Away

Monday

I am so tired this morning. I was up late last night throwing up my dinner. I think I had food poisoning from one of the sausages I ate last night. The sausages had either gone "off" or were undercooked. I put them in the garbage.


Hamish Gill shares his thoughts on the ongoing retro camera design trend, specifically the design of Nikon's Z Fc.

I personally prefer a dial that allows me to see at a glance where I am within the settings, but this, I believe, is just a simple user experience preference. In fact, I find the same with analogue clocks. I can read a digital clock just fine, just as I can use a digital camera with a jog dial and digital readout just fine too. But somehow, when I look at an analogue clock dial, I get more of a direct and instant appreciation for the time. I have the same with a camera with dials. I’m not going to attempt to explain this in great detail, I don’t feel I need to, it’s just my preference, and I don’t think it needs to be anything more complicated than that.

Wednesday

The photographs from the 36 exposure roll of Kodak Pro Image 100 that I exposed a few weeks ago during our visit to Brick Farm Tavern and East Broad Street have finally been developed and scanned. The Dark Room sent me a link earlier this week.

This is my second time shooting Kodak Pro Image 100. I used Kodak Pro Image 100 last fall, mostly while attending an outdoor beer garden hosted by Flounder Brewing Co. At that time, I was using the Minolta X-700. My Minolta XD-11 and MD Rokkor-X 45mm f/2 lens exposed this roll.

I tried capturing the same images I exposed on my Fuji X-T2 that day. Swapping back and forth between the two cameras was challenging, so I enlisted Bhavna's help. I would hand her one camera, and she would return the other. This is one of the few times I have exposed an entire roll of 35mm film in one weekend. Out of a 36-exposure cartridge, I got back about 32 usable images. My only regret is that I didn't get better-quality scans or make some prints. I could send the negatives back to The Dark Room to get prints or scan the negatives using my Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner.

Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Hopewell Pharmacy · Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Bhavna · Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sourland Mountain Spirits · Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Bhavna · Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Dog Run Bar · Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Saturday 3 July 2021 · Minolta XD-11 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

Thursday | Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #157: Getting Away

After two years of physical health challenges from 2018 through 2019 that kept Bhavana and me close to home, unable to travel, we had looked forward to 2020 and the travelling. But, then … COVID-19.

During most of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Bhavna and I looked for safe places to be that we felt was safe. Places to be among people without being "with" those people. That place was the Brick Farm Tavern.

We noted that the owners at the Brick Farm Tavern and the staff who worked there cared about creating a safe space. At first, the owner put out picnic tables space about ten feet or more apart to make the social distance. The staff all wore masks, and we were ourselves required to wear masks when servers came to the table. They opened an outdoor bar in a shed near the bocci court, further reducing risk. It wasn't the same as being inside, but they made it work. Each week from June of 2020 until January 2021, we dined at the Brick Farm Tavern until it became too cold to sit outside. It was our once-weekly getaway.

We're out to dinner at Brick Farm Tavern. Again. This time we brought some family to enjoy our home away from home.

Thursday 22 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 3200
Thursday 22 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1550 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400
Thursday 22 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1150 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400
Thursday 22 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400
Thursday 22 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1160 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400

Friday

We were always regulars at Flounder Brewing, but now we are regular regulars.

Friday 23 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 5000
Friday 23 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 1250

Saturday

Matt and Jeff were playing at Hopewell Valley Vineyard. We got a bottle of white in a bucket of ice, ordered a pizza with onions and a side salad, and sat back to relax and listen to classic rock and pop.

Hopewell Valley Vineyard Pinot Grigio
Saturday 24 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1/2500 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400
Saturday 24 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1/1800 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 400
Saturday 24 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/4 | ISO 8000
Saturday 24 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 640
Saturday 24 July, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | MD ROKKOR-X 50mm F1.7 | 1125 sec at f/2.8 | ISO 10000

Kodak Pro Image 100 with Minolta X-700 and MD Rokkor-X 45mm F:2

In October I shot a roll of Kodak Pro Image 100 35mm Colour Negative Film.

