Party time.

It’s been a hell of a year.

The last photographic event/outing I participated in was the 2020 FP4+ Party, back around the first week of March, just before the lockdown.

That week I ventured out on my own, but ran into people, talked, and generally did what I always do when I go out shooting.

Since then I’ve stuck pretty close to home. My choice, for a number of reasons.

This year the FP4+ Party be my first event/outing. Fitting, really.

The 2021 Party schedule…

April 5th – 11th, shoot
April 12th – 18th, develop
April 19th – 25th, post

By the time April 5th rolls around, I’ll have had my second Pfizer jab. I’ll still observe CDC protocols, but I think it’ll be okay to get out shooting if I limit my interactions with people.

It’ll be fun to shoot and develop a handful of 120 rolls. It’s been a while, I’ll probably have to mix up a fresh batch of D76.

A little less than a month to go.

Side note: I’m gonna hafta miss the GTX Photo Fest this time around. Bad timing, as my second jab comes a few days after. 2022 for sure.

One more.

EZPZ.

Another example of using my iPhone 8 and the @pixllatr to digitize a black and white negative. It’s working quite nicely.

This shot’s from 2006, Billetproof Antioch. Hasselblad 500cm/80mm + Fuji Neopan Acros 100.

Previously unpublished, love all that shiny chrome.

Necessity…

… is the mother of invention.

I got out with my new-ish ONDU 6×12 Multiformat pinhole camera a coupla’ weeks back for FP4 Plus Party.

Multiformat means it’ll shoot 6×6, 6×9, or 6×12.

I have a really cool 8Banners Mc pinhole that’s set to shoot square, a shiny Zero Image 6×9, so the ONDU will be dedicated to 6×12.

As previously noted, I shot 6 images with the ONDU. Of the 6, 3 had my fat fingers showing in the right side of the frame. Those shots were roughly 1 second exposures. Super-sunny days. There are lines in the top of the camera that tell you what’ll be in view for each, and my fingers fell into that space.

I’ve come up with a nifty way to get my digits out of the picture.

I used Illustrator to draw up a simple extender. Then I used a low-tack spray adhesive to affix the drawing to a piece of repurposed plastic from my 2019 Office Max calendar cover. I keep everything. The perfect-sized hole was made using simple hole punch. I sanded the edges and tied a piece of ribbon in the hole at the other end.

The rubber band was already in place – it keeps the shutter from opening while the box is in my camera case. Now it can hold the extender in place and serve as tension when using the extender. Easy to put on, take off.

Simple. Used stuff I had. Great solution. Free.

I started posting shots for the FP4 Plus Party on Twitter today.

Loaded.

Ready to party.

Three cameras, loaded and ready for FP4 Plus Party. Starting tomorrow.

I may add one more, the tiny Olympus Stylus Epic.

I have a few shots in mind, but mostly I’ll just try to get out as many days as I can and shoot up all these frames… 6 in the Ondu pinhole, 12 in the Hassy, 24 in the Smena 8M.

42 frames over 7 days. Averages out to 6 shots per day.

Should be interesting.

Party on!

Ilford FP4 Plus party.

This’ll be my first FP4 Plus Party, and in more ways than one – I’ve not used the film before.

The plan: 6 shots in the Ondu 6×12 Multiformat pinhole, 12 shots in the Hasselblad 500c/m, 24 shots in the Smena 8M.

I’ll need to mix up a fresh batch of D76.

It seems this is primarily a Twitter thing, but I’ll post a few scans here and eventually post a few faves on @dogbonesoup, too.

March 2-8: shoot week
March 9-15: dev/scan week
March 16-22: post week
March 23-29: lamentation week

Should be fun.

My latest film camera crush.

PENTACON six TL.

The PENTACON six TL is my current film camera crush. 120. Love the square.

The 9 shots above are examples I snagged from Flickr. No attributions, sorry, but here’s the Flickr group photo pool >
https://www.flickr.com/groups/pentaconsix/pool/

Here’s the tag if you want to see more pictures on IG >
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/pentaconsix/

… and here’s a fairly critical review >
https://www.thephoblographer.com/2017/07/25/vintage-film-camera-review-pentacon-six-tl-6×6-square-format/

And a good guide >
https://emulsive.org/reviews/camera-reviews/pentacon-cameras/camera-review-pentacon-six-tl-a-hopefully-comprehensive-guide-to-a-legend-by-ludwig-hagelstein

I definitely wouldn’t mind adding this medium format shooter to my collection…

Rusty shutters #22.

Agfa Click-I.

May 2006.

Another fun film shooter from my collection. A very cool, very simple little camera made in Germany from 1958-1970.

It uses 120 film and has a switch on the lens barrel with three settings: two are aperture sizes, ƒ8.8 (cloudy icon) and ƒ11 (sunny icon), plus a yellow filter which is also ƒ8.8.

It uses a single fixed-focus convex-concave meniscus lens, a rotary shutter with a speed of 1/30th of a second, and the camera has a curved back cover that serves as a film pressure plate.

This little guy takes sharp pictures from about 5 ft. to infinity and I’ve even used hand-held close-up filters over the front of the lens for decent macro shots.

Film type: 120
Exposures: 12 @ 6×6
Shutter Speed: ~1/30 sec
Aperture: ƒ/8.8, ƒ/11
Focal Length: 72.5mm
Viewfinder: Optical
Focusing: Fixed, 5 feet – infinity
Dimensions WHD: 5.5in x 3.75in x 2.75in

Flag and branches

Rose

Not happy

Fucshia

Fleur de lis

Mystery roll #2.

Not a clue.

I’m going to develop this and another roll today. I honestly can’t remember what this one’s all about.

I’ll know soon enough, though.

About 9 minutes in D76 1+1. I’ll have to presoak, then put this and the Holga roll of Pan F Plus in the same tank.

I botched the Hassy roll of Pan F Plus trying to get it on the reel. That happened yesterday. Failure happens, lessons learned.

Rusty shutters #9.

Hasselblad 500C/M.

May 2006.

I bought this camera, and the accompanying Zeiss Sonnar 1:4 150mm T*, from my neighbor at the time. Along with it came an early edition of Ernst Wildi’s The Hasselblad Manual and a healthy stack of Hassy promotional material. I still have all of it.

I added the #10 extension tube, the 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar lens (plus the plastic Hassy branded bay 50 lens hood), and the more modern looking PM45 prism viewfinder.

The camera is pristine. No flaws whatsoever. I keep it in its own Domke bag for protection.

The camera’s distinctive slap sound at shutter release is one of my favorite things about this shooter.

I use the 80mm lens most. It makes amazing photographs.

Film type: 120
Film back: A12
Viewfinder: prism
Winding Mechanism: manual crank
Body construction: aluminum alloy
Dimensions: 4.7in x 6.8in x 6.8in

Muscles

Big idea, abandoned

Elenor and friends

Screw

Bandana