Shooting a mystery roll of film with my Hasselblad 500 C/M camera

A couple of weeks ago I was sorting out one of my travel bags and I came across a roll of 120 film in one of the pockets that I would have taken with me on my holiday in June but must have missed this pocket when unpacking everything back on my return.

It was in a white plastic packet with no writing on it. I decided I wanted to use it up asap because I couldn’t remember what it was so I wouldn’t be able to add it to my film inventory for a particular plan of use.

It was a nice sunny morning the other Sunday and my dog, Daisy, needed a walk so I decided to take my Hasselblad with me over to the beach and use up this film.

I was hoping when I opened up the plastic packet that there may have been a label but all it said on the paper inside was a strange graphic of 100.

I decided to take this as being the ISO and took photos using that ISO for my exposure.

I also wasn’t sure if it was black and white or colour. When I took it to my local lab for processing, I decided to get it processed in black and white.

I figured if I was wrong and it was ruined, they were beach photos which I regularly take so it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Thankfully it was a black and white film and the photos for the most part, came out fine.

It stated 100 pan on the processed negatives so I think it must have been a Rollei film I had taken with me on my trip to Turkey in June but never used.

Here are some photos of the beach:

Here are some photos I took of Daisy on the beach:

I can’t make up my mind whether I like this photo or not? I think I would have preferred it if I had put Daisy in focus and the people in the background had been out of focus:

This photo of Daisy has a sea mist feel about it as it seems slightly over exposed:

I had great fun that morning using my Hasselblad on the beach and I’m really pleased that I had guessed the film type for developing correctly.

Another attempt at animal photography using my Hasselblad 500 C/M camera

Back in July I visited the Rare and Traditional Breeds Show at the Weald & Downland Living Museum with my husband.

He has fond memories of visiting this show when he was a child with his Dad and hadn’t been for several years so was keen to go this year.

I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to take some black and white photos of some of the animals.

I decided to take my medium format camera (the Hasselblad) since I thought that would give me greater detail if I wanted to develop any of the photos in the darkroom.

I also had a roll of the Bergger Pancro 400 film in my film stash so thought I’d use this.

Here is a photo of one of the bulls being shown:

My main profession is a hand knitwear designer, so I was particularly drawn to the sheep breeds at the show which I found easier to photograph with the Hasselblad:

I was extremely impressed with the fleece detail on this breed of sheep in the following photographs and yet again, was pleased I had taken the photos using the Hasselblad:

I have a real fondness for the Southdown Sheep as they remind me of ‘little teddybears’ plus they’re bred in Sussex. However, as a knitwear designer, I’m frustrated that I can’t really knit with their fleece since it is very coarse when spun into yarn so isn’t very comfortable to wear for the ladies garments that I design which is a shame.

I couldn’t help but watch and take a couple of photos of the showing of them:

Although there is still a lot of room for improvement of my animal photography, there are actually a couple of photos of the sheep that I now want to develop in the Darkroom and get framed to put in my knitwear design studio which is an added bonus!

Ilford Delta 100 Pro 120mm Film

Following on from my recent blog about a visit to the Kaunos Ruins in Dalyan, Turkey, there were many photo opportunities.

Since my Hasselblad only takes 12 shots per 120mm film, I was able to try out some other black and white films whilst at this location.

Next on my list to try was the Ilford Delta 100 Professional 120mm film.

Normally in the UK I wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to use this film in view of the low ISO so thought a bright, sunny day in Turkey would be a perfect time to try it out.

I took these photos on my walk back down to the river from the Kaunos Ruins.

I was really happy with the detail of the trees in this photo:

I wasn’t sure if the next two photos would actually come out because I took these photos of the Donkey in very dark shade and light metered it as best I could. I’m therefore happy that I did manage to get the photos even if they are a bit dark:

I’ve realised that I’ve much practice to do on perfecting my photos of animals. The next set of photos were taken in a field where I had to climb onto a fence to take the photos. This was slightly awkward with the Hasselblad since its a camera I tend to ‘shoot from the hip’. The first two photos were ruined by a cow stepping its ‘back end’ into the shots as I took the photos and I slightly missed the face off the cow in the third shot but I can see the funny side of it because they are so bad:

The next couple of photos are of the Mountainside as I was walking back down:

I really liked this film and was pleased with the tones of black and white it produced. Once again, I was also impressed with the amazing detail thanks to the Hasselblad lens. I would definitely use this film again on a very sunny day.

