Am I 'Hogging' the uploads ?

[pentaxpete]

I seem to be the ONLY one in this Goup uploading any PHOTOS !! Surely all you Hasselblad owners must actually TAKE some photos ? I have many cameras now so I sort of use them in rotation, all with outdated film ! Please some other Group members show what you do !!

 

[leix45]

Not to worry Mr. Pete. I enjoy seeing your all your photos from another corner of the world. Keep up the good work. By the way, the whale bones were quite interesting.

 

[pentaxpete]

Thanks for your interest and comment on my photos -- I did a 16x12" RA4 darkroom print of the whalebones one for my Club print competition but it didn't get a 'sticker' !

 

[leix45]

You are welcome. Looking at Google maps there seems no end of interesting subjects. Do you have any photos from Whitby Abby and the Endeavour? In the meantime keep that old Hasselblad loaded with powder and shot and don't forget to swab out the barrel between rounds

 

[Bertil]

Pete, if you want some response to your pictures, I suggest you upload in some of the Galleries – very little activity in most Groups, as far as I can see.
/Bertil (who 'hogged' the upload today!)

 

[leix45]

Those were some nice photos you posted the other day but I really like the work you are doing with B&W. Do you use TMAX all the time or do you use other brands as well?

 

[Bertil]

Thanks leix45 for your comments and question.
As for my choice B/W films: for 400 Iso film today I only use TMY-2 (latest T-Max 400) 135, 120 and 4x5" I think it's a great film, not just the emulsion, but also the very base is nice to work with (if all b/w film were to disappear from the market, but one left, I think I would vote for keeping this very film! On the othe hand it was a long time ago since I used the Ilford films, which probably are quite as good to work with). Today TMY-2 is the only film I use as 135 film.
When Fuji's Acros 100 appeard on the market I tried it on 120 with Rodinal and liked it very much, still my standard 100 ISO 120-film. It has a thinner base, not as nice to work with as TMAX films, but I think, in relation to T-Max 100, it's sharper and almost without grain, evan with Rodinal, which is a developer I like to use (together with old D-76 and D-23, have stopped experimenting with other developers! Pyro developer seems to be little hard to get in Sweden, so I haven't tried them, also not sure how the work with mulitgrade paper which I prefer to use).
I also do some LF in b/w and, save 4x5" TMY-2 , my standard film is Fomapan 100 (4x5", 5x7" and 8x10", half the price of Kodak/Ilford films and sheet film is expensive enough) normally developed in Rodinal (but also D-76 and D-23).
Back in time I have tried most (normal) films on the market, liked AGFA 400 very (with Microdol-X), much but also ORWO 100 (with Rodinal)!
Best wishes
/Bertil

 

[leix45]

Thank you, Bertil, for sharing you experiences. Sounds like you have been at this for a while. I am new to Hasselblad (sort of like hauling a 19th century cannon around after using 35mm) but it has become my favourite for B&W. A whole new trail to explore since I did almost always colour.I have a fist full of B&W brands, everything from TMax to Fomopan, so we will see what comes of it.
PS I really liked the "Iron Door" shots

 

[Bertil]

Ok leix45, so nice you remember these shots!
Reminds me that I intended to make proper prints of these negs, which in fact I haven't done, sad since I think they have some potential (and the black filmborder in these scans/uploads made a point) – happy you liked them!
About B/W film 120 for the Hasselblad camera and lenses.
I don't think it really matters very much which brand you choose to work with, at least not as long as you choose from the Big three (Fuji, Ilford, Kodak); some people seem to have some kind of quality problems with 120-film of cheaper brands (a long thread here on APUG about Fomapan 120-film). Working with the Hasselblad equipment I assume you at least sometime want to achieve "perfect" results in the classical sense: tonality, sharpness, definition etc. From that point of view I would not experiment much with cheaper films; perhaps when you judge that you know how to best achieve your desired results with "best" emulsions in relation to your choice of developer, it can be fun to start experimenting with other emulsions of perhaps cheaper kind.
Once I tried to save money and made a long hike with many rolls of ORWO Np 22, ISO 100 (at that time a east Germany product). I made som test with this film, using Rodinal, and was very satified with the result; OK a little bit grainy but not a problem with normal contrast printing. Unfortunately now and then the emulsion was contaminated with dust like particles which disturbed me much at that time. Today I'm not that upset about such things, take it more as belonging to the analog media (compared to the perfect "dead" digital style!).
Doing LF (4x5, 5x7" and 8x10") I have no problems at all with Fomapan 100 sheet film (have also made some 50 sheets boxes of 8x10" EFKE PL 100 without problems, in many ways just to learn to shoot and develop such stuff) - but I'm quite new to LF.
About developer, Kodak's X-tol seems to be a very economical stuff, and both more or less scientific measurements and peoples experiences seems to tell in favour of this developer. I like developers I can mix myself from raw chemicals (or at least can learn what they contain as in the case of Rodinal), not that case with X-tol - as far as I know.
/Bertil