“Magician”

EOS 5 / Ilford film

Professor Bernard Grant Campbell, chair of anthropology at Cambridge University, Harvard, UCLA and an authentic man in every sense.

“Standing by the Sea”

Superheadz / Ilford HP5+ (expired)

“Douglas”

Superheadz / Ilford HP5+

This is Douglas. He’s a horse obviously, and every time I walk past his field I stop for a quick convo. He never has anything to say, but he’s a great listener, and always seems to take me seriously, which is refreshing.

“Ted”

Olympus 35RC / Ilford HP5+

I mentioned this scenario just the other day on here, this is a fairly old photo now, taken on an Olympus rangefinder which I’ve had film in for several months. Some of the frames have deteriorated (but they are even so, entirely valid) and some bring a smile because they are forgotten times. This is one such, with Ted looking a little sceptical. He is probably wondering where his breakfast might be.

“The Winter Sun”

Superheadz / Ilford hp5+ (expired)

As an aside, I went out yesterday with the Zorki and tried out a Jupiter 12 35mm with a viewfinder adapter and finished the film. I am going to try very hard now to finish up all my film before starting with another camera. I have to be out today so I will take the 35RC and the Halina 35X for a spin.

“The Field”

Superheadz / Ilford HP5+ (expired)

“Treasure”

Superheadz / Ilford HP5+ (expired)

“Pictures in the Sand”

Superheadz Black Devil, Ilford HP5+ (expired)

“Lindisfarne Causeway”

Superheadz / Ilford HP5 (expired)

It has been a long time since I wrote on here, I seem to have too many projects on the burner, to keep this current. But the plan was always to keep going and although I am not quite so fixated on chemical photography just now, I maintain a steady interest.

I pick up old cameras where I can. Today I found a Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa for £15, a tenth of its real value. This is a beautifully engineered 1960 rangefinder, and I am becoming much more in the groove with rangefinder photography than any other. Indeed, I recently bought a Canon II from a Moscow dealer. I have been thinking about getting a decent 1950s rangefinder forever, and while I liked the idea of a Contax, my little collection of beautiful Russian Jupiter glass has pushed me over into thinking in the direction of the Canon Leica copy.

Okay maybe a Leica III would be the way to go, but it costs maybe 5 times more than the Canon copy, which is (arguably) a better camera. So it’s £800 for the badge on the front, and that is not a great deal in my view.

I have a great stack of film to process. I have Ilford film from a Holga which I can process in the kitchen, but I also have several colour films from the Yashica and the Lubitel to send away to the lab.

So I will leave you with a picture taken on another Leica copy, the eminently worthy Zorki 4 with that amazing Jupiter 8, 50mm attached. It is a remarkable lens for the price of a bottle of vodka. Of course the quality of the subject is beyond compare and you won’t find one of these anywhere for any price.