Photography

General

• Street photography tips
• Shooting fireworks: Make use of something to block off the light to cut off the exposure quickly (a card or something) if using T mode, simply lift up the card when a firework is up, and cover the lens back up when the fireworks die down, repeat up to maybe 4-5 fireworks before cycling to the next shot.

Stores

Film cameras:

• Local Leica seller: Drew & Barry, carousell, instagram
• https://kamerastore.com
• Yahoo Auctions via Buyee

Tech resources

• fgallery – Static photo gallery generator
• nanogallery2 – Lightbox JS library
• PhotoSwipe – Lightbox JS library

B&W film developers

• In general: Ilford DD-X or Kodal Xtol.
• Ilford DD-X is expensive. It is also not reusable. Recommended dilution is 1:4. Reports suggest that dilution does not have a noticeable impact. 1:7 to 1:9 works as well, though development times have to be adjusted.
• D-76 is toxic. Xtol is not as toxic as it. Also D-76 comes in a fine powder, so care has to be taken when mixing. Generally Xtol is safer. If considering between Xtol and D-76, go with Xtol.
• Other notes about Rodinal vs HC110 vs DD-X
• DIY caffenol - Fun little DIY developer

DIY pinhole camera resources

• Calculator: https://mrpinhole.com/calcpinh.php
• Camera designs: https://pinholica.blogspot.com/p/camera-designs.html
• Instructions: https://www.instructables.com/Design-and-Build-your-own-Pinhole-Camera/

Tentative plan is 50mm focal length and 0.298mm pinhole diameter for a camera that takes 120 film. Effective fstop is 168. Planning on doing a first build with foamcore, may upgrade to wood if the proof-of-concept works.

Products

• https://ninjageisha.com/ – Handmade camera straps, pricey
• https://www.cameradactyl.com – 3D printed stuff for cameras, including a 4x5 camera.
• https://ondupinhole.com – Wooden pinhole cameras.
• https://www.zeroimage.com – Pinhole cameras

CLI commands

Tag film photos:

exiftool -ISO=400 -Make=Konica -Model="Konica C35 FD" *
exiftool -delete_original *

Camera repair

Adjust Leica CL rangefinder

• Remove the small plastic plug near the hotshoe. Use this tip from joel_matherson
• Diagram of the adjustment screws
• Inner screw adjusts the vertical alignment, outer screw adjusts the horizontal. No need for a U-shaped screwdriver because the outer screw is raised, so you can just use a flathead screwdriver.

B&W film development notes

Tap water temperature at my home is 28c.

Dilutions:

See https://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php for more details. Timings here are extracted for personal reference. Timings are calculated based on two principles. First, our water temperature is 28c, and Ilford recommends reducing development time by 10% for each 1c increase. Ilford gives timings for 24c, so to obtain the timings for 28c, we do x*(0.9**4) where x is the 24c time. Secondly, Ilford does not give timings for 1:9 dilution, so we estimate it by multiplying the 1:4 timings by 60%.

• HP5+, 800 ISO, 1:9 dilution, 28c: 8m30s
• HP5+, 1600 ISO, 1:9 dilution, 28c: 10m30s.

Ilford Rapid Fixer should be diluted 1:4. Fixer can be reused.

Steps:

1. Prepare developer. 300ml for one 35mm roll, 500ml for two 35mm rolls or one 120 roll.
2. Prepare wetting agent. 2ml Photo-Flo, 500ml water.
3. Load film into tank.
4. Add developer.
5. Agitate: Invert 4 times during first 10 seconds. Tap to get rid of bubbles.
6. Every minute, agitate again. Tap to get rid of bubbles after each agitation sequence.
7. Pour out developer for disposal (DD-X is a one-shot developer).
8. Rinse with water. Add water, agitate for 30s, pour out, repeat once more.
9. Add fixer, 600ml to be sure the rolls are covered. Agitate for the first 10 seconds and every minute thereafter.
10. Return fixer to bottle for re-use.
11. Rinse with water. Add, agitate, repeat 3 to 5 times.
12. Add wetting agent for a final rinse.
13. Hang to dry.

Tips to load film smoothly onto a paterson tank reel:

1. Make sure the reel is dry. Any moisture will cause sticking. Perhaps run it over with a blowdryer before use.
2. Wash thoroughly after each use. Wetting agents like Photo-flo can cause stickiness.
3. Round off the ends of the film before loading.