Manhattan with a IIIc

[Corran]

Love the first one. Really superb.

Some of the others are the typical "singular person doing something far away from the camera" shot.

 

[Dralowid]

I applaud the way the op has dispensed with the rangefinder. Makes me want to try and produce a set of images without using the viewfinder also!

 

[02Pilot]

Again, thanks to all who've stopped in to look at these photos, and especially those who took the time comment (something I'm not very good about myself).

Dralowid, I wouldn't say I ignored the RF entirely, though I'm certainly not one to obsess over nailing the focus when I'm shooting in the street. This was also my first outing with an auxiliary VF on the camera, so perhaps that made me more inclined to just shoot rather than checking the focus. Out of curiosity, what shot(s) gave you the idea that I didn't use the RF?

Corran, you're quite right that some of the compositions are a bit trite in their "singular person doing something far away from the camera" perspective. I will note, however, that in Manhattan this is not quite as easy as in some other places. 😉 I've been trying to work around themes of urban isolation lately, which certainly influenced these photos.

 

[mdwsta4]

Love these images! I need to try overexposing a bit for a more high key look. These gave me a new inspiration for my next roll of Tri-X. Also going to try exposing for 200 instead of 400.

 

[02Pilot]

Bryant Park is really the photographic gift that keeps on giving, isn't it, Helen? I have gotten some sideways looks from the more intense chess players at times, but no one else seems to mind (or even notice)....

 

[bence8810]

That first high-key shot is a killer, would really love to see it in a printed form.

Nice series!
Ben

 

[karlin]

Wonderful images and tonality !
Ophir

 

[bluesun267]

The Summitar is the most wonderful lens for architecture and urban textures.
Both soulful and monumental.

 

[02Pilot]

Thanks again, folks. I agree that the Summitar is really wonderful - it's quickly become one of my favorite normal lenses.

 

[Fadedsun]

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.

When you say you shoot with HP5+ @ 200, do you mean you develop it at 200? Or set your light meter as if you're shooting at 200? When I got a IIIC that always confused me, because I can't "set" the ISO of the film.

Is it possible you could go into a bit of detail about what Caffenol is and how it's done? I don't quite understand. Thanks!

Also, wonderful photos! I just got my IIIC back CLA'd from Youxin Ye and I can't wait to get back my first roll of film that won't be half good and half bad because my shutter speeds before it got fixed were all out of whack.

 

[02Pilot]

Sorry for the ambiguity - I'll try to clear it up.

I expose HP5+ at 200, then develop normally. As I alluded to above, I am not particularly precise in my exposure; I do not meter except once when I set out or if the light changes noticeably. From there it's basically sunny-16, though there is some guesswork and on-the-fly adjustment based on instinct. Ultimately, this means my exposures are not as consistent as some, but my intent at least is to stay around one stop over box speed.

Caffenol is a coffee-based homebrew developer that is pretty well-documented on the web. It is a compensating developer, which I like as it offers me some leeway in my exposures. I've found it produces a broad tonal range, though it can accentuate grain slightly in some emulsions. It is also completely non-toxic, which is important to me, as I'm on a septic system and don't want toxins leaching into my backyard or killing off the bacteria that make a septic work. There are lots of variations, but I've settled on what's known as Caffenol C-H(RS) as my standard for most films. The Massive Dev Chart gives times for most of the films available today (the app is more useful than the website at this point, I find).

See here for the Caffenol basics: http://www.caffenol-cookbook.com/

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Very enjoyable pictures and amazing results with coffee and Vitamin C 🙂

 

[Fadedsun]

Thank you so much for explaining, Pilot. I'm interesting in exploring Caffenol. I've been wanting to develop my own film for a while in order to save on costs, and a non-toxic method using coffee sounds like a nice way to go.

 

[02Pilot]

Once I started to get my technique down and the developer and times dialed in, I have no complaints about the results I'm getting from Caffenol. I think it's a great option to start with, as it tends to be quite forgiving. Don't expect perfection the first time out, but with a little tweaking to account for the inevitable variables, you should be able to get very high quality negatives with good control over the process.