Thursday 21 August 2014

Pentax A3 with Ilford PANF Plus 50


I wanted to try a film with a reportedly fine grain.  From various reports, I had read that an Ilford PANF Plus 50 would be the answer.

I have used this film before on the Voigtlander in a 120 roll.  Even though I was very happy with those results although, at the time, I did not consider that the grain was any finer than some ISO 100 films I had used.  I thought that perhaps, if I used it in 35mm, there may be a difference.  Another reason for choosing this film is that I wanted a slower ISO film for some long exposure experiments.

I put this film into my Pentax A3. The A3 is an AV mode 35mm camera; set aperture on lens and camera calculates the shutter speed.  The lenses I use for this camera are 58mm diameter and so I can use the Cokin filters I purchased for my Canon DSLR lenses!

I did get some long exposure shots and I guess they didn't turn out 'too bad' but... I think I am spoiled by the long exposures I get from my DSLR because they have a higher dynamic range in colour and contrast.  I have some more experimenting to do in that department I think.  

Here is one of the long exposures I took whilst down at Snapper Rocks in the Munmorah State Recreation Park.  This photo was exposed for the waves on the rocks.  When developed, the white foam created as the waves crashed against the rocks, came out as a bright white which underexposed the rest of the detail.  A little adjustment in the Dodge and Burn department and histogram adjustment in PSE has resulted in this outcome.

Wybung Heads and Frazers Beach from Snapper Rocks.  Munmorah State Recreation Park, Moonee, Australia.
Anyway, as with all my film photography, I wanted to go out on safari and capture the things that surround me in my daily life; people, places, buildings etc. 

I started at Wheeler Place in Newcastle.  Wheeler Place is a public square off Hunter Street surrounded by shops, cafe and, the Newcastle City Council and City Hall buildings.  It is a great place to catch people transiting through as well as those who just sit and take in their surroundings and those who sit and are glued to their smart phones!  

Wheeler Place Square, Newcastle, Australia.

Wheeler Place, Newcastle, Australia - the round building on the right is the City Council Building.

There is no escape! - People glued to their smartphones ignore the beauty
of the day as it passes them by.  Wheeler Place, Newcastle, Australia.

From there I wandered to the park in Christie Place that sits between the beautiful City Hall building and the lovely art deco style of University House.  Just across the road from City Hall in King Street is the beautiful Civic Park; always a great location for a photograph thanks to the differing architecture styles surrounding it and the large fountain on the southern side of the park.  Over the bridge to Stockton for some shots of their small mooring area on the Hunter River and back again to Merewether and the Ocean Baths at Newcastle.

The Shortland Centenary Fountain- Christie Place, Newcastle, Australia.

Fun in the Sun - Civic Park, Newcastle, Australia.

Stockton mooring on the Hunter River - Newcastle, Australia.

Ocean Baths - Newcastle, Australia.

Waiting for a wave - Merewether Beach, Newcastle, Australia
I do have some more from this roll; land and seascapes from the Munmorah State Recreation Park.  But I think they will have to wait for another post!  I also just finished another roll of  this film in my Konica-Minolta Dynax 40 camera.  Still going through them and editing a  little here and there but they will be on here hopefully in the next week.

As I said at the start of this post, I wanted to try a slower film for a finer grain.  These photos have turned out great but I think that I get a finer grain out of a Fuji NEOPAN Across 100.  You can compare the results here and see what you think.

I stayed with the same lens for all of these photos - Pentax SMC F 35-105mm zoom.

For my next film project, I have opted for a colour film - a Fuji PRO 160C.  

Hope you are all well.

Jordy

Friday 8 August 2014

The last 3 weeks.....


I went back to work yesterday after 3 wonderfully relaxing weeks off.  Back to the grind of 12 hour shifts and nightwork....... sigh....... 

BUT.....

I did have 3 great weeks off.

We didn't have much planned.  The only definite was my father in laws' 90th birthday bash.  That was a great family get together in Springwood in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.  Ken is doing alright for that age; hope I am that good when I hit my ninth decade!  Springwood is about 2.5 hours drive from home and we decided that on the way home we would detour and spend the night at Bondi Junction in Sydneys' east.  The shopping....OMG...the shopping!  There is a huge shopping mall at Bondi Junction plus all of the shops in the surrounding streets.  We did not have the time to browse them all unfortunately but, I did learn that there are at least 4 camera shops in that area; heaven!  Definitely be revisiting there for a longer stay next time!  We had a great view of the city lights in Sydney from our apartment.

Once arriving home the agenda was to catch up on some of those small jobs that are always lurking around the house.  This was done successfully in between reading a book that my daughter Kassandra had given me as a birthday present the week before.  I have done a lot of Sci Fi reading but had never read Isaac Asimov - 'I Robot' before; although I had seen movies based on the book.  I really enjoyed it; it has been a long time since I have simply chilled out reading a book.

I went on a few Photo Safaris.  The first safari was to the Munmorah State Recreation Park.  It is about an hours drive south of where we live.  It is a national park and has many walking tracks all over the place.  Sheer cliffs and rocky points make for some great scenery.  I will have to plan an overnight camp there though; the park opens after sunrise and closes at sunset.  For any photos during those times, I will have to already be inside the park!

For my next daytime safari, I got up before sunrise!  Yes, I know........ who gets up before sunrise on their holidays?  Well I did have a good reason; I drove into Newcastle and got some great photos from the rock pools at Bar Beach.  It was such a still morning and the water in the rock pools was smooth like a mirror.  From there I went up to Nobbys Beach and walked down to Newcastle Beach.  Not much action on Newcastle Beach; the surf was flat was more like a lake than a popular surf beach!

That afternoon I arrived home to find Kim and Rhiannan had gone out shopping.  I figured I would make the most of that time and took off for Redhead Beach.  There is a bluff at the northern end of the beach that is accessible from a small park and it gives a great view of the entire length of the beach. The sunset was at a right angle to the beach and unfortunately I didn't get any of those lovely golden colours in the sky or reflections off the wet sand but it did create some lovely long shadows across the beach.  I did check the Photographers Ephemeris however; mid December will be the perfect time to revisit the bluff as the sun should be setting down the length of the beach.  Better make a note on my calendar for that!  

I also did some film photography over the break but that will have to wait for my next post.  That will be interesting though; I put an Ilford PANF Plus 50 through my Pentax 35mm SLR.  Hopefully the film will be ready tomorrow for pick up!

Well that's it for this post.

Remember!  Take the time out to read a book!


Jordy

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City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Wybung Heads & Frazers Beach.  Munmorah State Recreation Park, NSW, Australia

Flat Island from Snapper Point.  Munmorah State Recreation Park, NSW, Australia

Sunrise over Bar Beach, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Rock Pools at Sunrise, Bar Beach, NSW, Australia

Nobbys Beach in B&W, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Redhead Beach from the bluff, Newcastle, NSW, Australia




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