Thursday 30 November 2017

Newcastle Street Feast on Ilford Delta 3200


This is a film I have always wanted to shoot.  Ilford Delta 3200 in 35mm.

I picked it up online at Walkens House of Film a few months ago.  (What a great little online film shop that is!)  It took a little while before I was able to get out and use it but the wait was worth it!

Like all new films I try, I read up on peoples' reviews and look at images online to get inspiration for when I get out with it.  Doing this also gives me an idea on how the film may turn out in certain situations and allows me to plan ahead for a subject or general theme.  

This film, because of it's high ISO, is described as a 'fast film' - i.e. it's good to use in low light situations.  Many of the reviews I read suggested shooting this film at ISO 1600 and then developing at 3200 times.  This apparently gives better contrast and less grain.  But, because I had never used it before, I decided that for the first time I should probably stick to the box speed.

Grain!  The mere mention of the word sends chills down some photographers spines.  Grain is merely the texture of the light sensitive silver halide crystal emulsion that has been applied to the film.  The crystals used on a 'fast film' are larger because they have to capture all available light in low light situations, hence the texture of the emulsion is grainier.  It's not a bad thing though!  Grain can add mood to portraits and landscapes.  Grain can add a 'grittiness'  to a subject to enhance a harsh environment (especially in black and white) - Street Photography, for example.  Have a look at older photos of jazz bands playing in small bars and note how the grain adds to the mood of that underground, bootleg bar!

The venue I went to was a street feast (relatively new to Newcastle).  Heaps of food vendors in pop up caravans and tents, wine tasting and sales.  Live entertainment also!  Some tables and chairs were provided but many also brought along picnic rugs or simply just threw themselves down on the soft grass.

The feast started at 4pm and ran through til 9pm.  We arrived at about 6.30pm, just as the Sun was setting.  Apart from the dusk sky, the lighting consisted of street lights, some purpose built spotlights and the light from vendors open caravans and tents.  The FOOD!  The food was fantastic!  I wanted to try everything!

I didn't want to muck around with a light meter calculating every shot; I wanted to catch everything quick and clean so I shot in aperture priority.  Most of these shot at f5.6 and a few at f4.

Once I got the film and scans back from the lab I realised that, although this is a film made for low light situations there still has to be a 'reasonable' light source nearby.  The shots taken of people lining up at a vendor's van (which is lit inside) or in the vicinity of a decent light source have more sharp details than a general crowd shot that is lit only by residual light from the high streetlights.

I do have a second roll of this film although I want to plan a more specific shoot with it, a live band in a bar, people roaming the streets on a night out and, if I can get someone to sit still long enough, some formal portraits.  We'll see how that goes!


The photos on this post and on corresponding Google+ page are
Copyright  ©Life with Jordy Photography and may not be
used without permission.




















Friday 20 October 2017

Pentax Espio 105G with expired AM Colour 400 film


Rarely have I used a film that I didn't like!

This film, AM Colour 400, was an expired film gifted to me by a friend.  I believe it is a repackaged  'film of unknown origin' that was sold by AMCAL Chemists back in the day.  It was over 10 years old.  I don't know if it was a popular choice of photographers in its day but I can't find any mention of it anywhere in Google!

I decided to shoot it at box speed (usually expired film is shot at 1 stop underexposed) and so loaded it into a Pentax Espio 105G 35mm point and shoot camera.  Nice little camera actually, I found it handy to use in quick situations and it fitted in my man bag without weighing it down too much.

I know that expired film can have an unexpected result; a quirkiness that you either love or hate.  This film didn't do it for me; the colour hues weren't too bad but the very 'harsh' grainy finish left me disappointed.  I dont mind a black and white film with a grainy finish but, to me, colour film needs to have a fine grain that's barely noticeable.

I guess that's why I haven't tried Lomography yet; I prefer a film (and camera) that can give predictable results.

There was only 1 roll of this AM Colour 400 film given to me.  I still have 2 expired Fuji Superia Extra 400 films to be used so that will be interesting!  

