Hello All,
Not many OM-based images being posted these days - what's up with that?
This past week-end I had great fun in the darkroom, and these were two
of the prints I made from negatives shot with OM gear.
"Lonely beach, vantage point"
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/023/e/6/lonely_beach_vantage_point_by_philosomatographer-d37voma.jpg
(90mm Macro wide open, Fomapan 100, printed on 8x10in RC Multigrade
paper - glossy)
"The Specialists"
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/023/d/8/the_specialists_by_philosomatographer-d37vqba.jpg
(21mm at f/4, Kodak TMY2-400, printed on 8x10in RC Multigrade paper -
glossy)
The 21mm F2 is, in my experience, an extraordinary lens. This second
image is an extremely
contrasty (strongly back-lit) scene. Outside, it was sunny sixteen,
but inside, I exposed
at 1/60s @ f/4 @ ISO400. This is a seven-stops difference (I worked
*really* hard with
pre-flashing etc. to show details in the bright window(s). Notice the
complete absence
of flare / glow / contrast reduction. At f/4, this is probably the
most contrasty lens
I've ever seen, I think it has more contrast even than the 250/2.0.
Well, that's certainly
the case with my copies of the lenses. A lens cannot produce more
contrast that what there
actually *is* in the scene, and I am of the opinion that you can never
have too much contrast
when shooting B&W film. This simply constitutes a cleaner image, with
better signal-to-noise
ratio, for you to do with what you like in the printing stage. (slide
film is a different story,
with it's limited dynamic range).
I also printed the second image to 12x16in, and I am now fully
convinced that Kodak TMAX400
(TMY2-400) is the hands-down best ISO400 film ever (for me). I tried
Delta 400 for a while, but the
mid-tones are not there, it's gritty by comparison, and seems to have
less dynamic range.
TMY2-400 is extraordinary in it's resolution and grain. It's much
smoother than FP4 or
Fomapan 100, but seems to have the *punch* that HP5 has.
That's definitely my film for 2011 (I am in the phase where I switch
films every year or so,
to really get to know them).
thanks for watching, C&C appreciated -
Dawid
--
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