Wallace Koopmans Artlog

I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first with the results I got from this film but it may have been more about my expectations than the film itself.   Adox describes it as having ‘Bursting Reds’ so I made sure that I shot a lot of red things.  They also suggest that to get the best results for reds to shoot at 200 ISO while I shot the film at 100 ISO which is what was on the film canister.  So to achieve closer to the result I was after I tweaked the reds in Lightroom as well as some other adjustments. This image demonstrates the difference.

And of course the grain is pretty extreme, as they say no one is going to mistake that for digital.   In the end though I got what I deserved 36 frames with a very different look.

My week in Calgary involved long days inside with no opportunity for photography so I either woke early and went out or walked around in the fading light of the evening.  Limited as well to travelling on foot I primarily remained in the city’s core of towers.  The streets became mostly de-peopled after the work day was done.  These are some of the images I took during those times.

Adox’s Color implosion film is marketed as having ‘a modified color scheme’  from there website translated to english:

Place your camera to ISO 400/27 °. The color option of your memory film implodes and you get images with very little color and “Toxic Grain”.  This awaits you if you belichtest Color implosion with your Holga.

Now I don’t know what blichtest means but it doesn’t sound good and I don’t like anyone telling me I have to use a Holga.

So the second suggestion which might have been what I was after is.

Place your camera to ISO 200/24 °.  Now everything explodes red, while the others remain in the green-blue color.  “Toxic Grain” is red. 
  If you like share with your laboratory staff that you would like the movie “supercharge plus 1”. “Bursting Red” also in your Holga

Still I don’t want anything bursting in my Holga if I had one, so I went with the third option.

Place your camera to ISO 100/21 °.  Now makes Color implosion for you beautifully surreal 70s summer colors.  The “Toxic Grain” is now yellow and not as concise.

By the way this is what ‘Toxic Grain’  looks like

While I had hoped for the reds to really stand out, they ended up being quite muted, perhaps because of my choice to shoot at 100 ISO. I’ve set a few of those images aside for a future post where I show the difference between the raw scans and the edited files.  For those I boosted the red channel to more closely match my expectations.  But without further ado(x) here are the images I belichtested.

The Konica EE Matic doesn’t require a battery, that’s a good thing because I’m not sure it deserves one.  I guess if your intention is to take pictures that have the look of having been taken with a cheap 1960’s rangefinder nothing beats a cheap 1960’s rangefinder.  It has that in spades.  If it’s a quality image your after then there are better options.  The problem is the lens it has very bad coma distortion which results in the image being stretched the further it is from the center.  This distortion could be reduced by stopping the lens down but as the camera has completely automatic exposure that is not under your control.

On the other hand it has a nice bright viewfinder that also indicates the shutter speed and it won’t release the shutter if there isn’t enough light for a proper exposure, like when you leave the lens cap on, it happens.

I was just finishing some art related errands when I drove past a local Abbotsford historic house and museum called the Trethewey House. What caught my eye was the giant wrench strapped to the back of a tall fellow. I was curious enough to pull over and have a look. Fortunately I almost always have a camera on me, okay I always have a camera on me. By the time I arrived things were winding down at a gathering with Steam Punk related activities but I spoke to a few nice people dressed in fun attire and took a limited number of portraits with my Pentax K-01. I’ve edited them on my coal-fired iPad. I’m pretty sure coal was used at some stage in the manufacturing of my iPad.

Queen Victoria on her Birthday weekend

Note the previously mentioned giant wrench and also he may be on to something, I could carry more cameras with suspenders like that.

Everywhere you go downtown Calgary there is the Calgary Tower.  It may not be the tallest building anymore but it sure ends up in a lot of pictures.  I was in Calgary for a week and during my down time I walked around taking photographs. Here are 28 pictures I took in downtown Calgary that include the Tower so that you don’t have to.

If your from Alberta yes I am kidding I like Calgary there just were a few things that surprised me.  Things like the downtown Tim Hortons being closed on Saturday and how the city center was so dominated by glass and concrete, but I will cover that in another post.  Most of these images were taken with my new Pentax K-01 with a few from the Pentax Q, my film is out to the developers.

I picked up the Fuji ST701 because it was slightly smaller than the Pentax Spotmatic but it has more than that going for it.  Size wise it is narrower than the Pentax but slightly taller.  It makes a surprising difference in feel and I think I would be more likely to find the room for it in a camera bag.

Another thing that elevates this camera above others from its time is its bright viewfinder.  I have no way of measuring how much more light it is transmitting but comparing it to the Spotmatic it is ‘clear’ that it is brighter.

The focus screen of this camera is a split image surrounded by a circular microprism screen on a matte field,  It works very well and it is very easy to confirm focus.

The depth of field preview is the best of any camera I’ve ever used.  It is a large well place button beside the lens that operates smoothly and quickly.

The lens that came with the camera is the Fujica 55 f1.8.  The build of this lens is superb and it has the smoothest focus of any lens I have.  Better than the best Takumars, which are also excellent but this lens has absolutely no discernible looseness or play at any location.  The Fuji ST701 is an absolute gem.

These images are a mix from either the Fujica 55/1.8 or the Takumar 200/3.5

The first Rolleiflex was produced in 1928 with a 75mm f4.5 Zeiss Tessar lens according to “Rollei Photography c1952” by Jacob Deschin. My version however is a 2.8 E3 that was likely produced between 1962 and 1965. My E3 has the Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar 1:2.8/80 taking lens. When handled correctly, as in supported stably and exposed well, the images produced have an amazing amount of detail and depth to them.

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Most of these pictures were taken under pretty adverse conditions with high winds and pelting rain forcing me to use a golf umbrella that was eventually turned inside out by a gust. Never the less the camera did not let me down.

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A TLR (twin-lens reflex) is in essence two camera together one for viewing the image and one for taking the picture. The image from the viewing lens is formed on the ground glass after bouncing off the internal fixed mirror. This results in an image that is right side up but reversed from left to right. This takes some getting used to because turning the camera one way or the other has the opposite effect on the screen. Because the mirror is fixed, unlike an SLR, there is negligible camera shake as the leaf shutter is tripped. The captured image is recorded on 120 film as 6cm by 6cm, this square format also takes some getting used to for composition but is a nice break from the traditional rectangular formats of most other cameras. Every aspect of this camera exudes quality it is the standard by which I judge other cameras.

I was going to include this image with a pile of others but then I decided to pull it out and give it it’s own mention. Yes I’m that pleased with it. I really like the apparent interaction of the two individuals and the fact that the young man is smoking while the no smoking sign appears like a thought bubble from above the older mans head. Even the way they are sitting and leaning adds to the narrative.

Some film shots from my Yashica GX in October 2012. Amoung the images is one of Copp’s shoes which will be closing at the end of December after 87 years.