Clauss Family Portraits

If you’re a follower of this blog or of my work in general, it’s evident that I don’t typically photograph people.  On occasion, you may see an image or two of a human being here or on my Flickr stream, but it falls into one of a few different categories:  (1) my wife, my muse; (2) street photography; (3) travel photography; (4) project-related photography and (5) work shoots (of which you won’t find on my personal photography sites).   Outside of those instances, family portraits, senior pictures, wedding/engagement pictures and child portraits have never been featured.  I consider myself a fine art photographer with a focus on still life, inanimate objects, architecture, decay, project-based photography and generally subjects that don’t require human interaction.  Yes, individuals are unique and fascinating (in most cases); however, it’s not what interests me when I’m behind the lens.  

I’ve begun to establish myself photographically over the last four years and while I’m happy with this fact, it brings about many requests from friends and family members.  It’s been my experience that the general public unknowingly thinks of photographers as having one specific purpose – portraiture work.  If I speak to someone outside of the photography or art world and I tell them that I’m into photography, they usually ask if I take senior pictures, family pictures, etc.  For some reason, that’s what’s been ingrained in their memories when someone says photography.  Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, etc. are never thought of.  Perhaps it’s because our (America’s) lack of focus on art education; I’m not sure, but that’s a debate for another blogpost.  Regardless, my photography has automatically been associated with the aforementioned styles.  Most of the time I politely decline; other times, I have agreed, but for one reason or another, participants change their mind about having the portraits.  Well, a few weeks ago I was asked by good friends if I would be willing to take family portraits.  Normally, this wouldn’t have been a complicated request, but this shoot would include their newest family member - their two month old son.  I thought about it for awhile and I decided that I would go ahead and help them out.  

If I was going to break out of my comfort zone, I wanted to do it my own way.  I immediately asked if they would mind if I shot black and white and instant film in addition to digital.  They didn’t mind, so I began brainstorming.  I checked out some of the portrait photographers in the area to see what type of work my new clients might be expecting or hoping for.  I developed a creative shot list and started thinking about different locations to use.  We initially set the shoot for a weekend day during the week of Oct. 21, but the weather forecast was not being kind to us.  With temperatures in the mid 70s during the week, I was able to accommodate a shoot on the evening of Oct. 25 with the option of a follow-up shoot on Oct. 28.  I asked them to meet me at Menke Park in Troy at 5:30 p.m.  I arrived early to scope out locations, lighting, leaves, etc.  Once they arrived, I was ready to get to work.   I knew we had very little time to work with the light changing every minute, but little did I know I was in for an even bigger surprise.

The moment baby Logan was taken out of the car, my carefully planned shot list went out the window.  Having a two month old on a photography set is like playing roulette.  He was tired, cranky, happy, crying, content and hungry, but never the emotion you were hoping for at a specific time.  I realized that my Hasselblad would have to stay in the bag and I was going to focus on getting what I could with my digital camera and my Polaroid SX-70.  I shot for a little over an hour, using the remaining light and providing a small amount of direction.  I decided it was best to let them naturally interact with each other and just shoot.  This is the exact opposite of how I normally approach my photography.  I take a great deal of time to set up a shot, use one to two exposures and then move on.  Moments with family and children sometimes happen so quickly that I found myself firing away.  I don’t prefer this type of shooting, but it served its purpose for this job.  Afterwards, I immediately went home to look at the images.  I was surprisingly happy with the shots, but I pushed for one additional shoot with the hopes of using some different techniques and cameras.

The second shoot was scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28 at Charleston Falls around 12:30.  It was chilly and windy, but I was hopeful that the overcast day would provide nice lighting and I could experiment a little more than I did the prior shoot.  I found some great locations and I was upbeat about the possibility of Logan being in a better mood for this shoot.  That, unfortunately, didn’t happen.  He was crying more than the previous shoot and the colder air didn’t help him or his parents.  We shot at about half the locations I had planned to and the Hasselblad stayed in the bag for a second consecutive time.  I got a nice mixture of usable shots that complimented the images from the other shoot.  

