Lomography with Leica

Lomography with a screw-in Leica or Bessa-R???

Bessa R with Chaika-Lense.

 

On the search for an affordable 28mm lens for the Bessa-R (39mm - LTM), I found the lenses for the Russian Smena offered in heaps. Now it is a half-frame camera. That's why I was curious to see how large the actual image circle of this lens is in "full format".
The result is really “lomo-like”:
the image is sharp in the center, with distortions towards the edges and strong vignetting.
I have to say that I "rape" my films (Fomapan 400) with 800 ASA anyway, with a stand development of over 3 hours in 100 parts water + 1 part Rodinal at 20 °C.
In fact, there are better drawings in the shadows, which are often very thin on the Fomapan 400 in Rodinal. However, the grain becomes obvious in the process.

Negatives made with 28mm Lens.

In order to add the (colored) crown to the whole thing, I tried various colorings. Last night I got stuck with a filter in GraficConverter that really goes "deep": "DeepAI.org" offers it for free trials, if you use it regularly you have to register, but it remains free.

Tree, taken with the 28 mm Chaika-Lens.

The same Motive, colored by "DeepAI.org"

Back to the lens: It belongs to a russ, Chaika camera. Can be unscrewed, but intended for an enlarger, because there are no other lenses for this camera. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaika_(camera)
In the original, the screw thread is "approximately" Leica. In order to actually screw this lens onto a Leica/Bessa-R, it has to be modified and the infinity setting also has to be adjusted.
Sounds complicated, but these modified lenses are (still) often available on eBay (from Ukraine / may the force be with them!).

Own experiances? Write me.
-ekk-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Rangefinders 6x6, but very different...

 

Super Fujica-6 and Welmy-six

 

When I've seen the Fujica first, I loved the round design. Since I'm working with it, I also like the handling. It seams, that it fits exactly in my pocket, and also in my hand...

The Welmy I bought, because of its nickname: "frog-eye". I thought, it has a rangefinder, like the Fujica, but the 2nd. window is for a reflex-viewfinder...
The camera came as "good condition" to my. But now I know, what that means:
dirty, impossible to see something through the viewfinders, the distance adjustment was blocked at "1m"...
I need some hours to gave it a new "nice condition" back.
Alsway I used a f-stop over 8, with an Ilford Delta 400, 800 ASA. So I've got pretti good results on my negatives. I think the lens is similar to an uncoated Agfa-Agnar with 3 lenses.
After scanning, the result was a lot better, then I saw it with the magnifying glass. Nice surprise.

Back to the Fujica. As I told, I love to work with it. I've testet several rangefinder-cameras with bellow and 6x6 negative size, but this Super Fujica-6 is my favourite. Ok, it is a little bit heavier, al little bit bigger, the other 6x6 bellow-cameras, but it is "smart".
The rangefinder is coupled to the lens, so it is very easy to the right distance. The viewfinder show only about 75% of the motive. This you need to know, when you are working with color-slides.
Usually I use b/w-negatives, so this is no problem for me, ...and step by step I "know" the right frame.

Now I'll show you two negatives, made by this cameras.

Taken with the Super Fujica-6, Fujinar, 1:3.5, 75 mm

Taken with the Welmy-six, Torionar, 1:3.5, 75 mm

The Lens of the Fujica reminds to a older Tessar. The Lens of the Welmy seamed to be a 3-lenser. Typical the overexposure of the lights (window-frames).

This is all for today, have a nice time and stay healthy.
-ekk-

PS.: more about this cameras:
Super Fujica-6, from ca. 1953, bought for ca. EUR  110.-
http://www.jnoir.eu/en/cameras/fujica/super-six/
Welmy six, from ca. 1953, bought for ca. EUR 40.-
http://www.jnoir.eu/en/cameras/taisei-koki/welmy/

Lumenprints, ...I know, everybody make it, but ....

Everytime, when I need my efforts to an important job, I get a lot of other ideas and inspirations...
Do you know this?
This time I've seen videos about Lumen-Prints.
Analoge photography on light-sensitive photo-papier without chemicals?
Wow, what colors, what posibilities. So I took 3 of my old 9 x 12 cm - Cameras and start in the middle of night with Lumen-Photography.

Camera & Object (with day-light)

The problem: it was impossible to find the right field of sharpness on the screen. It was really too dark... But I didn't like to wait, and wanted to go to bed.
I hoped to get some marvellouse Lumen-Prints when I get up at high noon...
This was the theory...

But what I've got, was that:

Lumenprint on photo-paper, exposing time about 7 hrs.

Ok.
It is the negative, but where are the colors?
Later, I find out, that the colors are on this black/white-photo-paper, but only very, very light.
The next step was, to make some digitally "remasterings".

The same Lumenprint, after the digital-process.

Now I take a new photo on usually light-sensitive foto-paper, in the daylight, exposure-time = 40 minutes.

