Polypan-F on the Ice.

Last Saturday, I did some shooting on Fleming Creek with my Nikon F2S and my Nikon 1J1.  The F2S was loaded with Polypan-F, an ISO 50 b&w film from Germany that I purchased in 2012.  Conditions were amazing, as there were some really incredible ice forms and some streams running above the ice.  I have shot at this spot repeatedly, and like many photographers, I revisit familiar spots because things do change, and there is always the desire to get something better than the last attempt.  Rivers and lake shores are places worth revisiting, as they can change dramatically when weather conditions are in play. Fleming Creek has been photographed quite a few times, and this creek always has something to offer. One just has to look.

Taken with the Nikon 1J1 with a polarizer, ISO 100.

Winter photography has its own challenges, and my favorite film camera for this kind of work is my Nikon F2S.  The controls are easy to work with gloves, making cold weather shooting much easier.  You kmow what though, the Nikon 1J1 is also easy to use with gloves, which was kind of surprising. You can see in this photo that the water has frozen in large sheets, and some of it is flowing on top of the ice, rather than under it.  I shot the 1J1 in monochrome mode, because to me, winter IS monochrome.
I used a Tamron 35-135 zoom (in the old Adaptall2  mount), which is an excellent lens.  The Polypan-F was developed in Rodinal 1:25 for 6.5 minutes.  Some of my shots were bracketed, and all looked pretty good.








As you can see, I like zooming in on the details, which obscures the scale of the features.  I had a show up on this topic at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in 2012, and I should do another one with the same theme in the near future.

One last photo, taken again with the IJ1, which I have to admit does a pretty decent job.  This is Fleming Creek on the N side of Geddes Road near Parker Mill. There was a lot of texture to the ice on the creek.



That's it for now.  We have had some serious cold the past week, with temps at -15F on Tuesday.  I hope to get over there early Saturday before it warms up and gets slushy.