

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My mission tonight is to make 11″ by 14″ prints of these images taken yesterday at the bitterly cold shores of Lake Ontario. I was very happy at how the images turned out, so I think they merit a place in my upcoming photo exhibition. All three were taken with my Pentax 6×7 medium format camera, an oversized beast that  works well in gloved hands 🙂 I shot one roll of my limited stock of Kodak Plus-X film ,sadly no longer made.

Toronto Beaches, -22 C

Toronto Beaches, -22 C

Toronto Beaches, -22 C

Portrait of the Artist: Channeling Lovecraft

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My images today are of my friend Leeman Kessler, actor and creator of the Ask Lovecraft video podcast. In this podcast, he portrays author H.P. Lovecraft, reanimated to answer viewer questions. In the photo shoot, I was shooting “behind the scenes” as he recorded an episode. Leeman can certainly channel intensity! I chose three images below:

Channeling Lovecraft 1

Channeling Lovecraft 2

Channeling Lovecraft 3

 

For this shoot I used my Mamiya 645 Pro TL and Rolleiflex E3 medium format cameras, shooting in available light wit with Ilford Delta 3200 film, and Kodak Tri-X film, pushed to EI 3200.

The Quiet of the Snow

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Another image from the snowy shoot with Justine this past Saturday in High Park. The snow is like nature’s diffuser: the light is softened and sounds are muted, sharp edges and angles are rounded by a covering of snow. This image is not tack-sharp, but for me I feel it captures the mood of the the shoot.

In the Quiet of the Snow

 

Rolleiflex E3, 75mm/3.5 Xenotar
Tri-X @ EI 800, developed in Diafine.
Post work with Lightroom and NiK Efex

Sisters

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I’ve had the privilege of working with sisters Sabrina and Rowena recently, and here is an image of them together at Allen Garden’s last Saturday. I think the relationship that sisters have can be a complicated dance. 🙂

Sabrina and Rowena

Rolleiflex E3, 75mm/3.5 Xenotar lens
Ilford Delta 3200 developed in DD-X for 12.5 minutes @ 20 C

Karen

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I first met Karen a number of years ago, when we both had images in an exhibit of photographs from the G20 incident in Toronto. A talented, resourceful and strong woman, she has a lot of presence in front of the camera!

Karen

 

Rolleiflex E3, 75mm/3.5 Xenotar lens
Tri-X @ EI 800 developed in Diafine
Negative Scanned and post-processed in Lightroom and Nik Efex