One Roll With An Agfa Click!

I recently obtained an Agfa Click-I, a simple Bakelite-bodied camera that uses 120 film to take 12 square images per roll. While similar to a modern Holga in many respects, it is undeniably not a Holga. Manufactured in Germany from 1958-1970, the Agfa Click was designed to be a simple snapshot camera that anyone could use.  I owned of these nearly 20 years ago, but lent it out to someone, and never saw it again.  Therefore, this is the first roll of film that I've shot with a Click.  It's an altogether different camera from the Agfa Clack, which takes 8 6x9 cm images per roll of 120, much like the early Kodak Brownie cameras, although with better results and more control. I discussed that camera in a post in 2020. 

The Click is somewhat simpler than the Clack, in that it does not have a bulb mode, nor does it accept a cable release. It's definitely a "snapshot" style of camera. It's a fixed-focus camera - one shutter speed - probably 1/30 sec, and two apertures - about f/11 and f/16. There are contacts on the top deck of the camera to attach an Agfa bulb flash. The viewfinder is a simple Galilean type.  Aside from the two selectable apertures (sunny and cloudy), there is a yellow filter option at the maximum aperture. A red window on the back for showing the frame number, and a silver-gray plastic wind knob on the top.  The camera does feature a 1/4" thread tripod socket on the bottom.  The interesting bit to me is the attachment of the back to the body- a sliding metal clip on each side that looks just like the one found on a Holga!  The back cover has a slight curve to it so that the images are less distorted.  That sums up the features of this camera.  

Using the Click is like any simple snapshot camera - point and shoot.  Nothing to adjust other than the apertures, and winding the film on to the next frame.  There is no double-exposure prevention. The Click is an attractive camera, and ergonomically, it's perfect.  

I loaded the Click with a roll of the 100 ISO FPP X-Ray 120 film.  With a 1/30 sec shutter speed, ISO 100 is going to work best in sunny conditions, although Ilford Pan-F might be a better option for full sun.  For example, if it's a subject in full sun, 1/30 at f/16 is still about 2 stops overexposed for 100 ISO film, whereas for Pan-F (ISO 50) it's about perfect.  However, with simple cameras, you really never know quite how things are going to turn out.   In my roll of X-Ray film, a shot in full sun was definitely overexposed, whereas in a dappled sunlight situation, the images looked pretty good, as shown below.

A straight road in the Adirondacks! Overexposed, but still not bad. 

These two photos look perfectly exposed. Oswagatchie River in Harrisburg, NY

Of course, you could use an orange or red or ND filter taped over the front of the lens to reduce the amount of light for situations that call for it.  

Setting sun in Canton, NY, Grasse River. 

Is the Agfa Click as good as a Holga?  Well, with the Holga, you get a faster shutter speed, selectable zones of focus, and the ability to use B for long exposures.  I'd say that the Click may have a better meniscus lens than the Holga, but there does seem to be a "sweet spot" that is in focus about 15 feet away.  

In short, the Agfa Click is a well-built "toy camera" that under the right conditions, can produce reasonably good images.  I would not pay a lot for one, but if you see one for sale for less than $20, it's worth a try.  Make sure you use a low-ISO film for best results in strong daylight.

Early Riser For A Change

 I've been in a bit of a creative funk lately.  Partly due to working on writing for some projects, I haven't been doing any thing photographically that's notable.  Some of the places that I really enjoyed taking a camera to have lost their attraction because of the damage from last fall's hurricane Helene.  I used to be an early riser back when I was working, as I was usually up by 6 am.  These days, it's a rare day that I am out of bed before 8.  Well, this morning was different - I was awake early, and looked out the window and saw that we had some thick fog outside. I got dressed, grabbed a camera bag and was out the door by 6:30.   