NOTE: I’ll begin this experience report with a brief disclaimer. It’s been less than three years since I returned to shooting 35mm film after switching to digital photography over 20 years ago. I’ve inundated myself with as much film education as possible between web articles and advice from experienced film shooters. But, since my prior experience with film is decades old, this review is from a rather novice point of view.

I started drinking ales from Flounder Brewing about five years ago. Back then, founder Jeremy Lees and his friends brewed up a batch of beer when they could, sometimes once a month, sometimes more. Whenever they had a batch of beer for sale, they emailed a mailing list with dates and times. One release day was not unusual to see a line of beer geeks, growlers in hand, standing outside their "brewery", a small space inside an industrial building in Hillsborough. Eventually, word spread, the lines got longer, the beer got better and more varied, and the team were able to expand. Flounder Brewing retained its small-town micro-brewery feel, but Jeremey had a vision for growing into a space that reflected the historic farm town character of Hillsborough. This year he had the green light to start renovating a barn on the historic farm property at Clerico Lane.

To continue the sense of the community that Flounder Brewing Co. has created over the year, Jeremy hosted a monthly socially-distanced and fully-masked outdoor beer garden at the new property with stringent rules. Throughout the summer and fall, Bhavna and I attended each of these outdoor beer gardens. We brought portable chairs and tables and found a spot under the trees. It was a joy to be with people (from eight feet away) enjoying the same beer, food and local musician.

On one of these occasions in October, I attached an MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2 lens to my Minolta X-700 and loaded a roll of Kodak Pro Image 100 35mm Colour Negative Film for the first time. I had read that the look of Pro Image was somewhere between Kodak Portra and Kodak Ektachrome E100. It took me a few weeks to expose the entire cartridge. I somehow got 38 exposures from a 36-exposure roll.

These are the best of them. You can tell where I struggled with focusing the lens. Many of the photos are slightly out of focus. I struggled to get proper exposure. I think the results are better than my first try with FPP RetroChrome film, but my technique still needs work. This is the first year I have been using a film camera since 1999.

Kodak Pro Image 100 is a professional-grade colour-negative film designed for 35mm cameras. It is known for its fine grain, vibrant colours, and sharpness, making it a popular choice among professional and amateur photographers. It’s also a lot cheaper than most of Kodak’s other professional 35mm films, such as Kodak Portra.

Kodak Pro Image 100 is relatively light-sensitive, making it suitable for various lighting conditions. Its colour reproduction is well-balanced, with accurate skin tones and a natural colour rendition, making it ideal for portrait photography.

Kodak Pro Image 100 is also known for its wide exposure latitude, meaning that it can handle overexposure and underexposure well, providing more flexibility in challenging lighting situations. Additionally, it has a broad tonal range, which enables it to capture subtle variations in highlights and shadows.

Overall, Kodak Pro Image 100 is a versatile film well-suited for various photographic applications, including portraits, landscapes, and street photography.

Name Kodak Professional Pro Image 100
Type Colour (negative)
Native ISO 100
Format(s) 35mm
Lab The Darkroom
Process C-41

Flounder Brewing Co. Beer Garden

Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

Brick Farm Tavern

Bhavna and I have had dinner at the Brick Farm Tavern each week since just after the "stay in your home order" were lifted, and Governor Murphy permitted outdoor dining. It's us once a week "socially distanced" outing. The tables are spaced 8-10 feet apart. The food at the tavern is delicious farm to table, and we are surprised by something new every week.

Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

Cousins Maine Lobster

I discovered Cousins Maine Lobster Truck too late in the summer to fully take advantage, but now I have developed a weekly habit of dropping in wherever they are for a lobster roll or lobster grilled cheese sandwich.

Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

Quaker Road Section of D&R Canal

Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2
Sunday 1 November 2020 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 45mm F2

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