Always check your settings…

I’m a bargain shopper, and when I see film on sale or closeout (which is happening more and more these days) I stock up.

I bought all of Walgreens’ Kodak HD400 film when they closed it out a couple of years ago, and it sat in my freezer ever since. I’ve had a fixation with slower speed film and my LOMO in a quest for the most saturation and finest grain, and so shot 100 speed film in my LOMOs and 400 in my SLRs. 100 speed film is getting harder to find, and I thought I’d try out 400 speed film to see if my bias was unfounded.

One benefit of 400 speed film in a LOMO is the extra two stops of film sensitivity. With the LOMO’s guesstimation zone focusing system, being able to stop the aperture down 2 stops helps widen the depth of field.

I loaded up a roll of HD400 in my LOMO and took it to the Mission Open Studios I blogged about yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised at how short the exposures were inside, even shooting in available light. I took 12 shots and was looking forward to seeing them. This morning, I took out my LOMO and noticed that I’d forgot to move the aperture setting back to A after shooting flash shots. This meant that ALL my shots yesterday were taken at f/16 and 1/60th second. I might be able to pull some detail out of them with photoshop; we’ll see how that turns out when I get the prints back.

The moral of this story is ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SETTINGS BEFORE YOU SHOOT.

My new plastic favorite, the Vivitar IC 100

The Vivitar IC 100 is rapidly turning into one of my favorite toy cameras. I broke from my usual “100 speed film only rule” and shot this roll on Fuji Superia 400. With the fixed 1/85th second shutter and f/5.6 aperture, I can use all the light sensitivity I can get!


Refreshing

This pic came off the first test roll from my Vivitar IC 100, a $1 plastic camera I picked up recently. It’s pretty standard looking. The insides could come from a LOMO Colorsplash or any number of unremarkable cameras. A simple lens, shutter speed and aperture fixed at 1/100th sec and f/5.6, and cheap enough to take anywhere (and not worry about it)…

Old LOMO Wall, 2009

I started putting my LOMOs into a patchwork using double-sided tape on an old piece of foamcore tape a few years ago, and got to the point where I needed something a little more usable. After a while, the prints would fall down, overlapping prints meant tearing the print when I rearranged them, etc.

I salvaged the ones I could, and replaced it with some hanger wire and stand-offs from Ikea. I mounted the prints on 5×7 index cards, and hang them using bulldog clips. I’ll post a pic when Lomowall Mk. II is complete!

Persnickety cameras…

My LOMO LC-A has had problems intermittently on the tail-end of the roll. It takes more and more effort to wind the film on, then at frame 18 or so the mechanism slips. It happened again so I shorted the roll and opened it up. It seems the take-up reel has cracked in a couple of places, and it wasn’t turning. I was able to free up the mechanism, but it’s still a little wonky. 20-year old Soviet-era plastic can’t be expected to last forever – as it is, it’s still going after 100+ rolls!

I took my Vivitar IC 100, the newest $1.00 camera in the family out for a test roll and noticed that the winder was an odd retrograde design. The guide sprockets rotate left to right, then the take up reel rotates counterclockwise. It jammed at frame 16, and I had to take the camera into a dark closet, open the back and manually feed the film back into the case. I could feel the sprockets had shredded at some point on the roll.

Gettin’ artsy with my LOMO in low light

I’m always amazed at the LOMO LC-A’s ability to capture vivid colors in low light. Every other camera I’ve tried has given me washed out colors when I extend the shutter speed out in low light.

With my LOMO, I load up the slowest film I can find (Lucky 100 when I can find it, Fuji SuperHQ 100 when I can’t) and shoot away.

 

 

How to develop film using coffee and Vitamin C!

http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/coffee-caffenol-film-developing/

Survival scenario #117:

You’re trapped in a grocery store. Zombies are closing in from all sides. You have a crucial photo that could end the carnage, if only you had some way to develop the film.

What do you do?

You grab some instant coffee and vitamin C, you develop the film, and you vanquish the zombies.

What, you don’t think we’re serious?
First of all, zombies are an inevitable part of life.
And secondly, you really can develop film using vitamin C and coffee. For reals.

Read on, and we’ll show you everything you need to know. Quick, before the zombies regroup!

[ found photography, via photojojo ]