FP4

I don’t think until I got my Zero Image Pinhole camera, that I ever had a “proper” (e.g. not an instamatic) camera that didn’t have metering.  Despite having used a light meter in studio situations I’ve never used them outside.  When I first got my pin hole camera I didn’t have my light meter with me, so cunningly I set my Canon 40D to ISO 125 and used that as my light meter.  I also used my Hassleblad Xpan for the same purpose, as it was loaded with Ilford FP4 Plus, the same ISO 125 film that was loaded in my Zero Image pin hole camera.  The results were quite favourable I think.

Old Car and Barn f/158 at 45sec on Ilford FP4

When you expose an image (and depending on the film) the laws of reciprocity kick in, which in general mean, if you have an exposure of over 1 second, you actually have to expose for longer than the meter is suggesting to ensure that your film is collecting all the light.  As I didn’t have a decent internet connection, I used Zero Image’s rough guide for reciprocity failure which are as follows:-

• Exposure between 1 and 4 seconds, multiply by 2
• Exposure between 5 and 49 seconds, multiply by 5
• Anything greater than 50 seconds, multiply by 12

Garden Outhouse and Chair – Pinhole, Ilford FP4, f/158 @ 36 minutes (ish)

I’m not sure what it is but these shots don’t “please” me as much as what the first two do.  Maybe its the challenging lighting conditions (e.g. in woodland with brightish sun).  Perhaps its because the scenes are too busy, too much happening?  Perhaps I need to look at simplifying my photography to go with the simple form of photography that pinhole is, e.g. have only one key thing in the image, and the backgrounds should be as uncluttered as possible.

I did start writing this post, with the intent to “blame” hard and fast rules and proper light meters for what I think is a run of poor images.  But perhaps the problem is I’m trying to do too much with a simple bit of kit.  I’m learning that with pinhole photography the closer you get the better as at 6 x 9 or 6 x 12 the image is W  I  D  E  , but at the same time traditional panoramic views don’t lend themselves well to pinhole photography I feel.

The above picture of Nine Stones Close in Derbyshire was shot at about 30 meters from the nearest stone with my Zero Image Pinhole.  To look at it you might think I was a lot further away.  I shot it where I did so that none of the stones where overlapping, but they are hardly noticeable at that distance.  I think if I went back I would try much closer, to the point that I am almost beside one of the stones to see how that works.

In the meantime, if the light is right outside, I’m going to switch my camera down to 6 x 6 (its the multi format version) and pop in some Provia 100 and see how I get on photographing flowers, I think the results could be quite interesting and almost dream like – but that remains to be seen.

Okay its lame, very lame in fact, one paraphrased album name and one paraphrased film name, but hey! I need to lighten my blog posts up with something.

So, I’ve had my Zero Image 612 multi format pinhole camera for a couple of weeks now.  The pinhole camera itself is lovely, polished teak with brass finishings, it very much ticks my tactile box (in much the same way as Crane’s Silver Rag paper ticks it too!).  The great thing about the multi format is that it’s multi format, so I can switch between 6 x 12 to 6 x 9 to 6 x 6 to 6 x 4.5 film formats. I can’t see my self using the camera at 6 x 4.5 but the other formats hold some appeal, especially the 6 x 6 format for maybe trying out some still life.   My first four films have all been at 6 x12 (that’s the latent Xpan user coming out in me), but it does mean that you can only squeeze 6 shots out of a 120 roll.  Using Ilford FP4 that works out at £0.75 a shot if you are developing and scanning yourself (based on a £4.50 roll of film).  I’m planning on using Velvia 50 next, but as that will have to go away for developing the price starts to tip over £2 a shot!

Old Car and Barn f/158 at 45sec on Ilford FP4

I do like shooting at 6 x 12 on my pin hole camera, but I’m not sure if it pleases me completely (if that makes sense).  The edges are heavily vignetted and there is the slight effect of moving at speed (look above at the tree on the left hand side), albeit it was slightly windy when I took all of my first shots, and given the length of time for the exposures perhaps this is to be expected – time will tell.