Because we are in the mountains, it's not unusual to have low-level fog in the mornings, and usually it's gone before 9 am, or at least so attenuated that it's not worthwhile going out in search of some good foggy scenes. I could see that this morning was different, so I grabbed my bag with the Nikon Zfc to get some instant gratification if I saw anything that was interesting.  This morning was just what I needed to get back in the groove.  I was full of energy as the fog cloaked familiar scenes into mysterious tableaus.  

My Nikon Zfc had a TTArtisans 35mm f/1.4 manual focus lens attached, and it was the perfect combination for this morning.  For one, auto-focus lenses hunt around in fog, so just keeping the lens at infinity and f/4 to f/8 was all that I needed to do. I shot at ISO 100 and 200 for the most part, so handheld shots were possible.  The thing about fog is that if reflects and scatters a lot of light, so it's actually brighter than you think because above the cloud bank, it's a perfectly clear sky.  Unless of course, it's at night. I was prepared to work quickly, because the fog could dissipate at any time.  So, in the span of about an hour, I drove and visited several sites that I felt would be interesting, and they were!

My first stop was just down the road from my house, at the Weaverville Mulch Yard.  The mountains of mulch looked like a mountainous view, with the diffused light creating silhouettes of mulch piles.

My next stop was a little over a mile away at lake Louise Park.  There, the water and the fog created a very special combination of diffused light and reflection.

After that, I ventured right into Weaverville, and shot some street scenes, but the views into the nature park were the most rewarding.

I then drove over to Reems Creek Road, and the old Balcrank factory building was dissolved in the mist, much to my delight.

A little farther on Reems Creek Road, I stopped at the Karpen Soccer park and was happy to see that a lot of the damage along Reems Creek had been ameliorated.  There were some great views of the creek and the surrounding vegetation that caught my eye, especially the bamboo thicket on the opposite side of Reems Creek.

In the span of a little over an hour, I shot a lot of images in b&w, and I am quite happy with what I got. There are a lot more excellent images other than the ones  shown here. The Nikon Zfc really did the job. Sometimes it just takes getting up early to set the day off to a good start.  Carpe diem, they say.

Infrared Fun with the FPP Infrared Film

I recently posted about using an expired roll of Kodak HIE IR film, and while it is certainly an amazing film - largely due to the fact that you can get excellent results just by using a common R25A red filter, it’s sadly no longer manufactured.  However, I also listed a bunch of b&w films that have IR sensitivity and work well with a R72 filter.  The downside of that R72 filter is that it is nearly opaque, and you really cant’t use an SLR for composing an image without taking the filter off, composing, and putting it back on for the shot.  I was able to find a 40.5mm screw-on R72 filter that fits a 53mm f/2.8 Industar LTM lens on my Canon 7 rangefinder camera.  That made a big difference in making IR photography easy!

The Canon 7 has an external Selenium meter, which I never use. From my experience and what I have seen, indicates that with a 200 ISO film with a R72 filter, I’ll need to set my aperture at f/16 at either 1 sec or 1/2 sec in full sun.  You really can’t use an internal meter for IR, as the R72 filter cuts out most of the visible light.  Generally, that’s about 5 to 8 stops of light, so that is going to be in the realm of 1/8 to 1 sec, depending on the quality of the reflected IR and the film used.  Bracketing exposures is your friend.

The Infra Red film from the Film Photography Project is rated at ISO 200, without a filter.  It’s also on a very thin Mylar base.  Load the film indoors.  Make sure it’s engaged on the take-up spool before closing the back of the camera.  I suggest using a rangefinder camera or even a zone-focus 35mm with a R72 filter on the lens.  Some photographers have used 35mm Holgas and the B setting. You won’t be looking through the filter like you would in an SLR. That’s a BIG help!  If your lens has an IR focus mark (not all lenses do), use it, but if you are shooting at an aperture of f/11 or f/16, it’s not going to be a big deal.  Set your shutter speed to 1/2 sec to get that full “Wood effect” of white foliage that makes IR photography so surreal.  Don’t over-think it.  Keep your aperture constant at f/16 and yes, use a damned tripod.  You can forgo the tripod if you open your aperture to f/5.6 at 1/30 sec, but you will lose the greater depth of field that f/16 provides.  

