APX25 Medium Format Roll Film

Earlier in the month I processed a few rolls of Agfapan APX25 medium format film.  This stuff has been discontinued for some time.  It is a very slow and fine grained film which yields negatives that rival large format ones.  Most of these shots were taken out on Vancouver Island, when Margarit and I flew out there for a long weekend, back in May of 2013.  A couple of the images were taken in Jasper during one of our family reunion weekends.  I think these date way back to May of 2012.  The shot of the frosty trunks is from a recent day trip at the beginning of December.  This shot finally completed that roll of film that was started so long ago.  I need to shoot with my Hasselblad more often!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...!!

Seasons greetings to everyone.  Many thanks to everyone that continues to read my blog and view all my photos.  Comments are always welcome...!!  I wish everyone a happy holiday season and a healthy and properous 2015.  Stay tuned for more of my usual stuff...

Ilford SFX 200

I've been dabbling a little with this film over the last couple of years.  Unfortunately it is not made in sheet formats, only medium and small format roll films.  This film is advertised as having extended red sensitivity.  I think this is an accurate description.... as it is not a true infrared film... but it is very close.  I expose it through a #89B infrared filter.  This filter is virtually opaque and you can't really see through it, unless you hold it up to a bright light source.  Here is a picture of the filter that I use, and a shot of it held up to my desk lamp....

In general, infrared films render skies as a dark black, water very dark as well, and living vegetation often yields a white glow.  When this film is exposed through this filter, it very much has the look of infrared film, with an increase in grain.  I quite like the look that I acheived with a few recently processed frames.  When a filter this opaque is used, it is obvious that what is getting through and exposing the film is wavelengths mostly beyond what the human I can see.  This batch includes a panoramic shot from last year, as well as a recent shot of an old house from one of the December day trips.  In particular, the shot of the tide pools out on Vancouver Island, shot back in the spring of 2013, is intriguing...  Notice that the seaweed on the rocks glows quite white on the rocks, contrasted nicely by the dark water and dark sky.  Notice that the starfish down on the foreground rocks is also glowing.  I need to spend a little more time shooting this film and getting familiar with it...

December Day Trips

Twice in recent weeks I have headed out on Saturday day trips.  I wanted to try out the new 150-600mm Tamron zoom lens that I recently bought for my digital camera.  I also wanted to make a point of doing more shooting with my medium format Hasselblad system.  Both times I packed up a selection of gear that included my Nikon 810 digital camera and lenes, my Hasselblad kit with a body and various packs and lenses, and my trusty old 4"x5" view camera.

On December 6th I headed out.  Margarit was planning on coming along, as was Tanja from the Monochrome Guild.  But, Margarit felt really sick, so just Tanja and I headed out.  We passed through Elk Island Park and then on into Lamont County.  Once again I saw a coyote... actually three this time, in the same part of the park.  This was the very spot where we had previously witnessed the very tame coyote at the side of the road with a group of photographers.  This time there was a dead moose in the ditch and the coyotes, along with a collection of ravens and magpies, were feeding.

We stopped in a number of spots up in Lamont County to check out a few old buildings and to make a few photographs.  I shot mostly with my digital, and a little bit with the Hasselblad, but the 4x5 never made it out of the truck...

Then this past Saturday, December 20th, I headed out into the same area again.  This time Mark from the Monochrome Guild came along with me.  We did see a coyote in the very same spot in Elk Island again, but by now, two weeks later, the moose carcass was gone.  The last five times I have passed through Elk Island National Park I have seen one or more coyotes in this same spot.   

It had been very foggy in the area northeast of Edmonton for a couple of days prior to our trip.  It was clear and sunny when we headed out but there was a beautiful hoarfrost all over everything.  The temperature was forecast to get up about freezing, and I think it did back in the city, but out where we were it never got above -10C.  But we enjoyed the day and did quite a bit of shooting.  This time around I shot with my digital, with my Hasselblad, and also with my 4x5.  We tried to find an old house that I had shot at about 7 years ago, as I knew there was some cool interior shots to try there.  I had the GPS coordinates with me and we drove around and eventually found the right spot.  But, like so many others, the house was gone...

But there was another interesting old house just a couple miles up the road and we spent a couple of hours shooting there...

This is a shot from 2007 of that now non-existent house that I was hoping to find.  I guess I should have a look back at the other negatives that I shot that afternoon seven years ago and see if there is something that I should work with...

More Adox CHS50...

On December 4th I processed a first batch of Adox CHS-50 in Rodinal and then again on December 6th I did a second batch.  Here are scans of a few of the better images...

These first few were all taken out in Jasper, on various trips out to the park.  The Aspen Trunks were taken the same morning that my brother was confronted by a cow elk.  Some are from various Fall Photo Weekends with the Monochrome Guild.  A couple were taking during a hike up to Wilcox Pass, when my cousin and her family were visiting from Germany...

These next few are all from various outings and daytrips.  A walk in Blackmud Ravine... A weekend trip out to the Forestry Trunk Road, and a day trip out to Elk Island.  The shot of the mushrooms was actually taken by my oldest daughter Hailey...

Winter Hockey - Game 16

The winning streak came to an end at five games.  Earlier tonight the Renegades faced off against a team called StAnkey.  We played these guys once in the past and beat them, but this time around their lineup was totally different, and they had a lot of really good players.

