Frugal Film Project 2024 - January

A few days ago I mentioned that I would be joining the Frugal Film Project for 2024. One film a month shot with a low-cost camera and lens (not to exceed $ 75). The idea is to show that even on a budget you can still get some great photos on film. My camera of choice is the Canon EOS 1000N, a 1990s camera that can be had for a song these days. I've paired it with a 24-85mm lens and am shooting Agfaphoto APX100 black and white film (really rebadged Kentmere Pan 100). I'll be home developing using Adonal.

I have since joined the official FFP24 FB page and found out that I'll be joining 410 other photographers. I am really interested to see what the others come up with. As for me, I've been able to get some shots in the snowy days last week. Enjoy!

Black swan

Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno (a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan) was first uttered in the second century by the Roman poet Juvenal. Back then, a black swan was thought impossible and the phrase was used as a metaphor. It was used to show the fragility of any system of thought. Should a black swan magically appear that system of thought would collapse. 

Canon EOS 5DsR fitted with a Canon EF 100-400mm f/5.6L USM lens

But no, we are not here to discuss the black swan theory or even the 2010 motion picture film starring the lovely Natalie Portman, we are actually here to celebrate the sighting of an actual black swan! I felt a bit like my 17th century countryman Willem de Vlamingh when he first discovered a black swan in 1697 when I first observed this lovely bird, literally in my back yard!

Now my 'back yard' is a series of meadows surrounding the fortress city of Naarden. A bank of swans had arrived here about a fortnight ago and is still happily grazing here. To my surprise, a black swan was part of this bevy. So when the sun - you know, that shiny thing in the sky that is sometimes seen when there are (almost) no clouds - actually decided to grace us with its presence I grabbed something digital, fitted a 100-400mm lens and started the hunt for the black swan. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Winter 2023

Now that spring has arrived I find myself looking back to winter - my photography last winter that is. So what have I been up to in the last three months?

45 Squadron Phenom 100 ZM337 landing at RAF Cranwell

Winter weather

Contrary to popular belief we sometimes actually have winter weather in Dutch winters. Not much, true, but I guess we lucked out. With actual ice and snow around my good friend Joeri and I dropped everything we were doing and headed out into the freezing cold.

Joeri trying out my Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens

Skating at Lake Naarden

Just a few days before I managed to get my hands on a 45mm pancake lens. A perfect time to see what this could do. Joeri thought pretty much the same thing, trying out my Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens on his Sony A7. Check out his thoughts on this combo.

My small automobile after the first snow

Snow on the meadows

More snow on the meadows

Sadly the snow thawed away after a few days, being replaced by rain...

Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 80mm f/2.8

Another find was a pristine Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 80mm f/2.8 P6 mount lens at a local photography fair. I was keen to put this lens through its paces so I called up Joeri and off we went.

No trespassing

Joeri toting his trusty Sony A7

The grey brick road

In this case I grabbed my Pentax 645Z and used an P6-Pentax 645 adapter. I am very satisfied with the way the lens performed, this copy is a keeper.

Canon EF 35mm f/2

Another lens I got acquainted with was the Canon EF 35mm f/2. I've had this lens for a while now but somehow I always reached for the 24-105 or similar lens when out and about with my Canons. This is the original 35mm, not the later IS version. I actually enjoyed the 35mm more than I expected. I shot both digital and film with this lens, here is an example of a film shot:

Soviet anti-aircraft gun at the Vesting Museum

Ihagee Exa Ia

This winter I bagged not only a few lenses but a new (to me) camera as well. 

Ihagee Exa Ia fitted with a Domiplan 50mm f/2.8

This really is a fun little camera. It certainly is different from the mainstream cameras and I guess that this is part of the fun. I did a write-up of my experiences if you're interested.

Cobra Warrior 2023

In the last days of March I decided to travel to the UK to catch RAF exercise Cobra Warrior 2023. With aircraft from faraway places like India and Saudi Arabia attending this made for an interesting few days in England.

An Indian Mirage 2000 in typical English weather

The flight line at RAF Barkston Heath

A Finnish Air Force Hornet in the evening sun

Flying daily patrols over eastern Europe is this RC-135W

All in all I am quite pleased with the shots I managed to take.

Spring

This is it for winter 2023. See you in the spring!

2021

This 2nd of January has me reminiscing about the past year. 2021 has given me a 'first' when it comes to photography, but in other fields things were slow to say the least.

Travel

The one thing the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused more than anything else was a restriction of travel for me. Luckily no-one in my family and circle of friends was negatively affected by COVID-19 but it has left its mark on my travel itinerary. Travel was slow, very slow. That meant having to rediscover my local surroundings when shooting. 

Naardermeer nature preservation area, Pentax 645Z

Gear

I've managed to get my hands on some interesting stuff in the past year. The purchase of a brand new Pentax 645Z medium format digital camera and the refurbishment of my Kiev 60, Kiev 80 and Kiev 88 medium format film cameras had the most impact on my photography. With regard to the Pentax 645Z, its predecessor the Pentax 645D blew me out of the water when I managed to get hold of one in 2014 and the Pentax 645Z did that all over again. The image resolution I get with this camera is simply amazing. And although I really enjoy the work fellow photographer Joeri van Veen creates with his large format Cambo Ultima 23D camera plus Leaf Aptus digital back I feel that with the arrival of the Pentax 645Z my digital needs are fully fulfilled. The three Kievs are another story. These really take me back to the pinnacle of film photography. I really like their classic feel and look. 

