More Svema 100 love

Over the past decade, I’ve shot a fair number of rolls of the Film Photography Project’s Svema 100 film. Manufactured in Ukraine, and still in stock from the FPP and its distributors, Svema 100 is a fine-grained, medium contrast film that is worth checking out if you haven’t shot with it. It’s on a tough polyester film base that lies extremely flat in my Epson V700 scanner, and I appreciate that a lot.  

I’ve shot several rolls more recently, and would like to share some of the images with you.  This first set was shot on my Pentax Spotmatic II, mostly along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mt. Mitchell State Park.  If you didn’t know, Mt. Mitchell is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi, at 6,684 feet above sea level.  You can also drive within short walk to the summit. On a sunny day, you can see a lot. However, you are more likely to find the mountain top to be either in the clouds or surrounded by lower-lying ground fog.  Mt. Mitchell State Park is around an hour’s drive from my house, and is also as far N as I can currently drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  

I used an SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens – one of the sharpest lenses you will find, and often used an orange filter with the roll of Svema 100.

I never tire of views like this.

Great view from the Porta-Johns at Craggy Pinnacle parking lot

At an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Turk's Cap Lilly

Mt. Mitchell picnic shelter detail

 It's a severe place there at times.

I really like how these came out.  I developed the film in FPP D-96 for 8 minutes at 20°C. If there is one complaint that I have, is that I find a 24 exposures go really fast for me, and would love to have a choice of 36 exposure rolls.  

At Ball Photo in Asheville. Yes, those are copies of Monochrome Mania for sale there.

Asheville Airport

Redbud leaves - wide open

coneflowers coming on.

The second set was shot on my Pentax K2 as pictured at the top.  Same developer.  Quite different circumstances, and a range of subjects. Svema 100 had no problem in subdued lighting, bright sunny days, and everything in between.  

If you are looking for a different 35mm emulsion to try, I highly recommend Svema 100. This is a film that would be fantastic in 4x5 and 120 -- if they ever make it.

Seven Years

 

The movers arrived 2 days later - during a downpour, no less. The yard has changed a lot since then!

Yesterday marked the 7th anniversary of our move from Ann Arbor, MI to Weaverville, NC.    It was quite a change combining two households, in addition to moving far from Michigan.   Beverley, Adrienne, and I have no regrets about the move, and the last 7 years have really flown by.  I like where we are situated, and while not at the top of a mountain, we are at 2200 ft. above sea level, and the Blue Ridge Parkway is a lovely 8 mile drive from us. Main Street Weaverville is 2 miles away, and Asheville is 7 miles from us. So, we have all we need pretty close by.    

Main Street, Weaverville, June, 2022. Pentax Spotmatic, Svema FN-64

One of the reasons for our location is that Adrienne and I wanted to be near the mountains, as both of grew up in hilly areas of New York. While we really did enjoy Michigan and the Great Lakes region, a move to better overall weather and a more relaxed way of life was a factor.  I love the extended spring and fall here, and there’s no hindrance going out in the winter.    The few times we have had more than a dusting of snow were beautiful and short-lived.    In short, the weather here is usually quite nice.

Vance Birthplace, NC Historic Site, July, 2020. Nikon F2S, FPP IR200.

Moving here was a boost to my photography, especially regarding nature.  While the September 2024 hurricane devastated many of my favorite spots, it has caused me to visit other places, as well as being able to document nature’s recovery in the affected areas. I still have much to discover, and the eastern part of NC is pretty much untraveled for me. Unlike the grid system in Michigan and Ohio where the roads run NSEW, the roads here meander, and in the mountains you cannot be in a hurry. I’ve gotten comfortable driving our curvy roads, but I do wish the roads had decent shoulders. The lack of them really makes it difficult to stop and photograph things that I see along the roadsides. 

       

Along the Old Marshall Hwy, March, 2023.  Yashica Electro 35 GTN, Kentmere 400.

