New York June NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

Last time I checked with Puck Fair seems like closure is not emminent. Let's think of a date for a Sunday in June for our next Meet-Up.

GEAR ALERT: I sent a black SL2-MOT to Sherry that had a desilvering prism, dead CDs cell, and wonky meter along with a second black SL2 that was in street fighter condition with mucho dents and a severely worn lens mount. The funny thing is that the SL2-MOT was in unused like new condition and the hammered SL2 had a perfect prism and working meter. Both cameras were from 1975 and are 40 years old. I asked Sherry to build me a new camera using the best parts from the two. She also modified the circuit so that I can avoid having to use 625 Mercury cells, or Wein cells, and now I can use common silver alkiline batteries. I expect my new SLR to be shipped back to me later this week.

Sherry says that the SL2 has a crazy overbuild that is "re-dick-U-las" to the point that they are a pain in the butt to work on. In 1975 a SL2 cost twice the price of a Nikon F2, and it has been said that Leica acually lost money on every SL2 they made. This is the last "German" fully mechanical SLR that Leica made: the R6 and R6.2 are basically Minolta's; and the R8 and R9 have electronic shutters. Also know that the SL2 has a VF'er that pops better than my R8 or Nikon F3P and seems to have a snappy focus even with a 28mm. Build quality makes a M3 look a bit wimpy. I think I will call this camera "Brutus." I will reconvert my 50 Lux "E60" back to 3-cam, and one day I hope to get a 28 R Elmarit version 2 (E55 with built in hood).

Cal

 

[stompyq]

I vote for earlier in the month. Say the 7th?

 

[Range-rover]

Cal, Silver Oxide batteries are better if you could use those.

Bob

 

[Calzone]

Cal, Silver Oxide batteries are better if you could use those.

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the tip. 1.5 volts is the power requirment. I think Silver Oxides are better due to an extended shelf life?

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I vote for earlier in the month. Say the 7th?

Pro-Mone,

The 7th it is.

Running low on film. Only 20 rolls of 135 Tri-X left and 40 rolls of 120 Acros. Thinking of changing films or developers to do something fresh and challenging.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Cal, you should try some Rollei Technical Pan... ISO 32. Expensive, but could work for you.

 

[stompyq]

Sell me the Acros if you want to change things around Cal. You know I love that stuff

 

[Calzone]

Cal, you should try some Rollei Technical Pan... ISO 32. Expensive, but could work for you.

John,

Thanks for the suggestion. Trying to start some new/fresh ways to go. I have all this film gear that I want to keep using, but doing the same old is not making me into a better photographer.

Likely the best thing I ever did was buy my MM9 because it broke all the rules for me. Digital's precision is well rewarded. Next best thing I ever did was printing digitally with the added challenge of printing with a more sophisticated printing system (Piezography).

Now I want to step out of the box and out of my comfort zone to do some artistic experimenting with film. I did a lot of good work with Diafine using Tri-X and Acros. I will likely continue using these film with this developer for High ISO and night shooting, but I'll be shooting 120 Tri-X at 1000-1250 ISO in my Fuji GL690 hand held, and Acros with my monster Pentax 67II with flash.

Using small format as a platform for experimenting I plan on definately trying Rodinal. There is this formula where one adds 1 gram of Borax per liter of 50:1 Rodinal that apparently reduces grain size and increases development time about 20%. If I can moderate grain size I think Rodinal will esculate into 120 where Rodinal's tonality is a great-great asset. Another bonus is that Rodinal is a liquid, pretty inexpensive, and has a long shelf life.

I also want to see if I can use Jim Marshall's Tri-X and Acufine for 800 ISO. JM used 5 3/4 minutes with Tri-X, and it seems that this same time suits FP4, Delta 100, HP5 and Tri-X at various ISO's to allow for some mixed tank processing that suits my clever lazy slacker style. Hopefully this should give me results similar to my Diafine negatives without the compensating effect of contrast compression. I already shot films at the required ISO's, but I still have to develope the film to see the results.

I bought some 135 and 120 Delta 400 to see if I can get a new school film to work for me.