We had a short bench with only 11 skaters and a goalie.  I can't use that as an excuse because our oppenents had a short bench too.  In fact I think they probably one or two fewer players than we did.  It is such a challenge to be able to put together a roster and get guys out to play hockey at this time of year.  The Christmas just around the corner there are many guys at Christmas parties and out of town for the holidays.  I had 13 players turn me down and say that they wre unavailable for this game, with a couple even cancelling just hours before game time.

We did not have our best players out, and many of us were tired and not really in the mood to play.  We ended up being soundly beaten by a score of 8-3, in a penalty filled game.  Not really the way that we wanted to close out the year, but at least we are still clinging to second place in our division.  There is a bit of a break over the holidays, and we don't play again until early January.  Hopefully at that point I can line up a full bench and get a better effort.

I HATE Air Travel...

At this time of year, with so many friends, colleagues and acquaintences leaving town, I am reminded of how much I HATE air travel.  Winter so far has been pretty tolerable... with only one cold snap and only one big dump of snow... so far...

But so many people are complaining and catching flights to somewhere warm...  What sort of Canadians are these people...?  Canada is all about WINTER...!!!  We thrive on it... we embrace it... we enjoy it...!

I really hate air travel...  arriving at the airport hours in advance of your departure... packing all your belongings into a suitcase...  dealing with the congestion of airports...  standing in long lines and spending countless hours waiting...  suffering the indignity of inspections, searches and x-rays...

All of this stuff drives me crazy...

Then you have to spend hours sitting inside an aluminum tube, dealing with all the whining, snivelling idiots sitting around you... only to arrive at your destination and stand in yet more line ups, before you have to wait to reclaim your luggage... only to hope it arrives on the same flight that you were just on...

When you can finally leave the airport, you are then faced with car rentals, hotel check-ins, restaurant meals... not to mention that fact that none of this is particularly friendly to film!!!

Way back in 2007 Margarit and I travelled to Austria for Christmas with Hailey and Anna.  I knew that it would be impossible to consider bringing along a large format camera on such a trip.  I was resigned to shooting with my medium format Hasselblad.  Despite some technical issues that I had with my equipment, I came home with some reasonably good images.

For the next several years I informed anyone that asked that I had no issues with taking my high end camera gear with me as carry-on, and allowing the airport security "knobs" to pass my stuff through their X-ray machines repeatedly.  During that trip my camera equipment was X-rayed on at least seven occasions.  When I returned home and processed my film, there were a number of images that did not work out, mostly as a result of equipment issues but also partly as a result of errors on my part. But, there were no issues with the equipment and the film having been passed through numerous X-rays.

Recently I realized that my initial impression of this process was not valid... In May of 2013, Margarit and I went for a long weeknd out to Vancouver Island.  I just recently processed the last few rolls of film that I shot on that weekend.  These particular rolls were Efke Infrared film, sensitive to wavelengths up to 820nm.  Much to my dismay I found that the film was badly fogged as a result of the two airport X-rays that it was subjected to..., one on the way there, and one on our return.  The image of the printing from the roll film paper backing is clearly visible on the exposed film... now that I have recently processed it...  I find this very annoying and frustrating.  It is no wonder that I MUCH prefer to drive wherever I wish to go.  There is something to be said for travelling with an RV and having the freedom to go where you want to... when you want to...

Even the two recent trips down to Utah were much more pleasant.  Though I still had to deal with the indignity of crossing the border and the usual ignorant questions, initiated by the border idiots.  I was not subjected to any X-rays... and the line ups were relatively short.  I was able to bring my large format camera equipment with me, without issue... and once I was across the 49th parellel... I was free to go where I wished... and shoot what I wanted.

I am more than content to remain at home this winter and look forward to future road travels... at my leisure... and prefer not to have to deal with the hassels of air travel...

Here is a scan of a recently processed roll of Infrared Film, ruined by the airport X-rays.  I have also included a scan of the paper backing of that same roll of medium format film, showing the printing and the backing that ended up being tranferred onto my film as a result of those X-rays...

Many thanks and best of the season to all the morons working in Canada Border Inspection and USA Homeland Security...!!!

Adox CHS 50

Several years ago I discovered this wonderful film....  I was overjoyed... a new film on the market, in sheet format... fine grained, slow emulsion... things were looking up.  I bought a box of 50 sheets, tried it and loved it, and promptly bought a few more boxes...  A short time later I discovered that this Adox emulsion was coated in the same factory, and with the same equipment as several other films that I really liked... Efke PL25, and Maco IR... among others...  Then news came out that the factory had suffered a "fatal equipment failure" and that several of my favorite films were immediately discontinued.
Since that time there have been several new films released, by various manufacturers... but nothing slow and fine grained... which are the films I really love...  So, as with so many others, I have to ration the stock I have left in my freezer and shoot it in situations that it is best suited to...  I think I am starting to sound like a broken record...
Record... that's kind of fitting... sort of dates me, and puts me in the same era as film... as opposed to current times, which are not about analog, and all about digital formats....

I processed these images about two weeks ago... a mix of normal and plus development... all in Rodinal developer...

This selection includes images from 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Some older shots from winter day trips at the end of 2012.  Weekend day trips down in southern Alberta in 2013, and a few from the recent Fall Photo Weekend with the Monochrome Guild.