Snappy title, eh? Anyway, Portstewart, looking North-Eastwards over the Atlantic Ocean. Taken Friday on a very windy late afternoon:
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| Herring Pond, Portstewart. Hasselblad 501cm, 50mm Distagon on FP4+. Developed in HC-110 and printed on Foma 313 paper. A 10-stop ND filter was used, so exposure was around the 8 second mark. |
I was out with my fellow Club member and film enthusiast David - he had one of his Pentacon Six cameras with him, which he'd forgotten about and found lurking in a drawer somewhere. Just as we were about to leave, a couple turned up in their dressing gowns, clearly with their swimsuits on underneath ready for a quick dip. We didn't watch (it didn't seem right) but by the time I'd got to my car they'd already given up and were back in theirs. I did smile to myself as I drove past - I'm guessing it must have been their first time dipping in the Atlantic and they'd just found out it is cold. Not to say there aren't a few hardy souls who do go in with just a swimsuit but most need a good thick layer of wetsuit.
By the way, what does it take to get a decent cable release these days? I had lost one a while back and another had become separated from the plunger so it was no good. My wife bought me a one new one a couple of weeks ago as part of my birthday present - I had suggested a Hama Professional, since I thought they were a decent make. Wrong. It lasted all of three shots before the cable became separated from the end that screws into the shutter release. I tried to reunite the bits and wasted three further frames before I threw the damn thing in my bag in disgust. Since then the screw-in bit at the plunger end has come off as well. So I've ordered a Nikon one ('unused in original case')...we shall see how well that works out. I've since heard that Schreck are good and I'm reading that Linhof also make cable releases, which I didn't realise. Pricey, obviously, but if they work and last as long as other Linhof stuff they might be a good investment. Provided I don't go and lose it, of course. Yes, I know - that’s a big ask…
I've got (had?) a cable release that I bought for the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 some years ago. It turned out to be mostly unnecessary for a mirrorless camera with a self-timer. That camera is gone now and none of my other cameras accept screw-in cables.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I must have given it away with the X-Pro 1 because I can't find it.
Nice photo. I was looking at Hasselblads in Seoul yesterday. Man, right out of my budget . . . .
Don't know how I missed this comment, Marcus - but better late than never in replying :)
DeleteI'm surprised the X-Pro 1 accepted a screw in release - most digi things seem to have proprietary releases. Not like the good old days ;)
Thanks. Hasselblads have never been cheap. I never thought I'd ever own one, to be honest. But I saved hard for a couple of years and when I saw one at my price point, I didn't hesitate. I think they've gone up a bit since then (like all film gear, it seems). It was probably the best decision I ever made - it's the one camera I reach for most times I'm going out for the purpose of taking photographs.
I opened this article every day, hoping beyond hope . . . . :)
DeleteI thought about saving up for a couple of years to get one of those very nice Fujifilm digital medium(ish) format cameras, but I can't bring myself to pay so much money for something that probably won't have the longevity of something like a Hasselblad.
Haha now if true, that would be very sad!
DeleteYour remark about longevity is why I prefer older, all-manual cameras. There will always (hopefully) be someone who can repair a shutter or a mechanical wind-on mechanism but when those electronics fail then all you have is an expensive paper-weight. You have to be careful even with film cameras - the Pentax67, for example, is completely battery-dependent and has an electrically timed shutter. And some of them date back to the 1970s, which is a fair number of years.
I rather like my F100 and the Minolta X700 because they are well made cameras and because there are ten million million of them in the world available for parts/replacement. And the collectors and celebrities haven't caught on to them, so they can be cheaply replaced even if they do become paper weights. But I hope they don't.
DeleteFrom what I read, the F100 and the X700 are wonderful cameras and as you say, the prices are such that you don't really need to worry if they die on you.
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