Underneath
Canon EOS1 – EF 50mm f/1.2 USM – Leica Monopan
Square Bristol
Chiltong VI* took place in Bristol back in February. I went with a few goals in mind. The first few were predictable, have a nice time with friends, make some nice pictures, eat some nice food, (essentially my goals for everyday).
One of my tertiary goals was to finish the roll in my Hasselblad, and ideally return from the trip with the camera empty. (The last few outings with the Hasselblad have involved going out with 4 shots in the camera, shooting 12, and coming back with a different 4 shots trapped in the camera.)
I mentioned in Back to Square One that I was thinking about switching back to Portra after a few years shooting Kodak Gold 200. By the time Chiltong VI rolled around I’d committed.
*’Billy Chiltong’ is the name of an informal and amorphous group of photographers that enjoy irregular and louche photography based adventures. We’ve visited various locations around the UK on our first five outings, this was our sixth meet-up.
Shapes
Hasselblad 503CX – 50mm f/4 Distagon – Kodak Gold 200
House Wine
Gold 200 has been my film equivalent of a ‘house wine’ for the past few years, essentially once Kodak made it available in medium format, I did this solely because it was significantly cheaper.
Kodak Portra costs roughly twice as much as Gold does, which makes the switch back hard to justify, but I really like Portra, and shot it almost exclusively for years.
We had an open marriage after Superia 400 left me, and we were happy together until I couldn’t afford it any more, and had to move in with Gold. My current plan is to mitigate the extra expense by only taking good pictures…
Path
Canon EOS1 – EF 50mm f/1.2 USM – Kodak Gold 200
Once I’d actually bought two 2 packs of Portra 120, (160 for the Hasselblad and 400 for the Panorama) I didn’t feel like I could justify a pack of 35mm as well. (At least not all in one go).
Yes, I could have bought some single rolls instead of multipacks, but when you’re making a bold statement you have to do it boldly. Also £180 on film stings when you do it, but then the film feels free because it’s already in your film stash, I just wasn’t tough enough for a £250 sting.
As I left for Bristol I had Gold 200 in both the Hasselblad and the Canon EOS1 and had Portra ready for the Hassy once the I finished the roll in it. I threw some randoms into my bag for the Canon.
Hasselblad 503CX – 50mm f/4 Distagon – Kodak Gold 200
Process Control
In the past I’ve been guilty of poor process control, (particularly when developing my own film) and have allowed variables to multiply. I then have no idea why one roll of film worked and another didn’t. There was a period where I would also shoot new film stocks in whichever camera I was in love with at the time, regardless of how well I knew them or how well they worked.
Eventually to standardise things a little I started shooting all of my first rolls of 35mm film in my Canon EOS1. This meant that all of my first rolls were shot with autofocus, a solid lens and a decent metering system. Then the film could go to my lab of choice to be developed and scanned.
The idea was to give the first roll of the film the best chance to shine that I could. Once I’d established a baseline for what the film looked like under almost lab conditions, I could put the second roll into something else or develop and/or scan it myself.
I’m a knob.
When I got my hands on a roll of Leica Monopan, it should have been a fait accompli. I would load it into the Canon, see what it looked like, I would do what I always do. The only problem was that this film has Leica written on it. For some reason it felt a little like sacrilege to put it into the Canon when I could shoot it in the Leica.
I’m not daft enough to think that the gang at Wetzlar have designed and built a film coating factory purely to produce this film. (Especially as it carries a more reasonable price than is traditional for something sporting a red dot).
This was always going to be a rebadged film-stock, I just wasn’t particularly bothered which film it was. It being a rebrand however does make any trepidation on my part doubly ridiculous.
Canon EOS1 – EF 50mm f/1.2 USM – Kodak Gold 200
This would suggest that I’m more of a sucker for branding than I would have traditionally believed. (I’m typing this in old M&S shorts and a t-shirt I got free through work) and yet just writing Leica on a film can cause me significant consternation.
Had I been shooting my first roll of Adox HR-50 for example, the film the internet is pretty convinced is being rebadged as Monopan, I would have shot it in the Canon without a moment’s hesitation. (Although I also probably wouldn’t have shot it, it has been around for ages, and I haven’t shot it yet.)
I did finished the rolls in both cameras during the day and reloaded the Hasselblad with Portra. I was then stumped as to what to put into the Canon. The randoms included stuff that’s been bouncing around the stash for a while, some of which is so old now I’ll probably never shoot it, (I’ll trade it to someone who wants to experiment, or give it away).
The Monopan had also been hanging around the stash for a while. This was due to the poor weather as Spring sprang and the combination of short days and grey skies. Finally getting it loaded felt good, at least as I wouldn’t have to think about which camera I was going to shoot it in any more.
Detail
Canon EOS1 – EF 50mm f/1.2 USM – Leica Monopan
I continue to be a knob
If I was the sort of photographer who had good process control, I’d probably be the sort of photographer who researched his film-stocks properly before shooting them…
The scans I have are pleasantly crunchy with fine detail, rich blacks and great contrast, it turns out that Monopan blows out really easily and I probably should have underexposed, something I would have known had I looked into the film for even a moment.
Had I underexposed I would have seen a two-fold advantage, firstly I’d have the desired increase in highlight detail, and secondly I might have had a bit more depth of field to play with, ISO 50 is pretty damn slow.
Canon EOS1 – EF 50mm f/1.2 USM – Leica Monopan
Conclusions
As far as Chiltong VI is concerned, I had a nice day with friends, I made pictures I like, and I can recommend the Korean Fried Chicken at Seven Lucky Gods. I absolutely came home with four shots trapped in the Hasselblad.
As far as the Monopan is concerned, I enjoyed shooting it, and a few tweaks in Lightroom have brought the scans back to where I would like them. I could go back to the negatives and see if I could find more highlight detail but we’ll see if I actually get around to it.
If and when I shoot Monopan again (and I’d like to) I’ll do it in the Leica, rate it at ISO80 and see if I like it more. I shot my first roll of Ferrania P30 in my Ricoh GR and loved it, only to feel massively let down when I shot it again in the Canon. (I might shoot Adox HR 50 in the Leica, and complete the loop.)
The system sort of works.
If I do, it would make sense to do it while the days are long and the light is good, but I’ve recently bought myself a 6 bath E6 chemistry set, and I’m excited to shoot some slide panoramas and develop them myself.
I can’t wait to combine my process control skills with E6 processing…