Shooting a wedding using Holga and Ilford 3200 -- what to expect?

Sirius Glass

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foc said:
If you bounce flash off any surface that isn't white, you will get a colour cast the same colour as the surface of the bounce.
Depending on the barns interior roof this will effect the photos colour.
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In that case bounce flash would only work for black & white photography, a wedding tradition.
 

xya

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Helge said:
Reverse order: Solved it with a motor drive and a digital counter.
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What's wrong about that?
Helge said:
And no, Pearl has big problems with spacing of frames, and broken mechanisms.
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I don't agree. I have had several of these and I still use a III quite regularly. Never ever a problem. And yes, I have a working spare in case of...
Helge said:
Any 6x9 folder has problems with flatness. Even the last ones released.
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That's a preposterous claim IMO. 100 years and 1000s of serious professional photographers used 6x9 cameras with beautiful results. They were all wrong according to your claim....
Helge said:
Plaubel uses a scissor strut erector. Completely different from a folder, with it own advantages and disadvantages.
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But good nevertheless. And in principle: they fold...
 

brbo

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xya said:
The OP decided to use a point and shoot, not a Holga...
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Wouldn't you say that using a flash from your link with a point & shoot (even if it was possible) would be an overkill too?
 

xya

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brbo said:
Wouldn't you say that using a flash from your link with a point & shoot (even if it was possible) would be an overkill too?
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Yes, and it looks ridiculous, I have to admit. But I use it nevertheless, even with a flash trigger in case that there is no hot shoe or PC connector. And there are smaller units with the same head that go into a hot shoe.

I use those with the Lomo LC-A and Wide (the latter with a diffusor).
 

Helge

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brbo said:
Wouldn't you say that using a flash from your link with a point & shoot (even if it was possible) would be an overkill too?
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Overkill? If it does the job much better?
Even Minox 35, the smallest 135 camera ever had a flip up bounce flash.

It’s really not that complicated. Just get any powerful flash and find a way to point it wherever you want, including just holding it with one hand.

Flashes are literally being given away because people don’t know how to use them.

Even if your camera has neither PC socket or hotshoe you can still use an optical slave trigger.
I do that with my Instax Wide 300 to overcome it’s low light deficiency.
Some bracket flashes has build in optical slave.

There is really only quite a small chance of grossly overexposing with negative film and bounce flash. I even shot slide with manual flash at full power with good results.
It’s only important to make a rough estimate of return distance and how much the surface is going to steal.
Keep an eye on the table or computer dial usually one the flash.
 
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Helge

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Motor drive is just much less elegant. Breaks more easily. Uses larger batteries. Makes noise. And was not possible in the fifties when most attractive folders were made.

There is such a thing as being lucky. Apart from squashed unit focus, misaligned winding is one of the most common complaints.
The Super Dollys version of “blind wind” was super elegant and one of the most robust. But also perfectly shows in a nutshell the problems with auto wind in such a small package (IE without some kind of feeler on the paper only relying on a predefined “table”).

Reg. 6x9, notice I’m talking about folders exclusively.
Problem in a folder is getting enough tension on the film. Most folders and simple boxes rely mostly on the films own spring force from curving in two directions to keep it pretty flat.
That force is less with a larger span of film.
The second you are into more complicated film transport like the Kodak Medalist for example things are much different.
 

brbo

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Definitely!

I mean, OP is trying to snap a few casual shots as a guest at a wedding. Why on earth wouldn't you want to go out and buy a new camera, flash, hire a couple of assistants...?!
 

snusmumriken

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From my own experience, steel yourself for the wedding couple and their relatives being underwhelmed with your photos because they are rather grainy and not in colour.

I went down this route with Delta 3200, determined to use what little light there was in the venue. I knew there would be many digital cameras and phones there to get colour shots using flash, and like you I wanted to do something different. I had previously gotten very nice results with Delta 3200 at box speed in Emofin, so I gave every shot 1/30 at f/2 and developed as before.