Using the Cinestill 50D 120mm film with my Hasselblad 500 C/M camera

This was the only colour film I ended up using in my Hasselblad camera whilst I was away on holiday.

I had previously used this film in the 35mm format on my Olympus Pen FT Camera at a car show which I blogged about last year and was impressed with the results so was interested to try out the 120mm format in my Hasselblad.

It was one of the last films I used during my visit to Dalyan in Turkey so half of the film is of that. I used it during a visit to a hotel which had a beautiful enchanted garden where I ate a yummy local turkish breakfast and here are the photos I took:

Although I used a lens shade, there is unfortunately a slight red flare (from the sun) in a couple of the photos which I think makes it look like I’m using one of those experimental colour films. Also I’m not sure if there was a fault with this particular film? as there is a black line going through some of the photos on the left hand side.

Anyway faults aside, I really hope I managed to capture the magical feel of this place. I could easily have spent all day there but I was on an excursion for the day so this was only the first stop (to have our traditional turkish breakfast).

The second part of the film was used during a trip to Le Havre in France. I literally got back from Turkey, was home for one day before my husband and I set sail to Le Havre for my second holiday of the year.

It was thankfully a pleasant sail as the sea was nice and calm and it was also our first trip to France on our boat which was quite exciting.

I took some photos in the harbour that we moored at in Le Havre:

Overall, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the photos as I had previously been with the car show ones and I question whether I would have had better results if I’d used this film again at another car show.

However, I’m pleased I tried it out with a different subject matter but know in future if taking similar photos, I would most likely use a cheaper colour 120mm film which I think would have just as good (if not better) results.

Using the Multi-Prism Lens Filter with my Hasselblad 500 C/M Camera

A couple of weeks ago, I found one of the multi-prism lens filters for the Hasselblad for sale on eBay in the UK with a buy it now price for around £20.

I knew this would be a fun accessory to have for my Hasselblad and experiment with and didn’t think it was too expensive compared to other lens accessories I’d seen for sale for the Hasselblad so purchased it.

Thanks to the Hasselblad booklets I own, I discovered that it was a bayonet 50 mount so it would fit my 80mm lens. The booklet also told me that I had purchased model number 50679 which has five prisms.

I also loved the fact that the booklet states ‘These multi-prism lenses have prisms producing multiple images on the film. A striking accessory for the advertising photographer and an interesting, creative tool for experiments.’

Although the lens filter didn’t come with the original box, it was in immaculate condition when it arrived and looked like it had hardly ever been used!

I was excited to try it out so headed to my beach opposite where I live.

I decided to use the Fujichrome Velvia 100 colour reversal film in the 120mm format as I was hoping if I got it processed in E-6, it would have a real pop of colour which I thought would be great for the prism effect.

I’m fortunate enough in Brighton to have a local lab called Colourstream who are able to process the film by hand in the E-6 chemicals for me.

I was very excited about this experiment because I had obviously never used this lens attachment before and also I had never had a film developed in E-6.

Here are the results:

I was able to twist the prism around on my lens so I could get different prism effects which I thought was fun.

Overall, I was really happy with the way the photos turned out and I really like the intense colour of the Fujichrome film.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the colours from the sky and beach did the film justice. I would definitely like to try this film out again with some more colours in the photos.

I also have some more creative ideas using the prism filter so am looking forward to trying them out and blogging about them in the future.

Testing out the Rollei Chrome CR200 Colour Reversal film on my Hasselblad 500 C/M

I recently bought the Rollei 120mm colour film, which was on sale at a reduced price whilst purchasing some silver gelatin paper.

I had read that the Rollei Chrome CR 200 is an E-6 colour slide film which has rich, warm colours and subtle contrasts. It can be cross developed (C-41 process).

I knew I wanted to test this film out in my Hasselblad. I’ve recently become quite addicted to black and white photography so this was the first colour film that I decided to try and I was very excited to see the results.