Lumenprint, 40 min. after fixing (yes, with chemicals) and additional exposing with UV-light.

To protect the negatives, I fix them with usually foto-fixer. Then I rocognized, that they became more contrast, when they are laying in day-light (UV-light), after fixing.

Photo from above, after digital inverting.

Digital print from the same photo, after playing with photoshop and so.

Same photo. After I've find out, how to manipulate and controll the colors.

...and your Lumen-Prints?

Show me ;-)

-ekk-

IT WORKS!

Yesterday I've taken pictures with my Agfa-Clack-Pinhole.
"So what?", do you think.
Oh, I've take the pic with an exposure-time of 1/30 with the 0.2 mm Pinhole.
"So that!"
Ok, it was a sunny day, I've used a Ilford 3'200 ASA - b/w-film and developed it in DD-X for 22 min / 24°C. So the film was pushed to more then 12'500 ASA (17 min / 20 °C).

The School across from my studio. Sunny day, 1/30, f 270.

Same situation, but extremly shadows in this "selfie". Sunshine from above, rest in the shadow.

The same scan, a little bit digital "remastered"..

Pinhole with AGFA CLACK

This idea is from YouTube: a Agfa Clack should be the best kamera to transfer into a pinhole-camera.
Just at the day, I've got a Clack, I've found my 0.3 mm drill inbetween other "camera-making-stuff".
So I started:

Dremel with the 0.3 mm drill.

A little bit closer.

After drilling into an old offset-plate, I attached the pinhole to the Clack.
Adittional I removed the F-Stop and Close-up-construction.

Clack with Pinhole + wire-release.

Clack-Pinhole with the new cover ;-)

Of course, I was very unpatient, to test this new, down-sized camera.

The test with 40 sec. exposure time, with a working laser-engraver in the background.

In the test-pic, you can see, the lots of grayscales the 6 x 9 cm-negative includes.
I've taken it with an Ilford-Delta, pushed to 800 ASA.
The good quality of the pic is, because the negativ-base of inside the camera is curved.
Additional the viewfinder is very helpfull: it shows about 75 % of the view. The original lens has 95 mm, the pinhole ca. 80 mm.
The negative is scanned with an Epson V800, an enlarging on analog photo-papier could be better...

Thanx 4 watching, have a healthy day
-ekk-

Kodak Vest Pocket

Kodak Vest Pocket

Yes,... this camera is 40 years older, then I am...
It is very nice, but we should not forget, that this is a "soldier-camera" from the 1st world-war.
I really cannot imagine, how men in such situation are able to put a film into the camera...
I had some problems with that and so, there was a light-leake on the first some pictures.
Nevertheless, some photos are well,... only on the top are some tracks, bad developing ?-(
The reason can be the circumstances of the developing-tank. It was the first time since 50 years, I need to pull the film. Usually I rotate the film-tank.
In the film (RERA 400) I found some pinholes... I hope this came from the brandnew developin-tank, not from the emulsion of the RERA...

left: 135er, rigkt: RERA 400 127er roll.

I think, now it is time to take a peek to one photo, made with the Vest Pocket:

Scan from a 4 by 6.5 cm negative of the Vest Pocket

At the end, a word about the costs: the film costs nearly the double prize of a 120er roll-film.
There are some tipps to cut a 120er roll into 127er roll, findable in the web.
I think about, to buy one of the new Ilford-Ortho-120er-rolls, to test this in the darkroom with red light. The ortho-film has no red-sensitive, so it is not good for people-photography, but good to use for architecture and landsscape.

It would be nice, if you drop some lines about your experiances with a Vest Pocket and, or 127er Films.

stay healthy
-ekk-

Make Frames of Standard 8 & Super 8 Digital!

In connection with the Piccolo-Booklet Nr. 7 (last Post), I need to digitalize some pics from old Standard 8 / Super 8 movies.
At first I tried it with my expensive Epson-Perfection V800-Photo - Flatbed-Scanner...
I used 2400 dpi, the "real" physical solution. ...and was disappointed, but used the results.

Later I remembered an old trick, I used in analog times: putting the SLR under the Photo-Enlarger und beam the pic directly in the camera (without Objective, of course ;-)

So I tried this with my DSLR (Nikon D 5200).
For this you (your camera) needs:
• LiveView
• a turnable monitor
• Cable-Release / Self-Timer
If available:
• Camera HDR
This time I made it "quick&dirty": lay the camera-body on a block of wood, put the movie-strip into the negative-stage above. Turned off the room-light (is necessary to avoid side-light).

The yellow light-beam is a symbolic addition.

Below the both "scans". I've used only a part of the 24 MPix of the Nikon, 'cause I don'd need more for the print. If you use the whole chip, your 8mm pic becomes 24 MPix!

"Scanned"with Nikon D5200

Scanned with the Epson-Perfection