I have been going on a tear with the darkroom, I printed three photos from my one and I think only Don Valley Brickworks visit late last Summer. I got a lot of grain with these photos courtesy Classicpan 400 but I think it enhances the look. There is no way I can go above 8x10 with enlargement. With 20/20 hindsight I should have gone with Ilford HP5 and push two stops but the end result would have been different. I scanned in as a colour photo on my cheapie scanner and converted two of the three into greyscale and I left the Junction Boxes Brought to You by the Letter F alone giving an almost sepia look.
Barnack Madness, What Was I Thinking?
My last adventures with Scewmount Barnack Leicas didn't end well, on the few occasions I tried my brother's IIIf and IIIg, I botched the loading and got 36 exposures on one frame. I was quite content to just shoot with my M3 and M4-2, even though I wanted to get a IIIg because Alex got dad's from the estate. Logic has no place shooting with a Barnack Leica, if the cliche film photography slows you down, working with a III series body is an exercise in zen. First you have deal with bottom loading, wind the film advance before adjusting shutter speed and be careful where you point your camea as bright sunlight can incinerate a rubberized silk shutter cloth instantly. That said, Joan at Burlington Camera had this red dial Leica IIIf from the mid 1950s with a pre war Elmar 50 F3.5 lens, on the used shelf, I saw it, handled the camera, and put it back. In a fit of camera GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) a few weeks later I came back in and bought the camera. I wonder if Joan...
Comments
You have lots of good pictures in your blog. I like the "Don Valley Brickworks" series a lot. These shots remindes me of movie sets I've worked on in the studios. I agree with what you said about how the "grain enhances the look.
Congrats on making your own prints. I'd like to give it a shot one day but I recently got a DSLR and I want to play with that for awhile.
I think it would be very kewl if you decide to sell some prints. You should give it a shot. What have you got to lose?
All the best.