While it didn’t go exactly as I planned, I adapted to the situation, I enjoyed the nice change of pace in subject matter and I delivered images that I was satisfied with.  I hope that they enjoy and cherish them as much as I enjoyed shooting them.  I wouldn’t mind doing a shoot like this again, but I would prefer to have more control over the situation so that I could shoot more conducive to my style and output.  As they found out, regardless of the true style or nature of the photographer, it never hurts to ask.

Darkroom Work Begins!

One of my 2012 photo resolutions was to develop and print my own negatives.  As of September 29, I officially began my journey down the rabbit hole that is the darkroom.  A great photographer friend of mine, Mat Marrash, was my instructor for a two day workshop.  Mat is an amazingly talented analog photographer that specializes in 8x10 large format and alternative process photography.  He’s the co-host of the Film Photography Podcast, completed not one, but two 8x10 one-a-day projects, has dabbled into wet plate and carbon printing, and has created an astounding body of work with his barbershop series.  If you haven’t checked out his site, do so here.

In addition to Mat’s photography, he has a wealth of knowledge in regards to traditional darkroom work and photographic chemistry and he offers to share that knowledge through classes and one-on-one workshops.  Since I wanted to learn the basics of film development, but spend more time on the printing process, I decided to contact him regarding a one-on-one workshop.  He enthusiastically created a two day workshop agenda spread over the course of two weekends.  So, on September 29, I made a trip up to Findlay, Ohio and spent four hours in the darkroom learning from one of the youngest and talented working photographers today. 

Mat’s enthusiasm for photography and the darkroom is contagious, which makes him a great teacher.  We covered the basics of developing tanks, film reels and loading film for development.  We quickly moved onto basic darkroom chemicals and actually developed the two rolls of 120 that I shot for “homework.”  While waiting for the negatives to dry, we took a quick trip to see Leslie at Imagine That! After blowing an hour or so geeking out about cameras and film, we headed back to get working on the negatives.  We cut and sleeved the negs, loaded them into a contact printer and printed contact sheets.  We were now getting to the part of the process that I was really excited about - creating a silver gelatin print from a negative that I exposed and developed by my own hand.  Even though the final product is the same (only in the sense of the word), scanning a negative and printing digitally is nothing compared to exposing a negative with an enlarger onto photographic paper and then watching the image appear before your eyes.  It’s absolutely magical.

"Faceless"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

After evaluating the contact sheets, we chose three images to create working prints from.  We used 8x10 Oriental RC paper and went about the enlarging process.  The output ended at a total of five prints.  Mat taught me the basics of dodging and burning and we used that short lesson to make a few adjustments.  I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see the image emerge after a short time in the developer.  That feeling is taken to a whole new level after the print has been fixed, washed and dried and you’re holding it in your hands in daylight.  To know that what you’re holding was hand-made and you had control of the entire process from exposure to finished product, is a great part of photography that is generally missed from the today’s typical photography work flow.

The second session was more of the same, but with much more time spent on final prints.  I shot two more rolls of 120 for “homework” and then I attempted to load the film for the first time on the reels in the darkroom.  It took a little while, but with a little help, I was finally able to develop the film.  A little more practice on a dummy roll at home and I’ll have this process down in no time.  After developing and waiting for the negatives to dry, we went through the working print process again.  We made contact sheets, decided on two images and made some working prints.  After evaluating those, it was time to enlarge them and make final prints on 16x20 fiber based paper. 

"Wounded Wood"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Last time, I spent the majority of my time souping the prints in the chemistry as I watched Mat operate the enlarger.  For these prints, running the enlarger was my job, so that I was comfortable with the entire process from enlarging to developing the test and final prints.  I’ve already mentioned that Mat is a great teacher, but I can honestly say that I walked away from the two session workshop confident in my abilities to walk into another darkroom and start hand producing my work.   

Watching these enlargements develop before my eyes was more exciting than the first session.  I was staring at a large print that may be hanging in an exhibit or competition and it’s something that I made with my own two hands.  The fiber based paper gives the print an entirely different feel and even though it’s a bit harder to work with (due to curling and longer development time), the finished product is more archival than RC and it just has a unique hand-made feel to it.  After going through an archival washing process, we toned the images with selenium toner.  This provided additional archival stability to the image as well as adding a little bit of punch to the final print (in terms of tonality). 

