Over the past year since losing my darkroom, I’ve been shooting about 60:40 color vs. B&W film. This past weekend I “rediscovered” My B&W self at the Boulder Airport Open House, shooting vintage aircraft with my favorite vintage camera, my Minolta SRT-202 and that workhorse of a lens my 28-200mm zoom.
The Annual Air Show had been canceled due to air traffic control interference with DIA, but the Boulder Airport decided to have an Open House and invite vintage airplane owners to show off their prized possessions.
Obviously since you can easily develop the film yourself, B&W is the way to go for most film experimenters. It is also the medium of all the old classics. So a few tips that I can pass on: never shoot Black and White in auto mode. I avoid this temptation by using a fully manual camera for my 35mm Black and White. You will also need to become familiar with the “Zone System” (which I would never presume to be able to explain to anyone). As a rule of thumb you can always over expose by 1-stop, and also as a standard practice, bracket your exposures when possible. When you are shooting action, e.g. flying planes, you cannot bracket, so you will have to rely on your experience (or luck) to make the best exposure choice.
This 1941 By-Plane makes you think of the Red Baron........
Light conditions were not the best! But when you are there, you work with what you have.......
Black Hawk Helicopters are not vintage, but I liked this photo.
Film: Ilford ISO 400, 35mmCamera: Minolta SRT-202
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