Tag Archives: Prospect Park
Film Photography: Loving Kodak Ektar Lately
As the summer fades and my use of color film dwindles, I’ve been fickle regarding 100 speed film. The new Kodak Portra 400 has proven to be a solid lock for higher speed color film, but I’ve bounced around a bit when it comes to color negative film at 100 speed. I’ve shot dozens of rolls of Fuji Reala 100, which I love, but it sometimes lacks that punch I like from color film. Kodak Portra 160 hasn’t wowed me as much as its big brother, so I’ve been shooting Reala 100, but always thinking I could use something I like better. Enter Kodak Ektar 100. Ektar is a fairly recent addition (2008) to the Kodak family, boasting “ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid color, EKTAR 100 offers the finest, smoothest grain of any color negative film available today.”
It’s certainly punchier than Reala. It’s decently priced, readily available no matter where I shop for film, and scans like a dream. I’m definitely warming to it. Here’s a quick look at how it handles different colors in my experience.
No Parking, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Kodak Ektar 100
Love Stories Suck, Nolita, Kodak Ektar 100
Vintage Schwinn Breeze, West Village, Kodak Ektar 100
Huxley Envelope Sign and Clouds, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Kodak Ektar 100
Blus Sky and Plane, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Kodak Ektar 100
Are you kidding me with that blue sky???
Fine Wines Signage, West Village, Kodka Ektar 100
Sea-Land, Red Hook, Brooklyn, Kodak Ektar 100
All images shot with Hasselblad 501cm and Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8 lens and scanned with Epson V500 flatbed scanner.
Film Photography: Prospect Park and Park Slope Long Exposures on Fuji Neopan Acros 100
A break in the rain on Thursday night allowed me to head out to Prospect Park with a tripod for some long exposures. Most of these exposures were between 30 and 60 seconds at an aperture of f11 or f16 as metered by my Digisix light meter.
This roll was shot with Hasselblad 501cm on Fuji Neopan Acros 100 and developed in Kodak Xtol Developer at 21C for 7.5 minutes.
Burst of Light at Night in Prospect Park Lighting a Bench, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
Tree and Prospect Park Lake at Night, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
I didn’t realize how much that duck was moving around right by the shore. He looks a little scary.
Fallen Tree in Prospect Lake at Night, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
Had a couple of fidgety ducks in this shot too.
Tree and Moving Clouds at Night, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
The clouds were moving pretty fast after the storm, so I knew this shot would be kind of cool.
Grand Army Plaza Arch at Night, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
I took another shot from this spot with traffic lights streaming, but I don’t think the lights look as cool in B&W.
Grand Army Plaza Fountain at Night, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
Playing with water during a 30 second exposure…
Four Seasons Cleaners on Flatbush Avenue at Night, Park Slope, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
Bark Hot Dogs at Night, Park Slope, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
People moving around during this 15 second shot.
Firo Grocery Bodega on St. Marks and 3rd Avenue at Night, Gowanus, Brooklyn, Fuji Neoapn Acros 100
This is one of my most photographed bodegas, sorry if it’s getting a little repetitive.
Man at ATM of Paul’s Grocery and Fruits on 5th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, Fuji Neopan Acros 100
Loved the idea of capturing this man’s movements at the ATM during a 3 second exposure.
Film Photography: Depth of Field at f2.8
When you consider razor sharp depth of field or crazy blurred background, you might think of the super fast lenses for 35mm cameras – the f1.8 lenses, the f1.4, and even the occasional f.95 lens. They will definitely deliver shallow depth of field. But when you step up to medium format (not to mention large format where f5.6 is speedy!) an f2.8 lens feels super fast. The f2.8 Zeiss Planar lens on my Hasselblad spends most of its time between f5.6 and f16. The subjects that I tend to shoot with this camera don’t really need exaggerated depth of field and f5.6 gives me a nice pleasing background if I want to isolate something that’s a normal distance from my lens.
The other day at the park I set the lens to f2.8 just to play around. This is pretty shallow, really just an inch of two of grass is in focus. The lens was set at the closest focusing distance.
Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8 *T at maximum aperture on blades of grass in park, Fuji Reala 100
This one was also at f2.8, but I wanted to get a pleasing, useable photograph, not a freakshow. I selected the leaves closest to me, knowing that the sun streaming through the leaves behind them would create a nice blurred background.
Tree and leaves in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Fuji Reala 100
And just for fun, I focused on a few strands of Kate’s hair that I could see in the evening sunlight. Those few strands are crisp and clear, while everything else is soft and a little dreamy.
Kate at f2.8 in Prospect Park, Fuji Reala 100
There’s no point to this exercise besides just playing around. I do think shallow depth of field has its uses, but I avoid using much of it in medium format film. The margin for error is so steep and you only have 12 shots on a roll. Still, it’s kind of cool to play with.
On a side note, I’m *really* starting to like Fuji Reala in 120 format. I’ve heard that Fuji may be phasing it out, so I might need to grab a stash for the fridge!
Film Photography: Polaroid Skies
I’ve been kind of hooked on these Polaroid shots lately. Maybe it’s a function of the move or the season, but I haven’t been as driven to be out everyday with the Hasselblad or FM2n. I’ve shot a few rolls of 120 and 35mm color film that are sitting here waiting to be developed, but I haven’t been as impatient to get them developed as usual.
I think some of this has to do with the fun I’m having with the Polaroid Land Camera. I’ve shot several packs of instant film since the move and have a growing stack of photos by my desk. Last week, I posted a dozen Polaroid shots for Film Friday at Kate’s blog, Embarrassment of Riches. There I mentioned that “This week features probably one of the most fun cameras you could ever shoot with: the 40-year-old Polaroid 420 Land Camera.”
The Land Camera certianly has its limitations for someone used to shooting manual cameras, but there are things that the Polaroid does so well that you forget those limitations. I learned this last night when I wanted to take a picture of a beautiful tree that was kind of lost in shadows against a perfect sky. The tree came out a big, black, blob while the sky was perfectly exposed. With a manual camera, you could have chosen to meter the tree or split the difference between the tree and sky. Not with the Land Camera – it chooses the exposure for you.
But when you shoot something simple with a less latitude in color, it’s pretty much perfect.
Clouds, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Polaroid 420 Land Camera and Fuji FP100C Instant Color Film
Plane in Blue Sky, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Polaroid 420 Land Camera and Fuji FP100C Instant Color Film
I was underwhelmed with this image at first, but the more I look at the it, the more I love the idea of that plane lost in blue. I think it’s one of my favorite picutres that I’ve taken this year.
US Open Sky Writing, Redhook, Brooklyn, Polaroid 420 Land Camera and Fuji FP100C Instant Color Film
I took two pictures of this, but prefer the one with the power lines. It kind of grounds the scene. One thing here to note is how the photo is more saturated in the lower right hand corner. Instead of peeling this after 90 seconds, I let it sit for over an hour until I got home. I had read that the FP100C is “self-terminating,” meaning that you can peel it hours later and still get a good exposure, but that the photo will be a little darker or more saturated. That is certainly the case here.
Prospect Park Lawn and Sky, Brooklyn, Polaroid 420 Land Camera and Fuji FP100C Instant Color Film
This is getting a little difficult for the Polaroid to render properly as the dark green of the huge lawn and the light blue of the sky are almost too different for the camera/film to capture correctly.
