When I got back home from Asia this summer, I was looking forward to just catching back up with life. However, it just wasn’t it the cards just yet, at least for another few weeks. After I completed my last doctoral course (just have to write a dissertation now), I was off to Michigan for a long weekend.
The target destination in Michigan was Marine City, just across the River from Ontario. After the worst flight experience I have ever had (shoutout to Spirit Airlines), I arrived In Michigan a day and a layover longer than anticipated.
The first day of the weekend in Michigan was spent in Marine City. The old maritime vibe of Marine City is still present as it never moved away from the river or its roots with many historical sites, houses, and museums to check out. Not to mention you can sit in the grass anywhere along the coastline against the river and watch the boats crawl by.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400h
On the main drag of Water Street, there are plenty of antique stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and parks to spend your time. Looking for a reprieve from my busy summer, I spent most of the first day just taking in the small town atmosphere, drinking the local coffee, and doing some light exploring around town.
Contax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200Contax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200
Day two was a bit more exciting as I headed into Detroit for the day. First, I headed to a camera store in Dearborn, just west of Detroit. Being a huge Eminem fan growing up, I was excited to visit the filming locations of 8 Mile and checking out other iconic spots from the movie. I also meandered around downtown and hung out in Hart Plaza after seeing the Joe before they tear it down in favor of the Red Wings moving into Little Caesar’s Arena this upcoming hockey season.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400hMamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400hContax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400h
Walking a few blocks west from Hart Plaza, I ran into an event celebrating the birthday of the city. Children and adults alike lined up for free ice cream, played basketball, and took photos with Paws, the mascot of the Detroit Tigers. I even decided to take part and take a few shots with the kids on the court.
Contax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200
As run down and abandoned some parts of Detroit were, there was an strong, intangible feeling of brotherhood in the air every where you went. If you could put, “yeah life sort of sucks sometimes, but we’ll get through it together” into a city’s atmosphere , then that’s exactly what it felt like.
Contax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200
There was also something about the city that just exhaled some sort of historical pride that has been carried and passed on through the decades. It could have been and probably was the echoing of the bustling automative and manufacturing industries of years past. But there was something about the decay in the city that was also beautiful. Something like a flower that grows through broken concrete.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400hContax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400h
The last full day in Michigan included checking out the massive amount of local antique shops in Marine City for cameras and a drive up to and through Port Huron and taking in the sites of the Blue Water Bridge, just across the water from Sarnia, Ontario. I managed to pick up two new cameras, a Rollei 35 LED and a Minox 35 EL, both of which I have yet to test out.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400hContax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200
There’s just something about Michigan that just felt so…American, but in the best way possible. In the few places I got to see in the limited amount of time I got to see them, I got to see both ends of a few different spectrums. Each one of those still aligning somewhere within stereotypical American ideals.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm on Fuji 400hContax T3 on Kodak Color Plus 200
Overall, the trip was rather relaxed and provided a little bit of a break since I did basically no planning whatsoever. In that regard, it was a nice way to end my marathon summer.
It’s time for another giveaway! The first one went so well, that I’m doing it again. As long as I find cameras for cheap, the I am willing to spread them to people who want them. This time, I will be giving away an Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80.
In order to enter the giveaway, all you have to do is: 1. Follow @now.developing on Instagram 2. Like the Instagram promotional post for the giveaway in my feed 3. Comment on that post by tagging two friends on said post.
Entry deadline is September 12th. Winner will be randomly selected and contacted by September 19th!
Our last day trip was to the city of Hiroshima. Hiroshima was the city I was most looking forward to since I have a deep interest in social studies and history, especially that of World War II. The five-hour train ride surprisingly didn’t feel as long as it actually was. Although, we definitely felt the constraints of time since we were only able to spend about five or six hours in the city.
Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
Right out of the train station, we caught a cab to the north side of Peace Park. With the Hiroshima Carp baseball game on the radio with the every-so-often cheer from our cab driver reacting to the game, it was already evident that Hiroshima truly was a city that rallied around baseball and each other.
Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm // Fuji Pro 400h
The highlight of Hiroshima was the A-Bomb Dome, an untouched dome just a short walk from a three directional bridge, which was the hypocenter of “Little Boy”, the atomic bomb dropped on the city over seventy years ago. On the other side of the river, surrounding the dome lies Peace Park.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm // Fuji Pro 400hContax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
At the memorial, I couldn’t help but notice an odd feeling of guilt. Perhaps it wasn’t guilt, but it was something along those lines. Being an American that had nothing to do with the bombing that occurred well before my lifetime (and my parents’ as well), I still carried a guilt-like and dejected aura walking around the dome.
Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
On the far side of the dome, I came across a group of Japanese people chatting and sitting in lawn chairs with books spread out at their feet. Books and binders that told the story of the day the atomic bomb was dropped on their city.
Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600Contax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
One woman who was sitting in the lawn chairs took some time to share her personal story about her grandparents who were in the city that day. It was a sobering tale, one that truly pulls at your heart in hopes that such tragedies need not happen again.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm // Fuji Pro 400hContax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
After spending a bit of time at the memorial, we decided to randomly wander about the streets, stores, and markets for the remainder of time we had left.
Mamiya 6 w/ 75mm // Fuji Pro 400hMamiya 6 w/ 75mm // Fuji Pro 400hContax T3 // Fuji Natura 1600
Part of the Process is a series of posts that puts the spotlight on film photographers and DIY film developers. These features provide unique experiences and perspectives on shooting and developing film while also showcasing diverse talent and film photographers around the globe. If you are interested in being featured, feel free to contact me!
What attracted you to film photography? How did you get started/introduced to shooting film? How soon after did you start developing?
I was shooting digital with the idea that I could shoot more and get better as a photographer, but what I found was that the more I shot, the worse I got. I found an original Diana in a junk shop in Levittown, PA for a dollar (holy grail for toy camera fans).
I took it to Florida with me on a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. My digital camera died after four shots that day, so the whole day was shot with the Diana. When I got the film developed, I was blown away; a place so associated with the 1960s in my mind (Apollo 11 landed on the moon 10 days before my 6th birthday) looked like I shot photos of it in the 1960s.
Diana // Tri-X
I found that by slowing down I was getting better shots, and by shooting with simple cameras I was concentrating more on composition, one of the only things I could actually effect with such primitive cameras. It was a year or two after that that I started developing my own film.
What do you like to shoot on a regular basis?
Landscapes, mostly; I like to shoot in the resort towns of the Jersey Shore where I live.
Pentax 67 w/ 90mm // Ilford FP4+
What formats, cameras, and films do you shoot? What do you like about the formats, cameras, films you prefer?
Tell us about your first experiences in developing your own film. How did you muster the courage to give it a shot? What resources did you use?
I was spending a lot of time on a site called Vox, which at that time was a host for blogs run by early blog software maker Six Apart. One of the people I met there was a young woman from Montreal who was also a film shooter. She convinced me that developing film was fun, cheap, and easy. She educated me on what I needed to get (basically a Paterson tank and a room I could make dark), and I was off to the races. She was an art history student at a university in Montreal who was torn between art history and art making. I lost track of her when Vox shut down, but I owe her a lot.
What is your development process like now?
Lately I find myself shooting mostly medium format (Rolleiflex, Pentax 67, Kiev 88) or large format (Sinar A1, Calumet CC-401, Wanderlust Travelwide, Intrepid 4×5 Gen 1) because it slows me down and makes me think about by shots. I still shoot 35mm, but I’m never happy with the results.
Rolleiflex MX-EVS w/80mm Xenar and Hoya R72 filter // Rollei Infrared 400 film
I load the film into my tank (I have three Paterson tanks) in a bathroom that I can make dark by covering the window with a piece of cardboard. After loading the tank, I head to the basement and the utility sink between my washer and dryer.
I usually develop with Rodinal 1:50; it provides a reasonable balance between graininess and speed. Occasionally, I’ll stand develop at 1:100 for an hour, but typically only if I have a real oddball film and can’t find anything about what the development time should be. I use the Digital Truth Massive Dev app on my iPhone to time black and white development, and an old app called LabTimer to develop C41 or E6.
Canon Canonet QL17-GIII w/ 40mm f/1.7 // Tri-X
If I’m developing black and white, I’m not as picky about temperatures; if I’m within 2-3 degrees of 68F/20C, I figure I’m okay. If I’m developing C41 or E6, I pull out a picnic cooler and fill it with hot water, about 115F, put my chem bottles in that for about 15 minutes, check the temperature, and go when it’s around 102F. For black and white, I use water for stop rather than an acid bath between developer and fixer, and I changed from using Ilford Rapid Fixer to Photo Formulary TF-4, which is alkaline and doesn’t require hypo reduction afterward. For C41 and E6, I use the directions that come with the kits.
Kodak Retina Ia w/ Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenar 50mm // Kodachrome 64
I use the Jobo press kit from B&H for C41; for E6, I use the kit that the Film Photography Project sells. When I’m done developing, I use a modified version of the Ilford 5-10-20 rinse process. Basically, I do each twice, so it’s more of a 5-5-10-10-20-20 process. Last thing is a bit of Kodak Photo-Flo surfactant into the last rinse, then onto the rack and into the shower to dry. After they dry, I cut the negatives, put them in Print File negative sleeves, and scan; medium format uses a BetterScanning negative holder; 4×5 and 35mm get the standard ones that came with my Epson 4990.
