natural history museum

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Gear: Lubitel 166U test

Monday, May 22nd, 2017

Here are some test shots from a Lubitel 166U camera that I got in a job lot of stuff that I bought on eBay. For a twin-lens medium format camera it’s very light and similar in styling to the Yashica 124 cameras. I found the viewfinder tricky to use because the image in the viewfinder doesn’t quite cover from corner to corner so you have to move your head around while holding the camera still if you’re to stand any chance of a decent composition. I found it tricky to hold level because it’s light weight but overall I did enjoy using it in a toy camera kind of way.

[Tech info:] Lubitel 166U, Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Lubitel test shots

Lubitel test shots

 

Oxford: Around and about

Monday, January 5th, 2015

These shots are from a few days ago during a photo walk around town with a fellow film photographer friend of mine, Chris. Neither of us had anticipated the icy cold wind that had come in and after braving it up until the light started to fade we decided to head to the Natural History Museum which is not only one of my favourite places to photograph but it’s also guaranteed to be warm 🙂 I made a mistake with this roll because it came in a batch of mixed expired films and had no box. At a glance the roll looked like Fuji Neopan 100 Acros but it was actually Neopan 400. I wanted to test Acros pushed 1 stop in Xtol developer but because this was an ISO 400 film I ended up over-exposing it by 1 stop and then pushed it 1 stop in the developer. I’m amazed I got anything usable from the roll and it’s a credit to the latitude of film.

[Tech info:] Mamiya Universal, 100/2.8, Fuji Neopan 400 (expired), rated at ISO 200 and pushed 1 stop in Xtol 1+1 for 13 mins.

 

Oxford: Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.2 lens test

Sunday, November 9th, 2014

These shots were made during my lunch break to test a wide-angle lens I picked up for my Leica M2, it’s a Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.2 II. A couple of years ago my friend Benedict Campbell bought this same lens and the first place he went to test it out was the Natural History Museum in Oxford so I thought it appropriate that I should do the same. Not only are the light levels inside perfect to test out such a fast lens but there are also lots of interesting things to photograph as well as lots of people. The film I used was an expired roll of Ilford FP4 but there was no box with it so I don’t know how old it was. The grain seems heavier than I would expect so perhaps it was quite old. On my way back to my office I stopped off at Clements & Church tailors on Little Clarendon Street to use up the last few frames with Ian who is always obliging.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voightlander Nokton 35/1.2, Ilford FP4 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.