The Starlet

This is what my Starlet looks like! So retro!!

I was reading another of my posts on here that said that getting a 127 film developed is quite cheap. But I cant for the life of me figure out where I got this information from...
Yes I have places and prices for getting a 120 developed, but not for 127.
So maybe I will have to try re-spooling a 35mm film onto a 127 spool or something.

Yay! A link has been found:

http://making-the-noise.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
and
http://www.flickr.com/groups/127/discuss/72157622370513621/

Looks like another project! But I shall have to get some 127 backing paper first I think. And another spool.

The Brownie Target Hawkeye!

I have just finally got around to modifying a 120 film to fit into my 620 Brownie Hawkeye camera.
I found a great tutorial here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heritagefutures/3057193327/

I had the 120 for quite a while, but decided I would use it at the Steampunk LARP day at MOTAT on Sunday.

So, first I found one of Keiths chisels/files in amongst the tools. I sanded down both ends (and kept trying it out in the camera to see if it would fit. After a while it fit but didn't move easily so I cut the edges off and filed them smooth as is shown in the tutorial. Then it was all good, so I pulled out the film, taped it to the receiving spool and wound it on. And it wound fine!

Cant wait to use it on Sunday!

I think it should be able to take about 8 pictures but i'm not sure. I'm also not sure how many times to advance the winder each time. People say you should be able to see the numbers through the hole on the back, but i'm sure i've read somewhere before that you cant (because of the different sized film/position of the numbers on a 120).
So I will experiment. And take a normal camera for important photos.

Cross Processing

It seems from this discussion I found, that it depends which film you use, as to what your cross processing will be like.


So, it seems that for the intended effect I'm after, I should try the following films...

Provia 100
Provia 400
Trebi 100
Kodak EPP a.k.a Ektachrome 100 / 100s
Kodak Elitechrome 400
Kodak E100 G
Kodak E 100GP
AGFA Precisa CT 100

These are used to get more saturated colours.

Factors that also alter how the colours on certain films will be include whether you get the film processed in Kodak C41 or Fuji C41. My film was Fujifilm Sensia 200 processed in Fuji C41 so that may have given it less saturation as it seems that Kodak seems to be better for that according to various posts.

Or I could try photoshopping them...but that spoils the whole idea really...

Holga Tips

Just to note some tips for next time I use my Holga 135bc...

* The best film to use (in terms of ISO) for slide films are: 100 for sunny days, 200 for sunny/overcast days etc etc. 400 is said to be good all round.
For normal film, it doesn't really matter.

* It works best outdoors in daylight. This is because it has a fixed shutter speed of about 1/125 and a fixed aperture of f11.

* The Sun = f11 and the cloud = f8. So I was using them correctly. The sun for sunny days and the cloud for cloudy days/night. Although Holga users say that these dont actually work so f is 13.3 for all.

* The final picture will cut off the top 25 or 30% of what you see through the viewfinder. (Known as parallax)

* The closest focus distance is one meter when the single person icon is selected.

* "Many people are a bit disappointed with their Holga 135 when they first use it because their pictures don't look "holgaish" enough. One reason is the perspective is wrong. It's too "normal" as opposed to wide-angle. The Holga wide-angle converter really gives the Holga 135BC the perspective it should have had in the first place."

* "You really need to think about the conditions you'll be shooting in as slide film has lower tolerance for error. With negative film you can be upto three stops out and still get a useable image. Slide film won't be so kind. It's better to over expose than underexpose so go for a faster film."

* "Based on Holga focusing tests done in another thread in this group, these are the metric distance equivalents for the Holga focusing icons:

• One Person = 1m
• Three People = 1.5m (Instructions say 2m)
• Group = 3m (Instructions say 6m)
• Mountains = Infinity (Instructions say 10+m)

That puts the hyperfocal distance just to the left of the big group either way.

So, how can you use this piece of information? If you set your focus just to the left of "Bi Group" you should be able to get everything from about 2.85m (half the hyperfocal distance) to infinity in focus. You really only need to switch your focus for things closer than 2.85m (9.35 ft.). For things at the closest focusing range, you definitely want to use the "one person" setting. For things at infinity, you might still want to use the three people setting if you also want the stuff close to you in focus. If you set your camera to infinity, things closer than about 10m may be out of focus." (Info from Flickr Holga group)

Very interesting. I'll add more tips later.

The Lomo film returns...

Yesterday I dropped my lomo film in to the shop for processing and today got it back (and spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out how to scan the negatives onto the computer!).
SO, here are a few of the results. Some research will be needed over the next few days, into tips on how to take a better lomo pic as I have a few issues to deal with...


First of all, some of the photos look quite dull and overexposed. I'm not sure which setting I should be using for cloudy/sunny days so I'll need to have a look at that.
Because it was a Cross processed slide film, I expected brighter, more over exaggerated colours. I will have to look into why that didn't occur with my photos.


Another dilemma was multiple exposures. They didnt seem to work very well (or at all). Is it that you have to get the right light, or contrasting colours/tones to achieve this? We will see.



What makes a vignette occur? How do I get more or less of one?

I shall seek the answers tomorrow...

More cameras

We'll I was away for my Grandads funeral a few weeks ago and Dad said "here we found this and thought you might like it". It was a 1933 Six-20 Target Hawkeye Box camera. It takes 620 film which is hard/expensive to get these days, and I have no idea if anyone around here processes them.
Then I got to Gizzy and Dad says "here I've got this one too.." and pulls out a Brownie Starlet which looks really cool. Dad was looking it up online and I said it will be from the 1950's in has that 50's look about it. After dads awesome online searching skills of not being able to find the camera for quite sometime, we discovered it was infact made in 1956. It takes 127 film and has 4x4cm images. 127 is not too hard to get and developing only is reasonably priced so I may have to try this one out. It's such a styley, little thing and would be fun to play with. I might even try some 35mm film modifications...that could be interesting.

I've taken about a 3rd of the roll on my Holga at the moment. Cant wait to see the results!

Lomography for real!

Well the other day I was looking through the fashion mag that comes weekly with the newspaper, and I noticed that a shop was selling replica Lomography cameras. I was like hey cool and went to inspect the website and to look up lomo cameras as I didn't realise you could get them these days. Anyway I couldn't believe it when I saw the 'Diana' lomo camera..I used to play with one when I was little! It was just hanging out in the toy box so was considered a toy. The top is pale green, the bottom half black with a rough texture. I remember this little red round thing on the back at the bottom, i'm not sure what it is exactly but I remember I used to press it like it was a button. I remember its little metal switch/s(?) too.

But as for that camera, who knows where it is these days. Is it still at Dad's place in amongst the toys or was it thrown away at some stage? I have no idea.

Originals like that are a lot more expensive to buy than the replicas. And also have the misfortune of taking a 120 film. So buying another one of those (or even finding and using the old one) was out of the question as it would be too expensive to use.
Luckily I discovered some that take a 35mm film. They look a bit different to the originals but in the long run would be cheaper. Cheap to buy and cheap to use (or as cheap as a film camera can be anyway).



So...in the end I decided to buy a 'Holga' which isn't the same as the old one but the picture seems to be a bit more to my liking. I've heard they are more sturdy than Dianes too. Now all I have to do is wait for it to arrive! It's going to be weird using a film camera again! I know I've only had digitals since 2005..so 5 years of my 18 odd years of owning cameras...but I'm really gonna have to get used to using film again! No playback...who knows what you will get? But that was the exciting thing about using film! I loved the surprise of getting the photos back... And the thing about Lomography is it's creative and arty so doesn't have to be perfect.

Cant wait!