30 January 2013

hasselblad test 02.

on monday morning I was thrilled to finally be able to print some black and white photos taken with my Hasselblad - that was until I developed the film roll and found out about that terrible light leak. at first I thought the film must have jammed inside the tank - but when that afternoon I got two colour films back from the lab with the same light leak problem I knew it was the camera.
Hasselblad test 02:

Ilford FP4+ - Tokoinranta.
I took this roll last Saturday morning straight after visiting the Botanic Garden: I wanted to have something to print in my darkroom - but printing a half burnt roll isn't really pleasant. I have scanned those tiny bits of images that weren't burnt by the light leak. in two days I will share one last batch of circles from the third test roll I took.
P.S. I have contacted the shop where I bought the camera from: they are going to cover the expenses for me to buy a new light trap foil - I just hope I will be able to find one soon!

28 January 2013

hasselblad test 01.

after taking photographs with three different film rolls and getting the same terrible light leak for the whole length on all of them - I had started to wonder wether my Hasselblad had a problem and unfortunately I was right: in fact the light trap foil on the magazine is damaged and so is the light trap foam. I am very disappointed and I will try my best to fix this problem - if possible.
Hasselblad test 01:

Fuji Pro 400H - Botanic Garden.
I wanted to save the tiny bits of photographs that weren't damaged by the light leak - therefore I have decided to cut them in different circles to frame. I am just so sorry that the most of each image simply got ruin - especially because I am very pleased with those little circles I have uploaded here. the Hasselblad 500 C/M is truly a wonderful camera to work with and I do hope I will be able to shoot with her again soon!
P.S. I will share circles from two more film rolls in a couple of days.

22 January 2013

my hasselblad 500 c/m.

with this post I want to celebrate the arrival of an Hasselblad 500 C/M among my numerous and very dear family of cameras.
Hasselblad 500 C/M kit + A12 film back + Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2,8

my Hasselblad 500 C/M fan art.
I remember dreaming about having my own Hasselblad when I was at the photography school: since then many years have passed and right at the beginning of this new one I thought it was the right time for me to make my dream come true. thanks to Jacopo I eventually found my Hasselblad 500 C/M on the website of a very special shop called New Old Camera - which sent the camera all the way from Milano to me.
images from Hasselblad Historical:
♥ while waiting for my camera to arrive I have grown very fond of this website: hasselbladhistorical.eu.
besides those magnificent photographs of Victor Hasselblad and Reinhold Heidecke there is a lot of interesting stuff I didn't know before - for instance that the creator of Hasselblad cameras was in fact a passionate bird watcher and "one of the goals in manufacturing his own camera was to have a camera that he felt would be ideal for bird photography."
needless to say I cannot wait to start shooting with my Hasselblad!

20 January 2013

-26°C.

lately the weather has been incredibly sunny and bright and that makes me hope for spring - even though I know the winter is far from over. we are gaining more and more minutes of light per day and the sun shines from 9am to 4pm now - which seems so much compared to December. these beautiful sunny days are usually extremely cold and even though I would like to stay outside longer I usually cannot stand more than one or two hours. yesterday was the day I saved for my photo-trip of the week and when we got out of the apartment it was about -26°C.
a few photographs of Herttoniemen Siirtolapuutarha in the winter time:

Mamiya RB 67 - Fuji FP-100C.
I was intrigued by the idea of going back to Herttoniemen Siirtolapuutarha - which I had never seen covered in snow. the place was indeed really fascinating - though I couldn't take as many photos as I wanted to: in fact the light meter started working badly and the shutter of my Mamiya begun not to function properly - so that most of the FP's turned out to be overexposed and two shots just black. I was careless enough to forget that some equipment can be too sensitive to stand such temperatures and that instant film can develop really badly when very cold.
I will be more cautious next time!

16 January 2013

vertical landscapes.

I have a goal for 2013: no matter what happens I want to spend at least one day of every week taking photographs - since it always makes me feel so good to do so. I won't have the possibility to visit a new place each week - but I will try my best to capture things in a different way each time I return to the same place. last sunday we revisited Viikki and I decided to shoot vertical landscapes.
vertical landscapes in Viikki:
Mamiya RB 67 - Fuji Pro 160 NS.
I don't know why I had never done it before: vertical shots with the 6x4.5 back of my Mamiya are really pleasant. I have already reserved next saturday to go somewhere special and keep up with my 2013 goal: yesterday was my birthday and I have received a package of Fuji FP-100C which is going to be wonderfully useful.

10 January 2013

winter landscapes in black and white #2.

here are a few more photographs from our walk last saturday: after strolling along the river we ended up on a frozen lake in the middle of a forest - I wish the trees had some snow left on their branches but the wind had apparently blown it away. the sun wasn't warm at all and it didn't go high above the horizon: it was as fascinating as a cold and slow sunset.
Diana Mini - Ilford Delta 3200:

my first darkroom prints of 2013.
I love the grain of the Ilford Delta 3200 but it has a really low contrast - which I tried to fix by printing with a very high filter. yet the grayness of the film and the soft focus of the Diana Mini aren't always working well together and I still believe the Diana matches better with colour film. I have started looking for a camera as precise as my Nikon FM but in square format and as rigorous as my Mamiya RB67 but more portable and I already have something in my mind - like if I didn't have enough cameras yet.
I wish I could work as a landscape photographer: it would be brilliant!

08 January 2013

winter landscapes in black and white #1.

last weekend we travelled north to visit Jacopo's family: it was snowy, dark and extremely cold: the temperature was about -18°C and with only 4 hours of light it was much darker and colder than Helsinki. on saturday morning though the sky was incredibly clear and the sun was shining and I wanted to go out to take some photographs: Jacopo's grandpa took us along the frozen river and showed us some truly breath-taking winter landscapes.
Diana Mini - Ilford Delta 3200:

my first darkroom prints of 2013.
the reason I took my Diana Mini was the square format - yet I knew that the results could have been really random: because of the sun and the snow the film got a numerous amount of light leaks - which can be really unpleasant in black and white. I was glad to return to my darkroom though and I think some of the prints turned out quite fine eventually.
P.S. I will share more prints soon!