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“Instant” 35mm Film
Well, not quite “instant”, but pretty damn close.
I didn’t know this (maybe you did), but Polaroid used to make 35mm film that you could process at home without messy chemicals, in a matter of minutes. The system seems to of had some popularity at one stage, but like other Polaroid products, the profit margin must of been pretty small and the product was phased out. Several types of film instant film were made (all slide film) in both colour and black & white.The system is based around a hand operated “Autoprocessor”. Into this you place your film and its matching processing unit (single use-comes with each roll of film). You then complete a series of winding actions and hey presto, you’re film is developed in about 2 minutes.
I saw a processing unit and 6 rolls of film going for less than $5 the other day, so thought I’d give it a go. The only thing is, the film had expired in 1984! I was more curious to see if anything would come out at all, and have a bit of fun.I did get results, but as you’ll see, its pretty rough and insanely contrasty, but surprisingly ok for film that could be over 25 years old! I have a few rolls left, so might shoot them deliberately to bring the most out of the unique aesthetic. I’m kind of thinking of the movie “Metropolis”
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Half Frame Fun!
Here are some shots from my first roll in the little Pen EF I just picked up.
Tried out some diptychs as it fits them on a regular single frame. Some obviously worked better than others, but it was still a lot of fun. I’m quite surprised how well it metered and how sharp the lens is (when its actually in focus of course).
Tri-x400 in Rodinal 1+50
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Olympus Pen EF
The Olympus Pen EF is bit of an unusual camera. I originally saw this little guy covered in dust at a market last weekend. It stood out form the other cameras with its compact size, selenium light meter and flash. When i picked it up i noticed another interesting aspect. It’s a half frame camera. So i rescued it for $5.
As it turns out, the Pen EF is the last half frame camera released by Olympus. This is quite interesting, as it was the early 80’s at the time, and demand for the half frame format was essentially dead. Why Olympus chose to release a new model when the market was almost gone is a mystery, but i’m glad they did.
The Pen EF isn’t exactly a “pretty” camera. It looks like bit of a Frankenstein with a mixture of two eras of camera technology crammed into a very compact body. The camera epitomises simplicity. All you need to do is set the ASA (ranges from 25-400), wind the film on, then press the shutter. Thats pretty much it.
The flash is powered by a common AA battery (the camera still functions perfectly without a battery), and to activate the flash you pull a little latch down which engages it.
Besides the metering and flash, the Pen EF is lucky to benefit from a superb little 28mm D.Zuiko lens. Olympus had earnt a great reputation from their Zuiko glass for their half frame and full frame cameras, and the lens in the EF is no different. It still amazes me how manufacturers like Olympus could fit terrific little lenses in compact cameras (within a budget) that are still superior to many modern lenses that supposedly benefit from the latest and greatest technology.
Anyway, i shot a roll with this little beast the day after i got it, and it was a lot of fun. It’s quite a strange experience having 72 shots on a roll of film. I hope to create some interesting Diptychs, and also see how large I can enlarge the half frames.
If you see a little Olympus Pen EF around, don’t let it end up in the bin. It may not be the most attractive camera out there, but its certainly one of the most unique!EDIT: Some recent shots from the little Pen EF.
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Melbourne weekend
Some shots I took over a weekend away in Melbourne. I always find it a photogenic city, in some ways much more so than my hometown of Sydney. In this set I tried to play with perspective and figurative aspects. I quite like the tones as I shot these on Neopan 400 and processed with Rodinal at 1:50; probably my favourite combination.
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A few from Japan
Getting a little worried now. Still cant find a roll from my trip. It’s always the one you’re most looking forward to developing that you loose or ruin.
Anyway…
I quite like the first shot. As everyone started to cross the road, i took a quick look behind me and saw this girl standing there whilst everyone moved past. I guessed the distance and got a quick shot before she disappeared into the crowd. It’s out of focus as you can probably tell, but without trying to sound too “wanky”, I think it reflects the moment for me.
