Pig Sty Avenue

 Same roll as I got the previous swan pic  from. So that was with the Nikkor 105mm f2.5, on Kentmere 400. I don't know where the vignetting came from, and the strangely antique look. I post processed it in the macbook's preview, keeping it simple... I just haven't got the hang of ON1 yet, bit I might have another go later. 

 Looking forward to cooler, earlier nights, I did a bit of research  on light trails. Here's the lowdown. Camera set on manual; small aperture; shutter release cable; 100 iso film; tripod. Exposures between 3 and 30 seconds, depending on amount and speed of traffic, which will take some experimentation - at least a roll's worth. The School of Photography suggests a very wide angle lens, 16mm, but I don't have one, and they're outrageously priced, even a pre-AI one. So I'll go with my little-used Nikkor AF, 28mm, f2.8. 

 One of those afternoons when I could walk the dog and finish off a roll of Kentmere. I took this with the pre-AI 105mm lens (the "Afghan Girl" lens), and then made up a batch of ID - 3 developer after loading the Paterson tank in the new dark bag. Post processing in ON1 Photo Raw, but I wish I could find something simpler. Fact is, I just need something to invert the negative, and then maybe tweak the brightness and contrast. Photo editors are fine, but there are so many buttons - I need to spend a weekend with ON1, when I get the time.  Whilst giving this roll a rinse, the doorbell went, and I got distracted because I was expecting nitrile gloves and safety goggles to keep me from being scalded or blinded when making up the PaRodinal, when I got back to the kitchen sink the water had started running very hot indeed. A wailing and gnashing of teeth ensued, but fortunately I was alone in the flat and when the negs were dry, they were fine. 

  Blimey! "We recommend this film for the experimental photographer."

  Marvellous idea, Flickr . Without it, I wouldn't have remembered that I'd used Rodinal back in 2012-ish. This photo ticks a number of "cool" boxes: taken with a Nikon F, (which was showing its age), on Ilford Delta 3200, pushed to 6400 and developed in a Shanghai kitchen-sink darkroom, in Rodinal. Those were the days.  It's set me to think about Rodinal again, and then in the last couple of days, I've learned about Parodinal . Sodium sulphite, paracetemol, and ffs, caustic soda. I am writing this whilst waiting for the safety glasses and nitrile gloves to arrive in the post so that I can make up a batch. What larks! 

  The iPhone chose to take this at 180 ASA, f1.78 1/202sec and an ev of -1.3. So, with the F4: 100 ASA film, 1/60s and f2(?) it'd be a good exposure without EV compensation? I'm not quite guessing, but I haven't yet got the ability to be more or less sure of an exposure without a meter. I had thought of getting a Pentax K1000 or Nikon FM, both good cameras with simple light meters and otherwise fully manual, but that's just daft when I've got a bloody good camera which can be fully manual if wanted. AND it avoids feeding my Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I've got a nice straightforward light meter app on the iPhone, rediscovered only yesterday.