Bill Smith's Photography

  It's been a long time since I last shot with Kodak Tri-X, we talked about this legacy black and white film on a recent episode of The Classic Camera Revival , I switched to Ilford HP5 a decade ago due to a price  spread (spoiler alert, Ilford HP5 was and still is cheaper per roll, be it 24, 36 or 100'/30m) and the fact HP5 dries flat while I have to flatten Tri-X rolls after drying.  I processed with Ilfotec HC 1+31, Tri-X shares the same time as Ilford HP5 and the second roll from the photo walk was shot on that film to compare and contrast.  The camera of choice was my Leica M4-2 along with the Light Lens Lab 8 Element 35 F2 "Summicron" lens, a great combo for sunny November day. I also got an opportunity to try out my 90 F2.8 APO-Skopar Telephoto lens by Voigtlander, very sharp glass with the two photos I did shot with it.  Camera: Leica M4-2, Light Lens Labs Eight Element 35 F2 lens. Voigtlander 90 F2.8 APO Skopar Telephoto Lens.  Film: Kodak Tri-X 40...

What do you do when you have a fellow photography podcaster roll into town for a few days? Head out for a photowalk. Mark, Nancy and I rolled east on a diverted 504 King St. (thank you sub trerranian electrical vault fire). I haven't been to the Distillery District in ages, it would be interesting to explore it during a snowstorm (by Toronto standards). I chose my combination of pushed to 1600 ISO Kodak Tri-X processed in Xtol stock and I got fabulous results. The camera of choice was my black Nikon FM, my chrome FM developed a shutter issue and needs a date with the repair tech. What ever you do when shooting in the snow, don't meter on the snow unless you like it to turn out grey. Always aim for a wall, a car, someone's jacket for a meter reading.