"Lost"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Of the final two prints, I definitely have a favorite.  I can’t stop admiring the beauty of the silver gelatin and I know that I’ll never tire of producing them.  I want to send another thank you to Mat Marrash for giving up two weekend days to help me out in the darkroom.  Mat’s a brilliant photographer and teacher and is very willing to pass along his knowledge and help others develop their photographic skills to achieve their photographic dreams.  Besides that, Mat’s also a good guy that I consider a friend.  I’m glad I decided to make the initial trip to the FPP Midwest Meetup for his first gallery show.  If you’re interested in learning more about developing, printing, alternative processes or large format photography, Mat Marrash is your guy.  I’ll be getting back into the darkroom soon, so I’ll be posting more work on this blog in the near future.

Seattle

This year, my annual anniversary trip took my wife and I to Seattle.  Seattle has been on both of our travel lists for awhile now and it is one of the premier cities, if not the premier city, in the Pacific Northwest.  Seattle is situated on a narrow strip of land between two bodies of water; the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington.  The area was first settled in 1851 and they originally dubbed the settlement "New York," but after moving to what is now known as Pioneer Square, they soon renamed it Seattle.

It's funny that the first settlers named the city New York, because I compared the two cities frequently during the trip.  The similarities between them are obvious (at least in my eyes): intellectuals are in abundance, foodies have many choices, culture and diversity is appreciated and celebrated, iconic landmarks are present and each city is made up of very distinct and different areas.  Where they differ is the pace of each cities' inhabitants.  Seattle is much more laid back than New York.  The people seem friendlier and things seem to move at a more relaxed and "chill" manner.  Don't get me wrong, I love visiting New York, but it's not a place that I would consider living.  However, I could see myself living in Seattle.  There's something about the Pacific Northwest and Seattle specifically that's very appealing.  Maybe it was the fact that I was visiting during my anniversary with my wife or that we had wonderful weather and we were able to experience a lot that the city had to offer.  Regardless, I really connected with the city and I feel as if I was really able to take in the environment and surroundings.

Our stay was split into two areas (Belltown and Downtown).  It didn’t matter a great deal because Seattle is a very easy city to get around in and the hotels were literally a few miles apart on the same street.  Walking to various locations is very feasible and for areas that are a little farther from your accommodations, the bus is a cheap and easy mode of public transportation.  All it takes is a little consulting of the King County Metro Transit website and you will have the entire trip planned out for you.  During specific times of the day and year, the bus is free within a set downtown Seattle Radius.  We began our trip in Belltown, a cool, little neighborhood featuring some fabulous dining spots and interesting boutique shops.  It’s within walking distance of Pike Place Market, the Seattle Waterfront and Seattle Center.  One of the gems of that neighborhood was our hotel, The Ace Hotel.  The Ace is a hip, boutique hotel which occupies a historical building.  The décor can be described as hip, funky, Pacific Northwest chic.  The pricing is outstanding for a downtown Seattle hotel and the staff will recommend cool spots that won’t be found in a guidebook or by your fancy hotel concierge.  If you’re ever in Seattle, I highly recommend staying there.  A few other cool spots to visit in the Belltown area are Macrina Bakery, Local 360 and Bedlam Coffee.

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Camera:  Polaroid SX-70
Film:  Impossible Project PX100 UV+ Test Film