After doing some research on the film and looking at other people’s photos online who had used it, I decided that I preferred the warm tones and colours when the film is cross processed under C-41 so got my film developed this way.

Here are a couple of photos I took of my nephews:

I was really pleased with how the above photos turned out. I felt the film being cross processed gave a warm vintage feel to the photos. I feel the colours all blend in together in a nice subtle way. I also love the crisp detail of the trees that my camera has managed to capture.

I next took some photos of blossom trees:

Again, there is very much a warm tone to these photos and I particularly like the darkness of the tree against the bright blue sky. Also the blossom has a yellow tint to it.

Lastly, I took some photos on the beach with the waves and sky:

I love the water detail in these photos and was surprised to see that the clouds almost look like paintings.

I especially love the last photo which I feel has a real 1970s dreamy, advert feel to it.

Taking photos of my nephews with the Hasselblad 500 C/M Camera

I note the majority of my photos tend to be of still objects outdoors and I’ve recently been trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone and try other types of photography.

From a previous blog post, you’ll see I attempted to take some indoor photos of my cats which wasn’t very successful.

Next I thought I’d attempt to take some photos of my nephews using some black and white film.

So with my Hasselblad in tow, I headed to a local park with my sister and nephews.

I decided on a park setting as I thought this would be enjoyable for them and ideally, I wanted to capture some photos of them having fun.

I wasn’t sure how successful this photo session would be since my nephews are used to having photos of them taken digitally which is a very quick process.

Obviously, my film format Hasselblad camera was going to take longer.

I recently acquired a Hasselblad Lens Shade for my 80mm lens on the advice I had received from a professional photographer who used this exact model camera back in the 1970s/80s. It’s a lens shade made for the Planar C and F lenses (which mine is) and is provided with a bayonet mount. There is an alignment dot which helps facilitate attachment to the lens.

The reason I decided to use a lens shade was because it was a very bright, sunny day so I thought it would help reduce sun glare and reflections. It also helps protect exposed lens surfaces.

To my surprise, my nephews were really good at staying still and posing for the photos. They were absolutely fascinated by the camera and quite enjoyed the experience.

Here are some photos I took using the Ilford Delta 400 black and white film:

After I had used up the roll of film, my nephews wanted more photos taken of them which was really lovely. Thankfully I’d also packed some Kodak 400TX film so used this too. Here are some of the photos I took:

Overall I was really pleased with how the photos turned out as I didn’t know what to expect. I think it helped that they really enjoyed me taking photos of them and it was a fun environment to photograph in.

The Fomapan Creative 120 ISO 200 Film and my Hasselblad 500 C/M Camera

I recently purchased this film from Analogue Wonderland whilst buying some other 120mm film:

The Fomapan film is available in different ISO’s from 100-400. I decided on the 200 ISO because I knew I wanted to use it on a bright sunny day in England.

I had seen some photos taken by other people using this film and I liked the style of photos the film seems to produce.

The other appealing thing about the film is that it is very cheap and can be purchased for £3.50 at Analogue Wonderland.

If I’m completely honest, amongst the other more expensive films I had purchased from Analogue Wonderland, this one had remained at the bottom of my pile. This was because I was waiting for a very sunny day and I also viewed it as not being of great quality because it was very cheap.

I recently spent the weekend in Rye with some friends. It was a beautiful sunny day on the Sunday so I decided to take a walk around Rye and test out this film in my Hasselblad.

When I got the film developed, I was extremely impressed with the quality and contrast of the photos. Here are some of the photos I took:

It’s definitely a film I’ll be buying again as I think it is great value for money. I also want to try out the other ISO formats they do.

Silver Gelatin Prints make lovely gifts

I was thinking today about the satisfaction I’ve had recently in being able to produce silver gelatin prints in the darkroom for gifts.

Whilst I appreciate that it’s a very personal thing to decide what photos you would like on display in your home, I’ve only gifted a couple of photos so far, to people who I know would love them and would definitely have them on display.

The first silver gelatin print I gifted was to my friend Clive, who went away with me last year to Singapore when we watched the Formula 1 Grand Prix there.

