Film FiF '17 - TT

tonyturley

tonyturley

Legend
Location
Scott Depot, WV, USA
Name
Tony
Let me be the first to start the threads for Film in February '17, if I may use that name. This is where I'll submit each daily entry. Does this format work for everyone else? I doubt we'll have as many participants as SiJ '17 over at SeriousCompacts, so I'm hoping this format will keep the thread count down. Let me know what you think.

Here's the camera I'll be using. In this image, the Pentax MX is sporting my mint condition Tokina 17mm/3.5, which I received just yesterday. A few test images have shown this lens to be as nice as I hoped, although I plan to use it mostly with my Fuji X-T1. For the film challenge, I will mostly use a Pentax-M 40mm/2.8. The MX is loaded with Portra 400 and ready to go. Tally ho!

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And here we go . . . just received notification my roll was ready. I am quite pleased with how the roll turned out . . . not a dud in the lot. I'm going to start out by posting the first two images. The film was Portra 400.

Day 1

Quite a dreary day outside. I decided to attempt a snap of a most pedestrian setting, my morning cup of Java right after it was brewed. I'm amazed there was not shake, as the settings were f/4 and 1/15. Focus point was the little coffee cup logo on the front of the cup.

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Day 2

A much better start, with a decent sky to start the day. F/8 and 1/125.

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I appreciate the kind words, guys. It was a fun process. The MX is back on the shelf for now, and another roll of Portra 400 is loaded in my Olympus 35RC, although I'll be more deliberate about its use. Last time I carried the Olympus, it took me 6 months to go through a roll of film. :)
 
Day 3. The weather turned overcast and uninspiring again, so I took a short walk to see what I could find. Downstairs in the lobby there is a small, dimly lit waiting area with a low overhead ceiling and track lighting. Again I dropped to f/4 and 1/15, but I think it turned out fairly well.

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Day 4. I took my bike down into the New River Gorge in southern WV for a day of cycling and photos. The New River Gorge National River is a 70,000+ acre national park with loads of activities for outdoor enthusiasts: whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, rock climbing, ziplines, fishing, and some of the best scenery anywhere. In this image you're looking across the channel at a small island in the middle of the river; there was a similar channel on the other side. It was foggy but very bright when I arrived. Earlier, I missed an opportunity to photograph a stunning scene on the canyon rim where crepuscular rays were streaming through icy tree branches, and the landscape was shrouded in ice fog. Unfortunately, the road shoulders were narrow and there was no safe place to pull over for a pic or two.

Not far from this spot, sandstone cliffs tower up to 1,000 feet over the river. I have stood at the edge of those cliffs, watching the sun rise over the river. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

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MoonMind said:
That's really a commendably sharp lens you got there; contrast could be a tad better, but in your last image, the vail of light is very pleasing - no problem at all. How difficult is it to keep this UWA from actually flaring?

M.
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I haven't noticed any colored flares from this lens. I have a couple of other lenses that have great IQ, but will show purple or green flaring at any strong light in or near the frame. The Pentax 40mm/2.8 handles such situations very well.
 
tonyturley said:
I haven't noticed any colored flares from this lens. I have a couple of other lenses that have great IQ, but will show purple or green flaring at any strong light in or near the frame. The Pentax 40mm/2.8 handles such situations very well.
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I just realised I misread your first post - you're not using the Tokina after all; which means that some of the images were even better judged to enhance the perspective. Are we talking about this lens, then? That's the smallest pancake for a 35mm SLR I've ever seen (I've handled both Nikon's 45mm f/2.8 and Contax's 45mm f/2.8 Tessar - my own "pancake" is the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 Ultron SLII ...). As far as I know, Pentax/Ricoh are still the only ones to produce something quite similar for DSLRs (or mirrorless cameras - my Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is small, but not *that* small).

To my own shame, I have to aknowledge that using those old goodies really holds a lot more fascination for me than buying and using even the "best" modern lenses ...

M.
 
MoonMind said:
I just realised I misread your first post - you're not using the Tokina after all; which means that some of the images were even better judged to enhance the perspective. Are we talking about this lens, then? That's the smallest pancake for a 35mm SLR I've ever seen (I've handled both Nikon's 45mm f/2.8 and Contax's 45mm f/2.8 Tessar - my own "pancake" is the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 Ultron SLII ...). As far as I know, Pentax/Ricoh are still the only ones to produce something quite similar for DSLRs (or mirrorless cameras - my Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is small, but not *that* small).

To my own shame, I have to acknowledge that using those old goodies really holds a lot more fascination for me than buying and using even the "best" modern lenses ...

M.
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That is indeed the lens, Matt. I once owned the Zuiko 40mm f/2.0 as well, but sold it and the OM-1N I had with it. That was also a good combination.

I also like using the older MF lenses. There is something about them that just "feels" right.
 
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Actually, your MX adventures reminded me of something ... I've got some rolls "rolling" at the moment and will finish those first (including the Ektar 100 in the ZM), but I'll put a roll into my FE and use the Sigma Super-Wide II (24mm f/2.8) for a spell. The combo is ugly as hell (both items are glorious beaters), but handles great. The smooth yet firm manual focus action of the Sigma is really addictive. And the FM3A will be taken out with the 40mm Ultron ... but that was a given anyway. Before I ran into the ZM, the FM3A was my favourite 35mm camera anyway - it's so well made and thought out ... though curiously, I don't find the FE to be a lot worse "in action" (some ways of doing things are even nicer in my eyes - like the AE *lever* instead of a button ...).

Sorry, going seriously OT now - I'm looking forward to seeing your next shots :)

M.
 
I have to say, Matt, you have quite the eclectic assortment of photo gear. Not long ago, I had a lot of photo gear myself, after years of buying - selling - buying, but decided to start cutting back. It was hard to get rid of some stuff, but I purged about 90% of what I had last year, and I'm in the process of simplifying further, working toward reducing my digital gear to a single camera/lens combination.

Anyway, here's Day 7. Another one of those views only I seem to be drawn toward. Walking up the sidewalk shortly before sunrise, I grabbed this shot. f/5.6, 1/15.

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@tonyturley Yes, I've collected quite a lot of gear. The Nikon system is more like a backbone of the whole passion - my first SLR was a Nikon (a F-401 - the cheapest option then), and my main DSLR still is a Nikon (the D750). I had a Pentax system as well when I was younger. But now, it's all about two things: rangefinders and medium format. And actually, I'm about to settle down - my wishlist is pretty empty (except for a couple of modern lenses - but glass is probably a never-ending story for me ...) :)

On topic: Well seen once more - lots of interesting angles, curves and lines.

M.
 
tonyturley said:
I have to say, Matt, you have quite the eclectic assortment of photo gear. Not long ago, I had a lot of photo gear myself, after years of buying - selling - buying, but decided to start cutting back. It was hard to get rid of some stuff, but I purged about 90% of what I had last year, and I'm in the process of simplifying further, working toward reducing my digital gear to a single camera/lens combination.

Anyway, here's Day 7. Another one of those views only I seem to be drawn toward. Walking up the sidewalk shortly before sunrise, I grabbed this shot. f/5.6, 1/15.

View attachment 1346
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Great composition and colors mix and also the absence of people make it very midterious. This one is really a art piece!
 

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