I’ve shot several rolls of the FPP Infra-Red, and overall, I am very pleased with the results.  You won’t get the exact same results as the Kodak HIE film, which did not have an anti-halation coating.  So, with that film, you also got some “blooming” from bright subjects that you won’t get with the other films currently available.  You MUST use an R72 filter with this film, as there is too much visible light coming through with a red 25A filter.  The R72 filter starts at 720nm of light wavelengths, which is in the infrared spectrum.  You CAN shoot this film as a normal 200 ISO b&w film, and get good results, as it is very fine-grained.  However, use it as an IR film for its spectral sensitivity and the unique images that you’ll get.

Examples from two rolls:

Roll 1 shot with a Nikon F... Developed with D-76

Roll 2, Shot with the Canon 7, developed in Rodinal.

As you can see, the FPP InfraRed is definitely able to give you that surreal monochrome IR look.  Make sure that you have plenty of sun.  In the first set of images, there were scattered clouds among the mountains, and that definitely wasn't ideal.  The one really good IR image was shot in full afternoon sun.  In the second roll, all were taken within 30 minutes, on a bright sunny afternoon.  I love what I got with the Canon 7, and that will obviously be my go-to for shooting 35mm IR films.

Kodak 2238 and a Rollei 35 TE

I first reviewed Kodak 2238 in 2017, and shot it under winter conditions, where the contrast was already quite high.  Also known as Kodak Panchromatic Separation Film for use in the cine world, it’s a low ISO film that’s rated at 12-25 ISO, and does not require a special low-contrast developer to get a proper negative.  That’s what I like about it, since D-76 and D-96 are my favorite developers.  But the other thing I like about 2238 is it’s ultra-fine grain - nearly grainless, and the way it renders landscape scenes.  I loaded a roll into my Rollei 35 TE, which I’ve owned for well over 20 years.  The Tessar lens in that Rollei 35TE is sharp as can be, perfectly suited for a high-definition film like 2238.

Since 2238 is shot at ISO 25, I limited use to daylight photographs, as my Rollei 35 TE shutter no longer operates at speeds below 1/15 sec.  That’s due to the way these cameras are typically stored - with the shutter cocked and the lens retracted into the body.  Long-term storage like that causes the loss of the slow shutter speeds.  

I shot most of the roll of 2238 on a trip to Ludington State Park, Michigan, in mid-September.  It’s a great little camera to keep in my camera shoulder bag, as it takes up very little space, and I have always had great results from it.  While it does need a battery for the meter, I rarely use the meter, and just go with an external meter of sunny-16 estimates.    

Ludington State Park is on the Lake Michigan shoreline about half-way up the west coast of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. There are lots of sand dunes, inter-dunal ponds and wetlands, as well as Big Sable Point light house at the northern end of the park.  So, it has great lakeshore access as well as a nice road/trail that runs N to the lighthouse.  I mostly shot that day with my Nikon F3HP, but the trusty little Rollei 35 came out towards the end of my day of shooting. 

The film was developed in FPP D-96 for 12 minutes, and the results were what I expected.  It turns out that the roll of 2238 had been loaded nearly a year prior, when I was in Lexington, VA.  That’s what happens when there’s a small camera in my bag — it sometimes can take a year to shoot with it.  Here are a few shots from that roll, all scanned on my Epson V700.

my favorite of the series

I encourage you to try some of these oddball films like Kodak 2238.  They are not what I’d call general-use films, since they are very slow.  But, for detail-rich landscapes, architecture, and a different take on portraiture, they can yield great results depending on the lens and the lighting.  Another good choice for slow films is Rollei RPX 25, which is readily available and can be easily developed.  

