Wednesday Windows......Getting Started with a New Series

#WednesdayWindows

I follow the Thursday Doors posting on Twitter and Wordpress.  But I am more of a Window person and I found a Wednesday Windows Twitter Group.  So I'm picking this up as a new posting series.

My Take on Windows may be a bit different from the usual postings by the group.  But let's go!

I'll start with a Favorite Window from the Past........

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: Final Shots

Yucca Baccata Seed Pods

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #7

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #6

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #5

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: A Double Shot

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #3

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #2

In the Garden with Ilford HP5: #1

Starting a single shot series of some wonderful results shooting HP5 in my Garden:

Ilford HP5 Personal Review

We pick up with HP5 where we ended with FP4, at the Natural Bridge:

I had lost track of my FP4 roll being only 24 exposures.  I had this one last shot that I wanted to take and was out of FP4.  But I had my trusty extra roll in the camera bag: HP5.  So I got the shot that I wanted.  I'll be making more trips back to the natural bridge, so I'll be re-shooting with the Mamiya-7 and T-MAX 400.

Then I made a few more images at the Mayo Clinic Phoenix Cactus Garden:

Above, a barrel cactus, but barely in view.  

Below, zooming through the 'cactus window' for a closer look.

A final image of a statue honoring the Spirit of the Native Inhabitants, given to the Clinic by a grateful patient:

I'll remake tis image with the M7 also.

Silberra PAN 100 Part III

Trails Around Phoenix:

Silberra PAN 100 Part II

Taking a Drive in and around the Superstition Mountains:

Not April Foolin': Silberra PAN 100 Results Part I

Similar contrast problems as I reported for Silberra PAN160.  So no need to repeat that here, just follow the link.

I did encounter a different problem here.  Maybe it was just a bad roll with soft emulsion.  But I had tons of scratches.  I did not have this problem with the PAN 160. And my film lab (old School Labs) has never scratched my film like this before.  So we'll assume it was a bad/extra soft emulsion:

Tomorrow we'll look at what turned out better.......

My Ilford FP4 Personal Review......

My results are back for the Ilford FP4 Film Test and I was surprised!  I followed the exposure advice of the Phoblographer and was pleased with the results:

• Underexposed 1 stop outdoors in bright sunlight
• Over exposed 1 stop indoors

My Panorama of the Salt River Bridge composed of the two images below using Photomerge:

Because of sound advice from someone who had already spent the time figuring it out, I experienced none of the problems that I've had with Film Ferrania P30 or Silberra Pan 160/100.  So I won't repeat what the Phoblographer said in his review........just check it out.


Below, a few shots from the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  You'll see more from this location coming soon.

First the view from the North Side.

And views from the South Side:

These turned out a bit over exposed still.  I had used a dark orange filter and took a filter factor of 1 instead of 2.  Next time I will not use a filter factor.  I think the FP4 35 mm is worth another spin around the block.  I do like it better than HP5.

Special view from the top of the Natural Bridge looking through a hole to the bottom:

My next FP4 posting will be the 120 film that I received from my Secret Santa.  The Phoblographer does warn that the larger format has some issues.  We'll see.

Results for Silberra PAN 160 Film: Part I

So for part I, I'm just going to share some personal impressions.  In Part II. I'll finalize by showing more examples.

For the Silberra PAN 160 I experienced some of the same problems as I had with Ferrania P30:  apparent under exposure and very low contrast.  But this time with a totally different camera (here the X-700 and with the P30 an XD-11).  So I'm wondering if my problem is trying to use my typical T-MAX settings.  Also the raw examples I did use a dark orage filter with filter factor dialed in.



Example #1: Raw Image; to me somewhat flat......

Example #1: Levels, Contrast & Brightness enhanced in PhotoShop

Examples #2: Raw Image; to me also somewhat flat

Example #1: Levels, Contrast & Brightness enhanced in PhotoShop

Next We'll just take a look around Arizona, with all of the Silberra PAN 160 film enhanced using PhotoShop as discussed above.

Film Test: Taking Ilford FP4 Out for a Spin

My Emulsive Secret Santa gave me some Ilford FP4, a film that I've never tried.  Got some exposure tips online from the Phoblograper, and I'll post me results shortly:

Weekends on Line: Film Photography in Louisville, KY

My 2019 Goals stated that I was going to return to some old posting projects that somehow got lost along the way.  One item was regular postings of links to interesting photo articles o the Weekends.  So here is 2019's first installment: a growing Film Photography Community in Louisville.

Fueled somewhat by a resurgence of Film Photography for Weddings.......

I don't do weddings.  But I do always post something special for my Blogger Friends, A Holga Landscape:

Silberra Film.....

Just mailed my first roll of Silberra Film to Old School Labs.  I should have result to show by the end of the week.  Silberra was one of my 2018 Successes.

It was also a fun package to receive in the mail:

From Russia with Love...I wonder what the mail man thought of this package?

The Silberrra 160 Pan is on its way to Old School.  The Pan 100 is in the camera now.

End of Year Wrap-Up Part III: My Photo Successes

I'm posting images that earned special recognition in 2018. For the details Click Here. 

Why I Won't Post on Community Project Sites Anymore: A 52 Rolls Redux

I've learned a painful lesson with the 52 Rolls Project.  So I won't be posting on 'community project sites' anymore.  And what was that lesson?

Well first there were some benefits, It got me motivated to spend more time on photography. I made new online photography connections, etc.....But now the site has gone inactive with a huge downside that I now am in the process of manually copying every post over again in order to preserve them.  Since I don't own the site, I cannot download my posts directly from WordPress (if you know of a way to do this, please let me know).  So I'm in the middle of copying 100+ posts.......a very slow process.

This is intended as a 'word to the wise', a caveat.  Always keep copies of your posts if you do decide to participate in a project like this.....The digital world is ephemeral anyway.  I knew that, but trusted that this project would have more staying power, but it didn't.

So to keep myself going I will start reposting my salvaged 52 Rolls posts.  So below is my first '52 Rolls Redux': From July 2017


--> We view the Prairie Sentinels at the Cedar Creek Wind Farm:

They are located near Pawnee Buttes, out in the northeastern plains of Colorado.  An effective collaboration between ranchers and renewable energy.  That's why I particularly like the bails of hay scattered among the Windmills.  

On previous visits we only got this close (above); But this time we found a road that passed through part of the wind farm.

And the Pawnee Buttes:

Very strange atmospheric conditions and flat light due to haze from all the many wildfires here in the western US and Canada.  Click here for more from the Buttes.

And a little reminder of what eastern Colorado looks like.  Everyone thinks of mountains, but half the state is in the Prairie.........

Tech Info:  Minolta XD-11 with Tamron 28-200 zoom lens and dark orange filter. Kodak T-Max 400 film; Developed by KellyBlackDog and scanned on my Epson v700.

 Post will be in random order.........Not chronological.