Last night I finally processed a roll of TechPan film that I had recently shot with my Zeiss-Ikon Contina. I started the roll probably on 2007, and finished it up a few weeks ago, photographing the ice and snow at Barton Dam. A cold day, and perfect for a camera like the Contina, since it's easy to adjust and use. I'd shot several rolls of film in the camera before with great result.
The Contina has a 45mm 2.8 lens that is quite sharp and contrasty. It has a lens hood that I usually forget to attach, and probably should use more than I do. However, it's a nice example of a good zone-focus camera.
After I developed the TechPan, my worst fears were realized. While shooting at Barton Dam, I thought that the film advance seemed a bit odd. Yes, the film was advancing, but perhaps it was the fact that my hands were cold and that I hadn't used the camera in a while that I was imagining things. After I hung the film up to dry, I saw that the first few exposures made at West Park --probably in 2007 -- were ok, but the frame spacing was a tad off. Then, the next 20+ shots at Barton Dam were overlapped continually until the last 11 frames. Ugh. There are (I mean, were) some great shots in there. The last 11 were spaced pretty much ok. That was pretty disapponting, as I knew that I had some good exposures at the dam. The ones that were okay, were probably not my best compositions on the roll, but they are the ones that survived.
West Park Willows in 2007(?)Now, for Barton Dam:
TechPan (discontinued several years ago by Kodak) continues to be a film that amazes me. I have PLENTY of it, and though I don't shoot it as often as I should, it points out how much fun using film can be. So long as I have the developers (Technidol or Photographer's Formulary TD-3) and the film, it'll give me more years of high-definition 35mm photography. Imagine using this film in a Hasselblad X-Pan! Virtually grainless, and the tonality, tamed with a proper developer, is very good, as you can see in the above images.
4 comments:
That second image of the Barton Dam area looks awesome.
I really enjoyed the images, very nice, considering the Pantar is a triplet style lens rather than a Tessar. Have you the 'other' lenses for this rarest of bird, the replaceable-lens scale-focus camera? They made a 75mm and a 35mm lens for this one, they came in a nice hard-leather kidney-shaped case.
I love the ice covered dam photo
Great blog post! Exploring high-definition capabilities with a 35mm camera is a fascinating journey into the intersection of classic photography and modern technology. It's impressive how this analog format can still deliver stunning results in today's high-definition world. Your insights and tips on achieving high-def quality with a 35mm camera are valuable for both beginners and seasoned photographers. Keep up the excellent work! 📸👏
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