Camera:  Polaroid SX-70
Film:  Impossible Project PX100 UV+ Test Film

On our very first night in Seattle, we did the touristy thing and headed over to the Space Needle.  If you weren’t aware, the Space Needle is currently celebrating its 50^th Anniversary.  It was built in 1962 as the symbol of the World’s Fair which eventually lead to it being the symbol of Seattle.  It’s one of the most recognizable structures in the world and is worth seeing in person.  The ride up to the top is bit of a tourist trap, but it’s worth doing once to see the Seattle skyline from a 360 degree view.  As a photographer, it’s hard to approach a subject so iconic because it’s been “photographed to death” by countless individuals.  However, I tried to use my unique approach to photography as well as draw inspiration from Zeb Andrews’ Eiffel Tower series to shoot the Space Needle differently.  I was happy with what I was able to capture.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Our first full day in the city began on a bike.  We took a two hour bike tour of the city, visiting many different areas like Pioneer Square, the International District and the Seattle Waterfront.  Our guide also provided us with a great deal of history about Seattle and the various areas that we saw.  It was a great tour, but buyers beware when biking in Seattle; the hills are killer.  From a couple that usually bikes an average of 10 miles per bike ride, we thought it would be rather easy.  Trust me, you find out how flat Ohio is after biking in Seattle.  After our tour, we walked a few blocks to Pike Place Market.  It was super crowded (as it was every time we passed it) and loaded with tourists but it featured some of the freshest fruit, vegetables, seafood, flowers and goods you can find.  We picked up a few lunch items, including some amazingly delicious peaches, and enjoyed lunch while overlooking the waterfront.  We did some shopping and stopped back at the hotel; from there we headed to another area called Ballard.  Ballard is off the beaten path in Seattle and is an old railroad/shipping town.  We didn’t spend much time there, but we were treated to some authentic Comida Tipica Mexican food at Senor Moose.  If you like authentic Mexican, then this hole in the wall restaurant is definitely a place to look up.  After scoring a table upon arrival, the place was at capacity and there was a steady 35-45 minute wait for patrons from the moment we were seated until after we left.  It was also voted best Mexican Restaurant in 2012 by Seattle Weekly as well as Best Margarita.  Believe me; it lived up to the hype.  Afterwards, we then headed to the super hip Capitol Hill neighborhood for drinks and dessert at an ultra cool prohibition style bar named Tavern Law. 

Camera:  Polaroid 440 Automatic Land Camera
Film:  Fuji FP-100C

Our last two days in Seattle were packed with activities.  After some antiquing on the waterfront, we hopped a ferry to Bainbridge Island.  Bainbridge is a 30 minute ferry ride from Seattle and is about 28 square miles and has a population of a little over 23,000 people.  To give you an example of its’ size, Manhattan is about 23 square miles in size but has a population of about 1.6 million. It’s a little bigger than NYC, but with only 1% of the population.  The community is vibrant, artsy and quaint.  The town center, Winslow, is bustling with boutiques, shops, bistros, cafes, galleries and museums.  It’s a great place to spend a day.  After exploring on foot, we decided to rent bikes for the afternoon and make the trek to an organic distillery about 2.5 miles away from the town center.  Again, we were faced with the harsh reality of Washington State hills. It took us 45 minutes to get the distillery and we were exhausted.  The distillery, Bainbridge Organic Distillers, was a fun pit stop.  While their operation is small and they’re still trying to perfect their formulas, they have managed to create a gin that is very distinctive and they have a waiting list for their whiskey, which was still aging in the barrels.  After a few samples and a bike ride back to the ferry, it was time to head back to Seattle for the evening.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Our last day was spent exploring, shopping, eating and drinking in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  We briefly explored this area when grabbing a drink at Tavern Law, but this time we had more time and were able to explore it in daylight.  Like other areas of Seattle, Capitol Hill is situated on a hill and is east of the central business district.  This neighborhood is very hip and reminds me a lot of the Lower East Side in NYC.  If you’re looking for a variety of things to do and a vibrant night life, then this neighborhood is the perfect place to spend your time.  After a fulfilling brunch at Oddfellows, vinyl, book and vintage shopping, coffee and espresso at Espresso Vivace and a few brews at Elysian Brewing Co., we headed to the Bumbershoot festival.  This is Seattle’s annual Labor Day Music and Arts Festival.  It’s a three day event that features countless music acts (including some fairly big names), comedians, arts and food vendors.  We had a great time at the festival and were able to watch sets from City and Colour and M. Ward.  It was the perfect end to our wonderful trip.

