Tag Archives: Bronica Etrsi

{Forgotten Frames} Hidden Gems

September 28, 2014 10:23 am ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

Once in awhile, I bribe my niece (AM) into doing a photo shoot. This is usually when she’s saving to buy something, and I consider paying her to do a little photo shoot is no different than her getting chore money from her parents. But I like to make it a little fun for her.

For instance, last year we did a shoot where AM wore her Hunger Games t-shirt and posed with her bow and arrow. I actually never shared those online. They were taken on color film, but the scans I received from the photo lab were pretty terrible. The colors just weren’t right, and I didn’t want to post photos of my niece where her beautiful skin and amazing red hair didn’t look the way they should!

So I left the photos alone. I toyed with the idea of converting the photos to black and white on the computer. That idea never really went anywhere.

But then…

I was doing another photo shoot with my niece and remembered about the bow and arrow photos from last year. I decided to go ahead and make those photos black and white to see if that made me happier. And did it ever! I am in love with these photos now. I think I appreciate them even more than if I’d done this with them when they were originally taken.

Bronica ETRSi •  Zenzanon MC 150mm/3.5 & Zenzanon 75mm/2.8 EII • Kodak Porta 160, converted to b&w
May 2013 (AM, age 11)

 

Posted in: film photography, forgotten frames, personal ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

{Kit Car} Grainy Mercedes

September 23, 2014 7:23 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Do you know what a kit car is?

A person can buy a kit of components and build themselves a replica vintage car. I know that, because my dad was hired to build a kit car for someone when I was a child.

The kit car referenced in today’s post is a Mercedes – apparently a replica of a 1929 Merecdes Gazelle.

Most of the photos of cars/motorcycles that I post on SWP are taken at the auto auction where my family’s catering business provides meals on auction days every week. This Mercedes kit car was parked in the auction sales floor one of the days I was there to do food prep work. We were the only people on the premises, so I was free to photograph the car to my heart’s delight!

Bronica ETRSi • Zenzanon 75mm/2.8 EII • Lomography Lady Grey 400 film

Unfortunately, this was probably the last roll I put through my Bronica before I “accidentally” sold it to Urban (the man from whom I won the Konica Big Mini that I’ve been enjoying this year.) I say “unfortunately,” because I had some of the worst film EVER loaded in it for (what would turn out to be) the last roll I’d shoot with the Bronica. That Chinese-made film repackaged by Lomography left all the polka dots and numbers you see on the pictures.  It’s a fault with the film’s backing paper (or the ink on it, according to some.) And BOY is this film grainy! Resulting in a grainy Mercedes…

Posted in: film photography ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

{Testing the batch} Expired Fuji Provia 400

February 17, 2014 9:41 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Last year, I bought a batch of medium format slide film from eBay. Very EXPIRED medium format film. Most of it expired in 1999. Why would I buy really old film? Because I have had really cool results by using expired slide film and cross-processing it (I explained about cross-processing in another blog post last year.)

There are a lot of things that can happen to film as it ages. Along with possible color shifts, film can lose a certain amount of light sensitivity when it’s expired. That can make getting proper exposures tricky. Another factor in how well film has aged is how the film was stored throughout the years. If it was kept in a cold, dry place (like a freezer or refrigerator) then the effect of time could be minimal. But with film like the batch I bought, I have no real way of knowing how it was stored. That’s a gamble when you buy expired film from eBay…

I decided that I needed to test a roll of this film so I could see what kind of shape it was in after nearly 15 years. I loaded it in my Bronica ETRSi and gave it a go!

(the above photos were taken with my Samsung NX1100)

I asked the lab to cross-process the film for me, and here are the results:

Dilapidated sign in Memphis

This photo is only included because it makes me laugh. Perfectly captured my niece’s mannerisms

Goldenrod

I got my niece to pose in some of her T-shirts that I like (this is her ‘model’ face, btw)

Probably petting one of her dogs, who were clamoring for attention

Her real personality. Goofy!

I don’t know how I got her to take her glasses off…love her Turtle Power shirt though!

Climbing the front porch

Holding on and hanging out on the porch

Bronica ETRSi • Zenzanon 75mm/2.8 EII • Fuji Provia 400, exp. January 1999, Cross-processed

Conclusion?

I’m pretty darned pleased with how the photos came out. I can look at the negatives and tell how a few were a bit underexposed . That just means I’ll have a better idea about the film’s exposure needs when I shoot the rest of my batch of this film.

(I have eight more rolls of the Fuji Provia 400 in the crisper drawer of my fridge!!! Exciting!!!)

Posted in: film photography, personal, shop talk ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , ,

{Postcard Outtakes}

December 13, 2013 9:49 am ⋅ 4 Comments ⋅

Back in May, I was asked by my friend Jason to pop up to Memphis for a little photo shoot. Jason is Director of Youth Ministry at Germantown United Methodist Church, and Sue is the Associate Director of Youth Ministry. They wanted to do a few photos for a postcard to send their students. We did some with my digital camera, and then I grabbed my Bronica ETRSi to snap a couple more. Their reaction was “Whoa! What is THAT camera?!” My big ole 645 camera, that’s what!

Bronica ETRSi • Zenzanon 75mm/2.8 EII • Kodak Portra 160 (some converted to black & white) 

Posted in: film photography ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

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