Imagery As Art: canon AE-1P

Showing posts with label canon AE-1P. Show all posts

Monday, December 26, 2011

Coming Soon...

I just wanted to write a quick blog post about what's coming up in the very near future.

It's been awhile since my last blog post and some of you may have noticed that my Project 365 blog hasn't been updated in at least a week. I'm currently on vacation in San Francisco and Sonoma, California. I've been shooting daily with the following: Canon AE-1P, Hasselblad 500 c/m, Holga 120N, (2) Polaroid SX-70s and a Polaroid 440 Automatic Land Camera. I will have another entry into my Prison/Mental Institute series and a number of Impossible Project images to upload, including the images that are part of my almost complete Project 365. Once I get back, I'll update that page as well as post about my Cali trip as soon as I have the film processed.

In addition to that, here's what I have coming up:
- 2011: Year in Review- I'll be looking back on the photo resolutions I set forth at the beginning of 2011 and reflect on which ones I accomplished, how I've grown as a photographer and provide any other insights I have at this time.
- 2012 Photo Resolutions- Similar to last year, I already have a set of goals in relation to my photography that I would like to achieve in the upcoming year. I'll talk about what those are and how I plan on accomplishing those.
- Kodak "oldies"- I have picked up the following over the course of the year: Kodak Tourist II, Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash and a Kodak Brownie Model 2A. The Kodak Tourist takes 620 film and is currently loaded with a respooled roll of Kodak Tri-X 400; The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash also takes 620, but is currently being fitted for a tripod mount; and the Kodak Brownie Model 2A takes defunct 116 film; however, I've had it modified to accept 120 film and replaced the viewfinder mirrors. So, I'll be taking this trio of cameras out and shooting some test rolls, developing them and going over the modifications and results. I may even do a video review along the lines of my Diana F+ review.

So, those are just a few things that I already have on tap for this blog. I do have one more surprise coming, so, log in on January 9 to see what that surprise is. In the meantime, I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday season and I hope you've enjoyed reading and following me along this photographic journey that I've embarked on. Have a great new year and stay tuned for all the things I just listed and more!

Monday, November 28, 2011

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.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Mansfield Reformatory Images...Second Teaser

Here are just a few more images to wet your appetite for the announcement that's coming soon. Enjoy!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Mansfield Reformatory Images

Here are a few images from my Mansfield Reformatory shoot. However, these are only meant as a teaser. For those wanting to see more, you'll have to see them in person. More on that to come later, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy!

Mansfield Reformatory

I've been anxiously awaiting this blog post. This experience was easily one of my photographic highlights of this year, if not of all time. For those of you that don't know, the Mansfield Reformatory (also known as the Ohio State Reformatory), was the featured prison in the movie The Shawshank Redemption. The cornerstone for the reformatory was laid on November 4, 1886 and it remained as a working prison for 94 years until it was eventually shut down in 1990. A staggering 154,000 inmates passed through the reformatory over its' years of operation.

Many inmates have discussed the conditions of the prison, but perhaps the most dreaded and well known aspect of the reformatory was "The Hole." "The Hole" was the area of solitary confinement cells that contained only a toilet and a bunk. At least one murder occurred in "The Hole" and numerous other violent acts took place on the grounds.

The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society took control of the site in 1995 and have opened it up to the public. Outside of the guided and self tours, they also host ghost hunter events and have a reception space for other events. The reformatory is truly a site to see and I highly recommend it.

In my previous post, I briefly mentioned this experience. Due to the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society not allowing tripods or professional photo equipment on the self or guided tours, I paid the money for the photo tour. I was allowed to bring a tripod and all of my photography gear and I was able to tour the grounds for four hours without any other tourists. It was the most amazing experience. This structure is absolutely amazing and the experience of photographing it by myself was the only way to shoot it. I can't really describe it.

During the four hours, I left my digital camera in the car and shot strictly film using my Canon AE-1P and a few of my Polaroid cameras. Calming solitude are the perfect words for this experience. I took my time wandering the winding hallways and never ending staircases. I took only the shots that I viewed in my mind and I set it up to get the best possible exposure. I didn't have to worry about time and I didn't have to worry about anyone getting into my shot. I shot about a roll and 3/4 of a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm film and I took approximately 10 Polaroids. I couldn't wait to see the results! I received them this week and I was very happy. I actually want to go back and shoot the reformatory multiple times and I would love doing a future series on old prisons. If anyone has the chance to visit the Mansfield Reformatory, I would highly recommend it.