Hi folks!
I've just got back to London after two months abroad, six weeks of which
was spent working in Beijing, after which I travelled back to London at
ground level, using seven trains and a boat - my route was
Beijing-Moscow-Warsaw-Berlin-Paris-Lille-Calais-Dover-London. I took
with me the following:
31 rolls of Fuji Sensia 100
1 roll of Fuji Astia 100
1 roll of Ilford XP-2
1 roll of Ilford HP-5
1 roll of Kodak T-Max 400
1 roll of Fuji Super HG 1600
OM-1
OM-1n
Tokina 28/2.8
Zuiko 50/1.8
Zuiko 135/3.5
2x teleconverter
0.42x superwide adaptor
Polariser, deep red filter, ND grad.
The kit worked very well - I had been considering taking along a 400mm
or 500mm lens but I really didn't miss the longer focal length. I could
occasionally have done with something between 50 and 135, though, so
I'll be needing to make another OM purchase soon. I fortuitously judged
the amount of film I needed absolutely spot on, taking the last shot on
the 36th roll of film as the ferry approached the White Cliffs of Dover.
I've just posted off all the films today, and wait anxiously for them
to return to me around about the weekend. Most of my shots were
landscape shots, and my most-used lens was the 28/2.8. There is
certainly no shortage of things to photograph between London and
Beijing! Each city I stopped at is beautiful in its own kind of way,
from imposing and intimidating and yet beguiling Moscow, to town-like
Warsaw, cutting-edge modern Berlin and elegant and wonderful Paris.
Glad I didn't stop in Ulaan Baator though, as it looked like the ugliest
city imaginable, a horrible festering sore on the otherwise austere and
wild Mongolian scenery. Lake Baikal and the Urals were also scenic
highlights.
Gear-wise I had a few problems - I forgot to take my sachets of silica
gel, which was unfortunate given the extremely high head and humidity in
Beijing (temperatures were around 40C or 100F for about two weeks, but
with fairly low humidity. After that temperatures dropped to about 35C,
but humidity rocketed to 85-90%, which was extremely uncomfortable.
Foolishly I went for a three hour hike along the Great Wall in those
conditions and lost about half my bodyweight in sweat.) However, I
discovered that many Chinese brands of crisps contain packets of silica
gel, so I bought a few of those, chucked out the tasteless cardboard
crisps and kept the dessicant.
On the train from Beijing to Moscow the lens release button on my
135/3.5 mysteriously became stuck in, so the lens does not now click
into position. Also the top of the film speed dial on my OM-1 came
unstuck and blew out the window as I was leaning out and taking
pictures. Those problems aside everything worked like a charm.
I've got the print films back already, and the results of an
unintentional experiment might interest you: the roll of Super HG 1600
had been kicking around in my bag for a long time, waiting for an
opportunity to be used, and I ended up taking it with me on some 17
international flights (four in my hold luggage, the rest in hand
luggage). I estimate that it's been put through 14 X-ray scanners, so I
really wasn't sure what kind of state it would be in. I finally used it
during a truly apocalyptic thunderstorm in Siberia, and I'm delighted to
report that it appears not to have suffered from its multiple X-ray
doses - I got several quite impressive shots of lightening streaking
across the sky and lighting up the landscape, with no apparent artifacts
or problems.
Now I just can't wait to see the slides. I may need a day or two off
work to look through them all. The only downside is the thought of
scanning them all, but I'm going to do my best to get something on the
web as soon as possible.
Before I left there was discussion on the list of the aerial photography
of Yann-Arthus Bertrand. Coincidentally there's an open air exhibition
of his work at the Postdamer Platz in Berlin, with forty or so sizable
prints. They didn't look at all over-saturated, as some had complained
and seeing the huge prints close-up was really very impressive. How he
got such sharp shots from helicopters and planes I really don't know.
Now I'm back in London I wouldn't mind going to see the Ansel Adams
exhibition on at the Hayward Gallery until September 22nd. It strikes
me that it could be an appropriate opportunity for list members in and
around London to meet up - if you haven't been to see it already!
Anyone interested?
Well, I hope everyone's been going along OK over the last two months and
that I haven't missed too much vital info on the list!
Roger
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