Naarden, ARAX (Kiev 88) CM-MLU

The fortress city of Naarden, Canon 90D

Another piece of kit I bought was a new scanner. After years of loyal service my Nikon LS-8000ED Super Coolscan stopped working. Sadly Nikon no longer supports their superb film scanners and replacement parts are not available. That meant having to buy a new scanner and after some deliberation I chose the Epson Perfection V850 Pro. On the one hand this scanner allows for more negative formats to be scanned, up to 4x5 format. On the other hand it is no dedicated film scanner like the Coolscan and that is very apparent when for instance you use the ICE dust removal option. It worked pretty flawlessly on the Coolscan, on the Epson ehh, not so much. But in the end it gets the job done and if I ever want to venture into the world of large film photography I've got a scanner that supports that.

Black and white

2021 had a photographic 'first' for me: I started developing film myself. Due to that 2021 saw an uptake in the use of black & white film. It was also fun to discover how an expired color film would look when developed in black and white chemistry. 

The best shot

So what was my best photograph of 2021? If I had to pick one it would probably be one of the shots seen above. However my friends over at Flickr had the following thoughts on that:

 

According to my Flickr pals these are my best shots of 2021. Funnily enough the first one was scanned and uploaded in 2021 but was shot a few years earlier. So the winner is...

Naarden, expired color film developed as b&w, Pentax LX

2022

This year will see the start of a new project: 12 months - 12 cameras. Regular updates will appear here so stay tuned!

Medium format slides

Slides

Since I started shooting medium format film I've always had a preference for transparency or slide film. This was mainly because in the 35mm world I used slide film 99% of the time and my work flow was centered around slides. Slides scan beautifully and it is a joy to see them projected. 

Unlike 35mm, when shooting medium format there are different sizes with regards to slide formats. I have camera's that shoot 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x7 format slides. For scanning purposes no big issue but if you want to project these slides there is no 'one fits all' slide projector. 6x4.5 and 6x6 have the same size of slide mount so can both be used on a 6x6 slide projector. 6x7 alas is too big for that. 

Projecting

Nowadays it is uncommon to see a medium format slide projector. I was lucky to obtain one, a 6x6 projector. This means that my 6x4.5 and 6x6 camera's are loaded with 120 slide film most of the time. I tend to use my 6x7's for black and white and colour negatives mostly these days.

Ok, now I owned a projector. Next on my list was obtaining the necessary slide mounts. Although I was able to buy some 6x4.5 mounts new I usually have to depend on the second-hand market. I have been lucky to get my hands on a mixed supply of 6x4.5 and 6x6 glass mounts but these need to be cleaned before use. I do so by washing them in warm soapy water. I've also heard other stories on how to clean these mounts, how do YOU do it? Please drop me a line in the comments section below describing how you clean your medium format glass slide mounts.

Scanning

My work flow now is to scan the slide first, then mount it. These are huge transparencies to scan so this takes a while. I use an LS-8000ED Coolscan and scan at maximum capacity. Scanning a 6x6 slide gets me a whopping 80.5 megapixel 500 MB file.

The results

Last February I shot a roll of Provia 100F with my ARAX CM-MLU. This is basically an improved Kiev 88CM, when using these you definitely get those old-school vibes. I scanned these earlier today, below you'll find a small selection of winter landscapes.

• Location Naarden
• Camera: ARAX CM-MLU
• Lens: ARAX MC 80mm f/2.8
• Film: Fujichrome Professional Velvia 100F 
• Scanner: Nikon LS-8000ED

Winter

With a full week of snow - almost unheard of here - last week really was a winter landscape photographers delight. 

My Pentax 645Z fitted with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar/6x7 105mm f/2.4 lens 

As with my first outing, I decided to go to the Naardermeer en brought along my Pentax 645Z. This time I went medieval manual focus and I chose one of the 67 series of lenses, the 105mm f/2.4.

Location: Naardermeer
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: Super-Multi-Coated Takumar/6x7 105mm f/2.4

I really enjoyed using the 105mm again. Yes, it is a big son of a gun but big is better when you are using gloves as this makes focusing a lot easier. I used one of those Pentax-built 67-645 adapters, with these the aperture ring on the lens works properly i.e. no opening the lens up for focusing and then stopping it down.

Brothers

Later that same day I went out for a small stroll and brought both digital Pentaxes. Again, I went manual focus with the 645Z, now fitted with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8. The 645D was equipped with the SMC Pentax-FA 80-160mm f/4.5, a very nice all-round lens. Originally developed for the Pentax 645N 120 film camera this works like a charm on the digital 645 bodies. 

Location: Naarden
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8

Location: Naarden
Camera: Pentax 645D
Lens: SMC Pentax-FA 80-160mm f/4.5

The last photos in this series were taken in the Naarden Citadel.

Location: Naarden
Camera: Canon EOS 90D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Tripod: Manfrotto 144B frame with a Manfrotto 804RC2 head