Bronica ETRSi & Fuji Velvia 50 Medium Format Film

 

It took forever (it seemed) to get through this roll of film and get it off to the lab.

I'd loaded it on New Years Day and it only took an outing over a couple of days to complete but, it sat for ages on my desk until I finally posted it off for developing and scanning.  

Newcastle does not have a lab here that does the E6 processing for slide film and I have to post it to Sydney.  This is not an ideal situation as postage both ways costs me about AU$26.  Add this onto the cost of development and scanning and I am looking at about AU$50 for the total cost.

I don't want to let the cost put me off using the film.  If I were a photographer with a  business, this would not be a problem; the cost of the postage, developing and scanning would be paid for by a client.  However, for a hobby photographer, this cost can be a real block in the scheme of things sometimes. 

I console myself with the thought that the film was gifted to me and so that was a saving in the initial stages but, costs can still be daunting for slide film.

I like to use slide film because of the low grain and the vivid colours; more so than negative film.  In saying that, slide film is also 'fussy' in that it doesn't have the latitude that negative film has for correct exposure.  Camera settings usually have to be pretty spot on when shooting on slide film.  It makes it a bit of a challenge.  I actually used a free light meter app on my iPhone to obtain exposure settings for these photos.  As you can see, It works pretty well!

This particular roll was gifted to me and is about 14 years past its expiry date.  It has been kept in the freezer which is a great way to store film if you have bulk as it keeps it as fresh as the day it was purchased.

The Bronica ETRSi is a camera I love to work with.  It took me a little while to get used to the waist level viewer though and every time I go out with it I have to re-acquaint myself with the perspective that the viewer provides.  Lens used was a Zenzanon EII 75mm f2.8.  Lovely lens and I most certainly love to get my hands on more lenses and accessories for the Bronica!

These photos taken at Catherine Hill Bay, just south of Newcastle.  The jetty there used to be used for coal loading onto ships.  It is now abandoned and part of it was burned out from bushfires back in 2013.  From there we went to Belmont on Lake Macquarie where there are always sailboats on the Lake (and, of course, Seagulls!)

It was a cloudy, overcast sort of day but still very happy with the colour representation and the 

sharpness of this film.

These photos are © Life with Jordy Photography

All Rights Reserved

Signal Box and disused Rail Track - Neath, New South Wales

 

This disused Signal Box is on the Cessnock Road at Neath in the Hunter Valley.

When the Neath Colliery was opened in 1907, the branch line was built to freight the coal.  I believe this branch line came off the Cessnock Line which was a private line operated by South Maitland Railways.  The Railway did carry passengers and merchandise for the new mining townships but was mostly used to transport coal from numerous collieries in the South Maitland area.  The Neath branch line opened in 1908.  When the mine closed in December 1984, the line was still in use until the Coal Washery was closed in April 1988.

The Station consisted of a pair of 70m platforms around the main lines.  There were 2 lines on this branch however one was lifted shortly after the closure in 1988.  The Signal Box was used as a staff exchange location up until 1996.

It has gone the way of a lot of abandoned places now; windows smashed and the odd graffiti painted on walls.

While I was out that way, I stopped and took a photo of a lagoon that I pass on the way to my daughters house.  Love the reflections off the still water and intend to return out there for some more!

Photos are © Life with Jordy Photography

All Rights Reserved