I was bored. There was nothing on Netflix or Amazon Prime, Apple TV or Hulu, or HBO Max that I wanted to watch. To distract my mind from boredom, I rummage through a set of negatives from my early college days with 35mm film photography.
In college, the chemistry for developing a 35mm colour film was expensive. As a student on a limited budget, black-and-white photography was an attractive option. I had access to the darkroom at the Media Centre at Drew University, spending hours experimenting and developing Kodak Tri-X Pan, Ilford HP5 and Kodak T-Max.
Kodak T-MAX Professional is a black-and-white film known for its high resolution, sharpness, and fine grain for decades. It has a nominal sensitivity of ISO 100 or 400, making it a versatile choice for various lighting conditions.
One of the key features of T-MAX Professional is its T-Grain emulsion technology, which produces extremely fine grain and smooth tonal gradations. This makes it a popular choice among photographers who want to achieve a high level of detail and sharpness in their images.
T-MAX Professional also has a wide exposure latitude, allowing for greater flexibility in various lighting conditions. It can be pushed to higher ISOs without sacrificing image quality, making it a useful tool for low-light situations or for creating dramatic effects.
In addition to its technical features, T-MAX Professional is known for its classic black-and-white look, with deep blacks and bright whites that create a striking contrast. It has been popular among fine art photographers and documentary, portrait, and landscape photography.
November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400November 1988 | Pentax P3 | SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 | Kodak T-MAX Professional ISO 400
Early in my photography journey, shooting with 35mm black and white film was easier. I felt that 35mm colour film was too distracting and did not have the pretension "art" look I was into then.
Tri-X panchromatic (Tri-X Pan) film was popular with photojournalists and many amateurs. Eastman Kodak manufactured it. Sales of Tri-X declined in the 1970s and 1980s due to the falling price and increasing popularity of colour films. Tri-X fell out of use in newspaper journalism with the onset of online newspapers and colour print media, though it remained popular in documentary journalism for a while.
KODAK TRI-X Pan Film was a venerable classic, boasting an impressive ISO 400 rating, making it the ideal choice for various photographic scenarios. This panchromatic film performed well when faced with dimly lit subjects or fast-paced action. It excelled when I needed to capture subjects demanding a substantial depth of field and fast shutter speeds or when I wanted to extend the reach of my flash. TRI-X Pan (TX) Film 6043 was readily available in 35mm film sizes.
TRI-X Pan Film was highly recommended for push-processing applications, opening up creative possibilities by pushing the boundaries of its inherent capabilities.
Since I found only one set of Kodak Tri-X Pan negatives in my "film treasure chest", since it's over 30 years later, my memory is faulty about the dates. However, these photographs were captured around the Drew University campus using my budget-friendly Pentax P3 and SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 lens.
Drew University offered compressed courses during the six weeks between December break and the start of the Spring semester. I can tell it's winter from the photographs, and the campus seems free of people. I speculate this was one of the many "Jan Terms" I was on campus. I don't know if this was Jan Term 1987-88 or 1988-89, but it was Jan Term 1987-88. The photographs have a theme around reflections, and the pictures of the Media Resource Center make me think this was the Jan Term when I took my first darkroom photography course.
I learned about the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed and how aperture affects depth of field. This is often referred to as the exposure triangle. My assignments were shot on 35mm black and white film on my Pentax P3 and SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/2 lens and developed in the Drew University darkroom in the campus Media Resource Center. I was supposed to think about composition somewhere between learning to use the camera and exposing film and adequately.
Digital cameras were not generally available in the mid-1980s. Today, what can be learned in minutes with a digital camera, took weeks of effort shooting and developing film in the darkroom and making prints. My first photography course was supposed to be about the "art of photography", but given the steep learning curve, I spent more time thinking about the technical considerations required to make good photos.
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.
Drew University College of Liberal Arts Class of 1990 25th Reunion
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.
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