Today was another uneventful day. Work, lunch, work, dinner, work, Netflix, bed. Yet, my friend and I did accomplish something notable today. We finalised our plan to hold our 30th college reunion on a Zoom session. The best thing about a virtual meeting is that no one will see how out of shape I am.
My hair is longer than it has ever been in decades. Hopefully, the Wahl hair clippers that I ordered on Amazon.com will arrive tomorrow as expected. Whenever I go out or Facetime with a friend, I have hidden my nearly three inches of hair under one of several baseball caps. Today's choice was #44, the number of Mercedes AMG's Grand Prix winning Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton. I bought the hat earlier this year in anticipation of the 2020 season of Formula 1 Grand Prix races. This hat is the only F1 experience I'll have this year.
Over on Casual Photophile, Jeb Inge's witty review of his Nikon D700 had me in stitches.
Without meaning to sound trite, the terminology of digital imaging bores me to tears. Sensors, megapixels, processors, LCD screens – all these things are supremely uninteresting to me. Two people having a conversation about them is a better sleep aid than a cup of Chamomile tea spiked with Tylenol PM.
A few weeks ago, I exposed a roll of RetroChrome 400 35mm film with my Pentax Spotmatic II at the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park.
NOTE: I'll begin this experience report with a brief disclaimer. It's been less than two years since I returned to shooting 35mm film after switching to digital photography over 20 years ago. I've inundated myself with as much 35mm film education as possible between web articles and advice from experienced film shooters. But, with my former experience way in the past and limited recent experience, this review is coming from a relatively novice point of view.
A few weeks back, I went on a photography adventure with my Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II and the SMC Takumar 55mm f/2 lens, armed with a roll of Film Photography Project RetroChrome 400 35mm Colour Reversal Film. I couldn't contain my excitement, snapping away all 35 frames in a few hours. Finding the right shutter speed and aperture settings to centre the metering needle was challenging, and it forced me to explore the Pentax ES II setting. Most of my frames were born along the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, near the iconic Kingston Mill House—my frequent muse. Out of the lot, I cherry-picked the top ten images to share.
My canvas was the scenic Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park Trail, near the Kingston Lock and the picturesque Kingston Grist Mill. It felt like the perfect stage to test my 35mm film skills.
According to the Darkroom website's description, RetroChrome is a special 35m film originally designed for industrial and governmental purposes. Kodak sold it as a colour reversal camera film tailored for daylight photography, with applications ranging from news and sports to industrial shots. This expired 35mm film has been in cold storage since 2004, and despite its age, it was expected to perform well at its intended box speed of 400 ISO.
When I received an email from Darkroom, I expected it would say that the cartridge was blank. However, the email brought a pleasant surprise—a notification from Darkroom that my FPP RetroChrome 400 Colour Slide Film was successful with the E-6 development process. The Darkroom's NORITSU KOKI EZ Controller had worked its magic. The email said that the negatives were now scanned and ready for download. I had opted for the high-resolution Super Scans producing JPEG images at 4492×6774 pixels.
While I had a fair idea of how the scanned negatives would turn out, thanks to samples on the Film Photography Project website and Flickr, I knew mastering exposure with my Spotmatic II required finesse.
As for the film's signature grain and colour cast, it delivered as expected. Some frames did lean towards slight overexposure, but a little tweak in Adobe Lightroom added that missing pop. Still, the grain remains noticeable. While I like the shots of Kingston Mill House and Lochtender's house, I admit that the greenery didn't excite me.
Would I go on another RetroChrome 400 adventure? Absolutely, but next time, I'd enlist the aid of my Pentax ES II or Pentax P3 for automatic metering and aperture priority. Scenes featuring vintage diners and 1970s cars parked against downtown backdrops could make for captivating subjects.
How about you? Have you ventured into the world of PP RetroChrome 400 Colour Slide Film? What's your take on the enchanting grain and hues it brings to life?
Over on 35hunter Dan James described how he sets up his cameras going into details about his Pentax K-30. Dan then asked his readers a few questions.
How do you decide how to set up a camera with multiple layers of options? Do you do this once to get a set up you like, then never adjust anything, or constantly make incremental adjustments every time you shoot?
I answered Dan's question in the comment section of his website, but then I realised I had written enough for a short blog post so I repurposed my comment below.
When I bought my Fujifilm X-T2, I knew I needed help understanding the options and features, but I also knew that I would hate the new system if things felt overwhelming. I don't think most camera manuals help the photographer understand what features to use when or why. So, I bought the book "The Fujifilm X-T2: 120 X-Pert Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Camera" by Rico Pfirstinger. Rico's book helped me cut through the clutter and get straight to the "why". Once I had read Rico's book and had my camera set up the way I wanted and started using it, over time, I tweaked a few things to better suit my needs.
I programmed my Fujifilm X-T2 with a few film simulation recipes created by Ritchie Roesch, a photographer who works very hard to make his Fuji cameras work like his film cameras. Most of Ritchie's film simulation recipes attempt to mimic the aesthetic of film stock such as Ilford HP5 Plus and Kodachrome. The JPEGs are “good enough” if what you are looking for is SOOC simplicity.
Since the Fujifilm X-T2 has dials for ISO and shutter speed, and the Fujinon lenses have aperture rings, the "Format Card" is the most used menu item followed by "Select Film Simulation". When I shoot wildlife or sports, I move the aperture ring to “A” and ISO dial to “A” to engage shutter priority and the shooting mode to 14 frames/second. When I shoot street or portrait (rare) I move the aperture to f/8, shutter speed and ISO dial to “A”. All the other settings on the camera remain the same.
Just in case I have to step outside those norms, I set up a personal menu, on the Fuji, it’s literally called “My Menu”, with the items I may need to change. But I rarely touch those.
My goal is to minimise the decision making to just the composition.
One thing that could make this setup even simpler is to add the Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens to my kit. While the Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR zoom lens serves me well, after using it handheld on this one hour hike with my Bhavna, my shoulder was sore. Metal tank lenses are heavy!
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