Will this turn out to be a dissapointment?

[didotcicero]

Last sunday I went to the North Sea Jazz festival in Rotterdam. This was not planned and all I had with me was my Bessa R and Ilford XP2 400 ASA, which had some shots on it allready.
According to the Bessa's lightmeter I had to shoot at 1/8 with the lens wide open.

I've read here that one is still able to take reasonable pictures at 1/30 and 1/15 but 1/8?

I have never shot before at such a slow speed so my question is: am I going to be dissapointed when I get the photos back from the lab?

I am holding my breath!

Any suggestions on more light sensitive (b/w) film or other tricks when in this kind of situation (I hope to prevent this next time though)?

 

[jaapv]

If you held your breath during shooting as well you should be fine.😉
You might be surprised with your results. Just remember: You need just one great shot to make it worthwhile. How was the music?

 

[jamiewakeham]

Depends on how long your lens was! Something shorter than a standard lens, and you may well be pleasantly suprised by your results. A 135mm, and you might be in trouble...

To be honest, I'd probably have bracketed, underexposing the shots by a stop, if I was worried about camera shake - XP2 is pretty forgiving.

Jamie

 

[didotcicero]

Jaap, The music (and the whole experience) was mindblowing. If you get the chance, go!

I didn't know what to expect. At the smaller concerts you can get really close to the muscians, the large concerts scream for at least 300 mm lenses, which I don't have (if you get lucky and manage to get in front of the stage).

@ Jamie: I used the 75 mm color heliar

 

[ChrisN]

Just remember, sharpness is a bougeois concept.

 

[thanatos]

Just remember, sharpness is a bougeois concept.

I love it, I love it.

Can I borrow that for my sig, Chris? 😀

 

[jaapv]

Jaap, The music (and the whole experience) was mindblowing. If you get the chance, go!

I didn't know what to expect. At the smaller concerts you can get really close to the muscians, the large concerts scream for at least 300 mm lenses, which I don't have (if you get lucky and manage to get in front of the stage).

@ Jamie: I used the 75 mm color heliar

It was maybe 20 years ago that I was there last, in den Haag. BBKing, Al Jarreau, wow!

 

[didotcicero]

@ Jaap: I saw Dr. Michael White Quartet (where I took most photos), RH Factor featuring Roy Hargrove, Marcus Miller and the last 10 mins of Erykah Badu. And fragments of other artists.

 

[didotcicero]

Wow!

Wow!

Just picked up the photo's in my coffeebreak. I'm definitely not dissapointed!

 

[jamiewakeham]

Those are handheld at 1/8 second with a 75mm lens? Wow!

You, sir, have missed your vocation. You were born to be a surgeon!

Jamie

 

[jaapv]

That, my friend, is excellent!

 

[tetrisattack]

Look at those! And you were worried! 🙂

 

[didotcicero]

@ Jamie: I just showed you some good ones ofcourse 🙂

And a surgeon, don't know about that. Not that fond of blood...

 

[Nachkebia]

wow excellent!

 

[Michael I.]

wow.I shot some 1/8 photos with an SLR at a bossanova concert - If they are half as good as yours I'll be happy

 

[didotcicero]

@ Michael: With a SLR there's always the vibration of the mirror, which might result in unsharp or 'shaken' (can't think of a beter english word for now) pictures. But I'll keep my fingers crossed. If I can do it...

I bought a roll of 1600 asa colour film, but hey that's expensive stuff. Had to pay Eur. 9.05 (about the same in $) for it! Anyone got any cheaper options, preferrably in b/w?

 

[ChrisN]

I love it, I love it.

Can I borrow that for my sig, Chris? 😀

Be my guest! It's certainly not original - often attributed to HCB.

Great photos, didotcicero! Keep shooting more of the good ones!

For a cheaper alternative film, try any of the 400asa B&W films, and "push" the processing (ie, use a longer developing time). There are standard tables for working out this stuff. You get more grain, but that can be good!

 

[didotcicero]

There are some more shots at my flickr gallery

Some of them are less sharp but they capture the whole ambiance very well, I think.

Thanks Chris. I'm not developing the film myself, thats why I use XP2 C41 so that I can drop it of at the 1 hour lab. Will they be able to push the processing? And do I need to alter the settings on the dial of the filmspeed when I intent to push the film?

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

1/8 with a 75mm lens ???

I take my hat off to you, sir 🙂 Well done!

 

[amateriat]

Damn, damn, damn...what were you worried about? 🙂

These are fabulous, sir. Wouldn't mind seeing a few prints of these, actually. Well-done, to say the least.


- Barrett