My Noctilux Diary

deepwhite said:
I gotta try these "pushing" method. They really look good. (I do love the Pro400H, by the way, just never pushing it.)

But not til I finished my 10 rolls of neopan 1600....
Click to expand...

With the Nocti I actually prefer 400H pushed. The vivid, saturated colours that 'bleed' a little really suit the signature softness of the lense...

You know you can put the Neopan in the fridge, right?!?! 😉 It's a lovely film, isn't it!
 
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Well there's already one roll of neopan in the Hexar now.

On the other hand, my Bessa R2A is on vacation now. Maybe I should call it back to serve as the "pushing cam".

Have you tried pushing the Solaris 100? to 400 maybe? I got two rolls here and really want to give it a try. The Solaris has a lot of character when used regularly. Can't imagine how it'd be like when pushed 2 stops.
 
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5 more shots from the same roll:

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[Walking]

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This is one of my many from-the-hip shots. (This one was from-the-belly.) Most of them failed, but when there's one that works, it really feels great.



[I Want to Go Home]

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[Looking Up in the Dream]

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In my dreams
I look up to the sky
Waiting for something

to

Happen



[Alone in the Dark]

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[Waiting]

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- to be continued
 
The last five shots from this roll.


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[Co-existence]

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[I'm going home. You?]

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[I See Rain]

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(If only I don't have to blur the car plates. I hate doing that to my own photos....)



"Take me home. Please."

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I think you can do better. Far too many cut heads and pics of nothing that don't showcase what the lens can really do...
 
Repaired Noctilux ...

Repaired Noctilux ...

... I have my Noctilux back from repair (Leica Japan) and it seems to work fine again. One element of the front group had become loose and focus was impossible at far distances ... (I have no idea why a single glass element inside a lens can get loose from normal usage but one never knows ....)

Here is one night-shot (M5 / Tri-X) at f/1.0 1/30s handhold:

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IlijaB said:
I think you can do better. Far too many cut heads and pics of nothing that don't showcase what the lens can really do...
Click to expand...

With all due respect I actually have to agree. A snap with a noct is still just a snap. And if I may say so, I don't really like how the noct performs with high iso film. The softness of it's bokeh is too compromised to be enjoyable from what I've generally seen in this thread.

I think this guy is an expert on bringing out the 'pop' in the noct (even though he's guilty of endless bokeh-masturbation):
http://flickr.com/photos/moaan/tags/noctilux/
 
@ maddoc - Congrats! Glad to see you get your noctilux back.

@ all that's given me advices - Thanks for the advices.

Moaan has been my flickr contact for some time, and I enjoy his work very much. Yet I'm not sure if I want to be another him.

Also, I don't think it's my responsibility to be a good "noctilux sample shot maker". It's just a lens that I use most of the time (and while my girlfriend takes it away from me, I'm happy to use the Summilux 35/1.4 preA instead.)

I'll try my best to do better, while enjoying taking photos at the same time. But for some of your advices, I'm afraid I have to let some part of them bypass me.
 
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Mike and Arys, thank you !! I am glad that the lens is back, too. However, I am still not sure about the way it focuses is correct, need some testing ... 😱
 
I tried a roll of Solaris 100 pushed to 400, but had been too busy to send it for development and too busy to get it back. Finally saw the result last night.

I've heard about pushing films for a long time, and have seen many wonderful results, but with really shooting one roll myself, I started to realize what's going on with film pushing. It's not always what I thought it would be. Some shots "benefit" from beautiful grains and exaggerated color rendition, but some others really don't look much different.

Guess I have to shoot more and learn.

------

[Flirting]

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One of the shots that don't look like pushed.



[Roadside Karaoke]

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[A Crowded Dream]

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In my dream

The world was crowded

And I was not sad


- to be continued
 
Well, it looks like I'm soon to be Noctilux-less. It's more than that, I seem to have found myself in a three-body, one-lense situation (reminds me of that old myth of the three hags that share an eye).

I'm sending my M8 in for the shutter/framelines upgrade, and with it will go my focus-shifting lenses: Noctilux, 35/1.4 ASPH, 28/2.8, 90/2.8 and 50/2.0 leaving me with only the 50/1.4 ASPH for what looks like being a very, very long time 🙁

Enjoy your Noctii people, I'm very, very jealous....
 
＠martin - thanks for the kind words.

@urban_alchemist - well think about it this way: I've been jealous of you people for a long long time til two months ago!

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More from the Solaris-100-pushed-to-400 roll.


[Painting Upside Down]

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[Anger]

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I wanted to explain
But could not go past your anger



[White Rust]

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I've been using my pen name "deepwhite" for 13 years, but this shot is among those very few that make me "see" this "deep white color" in my head.
 
@ deep_white: Rendition of textures and details in nearly darkness is what makes the Noctilux special. 🙂 Some very decent shots again from you !

@ urban_alchemist: I very well know what you mean, having been two times (3 month altogether) without the lens myself (and no other 50mm around) ...

Some more from me:

400PR / HC-110

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Portra 400UC / Naniwa Colorkit-N

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400PR / Super-Prodol:

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FP4 / Rodinal 1:50

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Portra 400UC / Naniwa Colorkit-N

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Cheers,

Gabor
 
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