Manhattan with a IIIc

[02Pilot]

All shot on a recent photo walk around Manhattan with my 1949 IIIc and Summitar on HP5+, developed in Caffenol.

 

[02Pilot]

 

[02Pilot]

 

[Mlehrman]

These are all excellent, lovely photographs, and I get a powerful sense of your day and my favorite borough.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Great pictures, lovely light tones!

Erik.

 

[Luddite Frank]

Where was the lion statuary, Bryant Park ?

 

[grouchos_tash]

Excellent stuff!

 

[Bill Clark]

Black and white film is the best. Great photographs!

 

[maddoc]

Maybe the way you composed and exposed your frames your interpretation of NY reminds me of some Mediterranean place in summer. Very nice!

 

[Joe Vitessa]

Gosh, I love film. Nice work.

 

[02Pilot]

Thanks, folks - I really appreciate all your kind words. It was one of the first bright (and hot) sunny days in the city this spring, and I tried to convey that feeling in my photos.

Frank, you are correct that the shot with the lion statue is in front of the NY Public Library main branch.

 

[froyd]

Scans of negs or prints? Though I'm viewing this post on my phone's small screen, the light and tones are very nice. Good exposure too.

 

[Monochrom]

BEautiful shots!

 

[Luddite Frank]

I had a lovely, warm spring day in NYC with a BFF last May... I took along my 1934 Leica III kit with some Kodak Ektar, and got some nice photos ( nothing as artistic as these 😱 ), one of my favorites was a shot of the Chrysler Bldg from Broadway (?), its face lit by the afternoon sun, peaking-out from behind the other skyscrapers...

I only had one or two shots left by the time we got to Bryant Park...

It was a swell day...

😎

 

[02Pilot]

Froyd, they are negative scans. I'm actually in the process of placing a print order that includes them, so it will be interesting to see how they translate (I don't wet print, which would be the preferred option, but we must work within our limitations).

Frank, Bryant Park is just a constant, and constantly changing, set of photo opportunities. I tend to make a single pass through either on my way to or from Grand Central, and I usually end up with something I like. Save a few more frames for it the next time you're in town.

 

[Huss]

Really really good shots.
Can you give us (me!) an idea as to your exposure? It looks like +1 over what would be a 'normal' setting to me, and looks fantastic.

 

[02Pilot]

Huss, it's hard to say precisely what the exposure settings were, but I can offer at least some ideas. I shoot HP5+ @ 200, or roughly thereabouts. I generally take a couple meter readings when I start out, one in bright sun and one in the shadows, and basically work with those as my min/max parameters. Individual shots are just on-the-spot guesstimates. When in doubt, I erred on the side of greater exposure.

I develop in Caffenol C-H(RS), which is a compensating developer and tends to work pretty well for me. It deserves at least some credit for managing the fairly high contrast lighting.

 

[Huss]

Thanks for the info! I do that all the time with colour neg film but have not tried that with B&W. Your results inspire me to do so!

Any colour filter used on the lens?

 

[02Pilot]

No filter for these, especially since I wanted to see if I could keep the highlights quite bright, and there was already plenty of contrast; I was pleased that the film retained as much detail as it did. I do occasionally use a yellow or light orange filter for street photography if conditions warrant, but generally I go without.

 

[megido]

A timely reminder as to how little equipment one needs.
Will take out my '41 IIIc tomorrow.
Thank you for the inspiration