Night Shooting With The Argus C3

On the weekend of May 16-18, I was in Findlay Ohio for the Film Photography Project's Walking Workshop II.  Mike Raso, Leslie Lazenby, and the rest of the the FPP crew were on hand to welcome nearly 80 participants in the FPPWWII event.  I'll write more on that another time, but I should point out that it was a great weekend.
On the first night, Tim Wrobel (another A3C3 member) and his friend Susan and I met downtown to do some night photography.  My camera of choice that night was my Argus C3 with a 35mm f/4.5 Sandmar lens.  I loaded it with an expired roll of Ektachrome 160T.  Tungsten film is perfect for night shoots in urban areas, and my plan was to also have it developed in C-41 for some cross-processed funkiness.  Truth is, the Tungsten films xpro really well, and at night the colors are off anyways.    I used a cable release, set the shutter on B, and carried the camera around on my Manfrotto tripod.  I guesstimated the exposures, which ranged from 10-25 seconds. Overall, I was pleased with the results.  The beauty of using the Argus is that it is so simple to use for long exposures.  Second, as you can see in the photo of the camera, I have an accessory viewfinder for framing.  Almost everything was shot at infinity at f/8 to f/16.
This was the first time I had used this particular C3 with the 35mm lens, and while there is some flare in some of the photos, it worked well and I think that I will try it again with some Ektachrome 64T, which I seem to have a lot of sitting in the film fridge.

If you have put off shooting night scenes with film, give it a try.  You don't need to use Tungsten E-6 film, as any color C-41 film will also do fine.  Bracket your shots, and err on the side of overexposure.  Use a tripod and remote release, and any camera with a B setting will do.  Set your aperture to f/16, focus on infinity and have fun.  You can use a meter, but it's going to be tricky at night.  However, here is a good reference source for exposures.

A Little Nikon FM Love

Back in April I blogged about buying Jeff Lamb's Nikon FM and have been using it periodically since then. I have been pleased that it works smoothly, and meters as it should. Back in mid-August, I did some night shots with it, as well as a variety of shots with different lenses - all on expired Kodak Gold 400 film. I expected things to be a bit grainy, and they are. I might as well put some shots up here to give you a feel for the expired film, and some decent results from this camera, too.

This table scene was early evening at Mike and Sarah's place, and I was using the Series E 50mm 1.8 lens. Obviously it does not close-focus as much as I would like, but it does a pretty decent job, and was wide-open here. One of the things for you new digital to film converts is to remember that manual focus cameras like the Nikon FM are harder to focus in dim light, and that's where AF systems are often actually helpful.

This night scene was taken from the roof of a parking structure in downtown Ann Arbor. As I was also using my Nikon D90, I estimated the exposure based on the D90 readings. A bit grainy, but that's what to love about film being film, right? If I had used slide film, it would probably would have been "cleaner", but not as much dynamic range would be possible.

Inside my garage, 24-50mm AF-D lens, and of course, a tripod. That 24-50 lens is quickly becoming a favorite, as it covers the wide quite well, and ends at "normal." Shot here at the wide-end, of course. That older bike is a Canadian-made CCM bike from the 1970s that I picked up ath the Recycle/ReUse center in Ann Arbor for $40.

And here is the sign in front of the ReUse center... a place where I love to shop, and have picked up a few camera bargains, many books and things for the house there. They have a frequent buyer program, but I never joined it, as I figure that I am already getting a bargain when I buy things there.

Last -- here is a shot of an umbrella sedge in a planter in front of the UM Museum of Art. I finally found an angle to show the plant structure without any extraneous background clutter. Again, this is the 24-50mm lens. The thing to remember in these shots is that I did use expired 400 ISO film, which will give less than optimal results. I try and stick with Kodak Gold 100 if I am shooting color, or if doing something special, Ektar 100. I have some Fuji Reala and Superia for a trip up N next week, so expect some good fall color shots from those. The thing I like about the Nikon FM is it's simplicity and durability. It really does not get in the way of making a photograph.