Camera:  Polaroid SX-70
Film:  Impossible Project PX70 Cool

Camera:  Polaroid SX-70
Film:  Impossible Project PX70 Cool

Camera:  Polaroid SX-70
Film:  Impossible Project PX70 Cool

After a morning coffee run at Stumptown Coffee Roasters, it was time to hop a cab to the airport and head back to Ohio.  In my research for the trip, I came across a quote from an article by Travel + Leisure’s Gary Shteyngart.  He was writing about a recent trip to the city and a waitress said to him:  “You have to leave it to love it.”  I think that quote sums up Seattle – you don’t know how magical it is until after you’ve visited.  Being with the right people helps, but there’s just something about this city.  It will stick with you and that’s greater than any souvenir you can purchase.  That’s how traveling should be; the feeling and memories of your short time in locations and destinations should resonate with you longer than the magnet or trinket you brought back home.  Embrace the city, become part of the local culture and reflect often.  It’s the true essence of travel and you’ll never forget.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Random Camera- Olympus XA2

Hello again!  It's time for another entry into my random camera/random film series.  Today, I will be discussing the Olympus XA2.  Typically, when I create posts for this series, I've at least shot the camera or film in question a number of times; however, I've only used the Olympus XA2 once.  I feel that I have a pretty good handle on this camera after one use and since the images were from the Analog's Pulse event in June, I figured it would be a nice way to wrap up that experience.

The Olympus XA (predecessor of the XA2) was introduced in 1979 and quickly became the standard for the XA series.  It was a true rangefinder with aperture priority exposure and a six element lens.  It is a compact, but mighty little camera and was the first of four cameras within the XA series.  Now that you have a brief overview of the original, let's talk about the camera that I have - the Olympus XA2.

The XA2 was introduced in 1980, a year later than the XA and was a more simplistic version of the XA.  The first noticeable difference between the two cameras is the focusing.  The rangefinder focusing of the XA was replaced with a zone focusing system of 3 feet to infinity.  Aperture priority exposure was replaced with an automatic exposure system and the six element lens was replaced with a four element f3.5 lens.  What started as a tiny rangefinder became a tiny point and shoot 35mm camera.  I happened to obtain this camera almost by accident.  I was at an auction about a year and a half ago.  The auction featured a multitude of old film cameras; most of them grouped into box lots.  I was present when the auction began and waited for a few hours, but only a few boxes had been auctioned off.  I was discouraged and didn't want to waste the entire day away, so I left.  After lunch and a few other errands, I decided to go back to see if anything was still left.  Sure enough, the majority of the cameras were still waiting to be auctioned off.  The auctioneer began auctioning off box lots for small amounts of money.  I had my eye on numerous Polaroid SX-70s and ended up winning two boxes for the low price of $11.  I obtained three different SX-70 models in addition to a number of other cameras and accessories.  Hidden in one of those boxes was an untouched Olympus XA2 with accompanying A11 flash unit.  I replaced the batteries and the camera worked like a charm.  It set in my never ending stack of cameras until I decided that Analog's Pulse would be the perfect time to use it.

There are two things that stand out to me when I talk about this camera.  First is the clam shell cover that slides open to essentially turn on the camera and subsequently reveals the lens.  It's a typical feature for Olympus compacts, but there's something that I love about it.  It's almost as if it was created for spies instead of consumers; the cover masking the main thing that makes it a camera - the lens.  However, it pales in comparison to the wonderful Minox spy cameras that are an engineering marvel and are still available and functional today.  Regardless, it brings a bit of intrigue (at least for me) to the camera.  The second thing is the shutter.  The shutter is a square red button on top of camera.  This is the most sensitive shutter that I've ever encountered.  A fellow film photographer that I met on Analog's Pulse, John Meadows, made the comment that he didn't want to get too close for fear that he might sneeze and set off the shutter.  His comment is not too far from the truth.  In fact, the first time I was introduced to a member of the XA series, I set off the shutter and didn't even realize it.  In addition to its sensitivity, it's also very quiet and functions in such a stealthy manner that it again brings about visions of spies during the Cold War.

