This is the second roll I got from the Silberra Crowdfunding campaign. The first was Silberra PAN200. After developing I found some strange yellow streaks on the film, but they don’t show up that much on black/white film. Film base is very very thin.
Leipzig, Germany – May 2018
Shop Talk
panchromatic negative black/white film, ISO 200, fine grain, wide tonal range, very sharp
After taking over the family photo albums and scanning dozens of negatives, one film stock really stood out for me: old ORWO color film. I liked the somewhat muted realistic colors a lot. And so began a long hunt on eBay.
After several months I finally got my hands on 5 rolls of CNS 100. They expired in the early 2000s – not that bad. As a precaution I exposed the film as ISO 50 (instead of 100) and developed it normally. And wow, I love love love the colors. Now I have to get more rolls.
Oh and please ignore the weird texture on some / most (okay all) of the photos, I still have to work a lot on my rinsing / drying skills. #finishednotperfect
Leipzig + Bockwitz, Germany / Sept + Aug 2016
Shop Talk
35mm, color negative film, ISO 100 (exposed at 50), 36 exposures.
Praktica LTL 2 + Helios-44-2 f2/58mm + ORWO CNS 100 (expired ~2001)
Film bought for ?!? (can’t remember) via eBay.
Developed with Rollei C-41 Kit by myself.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.
During a district expedition this summer I visited Atelier Beissert. After our talk about art, photography and black tea, I discovered some old film cameras tucked away in a cabinet. Showing some (okay… a lot) of interest, Peter offered me two of them to try/buy. One was an EXA 1a equipped with a Carl Zeiss Jena f2,8/50mm lens.
Nearly 1 million EXA cameras were build between 1949 – 1990 in Dresden, Germany. They are fully mechanical, have no light meter and are build like a tank. Good for taking photos or hammering nails. Most of them (1a is one of them) use the “Exakta” mount.
Shooting experience
It took some time to shoot a full roll of film on *another* camera – I might have a collecting problem. Being able to use a waist level viewfinder gives you a whole new perspective and shooting experience. I really liked it. What I didn’t like was the max shutter time of 1/175 sec.
Now that the film is developed and scanned I have to say, damn that’s a good lens. Sadly the frame counter was physically broken off, so I had no idea how many images were left. In the end I didn’t buy the camera because of that, but I guess now I have to look for a better preserved one, or at least for a M42 mount version of that lens.
Black and white photography for the financially challenged
On a side note I think I settled on an ISO400 b/w film for “normal” day to day shooting: Rollei RPX 400. If you order 10 at a time over at Macodirect you pay 3,75 EUR per roll. I also looked into bulk loading film, but decided against it for the time being. I’d have to shoot a whole lot more, before the savings on film exceed the investment of a bulk film loader. But I’ll keep that option in mind.
Usually I don’t buy film that expensive, but being able to give a discontinued film a second chance is an opportunity you don’t often get. Lets hope enough people showed their support, so production can become permanent and distribution is organized more locally – after all the film went from Belgium to Japan (to be blessed by a balding photography priest) and back again to Germany. Crazy!
I’m not sure if a film somewhat aimed at street photographer is suited for shooting in rural Germany, but who cares. The film was inside the camera, the camera was with me and I was visiting my brother in a very small village. But where else do can see storks?
Development was very fast, since the lab was very hot. I need to figure out a way to cool down developer – even the water straight out of the cold water tap was lukewarm at best.
Leipzig & Bockwitz, Germany – July 2016
Shop Talk
35mm, black and white, traffic surveillance film, 36 exposures.
ISO 400, low grain, high contrast, clear base, flat negatives.
Praktica LTL 2 + Helios-44-2 f2/58mm + JCH Street Pan 400
Film bought for 9,65 EUR via Japan Camera Hunter
Developed by myself @ Mühlstraße e.V. Community Darkroom.
Development: Ilford ID-11 / 1+1 / 16:30min @ 20°C -> 4:16min @ 29°C
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.
Equipment for second project day – film, two cameras, label tape, notebook, lightmeter, rangefinder, backpack with rain cape and iced coffee inside.
Equipment evolution
After the film ripping on day one I decided to bring a backup camera just in case. Guess what – I ended up needing her. So now there’s not only my great-grandfathers rangefinder (Voigtländer Vito BL), but also my grandfathers SLR (Zenit-E) with me on my trip to revisit my childhood. How appropriate.
Thoughts
There are many things floating around in my head: The little-known history of my great-grandfather. The responsibility of future generations to remember the past. The responsibility to record family history. The question of why I do remember so little of my childhood, or even in general.
At the workshop we were talking about the emotional side of photography and that the process is as important, as the final images. That you should keep a record of the thoughts and feelings you had while dealing with the project. I find it hard to identify what I’m actually feeling. Maybe I’m way too rational. Maybe I’m not as in tune with that side of me, as I thought.
Combine all these thoughts with time pressure and it’s all very different to my “I-shoot-what-I-find” photo style on trips through the city or nature. But I guess that’s how one grows.
Visited Places
I went to the apartment I lived in during the first couple of years of my tiny existence. Amazingly the inside of the house was faintly familiar. I remembered nothing about the inner courtyard though.
