Hasselblad Challenge - One Roll, One Day, Your Town

dave lackey

dave lackey

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The world of Hasselblad is exciting! This video has inspired me to start a journal of sorts of my experiences of using a Hasselblad V camera in the southern USA area known, affectionately, as The Deep South. It is a struggle for me getting used to a new system but it is even more challenging to shoot 12 exposures at a time.

I was inspired by this video:

https://youtu.be/gQ--S-wG_lk

What do you guys think of a similar RFF challenge for your town, wherever you live?

"One roll of 120 film. One Hasselblad camera. One day to shoot it."

Anyone wanting to start a discussion leading to a basic set of rules and date?😃
 
Hi Dave,
Saw long time ago that video, and even commented it (2014) should see it around. I think I didn't even have a MF back then and a 36EXP roll was too too much.

I now have a Fuji 6x9 (RF, so in the rules of the forum :D) and 8EXP with this camera can be shot quasi LF pace like or almost as fast as 35mm.*

Infact, amusing timing; just now I am scanning a roll shot the afternoon of 3rd March. Not in my town but 12 mi west down the coast.
This town has a lighthouse and is the end of the land seen from my place. Last year after reuniting with a friend we ended up that far cycling, infact not as far as I believed.

Did my location scouting and was decided to shoot some well thought 8 frames. (+2 that I loaded Ektar just at sunset, still in camera and not developed). Negs look nice and think I did 6 good ones, and 2 ok ones.

*This buddy got into photography and has a LX100. I beat him in speed with a Fuji 6x9, including metering. There was a scene where he stopped and I cycled back 300ft. Photographing and cycling sometimes is inconvenient having to hold all the things.
 
dave lackey said:
..
https://youtu.be/gQ--S-wG_lk
Click to expand...

Gads, I remember walking in all the Tokyo locations shown in the video from my two month residence there in 1992 and a two week return visit in 2002. Could it really have been that long ago?

The first trip there, film was the only available option. I had a Rollei 35S and a Nikon FM with three lenses to work with and returned home with several dozen rolls of film from the trip. Sadly, during an apartment renovation about 1998, all of those negatives (and many others) went missing—a couple of boxes went out in the dumpster that shouldn't have. :( But I still have the photos in my head.

The second trip in 2002 I did all the photography with a Sony DSC-F707 digital camera. I have all of those photos. Perhaps I'll pull a few out into a gallery. :)

Hasselblad - one roll? Sure. Perhaps it will give me a chance to experiment with the Distagon 50mm that I acquired recently...

G
 
Really liked the video and concept.
It would be great to see the contact sheets as part of the challenge.
Presenting sets of all square images would maintain a very special aesthetic.

A 120 film worth of contiguous frames on any format would be a nice parallel challenge - on a second day.
 
How about the date? We could pick a window of time, say, a week in which one day the entire roll will be shot. I hesitate to pick a single day because bad weather may intervene and ruin someone's day.

Of course we will individually be on the honor system, no cheating!:)

Anyone want to throw a date on the table?��

Yikes, someone mentioned a contact sheet...for all to see.:eek: that would indeed be cool, does everyone like that idea?
 
So would this be any medium, square, format camera or only a Hasselblad? Got an old Rollei kicking around, but no Hasselblad.

Best,
-Tim
 
Timmyjoe said:
So would this be any medium, square, format camera or only a Hasselblad? Got an old Rollei kicking around, but no Hasselblad.

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...

I think if we leave it open to 120 film, any camera, we would have much more fun. Square, 645 format....I think we could add more than square although I think Square is more difficult. But I would hate to rule out 645 shooters.:)
 
A challenge like this is certainly that, as the video showed, well-known professionals were struggling with what to shoot. Only 12 frames! One day to do it in and one has to be contemplative of how best to shoot a limited number of frames.

I am struggling from a documentary standpoint as well. Homework is required but I think the artful composition, etc. will be more fluid on the day of the shoot.:cool:
 
Ok, here is a proposal:

ONE ROLL CHALLENGE!

What is the challenge?
Post your photos that best capture the essence and character of your city or town. If you do not live in an urban area, select one nearest you.

Purpose:
The challenge is a non-competitive exercise to test yourself in photographing an area familiar to you in a way that the complete body of work tells a story of a geographical area through its people, places and activities.

Rules:
Shoot only ONE ROLL of 120 film in any format in ONE DAY and post before April 28, 2017.
Film may be color, black and white, or slide film.
Only one submittal per person.

What camera to use:
Any camera capable of shooting 120 film.

Where to Post:
A dedicated thread will be started on RFF in the Photography General Interest forum. Captions and/or short descriptions are preferred.
Once your images are posted, discussions may begin.

Mandatory:
Have fun!!!:):):)
 
Getting my head into this challenge, I realized that one reason I haven't used the 500CM very much is that it is rather slow focusing, and my type C lenses' focusing ring is a bit hard to grip. Hard to do "around town" photos, hand held, this way.

So I did a quick search on Ebay and found that the Hasselblad Quick-Focus Lever #1 and #2 were available for about $20 each. Both of them just arrived today.

Wow! Now I know why people love these! Fitting the #1 on my Planar 80/2.8, it's so much easier to see focus snap in clear and quick because you can turn the focusing ring fast enough! I fitted #2 on the Sonnar 150/4 and it's the same story...

Wheee! If you've got these older lenses, do yourself a favor and get the Quick-Focus lever to fit it. It frees the camera from the tripod... :)

G
 
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