In regards to the camera's functionality, it's fairly straight forward and can pretty much be used "right out of the box."  There is an "aperture" button on the front of the camera for you to determine the distance to your subject.  Once selected, simply point, compose and click the shutter.  The camera chooses the appropriate shutter speed and aperture and does all of the work for you.  Simply wind the film and follow those steps continuously until your roll is fully exposed.  One thing to remember about this camera is that every time you close the clam shell cover, the focus button resets itself; so, make sure you have the correct distance selected before you fire the shutter.  The camera seems to handle fairly well in a number of different lighting situations.  I used the camera to begin the day when it was overcast and rainy; I went into a few darkened alleys and I shot it when the sun was blazing overhead.  It performed quite well for a compact point and shoot.

A few things I noticed about this camera:

-  There is a green light that occasionally comes on in the viewfinder.  It's actually hard to notice, as I didn't even realize there was a light until the end of my roll.  Apparently this is to alert you to under/over exposure.  It still allows you to take a shot, but there is the potential for the exposure to be off a bit.  When reviewing the images, there were a few that were a bit darker with more grain, but nothing unusable.  So, I assume that the light was flashing when I was creating those exposures.
-  While the compact size makes the Olympus XA2 a great traveling companion, I found it to be a bit awkward in my hands.  I'm typically used to shooting larger medium format cameras or a standard 35mm SLR, so this more delicate than I'm used to.  It doesn't necessarily take away from the camera, but it took some getting used to on my part.
-  The Lomography LC-A+, the flagship Lomography camera, is a sleek, portable, highly coveted 35mm camera.  As great as it may be (I haven't had the privilege of using one yet), it does come with a steep price tag.  The Olympus XA2 (or one of the other XA models) is the perfect substitute.  Yes, the Lomo LC-A+ boasts a 32/2.8 Minitar lens, has multiple apertures, a multiple exposure switch and has the capability to add numerous accessories, but you can still apply the same Lomo rules and attitude when shooting the Olympus XA2.  So, if you want a similar camera and don't won't to shell out a fortune, pick up an Olympus for a fraction of the price.  You can always upgrade later.

Overall, shooting the Olympus XA2 was a nice change of pace for me.  Coupled with Ilford HP5+ 400 black and white film, I was able to produce some decent, higher grain, photos during the first photo walk of Analog's Pulse.  I tend to prefer shooting my SLR and Medium format cameras, so I'm not sure how often I'll use this.  However, I can't rule out that this won't end up in my camera bag on the next outing :)

Hasselblad on the West Coast

If you've been following this blog regularly, you know how I feel about my Hasselblad 500 c/m camera and you've seen the type of images that it produces.  I've continued to shoot this camera on a normal basis, and besides my Polaroid SX-70, it's currently my camera of choice.  I took the Hasselblad with me to California; while I've gone into great detail about the trip, I'm simply going to post images I took using the Hasselblad.  All images were made using Kodak Tri-X 400 film.  Enjoy!

1 of 2 images not taken in California
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F16 @ 1/30 sec.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m

Lens:  150mm

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

F32 @ 1/25 sec.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m

Lens:  150mm

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

F4 @ 1/4 sec.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F32 @ 1/60 sec.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F4 @ 1/500 sec.




Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F22 @ 1/25 sec.




Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F16 @ 1/125

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F16 @ 1/60 sec.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400
F11 @ 1/4 sec.

2 of 2 shots not taken in California

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m

Lens:  150mm

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

F22 @ 1/125 sec.

Random Film - Adox CHS 50 ART

The next film I'm going to discuss in my "Random Camera/Random Film" series is an emulsion from Germany.  Adox was founded in 1860 and touts itself as the world's first photochemical factory.  They produced two films that were dubbed the "German Wonderfilms;" they were the KB14 and KB17.  In fact, those films are still produced today and are known as Adox CHS 25 and Adox CHS 50.  It just so happens that I've shot a lot of the Adox CHS 50 film and that's what I'll be discussing today. 

Adox CHS 50 is a thin layer black and white film that produces the second finest grain from the Adox film line.  According to Adox's website, the film has a wider latitude than the CHS 25.  You can expose the shadows and also develop the highlights.  I wish I could provide an expert opinion on pushing, pulling, exposure and development of this film, but I have yet to dive into the world of home development.  My lab, Blue Moon Camera and Machine, have handled the processing of this film. 

