Shootin' film!

Following an 18 month hiatus in developing film, in early June I began working through a backload of color and BW in both 135 and 120. As of this post, 11 rolls of color and seven rolls of BW. I hadn't developed film since the summer of 2023, felt a bit rusty, and was concerned about the condition of the various chemicals. Following a few weeks of hand-wringing and over-thinking I pulled the kit into the kitchen, cleaned it up, and started developing BW (HP5+ / FP4+). Over the next few days I worked through the BW backlog then turned to color. A bit more variation in film stocks as I had shot Gold 200, Portra 800, Portra 400, Portra 160 as well as a roll of Harman's Phoenix (more on that later). Cameras included my Yashica Mat 124G TLR, Leica M3 and Leica M7 (more on that later). It's good to be developing film again and I am very happy with how the negatives are turning out. 

New for me was the scanning process. Earlier this year I took delivery of Valoi's Easy 35. It is awesome! The system includes a CineStill lighting source mounted onto the box into which 35mm film is slid through and imaged. The system comes with several extension tubes to set the appropriate distance between the end of the camera lens and the film. The Valoi system physically attaches onto the end of the lens to form a sturdy kit which rests easily on my dining room table.

That system is attached to the front end of my 1992 vintage Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens which is then adapted to my Leica SL2 (see image below - taken from the Valoi website). It takes all of five minutes to scan a 36 exposure roll of film. Once complete the SD card is removed and my standard Lightroom process is engaged. In LR I bring up Negative Lab Pro to convert the images to positives and begin processing. When happy with the conversion I shift back into LR to complete the image. NLP is a slick piece of software which produces great results.

These are the settings on the SL2: manual focus, center weighted metering, ISO at 100, aperture at f/8, white balance fixed at 5500 and a two second timer engaged. Although the camera sets shutter speed I adjust exposure compensation as necessary to capture the right looking exposure for each shot. Sounds complicated but in practice I can shoot a 36 exposure roll of film in just a few minutes.  

The Valoi Easy 35, as its name implies, does not scan 120. However, there is a 120 version for which 35mm frames can be used. Probably best to buy that system if 120 film scans are in your future. Hindsight shows clearly the 120 system with 35mm add-on to be the way to go and I suspect I will pull the trigger on that system in the next few months (or less).  

Given the Valoi system I can report that my film developing/scanning workflow has dramatically improved. Developing mid-morning means I can be scanning negatives mid-afternoon and mostly processed before bedtime. Quite an improvement over flatbed scanning!  

Mentioned above was Harman's Phoenix color 35mm film. This is not a re-branded film stock but was developed from the ground up by Harman Industries. They are the parent company of Ilford so they know a thing or two about film. Phoenix produces a very different look from my usual Kodak film stocks. That said, Harman themselves state that Phoenix is an experimental, limited-edition film and a first step on their color journey. To Harman I say, "bravo!" This is certainly a risky endeavor on their part and one I hope they are successful in carrying out. I've read there are a few other Harman color films headed our way and I look forward to shooting each as they enter the market.

Also mentioned above was a Leica M7. I'll have more to say about that recent acquisition in a future posting. The bottom line up front is that I've put 10 rolls of film through it in two months and I'm preferentially carrying it over my M10R. For sure I'm in the "honeymoon phase," but the M7 is a joy to use. Again, more later.

A few images from these recent rolls of film are below.

Mid-year 2025 - Changes to the travel kit

For many years I was a consistent 28mm shooter. That focal length meshed well with how I saw the world and I found it easy to compose and shoot. As noted in these pages, most of my travel included that focal length along with a 50mm and a 90mm. However, a lens purchase from last year changed the way I frame scenes.

About a year ago I bought a used Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 C-Biogon from MapCamera in Japan (a wonderful company with whom to do business).  The "C" stands for compact and this lens is indeed quite diminutive, even for an M lens. Being a new lens in the lineup I found myself shooting it quite a bit and learned to enjoy the tighter view.  Also, as I don't like to mix it up with people on the street when I'm shooting, 35mm lets me stand a few paces further from the action and more squarely within my personal space comfort zone. And, I realized that for my standard use cases 35mm could cover the zone between 28mm and 50mm and thereby replace those two lenses. That got me thinking about changing my travel camera kit. 

With only a few exceptions I have been a 28-50-90 shooter. A few trips swapped out my ZM 25mm f/2.8 Biogon for the CV 28mm f/2 Ultron. Different, but very similar. The trip to Scotland dropped the 90mm and added a Tele-Elmar 135mm. In fact I shot a few of my favorite images of that trip with the 135mm but don't plan to bring it along on future travel. The Tele-Elmar is nearly twice the size of the CV 90mm f/2.8 APO-Skopar and that latter lens is far more useful for the types of images I normally shoot. And regarding the CV 50mm f/1.5 Nokton, it has travelled with me on every trip to date. 

