New Years Photo Resolutions 2012

My goals for this past year were very unrealistic given my health circumstances.  So I'm trimming it down to something more reasonable for this year:

Start Printing in My Home Darkroom

Continue with Pinholes (I have a paint can pinhole to play with this year)

Work on the Family Project (Easier once I have the darkroom)

Play with Caffenol

Dig into my slides from Spain, Norway, and Africa........and Post them for you!

My camera plans continue to be:

Still looking for a Minolta SRT-101

Long-range Plans for a Mamiya 6X7

Longer-range plans for a Graflex Press Camera (Speed Graphic model)

Yes coming soon the DARKROOM!  I'll post a progress report image in the next week. The only addition, looking for a small pocket sized rangefinder.  We'll talk about that in a later posting because I'll be seeking recommendations.

What are your Photo Plans for this year?

More from Caffenol Test #2

Walls at the Mapleton Rehabilitation Hospital:

Decorative Concrete Wall

Timber Wall

Adding Contrast to the First Caffenol Test

Caffenol Contrast Adjusted for fog:

Not bad, although I think the T-MAX produced better results for Caffenol.  Compare these to the Original Posting.

Cookin' with Caffenol Test #2

Well, not cooking, just developing.  So we'll spend the rest of the week looking at my second Caffenol test.  I used the Caffenol CH formula with a few adjustments:

I think I'll be ready to move my Caffenol photography to the Rollei soon.

I don't know why it hadn't occur to me the first time I posted to raise the contrast to cover up some of the fog.  Although this image was generally dark enough (thin negative) to not show fog as much.

See a Before and After example below:

No Contrast Adjustment

With Contrast Adjustment

Of course I rarely have to do a contrast or brightness adjustment to my B&W images, because I 'adjust' my contrast in camera using filters.  I do Have Filters for my Holga, but it seems strange to use them.

Feeling the Bokeh?

Ken Rockwell often has interesting (if controversial articles).  But feeling the Bokeh is not controversial.  I'd actually never thought about this, but how does your lens render the out of focus areas of an image?

After some examination my preliminary appraisal is the My Rollei has the best Bokeh:

Out of focus areas are soft focus and not harsh or contrasty.

I really should use this camera more, so I've decided to make it my dedicated Caffenol camera.

Caffenol: Oh my God it works!

If you have ever heard that B&W film can be devveloped in Coffee, well, yes it can!  And I've tried it, although not with the best results.  But try again I will..............


I started with some Rollei Retro 400.  Don't remember why I had it, so why not try a film I don't care about first.  Load it in the Holga so I won't be 'wasting' a roll of 35mm 36 exp.  Shoot in a day and try developing.  Follow this link for a History of Caffenol, also a great resource.  He has really worked on the the details of the technique.

One of my neighbor's gardens

As you may notice a major problem with Caffenol can be fogging.  Regardless of using KBr, the best results are obtained be using a fog resistant film such as TMAX.  I'll try that next.

A local tree up close.....

Fences

Another problem you can see is uneven development. 

But I think Caffenol definitely fits into my world of experimental photography and alternative processes.  Although my love affair with high speed films may or may not be compatible with Caffenol.

Are you ready for Caffenol?