I can tell you that I've shot six rolls of the Adox CHS 50 and I've been very pleased with the results, even in a few extremely low light environments.  My first impression of this film is that it has a wide tonal range and provides significantly less contrast than the black and white film I'm most familiar with - Kodak Tri-X 400.  It has a vintage look that's very pleasing on the eye, especially when used for portraits.  Adox CHS 50 was the first professional film that I used in my Hasselblad 500 c/m when I wandered around downtown Findlay, Ohio during the FPP Midwest Meet-Up earlier in the summer.  The films' grain structure was perfect for some of the urban decay/landscape images that I was after.  It was very forgiving for any exposure misreading I may have obtained since it was my first experience metering for myself.  Below are a few results from that first roll; notice the grain structure and the tonal range in the images.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m

Lens:  150mm f/4
F/4 @ 1/125 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F4 @ 1/500 second

My second experiment with this film was for a project that I've not discussed at length.  I've simply previewed it on this blog, but it was a project that was a number of steps outside of my comfort zone.  Portraiture was the main focus of the project and the film performed extremely well.  Again, it provided a nice tonal range and it was well suited for the portraiture work.  The main flaw for me wasn't the film, but mastering the focus on my Hasselblad and it's 150mm lens.  In the sharpest images, the details were presented perfectly.  At the completion of this project, I had shot a total of 4 1/2 rolls of the Adox CHS 50.  Following the portraiture project, I had an impromptu visit to East Texas and decided to bring a roll of Adox and my Hasselblad to shoot.  I'll get to that shooting experience after the following images shot on the Adox CHS 50 ART for my portraiture project.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F8 @ 1/60 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F8 @ 1/30 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F5.6 @ 1/60 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F4 @ 1/15 second

As I mentioned, I took a trip to East Texas and decided to bring the Hasselblad and a roll of Adox to take a few images of Gilmer and Fort Worth while I was there.  I shot about half of the roll in Gilmer, during a hot, sunny day.  The second half of the roll I shot at night in the historic stockyards of Fort Worth.  I wasn't worried about the Gilmer shots, but I was a little leery about how the film would perform at night with very little light.  It's a slow film, with an ISO of 50; so, I knew I would be mounting the Hasselblad on my tripod for long exposures.  The night shots weren't perfect, but they came out better than I expected.  When I have more time, I would like to test this film in additional night settings.  Below are a few results from the Texas trip.

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F16 @ 1/30 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F11 @ 1/60 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F16 @ 1/60

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F16 @ 1/60 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F4 @ 1 second

Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm f4
F4 @ 2 seconds

The last roll of Adox that I shot was a roll of 35mm.  I shot this roll throughout the summer.  I started it at the FPP Midwest Meet Up, I continued it through my unnamed portraiture project, and I finished shooting it at various locations throughout Ohio.  The 35mm performed quite well, however, I did notice that it provided much more contrast than my rolls of 120.  Below are a few images of the 35mm Adox CHS 50 ART.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
F4 @ 1/60 second

Camera:  Canon AE-1P

Lens:  50mm
F8 @ 1/250 second

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
F4 @ 1/500 second

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
F2 @ 1/500 second

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Shot on Program Mode

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
F2 @ 1/30 second

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Shot on Program Mode

So, after six rolls of Adox CHS 50 ART, both 120 and 35mm, I would say that I can establish a pretty fair opinion of the film.  The film has a very smooth tonal range, composed of whites, blacks and a very large range of grays.  It has a vintage look and feel to it and it's well suited for both urban decay, urban landscapes and portraiture.  It wouldn't be the first film that I would grab for an outing of low light and night time shooting, but with a tripod and long exposures you can still achieve satisfying results.  It's low speed will also work well in vintage cameras with fixed shutter speeds, such as Kodak Brownie box cameras.  I will definitely be shooting more of this film in the future and I highly recommend testing it out.  For home developers and technical spec junkies, here's a link to the film's data sheet.  To learn more about Adox, check out their site here.