Addicted to light - I did not know it, though !

[Swissmadepix]

Good Day Everybody ! Honored to be typing something read by some fine photographers indeed.

It's been a couple of weeks that I have been lurking onto the different threads of the RFF and have already learned a lot in the progress. Please bear with me - while I introduce myself by telling how I became "addicted to light" (aka photography) - before I share my first RF experience.

After early youth years spent using anything handy - from a Kodak Instamatic to the infamous Kodak Disc camera - 4 years ago I bought my first digital P&S camera. While it was easy to learn how not to do things, thanks to the "immediate feedback" of digital, I quickly got frustrated: the more I learend about the creative and technical aspects of the combination between shutter speed and aperture, the more I was dissatisfied with my gear. I upgraded to a "full manual" fixed lens digital camera. Finally I was able to control the parameters that allowed me to "get what I wanted" in camera, rather than correcting the image in post-exposure processing (aka photoshop). After 3 years of shooting "full manual", it seems like I have developed some pleasing composition and an eye for "the right moment".

A Friend of mine thought that I have become proficient enough for asking me to cover his wedding, this upcoming July (and yes..I know..I'm crazy for having accepted..LOL).

I DO NOT WANT TO SCREW UP on such an important moment. So...3 weeks ago, I started looking for a camera that would be both backup (don't have the financial means to buy a second digital body) and complementary (I WANT that shallow DOF that a lens faster than f/2.8 can deliver). Requirements ? Easy to use, fast lens, full manual capabilities, relatively cheap yet still rugged.

The answer was almost innate: an "older" film-fed rangefinder, accepting 35mm standard rolls.

That's how I started my travel into the world of 1960 to 1980's RF cameras. I have read a lot about the subject: bodies, lenses, film types, developing, scanning...

...and I came up with my "dream setup": It includes a fixed lens RFF, a developing tank for the negs and a film scanner.

I have the first part. Found a deal on "evilbay" and purchased a Canon Canonet QL17 GIII. The finder is very clear, the lens is pristine, shutter works correctly at all speeds, the seals are OK-ish (already ordered replacement from the RFF-reputed source), the "ASA LEVER" is stuck, the light meter does not work - despite of a zinc-air cell (not important, since I use te Sunny16 & a handheld meter) - manuf date is SEP76...for less than USD50.

What put a stop to my ambitions is the cost of a scanner. I DO know that it would be a worthwile investment in the long term (develop & scan of 1 roll 35mm C-41 B/W rates at CHF27/USD20 right now) but I currently cannot put out the money for a scanner. I have experimented "IR pictures" in digital and would LOVE to do so in film (faster shutter speeds) but then...darn scanner's still too pricey ! So for the moment, I will be shooting Kodak BW400CN only. I'm currently experimenting with the filter factor my polarizing filter will give me as a ND (want to have shallow DOF even in bright conditions).

The first roll I shot and made the lab develop, yielded the results you see attached to this post (edits: slight level - resize). Would be more than grateful for any feedback. And....I am happy and glad to be "back on film".

Swissmadepix
(aka Reto)

P.S.:
today (07JUN) I just paid CHF53/USD40 for a Canonet QL17 GIII - working meter, battery OK, finder clear, lens pristine, seals definitely to be replaced.

Have I become a hopeless victim of GAS ? ...ROFL..

 

[Swissmadepix]

Two more pictures of that day. Hope I'm doing this right.

 

[ch1]

Welcome Reto,

Nice shooting.

You might want to post these in some of the W/NW forums. I know there is one for "Doors", another for "Arches" and I believe we have one for "Benches". 😉

 

[smiling gecko]

...welcome aboard, reto!!

really, really, really like your bench image...nice composition & economy of elements.

i think you'll find very good company here among those "addicted to light" or the near-lack of.

i admit it!! i am an inverterate itenerant heliotropic vertebrate nattering nabob (who deputized me?) exotherm wading through this most recent stream of conciousness seeking light and the way...word play aside, i do seek the way and maybe, i am on the the path - just not sure how "it" all works yet.

oh yeah, beware the moors!!....or is that "evil bay"...i should talk/babble/hold forth/etc...yeah.

about a year and half ago i passed through zurich on my way to moscow and wished i could have stayed and explored...next time, i hope.

hasta la vista, adieu, dazvidanya, fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen, and later y’all
kenneth 😛
_______________________________________
"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned" herman hesse
"everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"some memories are realities and better than anything" willa cather
" doo-wacka doo, wacka doo" roger miller
"we have met the enemy and they is us !" walt kelly (pogo)
“a mans cartilage is his fate” phillip roth

 

[Honus]

Reto,

Welcome to RFF. I like the images you posted, particularly the third one. Start saving your Francs, because GAS is on the way 🙂

BTW, I will fly into Geneva next Friday, on my way to Vevey. I look forward to photographing your beautiful country.

Robert

 

[Swissmadepix]

Sorry for my tardiness in answering, Folks - was hanging around here and there, but never got to answer...grrrr....Good thing, though, the mailman brought me something today - more on that later.

