ahoy

A brutalist scene of office windows under strong sunlight. Deep shadows are contrasted by the highlights of the mid day sun. Reflections in the windows show cropped nearby structures and cranes. This was shot in Saint John, NB during a trip back home for Christmas. The city felt hollow and empty as the city's central shopping area has become a shell of its former self. The extremely cold weather made it unbearable to be outside for more than 10 minutes.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Tokyo Kogaku Topcor-S 5cm ƒ/2
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

An old swing bridge rests abandoned and in the open position to allow boats to pass. The tracks approaching it are overgrown and derelict.

#camera Voigtländer Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

#notes Shot with a yellow filter

A woman's boots hang out of the driver's side window of a gold leaf covered car. In the background a banner hanging from a balcony reads "Scrap Yard."

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Voigtländer 40mm ƒ/1.4 Nokton Classic
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ½ minutes

The lyrics to the opening song played by Cousins at Sappyfest 20 sit on the stage at the feet of the lead singer and guitarist. Cables are intertwined on the black floor while smoke from the fog machine can be seen wafting in the background.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Voigtländer 40mm ƒ/1.4 Nokton Classic
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes.

An old and rusty metal buoy sits in the tall grass near a beach.

#camera Voigtländer Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

#notes Shot with a yellow filter

Finally found some time and motivation to develop some summer film. I shoot more colour in the warmer months so I find I tend to slow down in my black and white processing. I noticed a fine layer of dust on my Paterson tank. Still shooting mostly Lucky SHD 400 as it has been fun to experiment with. If you under expose your negatives are basically unusable. However, properly exposed or slight over exposed images can look great. Especially if you find some nice highlights. In this photo I was testing out the use of a yellow filter on this film. It definitely had more of an impact than I expected. My Bessa-T's light meter may have pointed me in the wrong direction a few times. I likely should have shot the roll at 200 ISO to compensate. You're looking at an image of a bathroom and laundry facility in Grand Narrows, Cape Breton. It was my first time in there and I had a lot of fun exploring the area with my family. I especially liked the setup they had at the Wheelhouse Cafe where you could get a beer and iced cream next to the beach.

#camera Voigtländer Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

#notes Shot with a yellow filter

A shot from earlier in the year of a run-down part of town that's going through gentrification. Graffiti on an aluminum covered building has been hastily covered up with white paint. Fresh rain has pooled on the sidewalk and debris can be seen along the edges of the road.

#camera Leica CL
#lens Voigtländer 15mm ƒ/4.5 Super Wide Heliar Asph II
#film Ilford HP5 Plus 400

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro 1:1 at 21°C for 11 minutes.

#notes Converted my broken CL to a pseudo panoramic camera with a 16x7 aspect ratio mask.

Leaves and petals from a rhododendron are sprinkled with water from a fresh rain.

#camera Rollei 35 B
#lens 40mm ƒ/3.5 Triotar
#film Flic Film Ultra Pan 100 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+50 at 20°C for 9 ½ minutes

A large "MOTEL" sign is viewed from the back displaying the letters backwards. The individual letters are supported by large metal rods.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Voigtländer 40mm ƒ/1.4 Nokton Classic
#film Flic Film Ultra Pan 100 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+50 at 20°C for 9 ½ minutes

I'm a big fan of the way this film renders all the midtones. The only downside is the quality control. Lots of shots end up with black dots or random streaks. Especially towards the end. Not sure what their process of re-spooling is like, but I tend to end up with issues like this no matter if I develop it in XTOL or Blazinal. I also have consistently seen that these rolls have about 40 shots instead of 36 which can be too long for the Patterson spools.

#camera Rollei 35 B
#lens 40mm ƒ/3.5 Triotar
#film Flic Film Ultra Pan 100 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+50 at 20°C for 9 ½ minutes

Penny, the lead singer of Penny and the Pits, takes a sip between songs at a house show.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Voigtländer 15mm ƒ/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar II
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

A view from under an overpass. Long shadows streak across the patchy grass.

#camera Voigtlander Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

A photo of a blooming tree in my local park. The kids and I refer to it as the octopus tree because of its low and thick branches which have hundreds of knobs that resemble suction cups. Some notes about the camera; this is a new-to-me Leica III that I picked up on Facebook Marketplace for $100. It was in terrible condition. It was musty, the shutter was mouldy and would only just fire, and was covered with grime. It came with a surprisingly clear Elmar f3.5 3.5cm lens. The lens unfortunately needs some work and I'll be sending it off for repairs soon. The camera was CLA'd by Paramount Camera Repair in Saskatoon, Canada. They did a great job at bringing it back to life without having to replace the shutter curtain. All the speeds appear to be accurate now with the exception of maybe the last few slowest. The rangefinder is accurate and everything has operated smoothly so far. The camera still could use some cleaning as the grime was really packed into all the nooks. I plan on keeping this in the collection. I might sell the Elmar once it is repaired as the ergonomics of it really don't work for me.

#camera 1934 Leica III (Model F)
#lens Industar-61 55mm ƒ/2.8 L/D
#film Ilford HP5 Plus 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 minutes

#notes Second test roll through a recently CLA'd Leica III. More details in the alt text.

