First prints off the Agfa Isolette

Since I got my Agfa, I've had the idea of taking "snapshots" like a dad in the 1950's might have. I'm also trying to train my eye for exposure, both on the negative and the print. No meters were used on any of this, and the prints are "one shots" based on eyeballing the negative and taking my best guess.

Fun stuff, this is!

You're pretty good at judging exposure, I'd say. I like the snapshot idea. Nice photographs!

I can never get it right by eyeballing the negative and print. I can come close, the I never get it just right on the first try. Maybe because I'm too picky.

Nice. What lens have you got in that?

Thanks, guys.

The lens is the f3.5 / 75mm Solinar.

I've still got a long way to go on getting exposure correct. Most of my negs are either a little or a lot under-exposed. This shot in particular was a real disappointment: It could have been amazing, but the neg is super-thin:


Still, for me that is what this is all about. When I shot digital, it always seemed like I would come home with hundreds of perfectly exposed, perfectly focused crap shots. Now I'm getting much better shots. I just need to get better at seeing the light properly the first time.

Nothing wrong with making it more of a silhouette, though. Don't be afraid of the deep blacks, even if they are mostly featureless. That might focus the eye more on the embrace, as well as where the kids are going.
Too much detail in that black shirt might be distracting, actually. Just a thought.

But, it is nicer to have a choice when printing, so I always err on the side of 'more exposure', which is, as you know, a lot easier to handle in the darkroom.

Thomas Bertilsson said:

I always err on the side of 'more exposure', which is, as you know, a lot easier to handle in the darkroom.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you said that. I'm such a total noob, but that is certainly what I am finding out. I'd rather have a super thick neg that I have to expose for 40 sec on the enlarger than a super thin, three second neg, all other things being equal.

This whole project is an experiment in process. Like I said, I have this idea of a proud dad in 1957 spending more than he is willing to admit to his wife on a brand new Isolette. He's also a darkroom guy, but not "fine art" darkroom guy. He just wants to get a good print where you can see the kids' faces.

That's the project. Simulate what that guy would get. Not sure what I'm going to do with all these prints, but that's another question. For now, I've got about a dozen more rolls developed and ready for enlargement, and I'm shooting more every day.

I do have this idea of papering a wall with all these...

PS: One thing that I've noticed that is REALLY cool is that the Agfa is great for getting shots of people on the street. "The kids these days" have never seen anything like it, and universally think its the slickest thing ever.

Great stuff, Omaha. Do you have a range finder, or zone focuser? They are all so nicely focused.

Its the Isolette III, so they are all focused with an uncoupled rangefinder.

I like your "1957 Proud Dad" idea, and I especially like how you print on longer paper to allow room for notes. Those medium format folders of the '40s and '50s do an excellent job. Have you considered using a hand held light meter... if not a modern version, maybe a vintage selenium model?

I know this is an old thread but what an awesome idea!

Wow...as a beginner, i am duly impressed.....with a few things:
1. How well exposed most of them really are.
2. The composition is attractive.
3. The kids/young adults are also "attractive"...that is to say they are smiling, look happy and relaxed...not stiff while they "wait for some dude to take the picture already".

Excellent!

Omaha, I'm w/ CMoore on the shots. I like the family compositions - not that you won't have other compositions that draw your interest. These have a great feel to them. Also, that Isolette glass may well give you a rendering modern glass won't. I have a number of shots w/ the 'blad I wish I could have gotten w/ an old Super Ikonta - for that reason. I think you'll be happy w/ that camera even if you add others to the mix. 'Hope we get to see more of your work.