Bill Smith's Photography

 Love shooting with ORWO's UN 54, still sitting on some bulk rolls in the freezer, that's why I like so much. I'm not going to comment on their current ownership and hold out hope that maybe Lomography will make them an offer they can't refuse some day.  UN54 is a 100 ISO daylight balanced black and white motion picture stock that is leveraged as a still film. You can get in 100ft/30m bulk rolls, or spooled up 35mm cassettes from a variety of sources. Lomography sell this film under the Lomo Kino Potsdam name. Prior to the great pack and purge of 2023 in Oakville and the move of 2024 to the city, I used D76 or ID-11as the developer of choice. Problem, I don't have the room to store stock D75/ID-11 in my condo, so I had to find a liquid developer that can do the job well. In come's Ilford's Ilfotec DDX at a 1+4 dilution, DDX is their version of Kodak's Tmax developer.  I used the developing time provided by Lomography for Potsdam and it worked perfectly. ...

  My recently overhauled Canon F-1n, needed a shake down run so I went on an early March photowalk on a very sunny Sunday morning with my friends John Meadows and Ori Carmona. I rolled with ORWO UN 54, a black and white motion picture stock repurposed as a still film. I haven't shot with this emulsion in a while, I still had seven hand rolled cassettes left and I was going to switch over to Rollei RPX 100. Well, the results have me reconsidering.  ORWO UN54 sings in D76 or ID-11 at a one part developer one part water solution. Damn, I'm now thinking I should get two more bulk rolls because I'm blown away with the results, especially on a sunny day. Well as they say, but wait, there will be more, you just have to wait until the next post.  Camera: Canon F-1n, FD 35 f2 chrome nose lens, FDn 135 F2.8 lens,  Film: ORWO UN 54 ID-11 1+1. 

This has been a stinky hot summer so far. I was out with my friend John Meadows a few weeks ago for a morning walk from my house to downtown Oakville for coffee. I travelled light with an Olympus OM-1md, with a new to me Zuiko MC 50 F1.4 lens with the serial number over a million. What's the signifigance of that? The million plus MC 50 f1.4 lenses were considered one of the best in the Zuiko line up especially in terms of colour rendition which is moot because I rolled with black and white on this adventure.  As for the film. I loaded up with ORWO UN 54 which some people in the know, recognize that as raw Lomography Kino Potsdam 100. ORWO film is only available in 100' rolls so you have roll your own. I do, with a low tech Lloyds bulk loader. What I love about UN 54 is how it looks in D76 (American ID-11) in the 1+1 dilution. I'm planning to buy two more bulk rolls when the heat tapers off late in the Summer. I love this film and like Ilford FP4 forgot how nice it is in a t...