After the abandoned Bloomfield school caught fire this winter, the city got to work and started tearing it down. A large painted letter "F" is exposed to the outside world for the first time as the walls came down. We can only imagine that the developer of this plot was waiting for something as fortunate as a fire to break out. Now all their demolition costs are covered by the taxpayer.

#camera Voigtländer Bessa T
#lens Industar-61 55mm ƒ/2.8 L/D
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 minutes

A photo of graffiti under an overpass. The harsh light creates deep shadows. I've very much been enjoying the style of photo that Lucky SHD produces. You get very little detail in the shadows so you need to lean into these high contrast compositions. I've been doing a lot of biking and walking lately and I often find myself looking for these bright highlights knowing that the shadows will be near black. Lots of the shots end up looking like trash as if you get the exposure wrong you can't really salvage the photo. However, when you get it right it's a pretty cool atmosphere. With Lucky film being very inexpensive right now it's worth having some in the fridge waiting to go.

#camera Voigtlander Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 ¼ minutes

A mini truck imported from Japan is parked along a side street. Tied down in the flatbed is an ATV that perfectly fits the dimensions of the truck. Two vehicles built for entirely different purposes; yet they feel like they were meant to be together.

#camera Voigtlander Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 minutes

Two mannequin heads are illuminated by a nearby lamp through the window of an antique shop.

#camera Voigtlander Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Lucky SHD 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 minutes

A telephone pole is surrounded by clear bags of garbage at the entrance of an alley in a residential neighbourhood.

#camera Voigtlander Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Ilford HP5 Plus 400

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 21°C for 11 minutes

The tile entry to the Turtle Cafe in Elwood, Australia. I think I shot this with a Zeiss 35mm lens, but I didn't take notes and it has been long enough that I clearly forget.

#camera Leica CL
#lens ???
#film Ilford Delta 100 Professional

#darkroom From the 2023 archives. Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 24°C for 7 ¼ minutes

Tiny polypores cover the trunk of a tree. My kids love looking for these shelf fungi when hiking in the woods. I'm always very happy with how this lens renders subjects around the 1 meter mark.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Voigtländer 40mm ƒ/1.4 Nokton Classic
#film Kentmere 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 20°C for 12 minutes

This probably doesn’t help all that much, but here are my dev notes from developing this film in an XTOL clone for the first time: bsky.app/profile/ahoy...

A magnolia tree is covered in a thick layer of wet snow after a surprise April snowstorm.

#camera Voigtländer Bessa T
#lens Zeiss 35mm ƒ/2.8 C Biogon ZM
#film Ilford HP5 Plus 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Blazinal 1+25 at 20°C for 8 minutes

#notes This was my first test using Blazinal after my XTOL mishap. I probably won't use it again for 400 ISO film as the grain is a bit intense.

Three surfers navigate a beach filled with large rounded stones. They make their way down to the water while waves create a layer of mist in the distance.

Well, it is no longer than the palm of my hand, feels absolutely solid, and takes great photos even at ƒ/4. Then you throw in the fact that you can get a Leitz version for around ~$250 on ebay. I'm surprised I don't see this lens more often from those who shoot M mount.

My daughters sitting in the grass with their faces covered by their ball caps. After 30 minutes of apple picking last fall they were ready to sit down and enjoy their spoils without being interrupted by their Dad and his camera.

#camera Leitz Minolta CL
#lens Minolta 90mm ƒ/4 M-Rokkor
#film Kentmere 400 #35mm

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 20°C for 12 minutes.

My cat, Zeus, with his ears perked up after being disturbed from his nap on the corner of my bed.

#camera Zorki 4
#lens Industar-61 55mm ƒ/2.8 L/D
#film Kentmere 400

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 20°C for 12 minutes

a man is talking to a group of people while standing in front of a tree . ALT: a man is talking to a group of people while standing in front of a tree .

Ahoy! Another fellow Haligonian and Rollei 35 enthusiast.

A photo of a large retired cannon sitting idle in a battery. York Redoubt was part of a large defensive network which protected the city of Halifax, NS and its harbour entrance.

#camera Rollei 35 B
#lens 40mm ƒ/3.5 Triotar
#film Ilford Delta 100 Professional

#darkroom Developed in Eco Pro LegacyPro 1:1 at 20°C for 11 minutes

#notes @ilfordphoto.com #fridayfavourites & #aprilondp100

Thanks for the recommendations. Where do you get your Blazinal, Bob? I’m also in Canada and typically prefer to buy within the country.

Water washes over a fresh batch of images printed in my darkroom. Printing in the darkroom is my favourite part of the film photography process. All the work that goes into making it to this stage feels incredibly rewarding. So many failures occur before a successful print can be made. No one sees those failures but you. In the end, what you produce is your best worked. All filtered through a long drawn out process that refines you as an artist.

I am a frontend engineer specifically focused on data visualizations and accessibility. I think I can provide some added context.

Alt text is not just describing an image. In your case, it can be a tool for storytelling. Click on the image I’ve added to see an example.

A cell phone picture of a nearly blank sleeve of film on a light table.

After 8 years of using XTOL (and clones) I finally experienced “sudden death.” I mixed up a batch of what must have been expired chemistry and nuked two rolls of Lucky SHD 400 #35mm. I initially thought they were completely blank but upon closer inspection there are some visible frames.