Ilford HP5 Plus 400 + Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II + Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2
Posted on Friday, 28th February 2020 11:11 AM EST
This roll of film is the second roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400 that I developed with The Darkroom. This roll was shot on my Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II and Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 lens.
Using this camera as more challenging than the Pentax P3. The Pentax P3 has a shutter priority mode, and my unit has a working light meter. When I shot using that camera, I set the shutter speed to 1/250s, and the camera adjusted the aperture as needed. However, while the Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II has a working light meter, the plastic to move the lever broke and the rest of the camera settings have to be set manually. I had to use the Sunny 16 technique to estimate the shutter speed and lens combinations to properly expose each shot. The Sunny 16 technique is something I only learned about quite recently. I practised a little at home.
I took the camera with me to the client office near Wall Street in Manhattan and captured some images during my lunch hour. I walked around Front Street, Gouverneur Lane, and South Street. The rain was light which made for a challenging walk. I was concerned about the camera getting wet so I walked across South Street and under FDR Drive along the East River Esplanade. It's an area I have explored with my Fujifilm X-T2 last year and even then shooting mostly with an Ilford HP5 Plus 400 film recipe.
I expected all my images to be severely under or overexposed. The shutter speed of the Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II is limited to 1/1000s, but fortunately, it was a rainy overcast (and cold) day in Manhattan. The images are only slight over or underexposed, but I'm pleased with the results. Plus, I feel a sense of pride that I was able to use this old camera. I want to get a small, handheld light meter to make metering easier. Given the limitation of shutter speed, I have purchased a roll of ADOX Scala 100 for use in brighter conditions.
The images were developed and scanned by The Darkroom.
11 February, 2020 | #GROW | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Pentax P3 + SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Gouverneur Lane, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | East River Esplande, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Wall Street Ferry and Pier 11. South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | CitiBike and Slip B at Pier 11, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Bumper, East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | NY Waterway Ferry, East River, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | East River Esplande, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Looking up at FDR Drive. East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Have a wet seat. East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Strutting pigeon. East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Pigeon in flight. East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 40011 February, 2020 | Seagulls but not the seashore. East River Esplanade, South Street, Manhattan, New York City | Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II | Asahi Optical Co. SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 | Ilford HP5 Plus 400
I really like that last image.
I agree. I think the seagull image was the best on the roll.