Then there's Kodak 5222 to bulk load. I already got a triple beam balance that they were excessing at work, so it would be pretty easy to mix my own ADOX from raw chemicals. Don't forget that I work in a lab where I can get HPLC (chemically pure) grade water. I did the math and the cost is so cheap that I can make ADOX or my own variation as a one shot for consitency.

In about three years I might blow dodge and leave NYC if I have enough money. I then hope to have a darkroom to wet print. It would easily take about a decade to get though all the negatives I've created since 2007. Really glad that I concentrated on just image capture for so many years. I might not live in NYC, but I can take a big chunk of it with me.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Sell me the Acros if you want to change things around Cal. You know I love that stuff

Pro-Mone,

This is the last of my 120 stock that I only paid $2.89 a roll for at Adorama years ago. I litterally filled my freezer, because I knew it was a cheap price that couldn't last. If I remember correctly during that time Acros at B&H was $1.00 more per roll. I basically bought and loaded up the truck before Adorama updated a price increase.

The Tri-X in 135 is Arista Premium that is no longer available in 36 exposure cassettes. I only paid $2.89 a roll.

I only recently am down to a handful of Legacy Pro that was rebranded Acros in 135. I bought hundreds of short dated rolls that were only $1.89 a roll.

Cal

POST SCRIPT: The time of buying film for "no-money" is over. I speculated on price increases and bulked up when prices were very low. Wish I was even more greedy. Before I bought my MM9, for one summer I was on average shooting 150 rolls of film a month. Today's pricing of Tri-X and Acros allows competitive evaluations because these film are no longer inexpensive. HP 5 is still cheap but it looks ugly in Diafine (big grain and a bit too contrasty).

 

[Calzone]

The Kate Moss statue did not catch any bids and went unsold.

The expected selling price was $800K to $1.2 million.

Oh-well.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I got my black SL2-MOT back from Sherry, and I reconfigured my 50 R Lux "E60" back to Leica R-mount. Decided to shoot Pan F and Acros at 80 ISO to be later souped in Microphen. The idea is to use a high energy/strength developer in a stock solution, but minimise aggitation to get a compensating effect with an extended development as far as time.

Shot today along the East River Prom-an-aide though all the fog.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

That sounds like a great combo Cal.

Bob

 

[Calzone]

That sounds like a great combo Cal.

Bob

Bob,

"Brutus" is definately an interesting camera that I think will keep me fresh. In my saga to explore new films and developers it will be a great tool.

I'll be shooting a lot of Delta 3200 at 1250 ISO and developing with Microphen with my Noct-Nikkor/F3P.

I figure that Rodinal will be my slow speed developer and Microphen my fast developer. Looking to promote a compensating effect to get my tonality. Then I'll be promoting these films in my 120 cameras.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Cal, make sure you bring the SL2 to the next meet-up.

 

[Calzone]

Cal, make sure you bring the SL2 to the next meet-up.

John,

I will definately bring "Brutus" to the June Meet-Up. The VF'er has a snap to the focus like no other SLR. I can see why Leicaflex lovers rave about the VF'ers.

Hoping the expected morning rain stops early. I'm taking off work tomorrow to go shooting.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Hey, you guy's decide on a date yet.

Bob

 

[Calzone]

I vote for earlier in the month. Say the 7th?

Bob,

For Pro-Mone we made the date for the 7th.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Bump.

One of my MM9 shots got published in Marie Claire (Espania) in an article titled "Old Is Gold." "Maggie" is featured with Lauren Hutton, and a bunch of famous celebrity women. We have to track down a hard copy of this version of Marie Claire from Spain at an international magizine store.

Last Monday we went to some exclusive preview of some vintage fashion collection on a "Press" invitation. What was really remarkable is that we met up with some people we knew. The world is not that big.

Somehow yesterday "Maggie" discovered that one of our neighbors in our building is a working pro fashion photographer. Again, the world is not that big.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Congrats Cal... any link out there?

 

[Particular]

The Kate Moss statue did not catch any bids and went unsold. The expected selling price was $800K to $1.2 million. Oh-well. Cal

I was wondering about that. I noticed it was still there the day after. The reviews on the street were not that positive. It may have been a bit crude for New York taste.