Note to Self: When Developing Ilford HP5+

.., add 20-25% more time than developing for Kodak 400TX.

Arista Premium 400 aka Tri-X discontinued at Freestylephoto.biz

Arista Premium 400 aka Tri-X

It's official according to this link. Not a good day for me. There's a few choices for cheap film the way I look at it.

I could: roll my own at S$90 per 100ft or switch to Ilford HP5+ at S$7-8 per roll of 36exp. One more alternative, switch to bulk rolling of HP5+. Ilford has been doing a great job keeping film shooters floating. It makes sense to send all my business to them.

Some Random Little India Shots

Different cultures smell differently. A friend mentioned that she never liked Little India because of the smell. It sounded somewhat racist at that time, after smelling durians while passing by Geylang, I realised that she meant nothing with that comment---it's just personal preference. For me, I love the place. It has a life that is so out of the ordinary compared to the regular Singapore. If you want to know how Indians cross the road, this is the best place to experience it.

Not really a cohesive series. Some random shots:

Contact Sheet #12-012

Click to view the entire sheet.

Here's how one of my contact sheet looks like.

Back to Film Developing

Since 2012 June, I have been shooting weddings almost every weekend and clearing edits on weekdays---last year's business slowed down quite a bit. I had to steer the business in another direction, which sounds a lot like excuses for not stepping into the darkroom. Well, I mixed some HC-110 and fired up the bathroom for some film developing again.

Arista Premium in HC-110

I will be making a trip to the darkroom starting from Feb.

Can't Seem to Work With Ilford HP5+

Called in sick for work today. I've been running a slight fever and inflamed throat since last friday. It's a good chance to catch up on my backlog of undeveloped film.

The price of Kodak films went up by 15-20% in Singapore. I used to pay about S$6 on a roll of 400TX in 120 format. Now, I'd have to shell out something like S$8 once the new stock arrives in the store. No doubt that film is getting more and more expensive. The reason why Ilford HP5+ is looking more and more like a viable option. So, 2 weeks ago, I bought 10 rolls of them film in 120 format.

After developing about 6 rolls of them, making some developing adjustment in timing, I can say that it is nothing like the 400TX that I am used to. I rate both at EI800 most of the time and the negatives come out looking so different that either I learn to like HP5+ or mass import them from freestylephoto.biz(Have to wait about 2-3 weeks for each order though). I am too used to Tri-X. Even after adding 30% to my development time for HP5+, the negatives come out looking thinner than I am used to.

With film getting more and more expensive; I'll have to get rich, switch to a cheaper film or give up totally.

Actual Day Wedding With Film

Bride having a private moment

In the previous post, I mentioned that I shot with a 135 and 120 film camera. The results from scanning on a Canon 8800f isn't great. I don't think it is as sharp as a DSLR. Maybe I am spoilt by the sharpness from a digital camera. I love the simplicity of a film camera though. ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed. That's all anyone needs to start making a photograph.

Bride's father helping the bride wear a necklace he bought for her

Bride and Groom, outdoor portrait

I am however amazed by the dynamic range from the film I was using---Kodak Tri-X. In the last image, I over-exposed by at least 2 stops but was able to recover the sky as you can see. The image was produced using a variety of tools in Photoshop. To do that in a traditional darkroom would have been time consuming.

At the end of it, we have a myriad of tools at our disposal. It is up to the operator to make the best of it.

35mm and Medium Format Wedding Photography

Nikon N80, 35mm, 50mm, Arista Premium 400, Mamiya C330, 80mm, Tri-X

Recently, I shot a wedding using these 2 cameras. I was the second shooter, my colleague covered the event with 2 Nikon DSLR. Choosing to shoot only Black and White film, there were no concerns on white balance issues. However, changing ISO values mid roll was not possible. I had fun, but came to the conclusion that I need the security of:

1. LCD preview
2. 16 Gb giving me 16 megapixels, about 800-900 images
3. Convenience of dropping everything onto Lightroom
4. Ease of post-production

For personal projects, there's nothing else I'd use other than my trusty film boxes loaded with black and white film.

