Previous
Next
Ian Bramham's Photoblog
Looking upward toward light streaming down the concrete and brick shaft of a stairwell at the grade 1 listed Bluecoat Gallery in city centre Liverpool.
This is my first ever photo using medium format film - in this case a 50 year old twin lens Minolta Autocord loaded with Ilford XP2 Super 400 B&W film. (I posted a photo of the camera yesterday)
12 shots to a roll of film and a shutter mechanism so smooth and quiet that you can hardly hear it click!
I was so delighted when I picked up the 8" x 8" prints and saw they were okay as I'd been concerned that I'd end up with nothing due to something I'd done wrong loading or exposing the film. Also the camera hadn't been used for a long time and there was no guarantee it would work.
I love the the way in which the camera has handled the change in tones from light to dark which I think is better than the way in which modern digital cameras handle highlights.
Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog
For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.
@Stefan: Thanks Stefan!
@Mags: Thanks Mags!
@Anna.C: Thanks Anna!....getting the prints back was a lovely surprise as I wasn't all confident that they were going to turn out okay.
@Sonia Nansid: Thanks Sonia!
@Marie LC: Yes, the sharpness is really great for a 50 year old lens isn't it!...(I haven't added any extra sharpening in Photoshop as this is the sharpness straight from the scanned negative)
@Adrian: Hi Adrian....I tried a 35mm SLR film camera 18 months ago but, whilst it was good, it wasn't nearly as impressive as these medium format shots. Give MF a go as I'm sure you'd love it!
@Scene by Sharon Photography: Thanks Sharon....nice highlight tonal transitions aren't they!
@GJC: Thanks GJC....I always get a kick out of trying something new (or should that be old in this case?! :-)
@Ian Smith: Thanks Ian....I was so pleased that the photos turned out okay! This was a scan of the negative. The scan had slightly less contrast in the shadows than the supplied 8" x 8" print so I corrected the scan in Photoshop to get it looking as close as I could to the print.
@Hoshisato: Thanks very much!
@alex centrella: Thanks Alex!
@Vahid: Thanks Vahid!
@tim: Thanks Tim!
These old MF cameras are very cheap compared to any modern digital cameras although obviously you have to pay for film and developing which would mount up for total beginners to photography who typically take lots and lots of photos.
Digital is much better for learning cheaply about the effects of changes to composition and light because of the instant feedback you get from the camera LCD.
@Marie: Thanks Marie!
@Alfredo J. Martiz J.: Thanks Alfredo!
@DarkElf: Thanks very much!
@dr pankaj shukla: Thanks for that!
@Daryl Johnson: Thank you!
@danny: Hi Danny, it's great to hear from you! How have you been keeping? It's great to hear that you are also using MF film cameras!....it's interesting to see just how well MF film handles the highlights compared to digital and the tonal transitions are excellent too! Ian
@Manette: Thanks Manette...I don't think it's a question of trying harder(!) as such. Photography is actually very easy when you find the right combination of subject and light. The frustrating thing for me is when I go through spells of the two elements not coming together.
@Céline: Thanks Céline!
@M@ndy: Thanks M@ndy!
@morteza: Thanks Morteza!
@Naveen Bachwani: Thanks Naveen.....yes, it's really interesting being able to use a film camera after learning on digital!
