Mama, don't take my Kodachrome...

Roll 2 – Very expired gifted Ektachrome, a test.

Fellow 52roller Graham was kind enough to gift me some films recently, one of which was a reel of Ektachrome 200, expired in 1990, still sealed in the can.

Not knowing much about this film, I did a little research on the web, and after loading it into my Watson bulk loader, my first, I put about 20 frames into an empty cassette, and labeled it as 50asa. I only had a couple of hours free time last…

Well, hello again 52Rolls. Roll 1 of 2015.

Well, here we go again. I was able to complete the 2013 52rolls project, but stumbled less than midway through 2014, only getting to roll/week 18. I’ve got a lot going on right now, family responsibilities mostly, but I’m signing up again for 2015 anyway.

Most of this roll was shot back in June of 2014, but I only finally finished it at Christmas, and finally developed and scanned it just this…

Roll 18 – The Traveling Yashica

I’d been waiting patiently, almost forgetting about it entirely, but the Traveling Yashica finally arrived to me, safe and sound, last week. David Lee, in Korea, who I’ve recently followed on Twitter, was the previous user. Trying my best to get a roll through it and back in the mail as soon as possible, I decided to just get it done.

I’ve been anxious to try Ilford FP4+ with Rodinal stand…

I had to travel to Nashville last week for work, installing additional signage in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Luckily, as planned, I was able to get done a little after lunchtime on my final day, so I took the bag of cameras and film I brought with me, and set out on the town. I took three cameras and several rolls of film, not knowing what I’d be shooting or what the weather would be like.…

Roll 16 – Redscale in the Yashica D

Anxious and excited to again use my recently acquired Yashica D, I got it out to play with it a little, before deciding which film to use. When I got it last month, I tested the apertures and shutter speeds as much as I could, as well as cleaning all accessible surfaces, including the lens. What I didn’t do, apparently, was closely examine the internal surfaces of the lens. So, as I was playing…

Roll 15 – redscale in the XA

You know the story on the Olympus XA. Myself and many others have extolled it’s virtues here and elsewhere. I love mine, but I seriously need to replace the door seals. I have the kit, I just haven’t done it yet. I lost a few frames on this roll to light leaks. Oh well. Anyway, this was a short roll of redscaled Fuji 400, rescued from an old single use wedding camera. Not my favorite film for…

Roll 15 – Thinking Square with the Yashica D TLR

Several things conspired recently to make me Jones for a proper TLR. An old PDXposures podcast on TLRs that I listened to on a recent business trip, viewing some old chromes from my long gone YashicaMat 124G, as well as using the Argus Super 75 last roll, which is actually a “pseudo” TLR, which uses 620 film. The old Argus, which I have to respool 120 onto 620 spools to use, works surprisingly…

So here it is, my first roll of film since June. Not quite sure what was responsible for my funk, low funds, car problems, house problems, lack of inspiration, or maybe just plain laziness. Last week I got to travel to Philadelphia PA for work, so I packed several film cameras, hoping I’d have some free time to explore the city and shoot a few rolls. Unfortunately, we had very little time away…

Roll 13 – My ongoing struggle with FP4+ in Caffenol

Once again trotting out this old workhorse. One of my favorite cameras, due in part to it being exactly the same age as me, as well as it just looking and feeling so right. Sure, it’s big & heavy, but the viewfinder is nice and bright, focus is precise, and although the lens is a bit loose, seems pretty sharp. I used to have some issues keeping the meter working, but I bought a cheap brass…

Roll 12 – A Stroll with the Point & Shoot

I tried to finish the roll of FP4+ in my HiMatic 9 today, but the weather refused to cooperate, but I did have the time to scan this roll. The Olympus Stylus QD was the “other” camera I took with me last weekend to the 2014 Tulsa BlueDome Arts Festival. I’ve had it loaded with Kodak Ultramax 400 since my granddaughter’s fist birthday party a few weeks ago, so I figured I’d finish it off at…

Roll 11 – Rangefinders, Redscale, and Light Leaks.

I’m seriously behind on this project, I doubt I’ll reach 52 rolls like last year, but I’m determined to shoot and post what I can. I loaded this camera several weeks ago, a 1963 Wards (Konica) XP-500 rangefinder, with a roll of RedScaled (reversed) Superia 400 film. As usual, I set the ASA to 25. Even though I replaced the door seals, I was aware from my previous adventure with this camera, that…

Week 10 – Blood moon failure

I’ve been suffering from a severe lack of inspiration and motivation as of late. So, when I heard we were having a lunar eclipse this week, at least here in the central US, I figured it would be a great opportunity to blow a roll of film.

Seeing as my trusty old Minolta SRT101 features mirror lock-up, I loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200, then mounted my recently acquired Vivitar 75-205mm zoom, as…

Week 9 – The Challenge of 75 half-frames

I’ve bought and used several half-frame cameras over the past couple of years, with varying success. The first item I ever sold on e-Bay, back in 2000, was an Olympus EE, which at the time, I just didn’t see much value in keeping. So, since returning to film back in 2011, I’ve been looking for new ways of shooting film, and half-frame fits the bill. My Konica Auto-Reflex, which is an SLR, allows…

Week 8 – Lessons in Shutter Failure

This was the second of the two cameras I took with me to Padre Island last week. Details from the trip are here, in the Week 7 post.

Apparently, as you will see in the final image on this post, the shutter isn’t working correctly on the upper two speeds, 1/1000 & 1/2000 respectively. I’ve ran a couple of rolls through this camera since I bought it last year, but only between 1/30 & 1/500. After…

Week 7 – Return to the gulf, 40 years later

April 1974, Patty Hearst was on the run with the SLA, Richard Nixon was fully embroiled in the Watergate scandal, and Saturday Night Livewas yet a full year from making it’s TV debut. Yes, this was the last time I visited an ocean beach. I remember being 7 years old, riding along in our friend’s camper/truck, listening to the news on the radio, and I was staring out of the window, looking for…