Jonathan

Digitising a Super 8 film

[toc] Over the past few weeks I’ve made digital copies of quite a few Super 8 films. The proper way of doing it is by scanning each frame individually but this involves expensive and hard-to-find equipment. You can send films away to various companies to be digitised properly for not too much money, but thatContinue reading “Digitising a Super 8 film”

Bristol docks at lunchtime

Last week there was a rare sunny February day, so Paul and I wandered down to Bristol docks to try for a few photos. I was carrying my grandfather’s Voigtlander Vito II, loaded with cheap colour film from Poundland. I developed the C-41 colour film at home using Digibase chemistry. It seems there was aContinue reading “Bristol docks at lunchtime”

Somerset Towers project continues

The weather has been bad lately and quite a lot of the Somerset Levels is still suffering from flooding. Last weekend though, the sun peeped out for a little bit so I decided to check the flood maps and head to some of the drier villages within easy reach of Bristol. I captured a fewContinue reading “Somerset Towers project continues”

Water drops

This week the Photo Challenge was to take photos of water droplets in one form or another. Here’s my entry. For those who are interested… This picture was taken with a Canon EOS 600D with Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. ISO 200, aperture f/5.6 to provide at least some depth of field, shutter speed wasContinue reading “Water drops”

Staple of photography

It seems to me that everyone who owns classic cameras – whether to collect them or to use them – takes an awful lot of pictures of their cameras. I’m no exception. A few years back I photographed all of my cameras against a white backdrop and illuminated with a shoot-through umbrella. Like this. I’veContinue reading “Staple of photography”

Lots of firsts – and a fail

This weekend I achieved quite a few firsts in the field of film photography. Here are the headlines: First attempt at pulling film to control contrast I shot some Ilford FP4+ (nominally rated at ISO 125) at ISO 50 in bright sunlight. Under-rating film in this way is called pulling, and in this case IContinue reading “Lots of firsts – and a fail”

Feline light metering

Cats have excellent night vision, because the pupils of their eyes can open up so wide, to let more light in. They can also see well in bright daylight because the pupils shrink and let less light in. This is exactly the same as the aperture on a camera, and it got me thinking: can IContinue reading “Feline light metering”

Camera chooser flowchart

I’ve been off work ill for the past couple of days, and boredom is setting in. I slept for most of today, but during the time I was awake I decided to make a Really Useful™ flowchart to recommend film cameras for various situations. The writing is tiny, so click for the full-size version. ForContinue reading “Camera chooser flowchart”

Apple tree

I recently wrote about my new camera, an Ensign Cameo, and the fact I was going to have to cut down roll film for it. Last weekend I exposed four sheets of this film, including this one. It’s the apple tree in my parents-in-law’s garden The picture is a bit wonky because I was usingContinue reading “Apple tree”

Ensign Cameo

Released c1928 I was given this camera by my father-in-law as a birthday present. It’s a strange cross between a view camera and a more common folding camera. It has a ground glass focusing screen and front rise, but also has a pop-up sports finder and waist-level finder. Unusually, its default orientation is portrait ratherContinue reading “Ensign Cameo”