sleepyhead
Well-known
THE REQUEST
I recently attended the wedding of some friends, and a couple of weeks before the event the groom asked me "if I could take a few photos". I said sure, and spent those weeks pondering what gear and film I would use.
I knew that I had to carry very little equipment with me as I would be at the weding with three small kids of my own and not have any hands free. If i carried a bag it would have to be a diaper bag (and one filled with DIAPERS...).
THE CHOICE
So, I finally settled on my trusty M4-P with collapsible Summitar (1939, not coated), a small handheld meter, and two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600. That's it. It could all fit in my dinner jacket pockets with the lens collapsed and not look too strange.
ON THE DAY
It was a small wedding in a small Danish church, and the day was very rainy and windswept. The Bride was beautiful and Groom sort-of handsome. There was no official photographer or professional, just me and another friend who had some kind of dSLR with a zoom lens - it looked big and kept flashing and I didn't inquire anything about it. Of course there were a few people with digital point-and-shoots as well. As the only one with a film camera, the older folks at the wedding thought my leica was great.
As the church ceremony progressed I could tell I was having "an ON day" and getting some good shots. I shot one of my rolls in the church and the other at the reception - 70 frames in all.
THE RESULTS
I developed the film in Ilford DD-X 1:4 at 20C for 5 minutes, and scanned the film with a Minolta Dimage 5400 scanner. I'm really pleased! Of the 70 frames, a WHAPPING (for me) 46 were worth scanning, perhaps my best hit rate ever. The tones were nice with Neopan 1600 and DD-X, and the grain not too bad. I reduced it using Neatimage.
The old uncoated Summitar greatly exceeded my expectations: it was sharp in the right places and with a lovely vintage look in Black and White. It was easy to focus quickly and I kept it at f/2 pretty much all day.
All-in-all I'm very pleased and so are the married couple. Here are some of my favorite shots:
THE BRIDE AND HER FATHER COMING DOWN THE AISLE
THE HAPPY GROOM
GREETING THE GUESTS AFTER THE CHURCH CEREMONY
BRIDESMAIDS
WEDDING CAKE
WEDDING CAKE AGAIN
GROOM WITH NEW FATHER-IN-LAW
BRIDE AND GROOM RELAXING
I recently attended the wedding of some friends, and a couple of weeks before the event the groom asked me "if I could take a few photos". I said sure, and spent those weeks pondering what gear and film I would use.
I knew that I had to carry very little equipment with me as I would be at the weding with three small kids of my own and not have any hands free. If i carried a bag it would have to be a diaper bag (and one filled with DIAPERS...).
THE CHOICE
So, I finally settled on my trusty M4-P with collapsible Summitar (1939, not coated), a small handheld meter, and two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600. That's it. It could all fit in my dinner jacket pockets with the lens collapsed and not look too strange.
ON THE DAY
It was a small wedding in a small Danish church, and the day was very rainy and windswept. The Bride was beautiful and Groom sort-of handsome. There was no official photographer or professional, just me and another friend who had some kind of dSLR with a zoom lens - it looked big and kept flashing and I didn't inquire anything about it. Of course there were a few people with digital point-and-shoots as well. As the only one with a film camera, the older folks at the wedding thought my leica was great.
As the church ceremony progressed I could tell I was having "an ON day" and getting some good shots. I shot one of my rolls in the church and the other at the reception - 70 frames in all.
THE RESULTS
I developed the film in Ilford DD-X 1:4 at 20C for 5 minutes, and scanned the film with a Minolta Dimage 5400 scanner. I'm really pleased! Of the 70 frames, a WHAPPING (for me) 46 were worth scanning, perhaps my best hit rate ever. The tones were nice with Neopan 1600 and DD-X, and the grain not too bad. I reduced it using Neatimage.
The old uncoated Summitar greatly exceeded my expectations: it was sharp in the right places and with a lovely vintage look in Black and White. It was easy to focus quickly and I kept it at f/2 pretty much all day.
All-in-all I'm very pleased and so are the married couple. Here are some of my favorite shots:
THE BRIDE AND HER FATHER COMING DOWN THE AISLE
THE HAPPY GROOM
GREETING THE GUESTS AFTER THE CHURCH CEREMONY
BRIDESMAIDS
WEDDING CAKE
WEDDING CAKE AGAIN
GROOM WITH NEW FATHER-IN-LAW
BRIDE AND GROOM RELAXING
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