getOBphoto

 Read my guest post about my favourite lens at 35mmc !

I modded a Lomo T-43 lens from a Smena Symbol camera to fit M39 mount.   Like my other mods from cameras with fixed lenses the most important ingredients are Sugru rubber clay/sealant and pliers. First, the pliers are used to remove the shutter mechanism. In all instances I've had to destroy the mechanisms in order to free the lens and the other important parts.  The shutter mechanism still in place. Above are the three important parts. I had to break off the plate surrounding the lens holder pictured on the right in order to get the lens holder close enough to the sensor/film plane since it is molded in one piece. The middle ring has a peg - to the left - that marks the close- and eternity focus and has a corresponding track on the underside of the lens barrel, to the left. I hope this makes sense... Above are the three parts assembled, combined with an M39 mount (e.g. a macro ring). The focus has then been established by finding infinity and 1 meter focus usin...

We've found ourselves a new home. It's one more step on the way to build our life space. One with breathing space, for ourselves and others. And I'm reading about Vivian Maier. The obsessed photographer. The person obsessively documenting her (the) world. It is a great biography, and someone who puts to words thoughts and facts about photography in a very enlightening way. Pamela Bannos has done a very good job. This picture's captured through the Lomo T-43 lens from my second lens mod in one week. The camera is my digital mounted with an M39 adapter.

I found a camera in an antiques shop a while ago. It was a very simple one-setting TLR 620-film camera called Kodak Duoflex. That film type is not sold anymore, but I figured I could load it anyway - it looked like the film spools had the same size as 120 film ones. And I was right! When I sat on the train station to google the camera i found out that yes, the film type is obsolete; but also that it is the exact same film as the 120 format, though the spools are different. So a 620 roll wouldn't fit a 120 camera and the other way around.   Some more googling with diy-spirit found lots of advice how to file down spools or re-spool 120 film. When I got home I pondered som more then put the camera with a 620 take up spool and a 120 film in my dark bag and did some breaking, then loaded the film.   I broke the too-big-for-620 spool 'caps' off the 120 film in the dark and loaded into the camera - and it fit; and worked fine. When the film was exposed the 12 pictures were on...

Another lens-mod! The lens is from a very old Foth Derby bellows camera. You'll see a more thorough post about this once I've some pictures to show. Test image made with the lens held in front of my X-Pro-camera. I will take a roll or two with the lens mounted on an SLR before I showcase any results. Check out my Facebook group on lens modding and DIY !

Food for both fi and body. I can now draw some conclusions concerning my method of caffenol development. My go-to film Fomapan fares well, Fujifilm Neopan 400 goes very grainy and dark.   My roll taken with my cherished Halina 35X was a Neopan. I scanned the pictures and opened them in Google Photos to edit. Here are some examples: I suppose this was over exposed so turned out rather soft. This one - under exposed. There's no way to save this. I will keep writing about this subject.

I forgot to mention in my last post that from my fifth roll I stand develop with Caffenol. It works great! I'm on my tenth roll now and since I now know what I'm doing it all goes well.   Stand developing consists simply of you letting your negatives simmer in the chemical soup for 1 hour without much stirring or agitation. Then stop and fix like any other method. Different films react slightly different to the Caffenol, but so far the varations are small. There's a LOT on caffenol developing and methods out there if you're interested.   Now I've scanned the stylish FLT roll from something like the 1970s or Eighties. Five pictures came out, of one baby, a kid and the photographer's wife (probably). Here they are: I'm not big on editing, but here's a fast scan. Nothing to write home about.   The camera which held the film is a Bencini NK 135 and it caught my eye because of the design which places it somewhere between an SLR and a Holga. It ...

 I've now developed 10 rolls of film with Caffenol (Delta recipe). Some evolution has taken place, since there is a learning curve inherent in these kinds of enterprises, where testing and research is required.   The first roll came out blank. I'd followed advice on a forum on how to make washing soda out of baking soda. Which when I tried it fell through and didn't work at all. I subsequently had to order washing soda on the web.   The second came out very dark and with weak grain. Here is a picture. The first two films were black and white 35 mm ones: Fomapan 400.   The third was a 120 format colour Portra 160 ASA and came out really well as a b&w film. This is cropped and not close to finish edited. It's my portrait made by my neice.   The third roll was an Ilford FP4 (?) 125 ASA and was not even close to the Portra's rendering. Grainy and dark. It was underexposed by half a step, though. But that doesn't explain the extent of grain. My girlfr...