That all changed with a recent trip to Ireland where I replaced the 28mm and 50mm with 35mm. Like last year's trip to Scotland, Ireland was another DIY adventure with my wife, her older brother and his wife. And it was another 800+ miles of driving a 9-pax van on the left side of quite small roads. Fortunately the Guinness, the Irish stew and the brown bread more than made up for any stress resulting from the driving! For camera kit I brought along the CV 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar, the CV 35mm f/1.5 Nokton and the CV 75mm f/2.5 Color-Heliar. As those three lenses are new to readers of this blog I will explain. 

21mm - Several years ago I sold a ZM 21mm Biogon to purchase the ZM 25mm Biogon. I felt the 21mm was too wide for street work and at that time I wasn't traveling as much. Fast forward to 2025 I find there is a place for 21mm in travel photography. Interiors in particular. However, I wanted a small lens. The ZM 21mm was too large for travel (as is the ZM 25mm). The CV 21mm is the newer re-designed version for digital sensors. It is a tiny lens that produces big results. However, following Ireland, I still feel 21mm is too wide and that 25mm is better for me. I'll keep the lens as it is small enough to bring along if necessary and at the used price I paid I'm happy for it to live in the back of the dry box.

35mm - A few months following purchase of the ZM 35mm C-Biogon I purchased a used CV 35mm Nokton as I wanted the extra two stops. That lens lived on the M10R during the trip to Ireland. While physically larger and heavier than the ZM C-Biogon, it is still pocketable. It is also very sharp with great renderings. I am happy with the lens. More importantly, I returned home feeling confident that 35mm could replace both 28mm and 50mm for my style of travel photography.

75mm - This focal length seemed a good paring with the 21mm / 35mm. It is an older LTM mount lens to which I installed the LTM-M adapter. Worked a treat. That lens is fairly new to me and it is not a focal length I am used to shooting. To be sure, it is sharp and it renders nicely. However, I found I really don't like the Leica M System's 75mm frame lines. That frame is included with the 50mm frame (which is an awesome frame line!) and its dotted lines appear more like a vague suggestion than actual frame lines. Too many of my 75mm images suffered poor framing due to those lines. Or, to be fair to the frame lines, suffered due to my inexperience using the lens and the associated frame lines. Truth be told I should have put in month of shooting with the lens before the trip. That didn't happen and I don't believe that lens will travel again with me.

So, 21mm and 75mm are out and I will travel next with 25mm / 35mm / 90mm. The 35mm will live on the camera as I have bonded with the focal length. The 25mm will be used for urban landscapes and images of facades / murals at close quarters. It will also be the "cathedral / museum interior" lens. The 90mm will cover those few times when I want a bit of reach. And, 90mm can crop to 135mm or a multi-image pano can replicate a 50mm.   

Two trips are planned this year and the 25mm / 35mm / 90mm will be along with me. In expectation of those focal lengths I have begun using the 90mm to improve the muscle memory. I struggle with critical focus on that lens and the only cure is to shoot it more. With regard to the 25mm, my Lightroom catalog shows I have shot 3,000 images with the CV 25mm over the past three years and I feel confident with that focal length. And finally, 35mm will be the daily driver as I'm starting to see frame lines in my head when I view the world! 

More to follow as the journey continues. See below a few BW and C41 film images shot with either an M3 or an M7 through a 35mm lens. All film developed and scanned in my kitchen.

Strasburg Photowalk

Early yesterday morning I enjoyed a photowalk through town. It was a beautiful morning shared with a few dog walkers. Perhaps a bit past golden hour but the shadows were still long and the light just contrasty enough to be pleasant and not too overpowering. The walk included a street on which I have driven many times but rarely photowalked. Not sure why except that is it quite literally on the other side of the tracks and a bit further afield from my usual paths. However, lots to see and enjoy on this route and I will add it into regular rotation. 

Since returning from Ireland in early May I have been shooting film almost exclusively. This day I thought I'd show digital a little love and grabbed the M10R and a 35mm on the way out the door. Over many months 35mm has become my standard go-to focal length and in an effort to mix things up a bit I pulled the CV 90mm f/2.8 APO-Skopar from the back of the dry box where it has been languishing since returning from France last fall. That lens will be part of the kit I take to England later this year and I thought I'd better start using the focal length again to re-familiarize myself with its use. Quite a bit of difference between 35mm and 90mm. Shooting mostly 35mm (and 28mm before that) I see and compose with a much wider expanse of the world than 90mm affords. Also, with a manual focus rangefinder system I find critical focusing with 90mm challenging. Best to add that focal length into regular rotation to develop the needed muscle memory.

See below a series of images from morning's photowalk, all captured on the M10R through the 90mm.