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Harleys on the Strand -- Yashica Mat 124 & 400TX
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:49 am    Post subject: Harleys on the Strand -- Yashica Mat 124 & 400TX Reply with quote
I took a trip down to Galveston yesterday cuz the weather was great and I felt like shooting film. So I loaded the old Volvo up with my camera gear and set out. Whenever the weather is really great, you're sure to see lots of Harley riders out and about. (By contrast, when the weather is really lousy and you see somebody on a bike, it's probably a BMW rider.) Yup, there were lots of Harleys out and about. I spotted some nice looking bikes at a cafe on the Strand, introduced myself to the riders, and asked permission to take pics of their bikes. After getting the go-ahead, I pulled out my Yashica Mat (and also my Bronica ETRSi, but that's another story), and commenced to get busy.

This is the second roll of film I've put through this old Yashica Mat 124, and my first ever roll of Tri-X Professional 400TX. I think I really like this stuff. I developed it in Kodak D-76 for 6 minutes 15 seconds at 70F. The contrast was everything I hoped for. A deep, rich tonality with smooth gradation from light to dark, and nice shadow detail.

Exposure was typically around 1/500 @ f/8 or f/11 -- right in the "zone" for the Yashinon lens, I've found. The negatives were scanned on an Epson 4990 @ 2400 ppi. The only post processing I did, besides cropping the images, was just a very tiny amount of contrast adjustment. No sharpening was done. And then, of course, image sizes were reduced for display here at the forum.








The 2nd and 3rd photos are almost the same, the biggest difference being the exposure. There's probably close to a stop's difference between the two photos. What they show me is this film's flexibility. Photo 2 mght be a bit dark for some, but the shadows are not blocking up. Photo 3 might be a bit light for some, but it doesn't look washed out.

Yup, 400TX is my new favorite B&W film. And how about that old Yashica, eh? Not a bad shooter, is it. Cool

Last edited by cooltouch on Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:44 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
In my opinion, the Yashica Mats are the best cameras for the price in the
world. The Yashinon lens holds its own anywhere.

Your images are startling in their clarity! Shocked Gorgeous, gorgeous shots.
Your skill at composing turned these into world-class black and white renderings.

Simpy WONDERFUL work, and a pleasure and privilege for me that you
posted these.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
+1 on that.

Plus, you got excellent results from the film/developer combo right off the bat - I use D-76 myself, though I do wander around the other developers, deep down I know there's not much need for anything else Wink

Interesting re the two exposures - this brings up another variable, which is the auto exposure on the scanner. Sometimes, I have to override it in order to not blow out highlights and to locate the tones where I wanted them. It is easy enough to adjust brightness back in ps. All that said, I prefer the first, darker exposure.

[/i]


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nesster wrote:
+1 on that.

Plus, you got excellent results from the film/developer combo right off the bat - I use D-76 myself, though I do wander around the other developers, deep down I know there's not much need for anything else Wink

Interesting re the two exposures - this brings up another variable, which is the auto exposure on the scanner. Sometimes, I have to override it in order to not blow out highlights and to locate the tones where I wanted them. It is easy enough to adjust brightness back in ps. All that said, I prefer the first, darker exposure.

[/i]


So do I Cool

D-76 is the only developer I've ever used, and honestly I don't see any reason to change. Especially not when I get this sort of result.

I just left the scanner's exposure setting on "auto" which is usually fine for most normally exposed photos. One thing I do, however, is I indicate the film as a B&W negative, but scan it as 24-bit color, and then convert to grayscale -- sometimes -- during PP. I do this out of convenience more than for any other reason. For some strange reason, my 4990 takes a lot longer to scan an image as black&white than it does as color, so I just scan them in as color. No real difference in image quality either.

Oh, and thanks to both of you for your kind words. I'm my own worst critic. I see what I like in these photos, but I also see all the little niggling details that I don't like too, which keeps me from enjoying them fully.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Michael - LOL - me too, I tend to see my 'signature' in a lot of shots. I suppose that's just how it is.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Beautiful detail, tones, and contrast, you guys are making a convincing
argument for D76. I will try it after my HC-110 runs out. Is it good for
pushing film?

Excellent work, Michael! Cool


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked
I cannot believe the quality of the images. Especially as they have not been sharpened! Amazing!

Those images are miles better than the ones I have managed with slower film. This is just another temptation to move to medium format. Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked
I cannot believe the quality of the images. Especially as they have not been sharpened! Amazing!

Those images are miles better than the ones I have managed with slower film. This is just another temptation to move to medium format. Laughing


Here I am again, once more in the same thread....but I have to concur
with the wonderful results from the D-76. I can't think of a reason why
someone would want to change from this as a staple for processing,
other than the occasional experimentation. It seems so .... STABLE.

And I have to reiterate that the step up to medium format makes all
of the desired quality of the final output come through for the
photographer.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked
I cannot believe the quality of the images. Especially as they have not been sharpened! Amazing!

Those images are miles better than the ones I have managed with slower film. This is just another temptation to move to medium format. Laughing


It can be habit-forming. Cool Keep in mind as well, all the above images are crops from 6x6 negatives. Here's one uncropped. No PP, just reduced in size.



I want to give a lot of credit to the film too: Tri-X Professional 400TX. This is simply the best B&W film I've ever used.

Last edited by cooltouch on Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:46 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laurence wrote:

Here I am again, once more in the same thread....but I have to concur
with the wonderful results from the D-76. I can't think of a reason why
someone would want to change from this as a staple for processing,
other than the occasional experimentation. It seems so .... STABLE.


Well, you know the old expression -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Quote:
And I have to reiterate that the step up to medium format makes all
of the desired quality of the final output come through for the
photographer.


What is often regarded as a limiting factor with a TLR -- that being its fixed lens -- is something I never object to. Having to deal with that one lens forces me to spend the extra time to find an optimal angle, which usually pays large dividends in the quality of the finished product. Even so, I wish I would have sucked it up a bit more, ignored my balky knees, and gotten down to a lower level for some of these shots, instead of whimping out and taking them from chest-high.
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