It was an amazing trip away and I managed to take a nice photo of Singapore using the zoom lens on my Pentax K1000 camera and Kentmere 100 black and white film.

I really liked the photo when I got it developed and practiced printing it on silver gelatin paper at my second black and white photography course at Varndean college. Here is a scanned copy of the print I did using a 3.5 Contrast Filter:

Clive saw the photo and really liked it. He had recently moved houses and said how lovely that picture would look framed up in his home office.

I therefore mounted it using white card and framed it in a nice black frame and gave it to Clive and he was really happy with it. It also felt like a nice moving in gift to his new home.

The second photo I gifted was to my husband today as it’s his birthday.

He is actually quite a difficult person to buy gifts for since he never really wants anything and if he does, he just buys it himself.

In the past I’ve taken him away on holiday for his birthday but due to current work commitments, he cannot take any time off work in the near future so I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this for him at the moment.

In fact, I think I felt more sad for him than he did at going to work today.

A couple of weeks ago, I had been practicing portrait shots with him using my Hasselblad 500 C/M camera and some Rollei RPX 400 black and white film.

I particularly liked a picture I’d taken of him cuddling our dog so decided yesterday when I was in the darkroom to make an enlargement of it.

Early this morning before he got up for work, I placed the photo on the mantel piece in our living room for him to see.

I’m pleased to say he really loved it and left for work with a big smile on his face. That was a great feeling for me knowing how happy I’d made him and I knew that photo meant more to him than anything material I could have bought.

I attached a copy of the photo in the blog heading but here it is again:

How different a photo can look from basic scanning to printing a copy of it in the darkroom

I suppose it’s quite obvious that there will be differences in a photo from being scanned onto a computer compared to if you print a copy of it in the darkroom.

I really noticed a difference in the contrast in a couple of my photos this week that I’d originally scanned using my Epson V600 scanner and then developed copies in the darkroom.

These photos were taken using my Hasselblad 500 C/M Camera and Ilford Delta 400 film.

The first image was of a close up of a tombstone in the shape of a cross with a tree in the background. Here is the original image that I scanned on my Epson V600 scanner:

I didn’t tweak the original scan as I was happy with the original exposure. As you can see, it isn’t high in contrast and there are many subtle shades of grey which is what I would have expected from the Ilford Delta 400 film.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I decided to print an enlargement in the darkroom but I was surprised by how different the contrast and tones were:

I cropped the photo slightly as I wanted more focus on the tombstone and tree and I felt the extra detail on the right hand side of more trees took attention away from this. The biggest difference I noted though was how much darker the trees and shadow detail were. Also, the grass, tombstones and background detail were left with really nice shades of grey.

I next decided to do an enlargement of a tree image I’d taken on the same roll of film with the sun shining through the trees. I was keen to see how this would look in a print. Here is the original photo I scanned on my Epson V600 scanner:

I made no amendments to this photo at the scanning stage as I was happy with the exposure. As before, the photo consists of various shades of grey with no real contrast.

Here is the same image which I printed in the darkroom:

Once again, I cropped the image, this time on the left hand side because I wanted more focus on the two big trees with the sun shining through. You’ll notice that the greys are much darker on this print compared to the original scan. I’ve also lost the grey detail from the sky which was in the original scan. This gives the image a lot more contrast.

I used Ilford chemicals to develop both prints and also Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe Pearl 8×10 paper. I exposed both images for 1 minute and I didn’t use any contrast filters.

Personally I prefer the darkroom prints over the original scanned images. I’m very keen on contrast in my photos as I feel this adds to the dramatic effect I wanted to achieve in these particular images I took.

Perhaps I could have achieved this effect too on the scanner by changing the contrast but I am just surprised by how different they look in print.

I’m very grateful to have access to a darkroom and I get so much satisfaction in seeing my images almost come to life in print instead of just looking at them on the screen.

I’ve also enjoyed messing about cropping my images to see how different it can make my photo look.

Needless to say, there are many more prints that I now want to develop in the darkroom to see how different they look compared to my original scanned images.

Lastly, the darkroom prints have also been scanned onto the computer using my Epson V600 scanner and they look the same as the actual print.