It's back to Palm Beach this week to the garden at the Society of the Four Arts with my Rollieflex and Kodak Portra 400. Some of my shots were on the thin side, but the Portra 400's latitude saved the day.
Next week..... I'll start shooting and developing some B&W. Stay tuned.
This week I took the Bronica ETR 645 camera out to Grassy Waters Preserve in West Palm Beach. I shot in the later part of the afternoon and loaded the camera with Kodak Portra 400. Next week I'll dig different cameras out of storage to mix things up a bit. This is a tried a true walking around with a camera for the day setup. This is a rock steady camera that isn't too big or weigh too much for a medium format camera. What can I say about Portra 400? Great colors out in nature. I love it in golden hour and it has great latitude. I meter a lot, but it's nice to know if I forget and I'm in the ballpark there won't be a lost shot. Here are a few of the photos.
For week Four I went back to Flagler Memorial Fountain on Palm Beach Island. This time armed with a Fuji 6x9 rangefinder. It is sometimes called the Texas Leica because it looks like a giant 35mm rangefinder. This one was built in the 1970's. the 6x9cm negative is wonderfully large and the camera produces a wonderfully sharp image. It notoriously has a bokeh that not as soft and buttery as people like or i think this would be a much more popular camera. It's big, but it is quiet to shoot and the framing in the rangefinder and focusing are great. I really love knocking around with this camera. It does only get 8 shots to the roll so it does forces me to think about what I'm doing since between film cost and processing it amounts to 2$ each time a click the shutter. as opposed to $1 for 645 with 15 shots per roll.
I rated the Ektar 100 film at 64 iso it was punchy with rich but accurate colors. I enjoyed this film / camera combination and will use it again. Shadows are open and neutral and highlights held nice detail. As the cheapest Kodak 120 negative film I found I am very happy with it.
Here in Week Three I took my Rollieflex 2.8 D Twin Lens Reflex Loaded with Portra 400 to the Flagler Memorial Fountain on Palm Beach Island. This camera built around 1955 is a gem. The light seals are great no leaks at all. The lenses are nice and clear. My vision is pretty crummy so I replaced the old focusing screen with a bright screen and picked up more than a stop of light. It has a center micro-prism focusing is a dream and the big beautiful 2.25" square negatives are great. The shutter on this old camera seems to be right on at all speeds. I had to bet used to the backwards composition of the twin lens but it all came back to me quickly.
The portra 400 is right now my favorite all around color negative film, but I have some Ektar 100 and some gold 200 in 120 size to play with as well so you'll see them tested soon.
Here are a few of the photos from the roll I shot. Really great for a 68 year old camera!
This second post was done on the same day as the 135 panoramic film last week. One of the things I forgot to mention that I love about the ETR camera is the removable backs. I have 2 645 and the wide 135. So I can have a roll of color and roll of BW going as well as the 35 Or I can have two different ISO color films, so it is very flexible!
I already spoke about the camera last week so onto the film, the Portra 400 in 120 size is awesome. The size eliminates much of the graininess of 35mm purely because the film is bigger and needs less enlargement. The color negative film is forgiving on both sides of exposure, but I think it works best if you overexpose over box speed by 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop so shoot it at 320 or 250 iso. I like the color balance of this film it is natural looking and not over the top. Below are a few samples.
BTW scans were done using a 95 cri light source and a Pentax 645Z medium format digital camera on a Negative Supply stand. I use the newest stand as it is super strong and stands up to the beast of a camera with the 120mm macro on it. For negative to positive conversion I use the Negative Lab Pro plugin for Lightroom. It simplifies the process of converting the negative extremely well. I do minor tweaks in Photoshop after the conversion, but Negative Lab Pro does the heavy lifting.
Next week: 6x9 format 120 shot in a Fujica GW690.
The Camera: Bronica ETR
To kick off the project I am starting with one of my favorite medium format cameras my Bronica ETR. Normally it shoots 120 film in a 645 format. It is a manual camera with no meter. Mine had an eye-level finder. For this week I put the panoramic 120 back on camera. This camera just plain works. It has easy controls 1/500 to 8 second shutter speeds. The standard 75mm f2.8 gives a normal field of view and is very bright in the finder making this camera a dream to focus even after two detached retinas and cataracts. Tech Note: I bought a 3d printed mask I slip in under the finder so I can frame up correctly. It's a much cheaper and easier option than getting the Bronica 35 focusing screen for the ETR.
The Film: Kodak Portra 160
I like slower speeds like this when I shoot 35mm unless I'm shooting street photography then I'll take the speed and give up some grain. I think this film shoots a bit better at 100 iso but it has plenty of latitude and scans really nicely. It's meant as a portrait film and is less punchy its Ektar and Gold cousins. I like the wide 35 format very much. I should have done some impromptu portraits so you could judge skintones. I'll make a note to include a few when I can. Details hold up well in the shadows and highlights did not get burned out in the noon time light.
Location: Mounts Botanical Garden, West Palm Beach
Hi!
I'm photographer Carl Stoveland. Welcome to Analog 52. This is my project to shoot a roll of film every week on Fridays (more of a target than a resolution:-) who needs that kind of pressure right?). I live in Palm Beach County Florida so many of my posts will be Florida based, but if I am traveling somewhere I plan to shoot some film where I am.
A little about me. I have been a photographer my whole life. My earliest memories are of the darkroom my dad worked in at the Lab Authenticolor in NYC. I worked in labs myself for 15 years and have worked as a photographer professionally since my early twenties. My lab career spanned the 1990s and early 2000s so I was around for the emergence of digital and the demise of many smaller mom and pop labs. I have worked in both film and digital and am fully fluent in both.
The truth is I just missed shooting film. I like the look of it and the limitations of numbers of per roll forces you to shoot and think differently. Each week I'll shoot a different type of film in one of my camera ranging from 35mm to 4x5" and everything in between. If you are a fan of film or are just interested in older cameras join me for a new post on Fridays...
Process note: BW film I will develop at home. C41 and E6 films will be sent to a lab. Scanning will be done via DSLR scanning with a Pentax 645Z with a 120mm f4 macro lens using a negative supply stand, film holders and light. I will do a post about my setup in future.