On my way and at the playground nearby I remembered smells and the feel of objects (the big stones you could climb on, the metal tusks of a concrete elephant slide). I must have looked like an idiot touching all the things between playing children.
My grandfather, aunt, grandmother, me, mom and great-grandfather. ( March 1981 )
Finally I walked into a big open area inclosed by a front of huge trees. I remembered a photo I’ve seen in a family photo album (see above). The big chimney is gone and the trees are now so big they cover almost everything else, that could identify the spot.
Writing down my feelings: I see life and I see death. I see depression and I see love. I’m sad. I’m nostalgic. I’m confused. Why did I start this? I have to do this. Why do I share this? Because we are all human. And we all share the same experiences. Experiences that have to be recorded for the future. For when you no longer have a voice. So let’s go out and take photos of the things and people we love.
It’s been quiet for quite a while. The 52 rolls project is over, but I still have a lot of rolls left. I didn’t have a clear idea what to do in 2016, that is until now.
I joined a 14-week photography workshop at the local Academy of Fine Arts. Subject for the whole workshop is “visible invisibility” and for that I’ll explore my childhood memories – something invisible (memories) made visible (through photography).
The camera I’ll use for the project is a Voigtländer Vito BL, that was built during the mid to late 1950ies. It was the camera of my great-grandfather and is the camera of my very first photography related memory. Looking through the viewfinder, the smell of old leather, the somewhat hard to press shutter release.
It was handed down for generations, until it landed in my hands a couple of years ago. Being that old it’s not surprising, that it doesn’t work perfectly. There are multiple issues with film transport (overlapping frames), aperture blades sometimes not closing correctly (overexposure, weird light lines) and light leaks. I thought about trying to service the camera before, but now that I’m doing a project on memories I’ll use it as it is. Memories aren’t exact, sharp or even clear.
Film, Approach and Presentation
I’ll use the leftover expired film and maybe try to track down film, that was actually used during my childhood: ORWO. I guess the future has a lot of eBay auctions in store for me.
It will be interesting to go out and not just shoot, what I find interesting, but instead go to a specific place here in Leipzig, Germany (good thing I still live in my childhood city) with a specific memory and try to visualize it. Sounds hard and to be honest a little bit scary as well. But I guess there’s no growth without challenge.
At the end there’ll be an exhibition (no pressure) and maybe I’ll make some sort of magazine or book out of it for me as well, so I’ll have something more tangible after the exhibition is gone.
Final Words
And best of all: I’ll use the blog to share the progress and have a record of the project at the same time. Wish me luck! Oh and if you have any advice on expired film, broken cameras, exhibitions, book making, or anything else – I’d be happy to hear it.
I bought a 10-pack of these on eBay (couldn’t find them in any smaller amount) and shot 3 rolls so far. One here in Leipzig and two in the National Park Hainich. I loved the colors of Samsung Prime Color 100, but I couldn’t find that stock either.
It’s sad to see, that all those nice films are gone. Well, not really gone – some of it is still around. But since it’s no longer produced, the number of rolls available will only be going down.
Maybe all the falling leaves make me think about all the production stops of film stock. But it’s not all doom and gloom. If this project has shown me one thing, it’s that there’s still a lot of film out there.
National Park Hainich + Leipzig, Germany / Oct 2015
Shop-Talk:
35mm, color negative film, 24 exposures, ISO 200.
Expired 05/2004, shot at ISO 100.
Nikon F80/N80 + Nikkor AF 50mm 1.8G + Samsung Prime Color 200
Film bought for 1,70 EUR via eBay.
Developed and scanned by Foto Schröter (Riesa).
Somehow the “usual” Portra 160 photos you can find on the internet look a lot different than these here. Maybe it’s because it was overcast, maybe it was an especially funky batch, maybe the used digitization methodology has some issues. Well shooting film sometimes just has strange results.
Potsdam, Germany – June 2015
Shop-Talk:
Medium format (120), color negative, roll film, 12 exposures (6×6), ISO 160.
Yashica Mat 124G (Yashinon 80mm f3.5) + Kodak Portra 160
Film bought for ~5,80 EUR via Amazon.de
Developed @ FotoStudio 80 (Leipzig, Germany).
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.
Week #26 is film roll #25 (I missed one in march), so next week we’ll be at the half time mark. 26 rolls of film done and another 26 still to go.
Already half a year. Time really flies sometimes.
Potsdam, Germany – June 2015
Shop-Talk:
35mm, color negative film, 36 exposures, ISO 400.
Nikon F80/N80 + Nikkor AF 50mm 1.8G + dm Paradies 400 (expired 20!?)
Film sponsored by Eva (Thanks!).
Developed by FotoStudio 80.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.
The project is getting quite expensive and I’m not entirely sure if the cost is justified, whatever that means. Imagine me criticising myself at this point – I’ll spare you the details.
Instead I’ll just post the work and let you decide for yourself.
Halle, Germany / March 2015 + Leipzig, Germany / March – May 2015
Shop-Talk:
35mm, b/w transparency film (special development needed),
36 exposures, ISO 200.
Nikon F80/N80 + Nikkor AF 50mm 1.8D + Yellow Filter + Agfa Scala 200
Film bought for ~6,60 EUR via eBay.
Developed by Photo Studio 13.
Scanned with Epson Perfection V550.
The Sun Itself Shall Draw My Pictures 