George, many thanks for the warm welcome and the pointer to the W/NW threads. I will have to finish shooting this roll and let the lab scan it. Then I'll have a bit more material for those threads. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that digi*cough*tal pictures are not really welcome (unless it's the occasional one). Am I right ? (asking because 99% currently is digital - but it's changing..hehe).

That one was taken in a cemetary here in Geneva, Kenneth and what you like about the picture is exactly what caught my eye in the first place. I'm very glad it came across as intended. And yes...this country DOES indeed offer some amazingly diverse opportunities for photography, in a geographically small patch of land.

Next Friday, Robert..err...do you mean today or the 16th ? Very good choice on Vevey - very pictoresque. Holler if you have the opportunity to stop for a java or other brewage on your way in/out. As for the picture - one of the many sidestreets in Geneva's Old Town. OK...honestly ...I noticed it because there were two cute Ladies turning into that passageway. When I looked they were gone, but the passageway was still there *grin*.

I'm really excited - the mailman stopped by. I mentioned in my first post that another QL17 QIII was in the mail. I knew it would be in quite good condition, but...I NEVER expected THIS !

Manufactured in MAR80 ("only" 26 years old), it is so clean you could eat off it (no..NOT trying). Shutter speed, f/stop and focussing rings turn smoooothly with a very nice and affirmative click on the shutter speed ring, on all apertures. Blades close correctly, shutter is crisp and the lens is without any blemish. The ASA selector moves as a charm. The filter thread is perfect - all filters screw on without a hitch.

It came with a 625 alkaline battery, which I replaced with a zinc-air 675 & alu-foil. Battery check light actually turns on and the metering is 100% consistent with my Gossen Digisix (reflected metering option). Heck, even the original "approved" sticker is still on the cam. Am I gloating ? I am...LOVE it !

Only blemish, as already mentioned and known, the light seals need to be replaced. Not too bad, but close to where the film canister sits, the seal is down to the lid for about 1/2". Ah...hard decisions...load a 24 exp roll and "risk" fogging or just wait until the seals are replaced ?

Anyways..time for me to go back to some html coding for a "wedding section" on my website.

See you tripping your shutters later !

 

[40oz]

for a scanner, get an HP Photosmart S20, USB version. They are under $50 on ebay, 2400x2400 resolution, no neg carriers or fiddling, and when the capture is done from photoshop and the like, generates 16-bit color images. This last feature is really only nice for color images (much greater color accuracy) but I suppose it would be nice for B&W as well, for a best-effort print. One really nice feature is the ability to batch-scan up to 5 frames at a time, with different tweaking of each under the HP software.

I've been doing pretty much what you have in mind - shooting B&W film, dev the negs myself, scan them, and make decent B&W prints on a ~$100 HP printer. I also bought a used bulk loader, and now roll my own film as well. The cost is very low, and I can shoot as much as I want and dev when I can afford it when money is tight.

 

[vicmortelmans]

Hi,

you seem very enthousiastic and -what equally important- very decisive and successful in developing an own photographic practice. Wonderful.

I also try to move in the direction of b&w photography, home development and film scanning.

My developing practicing is improving. I now have three tanks and spend one evening a per month (or two months) developing a set of films in batch. My first attempts were heavily overdeveloped (which is especially bad when scanning films, I learnt), but keeping track of all parameters, it's easy to adjust for proper development.

To improve consistency, I stick to Ilford film from now on (FP4, HP5). I'll probably have to switch to another developer in a while (now: Rodinal), so that will probably require some re-calibrations of the parameters.

As a filmscanner, I bought Microtek Filmscan 3600 (also branded by other companies, see my other mails on the darkroom forum), which can do batchscanning of a complete roll. The major problem until now is that it sometimes shifts to a position inbetween shots, so I have to restart scanning. I don't know if it's a mechanical problem or because it has a problem detecting image borders...

I now also bought Vuescan, because I've experienced the manual exposure control is very useful (certainly on my overdeveloped films!).

Good luck at the wedding!

Groeten,

Vic

By the way: the camera is a good choice! Get the depth-of-field scale posted to this site a while ago, to stick on the lens barrel, and it's perfect!

 

[Swissmadepix]

40oz - thank you very much on the pointer. Have looked into the HP scanner: looks pretty good indeed and seems to fit my needs. Sadly, finances are "testy" right now, unless the job situation improves soon. That's why I'm being careful about my investments (and sadly have to rein myself on shooting film..LOL). But the final goal is indeed to dev&scan myself.
Take care and keep snapping away !

Goedenavond Vic ! I'm very grateful for you sharing your experience. I have read several reviews of the Microtek (and the other brands it's marketed under) and was not impressed by the price/quality ratio. While I have a fairly good experience in digital photography and handling with the results I get from my camera, I am still a green novice when it comes to RF and the connected topics (i.e. film, develop, scan). I printed the DOF scale even before I received my first QL17..hehe..and it is very useful indeed. Thanks for your wishes !
Dag.

Reto