My latest project is waiting to be dropped into the lab for development and scanning - a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 black and white.   My next project is already loaded into my Minolta X-700 - a roll of CineStill ISO50 colour!


















Monday 9 October 2017

People of Sydney


I love to get out and about and photograph people in the street.  Just ordinary folk going about their everyday lives.  The thing I probably love most about it is that I capture them as they are at that precise moment.  No pretences, no special makeup or lighting, no fake smile for the camera; totally natural.  Another thing I love about getting out on the street is the recording of how a place looked at that particular time.  In another 100-200 years, people may look back on my street photography and remark about the fashion or how much that street has changed; street photography has a historical record aspect to it as well.

These photos were taken in Sydney as we wandered between places from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, Pitt Street and places in between.  A big day of walking!

The photos in this post are not for sale.

Catching some Zzzzz - Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia

Two Mates - Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia

Under the Pyrmont Bridge - Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia

The Red Dastaar - Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
I saw this man approaching and I immediately knew I had to get a photo! 
He saw me line up the camera and gave me a smile.

You won't catch a train at this Subway - corner of King and Clarence Streets, Sydney, Australia

In a hurry - Sydney, Australia

Strike a Pose - the Forbes Hotel, York Street, Sydney, Australia

I love the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia

Jack Dawson singer and guitarist extraordinaire -
Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia

We chatted with him for a short time; he is from Newcastle!
Visit him on Facebook or go to his website Jack Dawson Music 

Wired for Sound - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia

Caught in the act! - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia

Love this expression - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia

UGG! - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia
He must've stood there for hours!  Never took his eyes off his phone!

Unique Style! - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia

Waiting to cross - corner of Pitt and King Streets, Sydney, Australia

3D Street Artist - Martin Place, Sydney, Australia
We stopped at chatted with this very talented man in Martin Place.
Check out his work at Leo Uribe 3D Artist and on Instagram

Busking at Circular Quay - Sydney, Australia
I am not sure what the intention was here but this chap didn't utter a word he just
stood there and every now and then he would strike a pose!

Pyrmont Bridge, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
So many lunchtime joggers on Pyrmont Bridge!



The photos in this post and on the corresponding Google+ page are
Copyright © Life with Jordy Photography, All Rights Reserved
and may not be used without permission.


Saturday 30 September 2017

Expired Film - Konica Monochrome VX400


I had never considered shooting expired film before.  With all the unpredictable variations that are possible, I always preferred to shoot film that would give me a predictable outcome.

Anyway, when a friend sent me some expired film that she had found languishing in a cupboard, I looked upon it as a challenge!

This film intrigued me the most.  I was aware that Konica made cameras but did not know they also produced film as well.

I started reading up on how to shoot expired film.  There are some very interesting articles and great photos out there!  The thing I picked up on was a general rule of thumb; underexpose by 1 stop for every 10 years of expiration.  I did not know the expiry date of this particular roll (not printed on the cassette and there was no box).  A search in Google revealed that Konica had ceased production of this film in 2007.  So, I figured that at least I could put a 10 year expiry date as a guesstimate and shoot it accordingly.

I loaded the film into my Canon EOS 300V and set the ISO at 200.

The specs for this film indicated it was for daylight or flash use so basically I just went out on safari around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie on a shooting spree.

The film & scans came back from the lab with a very low contrast.  There was a little more grain than what I had expected from an ISO400 film but, considering that it had been kept for years in a cupboard (and not refrigerated) the storage is probably a contributing factor to that.

Although being a monochrome film, this is developed in C41.  In articles I read, the development in C41 may give the film a slight orange hue although this roll came out more a slight sepia tone than orange.

The only digital adjustment I made to the scans was to bump the contrast slightly.














The photos on this post and on corresponding Google+ page are
Copyright Life with Jordy Photography and may not be
used without permission.

Catching up.

 Well it has been a couple of months since I posted a Blog article.   I don't have any Project or roll of film in particular to share wi...