What’s your processes regarding scanning, enlarging, and/or printing your work?
I have scanned my own film for most of the time I’ve been developing it. I’ve started to learn how to print with an enlarger. I have this oddball enlarger called an Enfojer that was developed in Croatia primarily to print and enlarge phone photos, but that also includes the ability to print from negatives. The enlarger I received was faulty, but at least I received one; most of the backers from Indiegogo never did, and they appear to have been shut down recently. Like I said, the enlarger is faulty, so I’ve had to hack it to get it to work, but I’ve been pretty happy with the results.
Wanderlust Travelwide 4×5 camera w/ Angulon 90mm f/6.8 // Tri-X
I’m currently looking for a more traditional enlarger. I’m also spending a lot of time playing with old-fashioned traditional methods of printing like cyanotype and gum bichromate. These typically use a hybrid methodology where you print digital enlargement negatives, because they’re contact print methods and nobody wants to look at contact prints of 35mm negatives. I’ve been learning about how to use step wedges to calibrate the production of the digital negatives, which I produce on an Epson 3880 printer. Given that I’ve scanned my photographs for the past ten years, this kind of hybrid process works well for me.
What equipment are you using to develop your film and why?
Paterson tanks. I bought into it early on and have never seen a reason to change for the most part, except for 4×5. I was using a MOD54 with a large Paterson tank, but backed a new tank on Kickstarter that uses half the chemistry: Timothy Gilbert’s SP445. I find it really easy to use.
For chemicals, I’ve played around but settled largely on Rodinal. I like grain and Rodinal produces that grain. It’s a good fit. I played around with HC-110 (too similar to Rodinal) and Pyro when I first started shooting 4×5 (too toxic and never saw the benefit). Back when I was shooting mainly toy cameras, I also used Diafine a lot; the speed boost it provides was very useful for those cameras.
Are you content with where you are now with your shooting and developing? Do you have any future plans or ambitions ?
I always keep learning. I think my photography is getting better, but have had bouts of lack of inspiration. I think my attempts to get better at printing and my exploration of alternative processes have been my way of dealing with that.
Have you completed any notable projects or in the process of creating something from the film you have shot and developed?
My initial “project” was more of an ongoing philosophy; I am not a fan of nostalgia, and I found film useful in subverting nostalgia. Then my dad died. I discovered why nostalgia hasn’t been bred out of us via natural selection. I learned a lot, but it messed up my photography for a few years. I spent time exploring different aspects of photography trying to figure out where I was going. More recently, with the changes in the political climate, I’m finding a need to return to subverting nostalgia.
What advice can you give to others who are interested in shooting and developing film but are apprehensive about getting started?
Dive in. It won’t always work the way you think it should, but you’ll learn a ton, and get better. Even your mistakes might turn out to be things of beauty and wonder. Don’t be afraid. Every failure contains the seeds of success; you try something and fail, you know to try something different next time. Only by exploring will you find your way.
Recently, I have been trying to offload or sell some of my camera gear in favor of shedding the amount of stuff I have and simplifying my shooting. I’m really trying to only one one camera for each of the 35mm and 120 formats, but it is proving to be very difficult. More often than not though, I tend to shoot the same cameras over and over again.
In an attempt to sell a Bronica SQ-B, I was offered to trade for a Rollei AFM35, which is a Rollei rebranded Fuji Klasse. Now, while I would have to say that the Rollei branding is not as pretty as Fuji’s, it does appear (through a very brief eBay search) that the Rollei version is harder to come by if you’re into the rarity sort of thing.
The camera itself has a substantial build. I wouldn’t say it is heavy as much as I would say that it is solid. I have rather large hands so it fits nicely in my oversized grip as a point and shoot camera. The camera itself is rather straight forward. Only three buttons across the top for shooting settings and three buttons across the back for date settings. The knobs are large and easily accessible.
There was something about the camera that made me excited to shoot it. In quiet environments, I would definitely argue that this camera is not a stealthy shooter. The shape and color of the camera is rather inconspicuous, but once you hit the shutter the camera is very whiny and draws attention to you rather quickly. Not sure if this is an issue with all of these cameras and I’m not sure if I am being too tough on the camera, but it was something I definitely happen to take note of.
The best thing about this camera is definitely is it’s quick f/2.6 lens. I did catch myself a few times not getting a positive focus light in the viewfinder before sending the shutter button all the way down, so I’m not sure if the focus is a bit off/slow or maybe me just being a bit antsy. On my first roll, I took the camera to both light and dark environments to test out its capabilities. While I did shoot an expired roll of HP5, the results were still something to celebrate.
dylan barnes | blog 