Getting Comfortable with the Leica M2

Colorado Trip, Part 2 of 3

I acquired my Leica M2 in 2014, and over the span of 4 years, I never took it along as my only 35 mm film camera. That changed on my trip to Colorado earlier this month.  Yes, I packed the Nikon D300 as my main camera, but as it turned out, the M2 was often my walk-around camera as the trip went on.   Mostly, I shot b&w film with it, and the more I used it, the more I felt at ease with it.  One could say that we "bonded" on the trip.  After finally going through 1000 images in Lightroom from the D300, and then developing and scanning the 7 rolls of film from the M2, the film was a more relaxing and I think, more rewarding process.  First of all, nearly all of my M2 shots were what I would call "dead on" in terms of exposure.  Yeah, b&w film has enough latitude to cover minor exposure errors, but the thing is, being in an all-manual, no built-in meter situation made me think more about the image and proper settings before I pressed the shutter button.  In outdoor situations in the SW, it's almost always sunny-16 during the day, and my years of experience, intuition, and sometimes my pocket light meter, got me through the rest.

Our condo, Avon, CO. Ilford HP-5+

Avon, CO. Ilford HP-5+

Bev and Adrienne, Bob's Place tavern.  Ilford HP-5+

I wanted to test myself this time -- what could I expect if I went somewhere and ONLY shot with a rangefinder?  As I grew more relaxed with the Leica, it became all the easier to shoot anything with it.  At heart, I have always been an SLR user, and of course, there are many situations when an SLR's capabilities will favor its use.  Long lenses and rangefinder cameras just are not a good combo.  My M2 has the Canadian-made 35mm f/1.4 Summilux, and is that lens sharp.  In the process, I found that the 35mm point of view was a really great choice for the landscape and skies of the West.  The more I shot, the better I felt about my choice.  As I am going through the negatives now, I am very pleased with my results.

Vail, CO  Ilford HP-5+

Pioneer Cemetery, Glenwood Springs CO
Ilford HP-5+

Pioneer Cemetery, Glenwood Springs CO
Ilford HP-5+

Pioneer Cemetery, Glenwood Springs CO
Ilford HP-5+

Somewhere, I saw a line that basically said that B&W is an interpretation of the scene, not as how it really looks.  And of course, that is true.  There are many instances when I see something colorful and knowing that it's the colors that make the image, I don't take a b&w photo.  In the West, however, the  landscape and skies are contrasty, the landscape structured, and oooh the shadows!    The Saguaro cacti in Tuscon were tremendous, and even more so  when I shot them with the M2.  My films were Ilford HP-5+,  Kodak Tmax 400, Ultrafine Xtreme 400, and Agfa APX 100.  All look great.   I didn't use any filters over the 35mm lens, as I don't have an adapter for filters.  Still, the shots look fine.

With a camera such as the M2, I wasn't fiddling with the camera.  I was more connected to my final images than I was with the D300, for sure.  The M2 is simple, easy to use, and has a great lens. The viewfinder is wonderful, and of course, the camera is lighter around the neck than the D300 or any other film SLR.

I think now, that I could be fully confident of coming back with great photos from a long trip with nothing but the M2, a bunch of  film, and a simple light meter. Thanks to this latest trip, I also opened my eyes to what I can do when I am not thinking about the equipment.

Gore Creek, Vail, CO  Ilford HP-5+

Saguaro National Park, Agfa APX100

outside Mission San Xavier. Tmax 400

Mission San Xavier, Tmax 400

Mission San Xavier, Tmax 400

4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ. Ultrafine Xtreme 400

Mission San Xavier, Tmax 400

4th Ave., Tucson, AZ. Ultrafine Xtreme 400

Mission San Xavier, Tmax 400

Tucson, AZ. Tmax 400

Mission San Xavier, Tmax 400

4th Ave., Tucson, AZ. Ultrafine Xtreme 400