Pig Sty Avenue

At last! After maybe 6 or 7 rolls I'm getting the hang of the F4. All those buttons were intimidating until I began to get an inkling of what the Focus and Exposure Lock buttons could do. It's the realisation that this camera was designed and used to capture, for example, action in football games or riots. It's slightly insulting to use it for static portraits, like inviting your drug-using disreputable pal to your granny's birthday party. Action! This is the last of a few rolls of Kodacolor 200 I was using. It's been ok as part of the learning process, but is rather grainy. I've got a roll of Portra 400 in now, and then it's an old roll of HP5+, and nine of Kentmere 400; just yesterday we found a roll of Lomography Color Print 800 when tidying out the old sideboard - no idea when I got that, but heigh ho. By the time I get through that dozen or so rolls, I might be more or less competent.

Thanks to the Photo Express people for developing this roll of Kodacolor 200 and getting it back to me almost by return, (posted late on a Friday afternoon, returned on the Wednesday). Much less hassle than doing 35mm colour myself at home or at Streetlevel . Bit of a chore, C41 developing and scanning, leave it to the professionals. Besides, I don't have a neg scanner these days, and Streetlevel is still under lockdown, I think. That's me back on the F4, which I have quite literally picked up and dusted off again. Frankly I have been somewhat intimidated by it, so I'm working through that, a roll of my stash of odds and ends of 35mm at a time... This photo, I've misframed it slightly but obviously, slicing off the top of the sitter's head, and leaving her unintentionally off-centre. This was Aperture Priority, f1.4, by the light of a table lamp. The shutter speed selected by the meter must have been quite slow, maybe 1/15, because there's  a slight but noticea...