Yesterday, I drove up to Barnard, an unincorporated community along the French Broad River near Walnut.    There’s a nice little park (Barnard Park) along the river where river rafts put in. A bridge takes you over the river to Big Pine Rd. Until last week, I hadn’t been up there since the hurricane, and it was nice to see that things looked pretty much the same.

The Barnard General Store, July, 2026. Intrepid 4x5,
101mm Kodak Anastigmat Special, Cat Labs 80 film

 Last week, I drove up to Barnard to photograph the Barnard general store that had just opened, and I’m impressed with the work the owners had put into rehabilitating the brick building that was built in 1913. I had planned to make some exposures of the bridge with my Intrepid 4x5, but the rain put an end to those plans. So, yesterday’s trip was to take those photos, and whatever else I thought worthy of 4x5.    After that, I drove back up to US-25 towards Hot Springs, and took NC 208 N to Guntertown Road and then to Big Laurel Rd.    

Bridge over the French Broad at Barnard 07/21/26. Panasonic GF-1

Roadside attraction, Barnard Rd. 07/21/26, Panasonic GF-1

I’d wanted to take that route for some time, so it was a good day to do so.    A very winding and scenic route, it follows Laurel Creek. This was a recon mission, and there are a lot of nice old barns and moldering buildings along the route. Again, there are few places to park off the side of the road, but I managed to get some shots with my Leica M2 and my Panasonic GF-1. About 2/3 of the way it started to downpour, and that was the end of the day for photography.  I still observed what was along the road, and plan on a return trip for a cemetery that looked to be quite interesting.   Big Laurel Rd. connects to US-23A, which I took south and then onto 1-26 and home.    Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

 

Abandoned, near Spill Corn Creek, off Big Laurel Rd. 07/21/26, Panasonic GF-1

  

So, it’s been a good 7 years here, and I look forward to many more.

First Results from the Chinon CS-4

 As previously posted, this is my second Chinon CS-4.  Of course, there's more to testing it than knowing that the meter and shutter is working properly.  How does the camera feel in the hand when using it? How easy it is to use the stop-down metering button?  Does the film move easily through the camera? That's why film-testing a camera is important.  Too many cameras are sold on eBay that are not film-tested.  Many are sold as-is, or as "un-tested." Granted, there are a lot of sellers out there that don't know a damn thing about photography, let alone how a camera ought to perform.  Leaving all that behind for a moment, let's just see how THIS camera performed.

I started with a roll of Tasma NK-II from the Film Photography Project. The Tasma film is a panchromatic b&w film on a tough polyester base, with an ISO of 100.  I used it because it was a 24-exposure roll, and also because it was one of the rolls that I picked up in November. So, onward.  If I am trying out a camera for the first time, I often go into my Libre Office program and type up a description as shown below:

That gets photographed on the first frame or so of the roll so that I know exactly that information if I end up waiting some time to develop the film.  In this case though, I finished the roll of Feb. 6, and developed it the same day -- which is not usual for me.  I took a short trip to the River Arts District (RAD) of Asheville, which is a great place to test cameras and film.  The RAD is still recovering from the flood/Helene of September, 2024.  Some places have reopened after much restoration/renovation, and other are either erased, or in need of major repairs.  Some of these photos show that.

This mural is on the now closed French Broad Outfitters in Riverside Drive.

Alien landers or fermentation tanks? On Foundy Street.

This area was well-known for the street art. Most of it disappeared after Helene. Some is new.

Part of the building below.

I do not think this one will be rebuilt.

That Dell went to hell.

There will be more piles of bricks

Bad views from the inside and out.

Nature finds a way.  I've always been interested in nature reclaiming our abandoned places.

What is now a field used to be a series of low buildings used to store recycled materials. That place used to look like this image below, taken a few years before Helene.

2022, Nikon F4, Eastman 2374 film

Present day, waiting for reconstruction

Whodat?  

Using the Chinon CS-4 is a breeze.  The stop-down metering is not a problem, as it works much like a Pentax Spotmatic, except there are red/green LEDs that show up in your peripheral vision as you look through the view finder.  Pretty much like a +/- in the viewfinder.  The Tasma NK-2 was developed in HC-110B for 10 minutes, and it is a really sharp film with good tonality.    A successful outing, and just as I was pretty much done, a squall line came in and it started to rain.  

