Surprise, Part 3

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It is easy to get spoiled with medium format film when it comes to fine grain: a larger negative means less magnification, and grain is less apparent, even with higher speed films. In 35mm however it is much more of an issue, and in my workflow which ends with a scanned negative, I was just not happy with my results. My friend Mike suggested TMax developer at 1:9, so I gave that a shot with an unlabelled roll of Tri-X I had kicking around. I was pleased with the grain and sharpness, but also pleasantly surprised to find pictures of my good friends Ken and Bryon; it was like opening a present on Christmas morning 🙂

My friend Ken

Surprise Part 2

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Today another image from a forgotten roll of film, which turned out to be from a photowalk in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery in 2012. I’m glad I finally got around to developing this roll!

Bench in Cemetery

New Combo

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My good friend Mike gave me a few 35mm rolls of Orwo UN 54 (a German film) quite some time ago, and I never got around to finishing a roll until a few days ago. I finally finished a roll, and developed it using Diafine developer. I love the sharpness and fine grain!!

Orwo Test roll

Surprises

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If one develops his or her own film, eventually you build up a pile of film you just never seem to get around to developing; there is always some other roll that is more pressing. If you leave it long enough, you even forgot what was on these neglected rolls, making for fun surprises when you actually do get around to developing. That is the case with today’s image, from a roll I took during the Transit of Venus event at Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto last year; I had forgotten I had taken this roll.

Transit of Venus

Repose

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Many of the Hipstamatic images I have taken on the TTC (Toronto’s mass transit) recently have shown fatigue: the faces of people being steadily worn down by the demands of living and working in Toronto. Today’s image is different. Yes, this commuter’s eyes are closed, but I did not get a sense of weariness from him, but rather more of a sense of serenity and peace.

Hands

Wheels

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A number of the restaurants in the Art Deco District in Miami have vintage cars parked in front. I love the lines of these old cars, and using a superwide angle lens heightens this effect.

Classic Wheels

(Voigtlander L 35mm body, 21mm/f4 wide-angle lens, Ilford Pan F+ developed in Rodinal 1:25)

Sneaking a Smoke

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As an ex-smoker I have to feel some sympathy for people who still smoke. I took this picture yesterday in downtown Toronto outside the Eaton Centre. Was he hiding from the wind, or the no smoking sign he was so close to?

Sneaking a smoke

(Nikon F, 50mm f1.4 lens, Ilford Delta 400 at Box speed, developed in HC-110, dilution B)