Caffenol CL vs. Kodak HC110 😵

Hello Everyone,

My apologies on the time between posts lately as I’ve just moved to a new place and also got a quick mini-vaca in recently (more on that later) from work

As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been developing ALL my black and white film with Caffenol (specifically Caffenol CL) in place of all the chemicals I used to use

I mostly shoot Kodak Tri-X, ilford HP5 and also the Lomo Earl Gray films these days. All have been developed in Caffenol mixtures

I was very serious about being happy (also a bit shocked) about the results I was seeing

But is it really as good as I’ve been viewing it or has the romance between this developer and I finally ended?

Purchasing Expired Film: Hit or Miss?

If you’re anything like me, you do a daily Ebay hunt to get those super deals from unsuspecting sellers who may not know how much the item they are selling is really worth.

From time to time, i truly strike GOLD and come across things I’ve been searching for for a long while AT CRAZY PRICES.

One of my most frequent searches is film, either 35mm or 120, since this is primarily what I shoot.

Recently, I came across not just one but TWO deals on film..my luck was on fire..or at least i was thinking this when i purchased the items.

There was only one catch with both films, they were both expired…

Bulk Loading and Kentmere 400 Film

Lately I’ve been watching videos about bulk loading and how much it saves financially for those who shoot 35mm film heavily

I’ve always been interested in loading my own film cartridges, as well as trying out Kentmere 400 film.

I heard it’s very good in low light and can be pushed pretty well (i push to 1600 a lot so i wanted to see it in action)

I placed an order with B&H for a 100ft roll of Kentmere film and about 10 film cartridges. I purchased an AP Bulk Loader from Freestyle Photo, since the video here is using that similar model, and began shooting when i got outside

DIY Rodinal Part 2

My next test for the Homemade Rodinal formula included a bunch of Ilford Delta 400, my Leica M2 and the Summicron 50mm F2 Dual Range 🙂

I have to say i was very excited to view these results as this was the first time i did a full day of street shooting with a certain vision in my mind in a long while.

I had pictured a more gritty type of feel to each picture, even though these images were test shots, i was very happy to see that those images in my mind were being successfully transferred through my hands, into the camera and onto the film

These were all shot using NO METER (aside from my head) in a number of different lighting conditions.

DIY Rodinal

Rodinal is one of the most popular and  widely used black and white film developers in the world.

It has been used by some of the greatest film photographers for its look, feel and amazing shelf life.

Often lasting years when kept in ideal conditions, you don’t need much of it to develop your film as its dilution ratios are much less compared to most film developers

My primary use of it, as well as many other photographers, has been for pushing certain films to higher ISOs using stand development techniques.

Rodinal’s performance with stand development has given me some amazing shadow detail and sharpness in images, specifically with films such as Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5.

The history of Rodinal hasn’t been paved in gold unfortunately..as its formula was in danger but saved due to its sale to other companies a couple times

Two Film Formats at Once

Hello Everyone!

Been a while i know…i’ve been up and down, left and right and all over the place lately.

Felt it was time for a much needed update 🙂

I recently did a shoot with a friend at his apartment to test out a new lens for my Pentax 645n and also to get more used to shooting in low light conditions.

We agreed that we would use one light source only, dimly lit, so when i would push the film there would be more shadow details.

I also decided to bring along my Leica M2, which i haven’t used in a while and was happy to have out with me.

It was kind of interesting having them both in my hands and switching between the two.