This camera is a keeper in my M42 arsenal, and I look forward to  using it more.  

The French Broad River: Before Helene

The French Broad River, late May, 2025. Minolta X7A, RETO Amber T800

It's been almost exactly a year since Western North Carolina was battered by days of rain and then Hurricane Helene. That anniversary is this coming Saturday, Sept. 27.  The amount of destruction has been told by many, and still, it touched everyone differently. Some lost everything, including family members.  Others lost a job, their business, their home, a few trees, a lot of trees, their car, and a sense of security that they once had.  Many people, myself included, didn't suffer much damage, but we were impacted by no running water for nearly a month, and several weeks of no electricity, no internet, no cell service, and we were the lucky ones.  But beyond the comforts that we lost, the natural world was also torn asunder with flooding, landslides, widespread tree blow-downs and changes to watersheds from the walls of water that swept so much away.

Near Reems Creek

Barnardsville, along Ivy Creek

River Arts District

Since moving to Weaverville NC in 2019, I enjoyed photographing along the French Broad River, which is just about 2 miles from where I live.  Riversides can be many things, and the curves of the French Broad River created some beautiful scenes.  The lovely overhanging trees, stretches of River Cane, whitewater sections, and picturesque rocks and water were a creative tonic that drew me to the shores of the river. I had planned a lengthy time period to photograph along the French Broad and the tributaries that feed into it.  However, that all changed a year ago, and those plans were literally swept away.  

at my house

My little bit of recovery therapy from the storm was to do what I know - photograph my personal view of the aftermath, while also staying away from areas that were so destroyed that anyone there not involved in cleanup and rebuilding would be a hindrance. So I stayed away from Marshall, and certainly did not visit the areas near the Swannanoa River which looked like a post-apocalyptic scene.  I had been to Chimney Rock a week before the storm, and a lot of it, and the road to it were destroyed by the storm.  If you want to see something about that area, I highly recommend Peter Santenello's YouTube episode where he visited Bat Cave and Chimney Rock in May of this year.  It's very sobering - and that was 8 months after Helene.

River Arts District, November 2024

Water distribution point, October, 2024. Holga 135

Verizon mobile access, downtown Asheville, Oct. 2024
Holga 135

Riverside Drive, October 2024. Nikon FE, Acros 100

Lyman Street, River Arts District, October, 2024. Horizon 202

Most of the places that I liked to visit and photograph are forever changed, and while nature does heal, it often takes a different timeline than what humans experience.  So, knowing that my long-term project was kaput, I decided to make a zine showing my experiences with the French Broad River before Helene.  My zine measures 6x9 inches, is 52 pages including covers, and is perfect bound.  It shows my interpretation of the river, and in black and white.  It's a testament to what was lost, and hopefully may be again, long after I'm not around.  

You can purchase it at my Etsy store for $10 + postage (US only). - https://www.etsy.com/shop/mfophotos

A few sample pages

In some good news, the Blue Ridge Parkway opened up new sections, so a few days ago I visited the Craggy Gardens area. It felt good to be able to drive there once again from my house, which is 9 miles from the Parkway.  More businesses along the French Broad have reopened, including some breweries, such as Hi-Wire and Zillicoah. 

Ledges Whitewater Park, July, 2025. So much damage.

I see more work being done in the River Arts District to remove rubble and restore/rebuild what was there a year ago.  I'd prefer that some properties get let go to become greenspace and natural areas.  

Riverlink Office in the RAD

Hi-Wire is open again

Many places are still in need of restoration, Sept. 2025

That half-buried SUV is still there. Sept. 2025

Wilma Dykeman Greenway, Sept. 2025

Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, 09/17/25

Things can change in the blink of an eye, and it will take some time before the region gets back to whatever is considered normal.  If we have learned anything from Helene is we are in this together, and compassion, cooperation, and community are important.  

It's been over a year since I have had this view. So nice to experience it again.