A Renewed Focus on Film Images
A season of travel and hiking, along with some new equipment, brings a new emphasis on my old passion: Film.
I have been trying to put together a film kit for hiking this year. After a few not-so-successful efforts, I decided that simplicity would be the best plan.
My first attempt was buying a Horseman 985, which is a press-style 6×9 view camera with bellows and the ability to take roll film and sheet film. It came with 3 lenses, and one 6×9 roll film back. I added a second film back, and bought a backpack to hold it all. I hiked with it a few times, but I ran into an issue: A dim focusing screen. I could barely see the image on the ground glass even in bright sunlight. The great thing about a view camera is the ability to use tilt and shift of the film plane and lens to get the image into focus even at wider apertures, but that requires the ability to see a bright image on the ground glass, and use a loupe to adjust fine focus. I do not see as well as I used to. I put it up for sale, and bought a Fuji GSW690III.
The Fuji is a 6×9 rangefinder with a dedicated 65mm lens. While it does not give me the flexibility of interchangeable lenses and film backs, it does give me a larger negative, ease of use, and is light to carry.
The hardest thing so far has been getting used to parallax. The viewfinder is not through the lens, like in SLR cameras. It is offset, so I have to pay attention to the placement of the image. Parallax is more pronounced if the focus is closer to the camera. The picture below illustrates a parallax issue.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
This was from my first hike with the new Fuji GSW690III. The waterfall is slightly off center, but I am not sure if that’s a problem.
Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Kodak TMax100 developed in Ilfotec HC.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
Crown Point as seen from the Portland Womens’ Forum Viewpoint, otherwise known as Chanticleer Point.
I developed it in Rodinal, which gave the negative it’s trademark grainy punch.
Camera: Horseman 985
Lens: 150mm Horseman Super ER
Film: Kodak TMax 400 developed in Rodinal.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
Monkland is where the windmills are. The Twirly Camera fit right in.
Camera: Noblex 06/150
Lens: 50mm Tessar
Film: Kodak E100
©2023 Gary L. Quay
The maiden voyage of my new (old) Fujifilm GSW690III camera. I traveled to Sisters, Oregon with family, and stopped at this Crooked River overlook along the way. I had not been there since the mid 1990’s. It was still just as spectacular, and the rusty, old car was still at the bottom of the ravine. A good time was had by all.
Camera: Fujifilm GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in Rodinal.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
I made it back to Smith Rock in early June, this time with the Twirly Camera. I think it did a fine job.
Camera: Noblex 05/150
Lens: 50mm Tessar
Film: Ilford Pan F Plus developed in Ilford Ilfotec HC 1:62 for 8 min.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
I finally made it to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island. It’s stunningly beautiful. I want to go back.
Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 150mm Nikkor
Film: Ilford HP5+
©2023 Gary L. Quay
We were out to the Oregon Coast with some cameras, and stopped at Garibaldi for supper, and got a few pictures of the marina while we were there. I had a bunch of film backs for the Hasselblad that needed emptying, so I finished off a few at this spot.
I used PMK Pyro as the developer for the first time in almost 10 years. I decided to try it again after I developed a really grainy roll of HP5 in Rodinal (the Crooked River image above). I know that punchy grain is Rodinal’s trademark, but I really did not want it for those pictures, so I am trying Pyro again to see if the grain situation can be improved. That seems to be the case, except that there were issues with the film I used.
I am trying to get down to one or two developers, and a handful of films (See https://quaygang.com/film-and-developer-testing/ for more details). This film is out of the running. I will not be buying any Rollei films. Once the ones I have are used up, that’s it. They have backing paper issues that left tiny splotches all over the negative. I had to resort to some Photoshop trickery to make the sky look presentable. I’ve had a number of rolls do this, and it doesn’t matter what the developer is. I will likely go back to only Ilford and Kodak for my black and white work.
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: 50mm Zeiss Distagon
Film: Rollei Superpan 200 with a Hoya R72 filter
©2023 Gary L. Quay
This is from the same trip as above, but with a different film, and none of the issues I had with the Rollei film.
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: 40mm Zeiss Distagon
Film: Ilford Ortho Plus developed in PMK Pyro.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
Another picture from the attempt at using PMK Pyro film developer. I swore off of it about 8 years ago, but I really want sharp, grain-free negatives, especially for medium format. Large format has a size advantage when it comes to grain, so it’s less of an issue. I’m sticking strictly to Gordon Hutchin’s instructions this time, and it seems to be working. This negative has pyro stain out the wazoo, and it is evenly developed. So, I may keep on keeping on with it. My go-to developers are likely to be PMK for most images, especially ones that need to have the contrast toned down, and 510-Pyro for everything else.
This is a favorite spot of mine. It’s wonderfully cluttered, but has that path and rocks to provide a focal point.
Camera: Sinar Alpina 4×5
Lens: 8.5″ Cooke Anastigmat
Film: Ilford Ortho Plus developed in PMK Pyro.
©2023 Gary L. Quay
This monolithic hunk of basalt was once known as Thor’s Heights. Now it is Crown Point. The iconic Vista House is perched at the top. I like the view from the bottom as well.
Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon with a red filter.
Film: Rollei Superpan 200
©2023 Gary L. Quay
I enjoy taking pictures on the hillside between Rowena Crest, and the small town of Rowena, Oregon. You can see the effects of the rain shadow in the sparseness of the forest, and in the spindly oaks. I had the Twirly Camera out there in June, and used up a couple rolls of film.
Camera: Noblex 06/150
Lens: 50mm Tessar
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in PMK Pyro
©2023 Gary L. Quay
This is from a hike in June 2023. The actual trail is fairly short, but it can be extended to the railroad tracks by the freeway, and back up to the viewpoints at the top, at which point it is close to a mile. I wanted to recreate my “Bridal Veil With a Splash of Sun” picture from 1997 (here: https://quaygang.com/product/bridal-veil-falls-with-a-splash-of-sun/), but I could not find the exact viewpoint because the trees are vastly different now. This one got pretty good, though.
Camera: Fuji GSW690III
Lens: 65mm Fujinon
Film: Kodak Tmax 100 developed in Ilfotec HC
That’s all for now. Thanks for looking!
–Gary L. Quay
