Square Trees

In my head the square format is very sympathetic to tree photos . Off I went down the local park and shot some . Problem was I wasn't too sure where my focus point should be - in the foreground - off to infinity or use hyper focal distance to keep a maximum depth of field ??? Then there was depth of field - I knew medium format shooting means you have less depth of field for a given aperture - but how much ?? would f-8 be enough ?

The answer was unfortunately no - f11 or f16 might have been better . The general vision I had was correct just the finer points were messed up !! Back to the drawing board . The image you see above is an accurate scan of a print I made of one of the better frames . It probably was printed at too high a grade  (4) . I've just been reading the excellent Online Darkroom blog by Bruce Robbins and am very impressed with his suggestions for achieving good prints in the darkroom . Think I'll give his method a go and hopefully save some highlights while avoiding a dull print . Topic for a new post methinks !!

First Film

It's a risk that just had to be taken - buy 10 rolls of Shanghai GP3 roll film on ebay for 15euro including p+p . The alternative was to travel into the centre of Dublin to buy some at 7euro a roll or to order some through a UK supplier and pay riduculous postage (usually £12stg) . Ten days or so the film duly arrived safely . The first thing I noticed was the packaging - each roll was very well sealed ...this looked promising ...maybe it was a good buy ??
As mentioned in the last post the first foll of film was left in the camera for nearly six months . My decision when I loaded the roll was to shoot it at iso200 - a push of one stop . Luckily I remembered this when I shot off the remaining frames . Film removed I processed in Kodak HC-110 (solution B ) . Instead of 7.5 mins at 20C I compensated for the extra stop by going to 10 mins at the same temperature . I'll go into more depth another time but suffice to say I was very impressed - initially just with the sharpness of the negatives due to the lens but then with the film itself . Yes its a little curly but if you are using a traditional enlarger like me thats not an issue . I detected no difficulty loading the film onto the reel and frame numbers on the paper backing werent an issue as Rolleicord III's don't used the red window system .
   At time of writing (Oct '11) Shanghai is a little more expensive at 18euro for 10 rolls but still represents amazing value . Try it !

First Image

Digital photographers are used to instant gratification . Right then and there the image is displayed on the back of the camera . Yes the image is only "truly" seen at the print stage but this is a confirmation rather than a revelation . The image below WAS a revelation - for two reasons . The first was the unplanned nature of the final image . I had intended to take a photo of Liam my eldest son sitting with the morning light streaming in through the patio doors . Kids are kids and Robert my younger son decided to enliven proceedings with his inflatable hammer !! The result was I pressed the shutter before I had focussed properly . In the end I focussed "early" - his knees are in focus and little else . I still love the image though :-) It's Robert barely to be seen attacking from our left that makes it .

The image was a revelation for another reason : I took two frames with the camera and then left it to one side for six months for various reasons. When I finally finished the roll (this month October) and developed the film I discovered this photo I had nearly forgotten  . Despite the Rolleicord's fifty plus years it hadnt leaked any light . How great to rediscover images in this way !! .. I love film .

Stop Testing , Start Creating !

This blog is not about the Rolleicord III - it's about my "Adventures" with it . Many magazine articles, blogs, forums lose sight of real photographty - the art and joy of making pictures . They concentrate on equipment and very little else - an endless search for the newest and latest . Pictures are taken only to test - to draw comparision rather than create . In the name of science rather than art !!

  If you want to know the technical ins and outs of a Rolleicord there are excellent articles throughout the web and I don't intend to compete with them . I'm just going to tell a story - an illustrated story of my "Adventures with a Rolleicord " - how this camera purchased in March 2011 changed my photography (if at all ) and the images I captured with it .