All my shots were under-exposed, I disliked them all anyway, and the couple made no comment when they received them. This below was arguably the best of the bunch, and only because the cake was rock hard!
 

Alex Benjamin

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brbo said:
Definitely!

I mean, OP is trying to snap a few casual shots as a guest at a wedding. Why on earth wouldn't you want to go out and buy a new camera, flash, hire a couple of assistants...?!
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Programmers who built this site need to go back to the drawing board because obviously Photrio's CI (for "Collective Intelligence") has yet to learn how to answer the question "How can I keep it simple?" by anything other than "Make it as complicated as you can."

This thread started with a Holga, and now I'm waiting for someone to come in and suggest a setup that even Gregory Crewdson would find excessive.

(Just kidding, guys, rainy day here, not much to do, keep going, keep going...)
 

Helge

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We’re shooting film. It’s complex already. Adding a flash, possibly with auto exposure, does not complicate it much more.
There is always a lot less light than you think.
Adding a flash is always a good idea in settings like this. With digital too.
 

pentaxuser

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Phew, for a minute I thought you might have been serious. I mean how can we ever be thought of as a forum that makes anything that seeks a simple answer into something complicated than it needs to be?

pentaxuser
 

grain elevator

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Interesting thread that has surfaced again. I want to mention that I consider this photo close to a masterpiece and if the bride and groom don't appreciate it, you, @ snusmumriken, need to swap them out for friends or relatives with a sense of humour and aesthetics. It's like something from a play. Even the bystanders are perfect.
 

pentaxuser

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foc said:
Do you think this could work in the barn?

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Well in response to a question from his customer about the trend in the kind of photography depicted here, the photographer said: Yes, Mr Hyde, it even has found favour with the medical profession. Yesterday I had a doctor Jekyll come in for his portrait

pentaxuser
 

pentaxuser

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I agree 100% with these sentiments A great shot and in keeping with the tradition of making boxing films in b&w where it captures the action and ambience better, b&w does exactly the same for weddings

pentaxuser
 

snusmumriken

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pentaxuser said:
I agree 100% with these sentiments A great shot and in keeping with the tradition of making boxing films in b&w where it captures the action and ambience better, b&w does exactly the same for weddings
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Thank you both so much, that is immensely cheering! The thing is, though, that we are on this thread because we already love b/w imagery, and film/paper as a beautiful medium. I’m sure you are familiar with the kind of people who indulge you by looking at your photos and then say only, “It’s a pity you can’t do colour”. That’s what the OP would have been up against with his plan. It would be nice to hear how it went, @-persimmon-tree- ?
 

Ben Hutcherson

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I’ve never owned a Holga, but with the parameters given(1/100, f/8, EI 800) I’m getting an exposure of 8EV.

My living room is 7-8 EV in the evening with a couple of table and floor lamps. When I’ve photographed wedding receptions before(it’s been a while since I’ve been paid to do it, and don’t have any desire to again) it’s often been at ISO 6400 or higher, f/2.8, and crossing my fingers and hoping people aren’t moving TOO much so that I can use a stabilized lens and manage 1/8-1/30.

For the side discussion on folders, I really need to fix the bellows on my Autographic 2A in 120 with the Taylor-Hobson-Cooke triplet in an Optima shutter. I have high hopes for that one once working, especially since most Kodak folders have 1 or 2 element lenses. The Optima shutter offers a pretty good range of speeds(and after servicing and greasing the piston, it’s decently accurate) compared to the 2-3 speeds you get on the Kodak ball bearing shutter.
 

baachitraka

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Good flash and Holga/Diana is not so bad, but nailing the focus on the subject(s) is always a critical.

And you may not see the harsh shadows with Holga but focus (Holga specific) is a bit challenging.

Delta 3200 is a good film but I would sacrifice a roll at home before going into the venue.
 
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