Old Car and Barn II f/158 at 45sec on Ilford FP4

The vignetting can be addressed in part, as I have tried in Adobe Lightroom.  Film gives a lot of latitude and there is still detail in the shadows on most negatives that come out.  Detail, unless you are bracketing, that a digital camera would never show I feel.

Towards Heyope – f/158 at 40 seconds (ish) on Ilford FP4

A slightly fixed up image, with a graduated Adobe Lightroom filter following the edge of hill, to darken the skies and the grass that appeared at first to be completely burnt out.  This was a challenging shot, as I was sat in shade (actually sat on the edge of a wood), shooting across to fields that clouds were passing over, breaking up the bright sunlight.

Down Hill Through the Woods – f/158 at 1min 40 seconds (ish) on Ilford FP4

What I like about using the pinhole is that it is a thoroughly unrushed affair.  No quick grab shots here, though the thought of trying some street photography with it intrigues me (I believe there was a pin hole workshop as part of the London Streetphotography Festival).  You have to sit down, compose the shot without a view finder (albeit the Zero Image camera does come with a see through bit of plastic – which is handy to start off with), work out the exposure (no in camera metering here, so its out with the old light meter), then decide depending on your film whether recipority rules apply or not (and if they do, it could push your exposure out by two, five or even twelve times the original exposure). Once you’ve worked this all out, then maybe you can slide back the shutter.  This gives you time (between checking your watch) to actually take the view in for yourself, instead of chimping at your histogram and blasting off a couple of other shots “Just in case”.  After a couple of minutes, you can think about closing the shutter and winding the film on.  Oh and don’t forget to keep your tripod steady, the images are soft enough without any more help.

I was given a Zero Image 6 x12 multi format pin hole camera for my birthday.  It was something that I wanted very much, having traversed a grand arc of starting out at evening classes using Kodak Tri-X and buying a Pentax film SLR, to giving up on film, when the Site Gallery in Sheffield closed its public dark rooms and going digital.  Since then I’ve gone from a Canon 20D to a 40D (with an IXUS 50 and G10 thrown in for good measure).  Along the way I bought a Hasselblad XPAN, that I didn’t use it much, but it felt like a good thing to buy.  It was costing me about £25 to buy and process a film.  Then at Christmas I got all the kit I needed to processes my own films at home.  I think I’ve shot about five times as much film in the past six months on my XPAN as I have in the last 5 years.  Then last Tuesday I moved on to pin hole photography and 120 film.

Pinhole Photography is very much slow photography.  Exposures starts to get measured in seconds and if you factor in reciporicty failure in your film seconds can become minutes (and hours).  No automatic exposure, no auto focus, no point and shoot – this is pencil and paper, with a good measure of suck it and see thrown in for good measure.

Here are some of my first attempts shot at 6 x 12cm.

Garden Outhouse and Chair – Pinhole, Ilford FP4, f/158 @ 36 minutes (ish)

Pentrusco House, Knucklas, Powys – Pinhole, Ilford FP4, f/158 @ 4seconds(ish)

Iris, Cottage Garden – Pin Hole Photography, Ilford FP4, f/158 @ 4 seconds (ish)

Sunlight Dappled Woodland, – Pin Hole Photography, Ilford FP4, f/158 @ 1 minute 40 seconds (ish)

Was on a course a couple of weeks ago down in London, so at lunchtimes, I took my Hasselblad Xpan for a walk through the local markets and environs to try out my hand at some street photograpghy.  These were all shot on Ilford FP4 an ISO 125 film, so there is lots of movement blur and in some cases camera shake.  Next time I’m processing I will have HP5 (ISO 400) shots to add to this post.

Revolt, London

Lunchtime Decisions, Leather Lane, London

Taking the weight off your feet, Leather Lane Market, London

Smithfields Market, London

Sun God, Smithfields

Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, Leather Lane, London

Day Dreamer, Leather Lane, London – Hasselblad Xpan with Ilford HP5

Balancing Act, Leather Lane, London – Hasselbald Xpan with Ilford HP5

Continuing my photographic exploits in and around London Saint Pancras International Railway Station, here is a hand held Hasselblad Xpan shot of a someone taking a picture.  I guess I’m also getting a thing for taking photographs of photographers taking photographs.

Lone Photographer, London Saint Pancras, Hasselblad Xpan