Contact Printing

Been a while since I did a contact print. It was fun in the darkroom. Sitting in front of the computer for 4 hours straight isn't that attractive anymore.

Be having fun in the darkroom from now on.

The Impending Death of The Great Yellow Father

Associated Press

The last few days have been depressing in a personal sort of way. I had to buy out the shares of my colleague due to his inabilities to perform in the assigned job scope. I turned on facebook, only to see a link that informed me Kodak is going bankrupted. Funny thing was, I ordered 60 rolls of Arista Premium(Rebranded Tri-x) in 135, 5 rolls of Portra in 120 2 weeks back. I was planning to perform my personal documentary work with black and white film---Tri-x to be exact.

I went to sleep after hearing the gong sounding Kodak's eventual death. I woke up feeling like a good friend died, even though great companies like Ilford and Fujifilm are still producing them films. The fact is: Fujifilm discontinued some old favorites in various formats. That to me, is another nail in the coffin for film.

I still bought 2 Minolta XD11, Mamiya Sekor 80mm f2.8, Rokkor MD 28mm f2.8 and a Gossen luna-pro f lightmeter off keh.com a few hours ago. I hesitated for a minute before closing my eyes and hitting the submit button for a grand total of $500++. That's dirt cheap. I would never had been able to afford so many cameras with just $500 in the past. Even as the users of film dwindles, I'm making a come-back with my personal work---stuff that matters to me, I'll record it on silver.

I'll be using film for as long as I can find it and as if the cost isn't exorbitant. Until then, they can only pry my Kodak from my cold dead fingers.

For now, it's about time to experiment with more Ilford HP5+ and find a replacement for HC-110---just in case Kodak isn't coming back.

Black and White #002: Dance, Dance, Dance

"Dance, Dance, Dance" Minolta X-300s, 50mm f1.4, Tri-X@3200.

This was taken before Christmas in Singapore, at a busy road crossing of Orchard road. There were scores of Christmas shoppers waiting to cross the road. Cars with their ultra-bright headlights. They seemed like they were dancing. Lights and Shadows been done to death, but I still love the effect. It felt like everyone was doing their own little dance in perfect synchronisation.

Sometimes, you just have to forget what the critics say and shoot the your streets however it makes you feel.

As 2011 winds down and 2012 arrives, global recession might just be round the corner; we just have to take a look at the fellow country men we love, the streets we photographed a million times; and realise that life goes on. We can make things better if we just look around and care a little more.

Still Shooting Film

Arista Premium 400, rebranded Kodak Tri-X

I just ordered 60 rolls of Arista Premium 400 in 135 format, 10 rolls of Neopan Acros 100 in 120 format and 5 rolls of Portra 400 in 120 format from freestylephoto.biz. Who still shoot film in 2011? We are a day from 2012, digital photography has overtaken film photography in so many aspects: resolution, sharpness, noise/grain control, etc. Myself, I wonder about the romanticism surrounding why people shoot film.

The film look? It slows you down? It forces you not to chimp? Again, there's the digital camp who will argue that digital post production can achieve that film look. Let's be honest, 99% probably can't tell the difference between photographs taken on M6 or M9. Chimping? Gaffer tape your LCD screen. I have run out of reasons to shoot film, yet, after a 3 years hiatus; I'm back on film.

Yes, I'm a little bit of a sadist. I love doing stuff that isn't straight-forward or perfect. I love the smell of Tri-X souped in the fixer. I love the feel of touching the negatives. I just want to shoot on something that doesn't feel like work to me---I depend on digital cameras for my wedding work---that's a big factor in pushing me towards film.

At the end of the day, I just want to. That's it. I don't care about the resolution or the inconvenience.

Happy New Year.

Black and White #001: Sex in the City

"Sex in the city", Canon Canonet QL17 GIII, Tri-X pushed to 3200. Singapore, Chinatown, 2008.

I took this picture while waiting for the bus to arrive. Singapore's Chinatown is a tourist spot, yet at the same time, there are older folks living alone in closet-sized one room HDB apartments. As they are often lonely, you will witness grandfather looking men with women young enough to be their grand daughters clinging to their wrinkled arms.