I've been rekindling my love of shooting MF Nikkors in these times, and just picked up a mint Ai Nikkor 55mm f/1.2 dating from 1977. First time shooting with this lens and I think it definitely has the "it factor!" Shot with the Df, wide open at minimum focus distance
Here's one shot with the D850. For some reason, I much prefer this lens on the Df, they just seem to work better together. Regardless, love the swirly bokeh, and the way the foreground renders.
Another IR shot from the Monochrom. I accidentally took the wrong lens. This is shot with the 2.8cm f/3.5 with the R72 IR filter. I meant to take the 3.5cm f/2.5 which is a better performer. The 2.8 has stronger vignetting with the filter and lower contrast in the center when using an IR filter.
The lenses are almost the same size physically so I grabbed the wrong one.
I wanted to get a few more IR tests with this setup before the summer humidity settles in and really messes up the sky with haze.
Posting a shot anyway. Wheat field in southern Virginia.
Linhof Master Technika, Nikkor-T 360mm f8 lens, Ilford HP5+ developed in Cinestill DF96 monobath using the Stearman SP-445 daylight tank. No darkroom needed!! Negative scanned with Epson V700.
Be gentle, this is a first try, don't know what's going on in the top left corner and below. Some of the monobath liquid was leaking out each time I turned the tank for agitation. I clearly did not spend enough time watching those utube videos
Samy, I'm envious of your Linhof Technika. Though I never owned one, I used to have use of one but with Schneider lenses, not Nikkors. We always used deep tanks in a darkroom. Even then it can be a challenge getting even development. At one point in my life I really liked working in a darkroom, and I always developed and printed my own film. But exposure to all the chemicals was probably not a good thing.
Linhof Master Technika, Nikkor-T 360mm f8 lens, Ilford HP5+ developed in Cinestill DF96 monobath using the Stearman SP-445 daylight tank. No darkroom needed!! Negative scanned with Epson V700.
Be gentle, this is a first try, don't know what's going on in the top left corner and below. Some of the monobath liquid was leaking out each time I turned the tank for agitation. I clearly did not spend enough time watching those utube videos
Nice Samy! Nice contrast with the monobath.
Re: the leaking, give the body of the tank a squeeze after you put the liquid in while tightening the screw top. Puts a small vacuum on the tank and helps hold the lid in place. Think about burping a Tupperware container. Also you can try putting some downward pressure on the lid by using a piece of gaffers tape across the top and down the sides. Try that with just water in it to see what works best for you.
Thanks Ken. The Linhof is certainly a step above the Wistas in engineering.
I have an immediate appreciation of the lab I normally send film to. There's certainly workflow and techniques that are critical to learn. I am taking all kinds of shortcuts - a small daylight tank that uses minimum liquid, and the monobath for black and white develpment. Let's see where this goes.
I did do some film development for my thesis in the early 90s in grad school, but had never done it at home before. It must have been rewarding for you. I am wearing nitrile gloves until I have rinsed out the tank, hopefully minimizing any exposure. Although at this time I am more concerned about the other exposure going around.
I was IM'ing Curtis earlier about his zoom suggestion. There's a few people who expressed interest. Anyone who would be interested in participating, let me know by PM. We were talking about Sunday 1pm or 1.30pm Eastern Time. It would be a bit earlier in the morning on the west coast here, late afternoon in Europe and South Africa, so may work for many of those folks. It may be a bit on the late side though on the other side - our friends in the Asia-Pacific area. All are welcome to participate though - we will just need to know beforehand.
subidiom wrote:
Here's one shot with the D850. For some reason, I much prefer this lens on the Df, they just seem to work better together. Regardless, love the swirly bokeh, and the way the foreground renders.
Manual Focus Nikon Glass Get Together... For friends of this thread who'd like to spend a short while together tomorrow using Zoom. I've scheduled a meeting for 10:30 a.m. Pacific Coast Time, which is 1:30 p.m. on the East Coast, 7:30 p.m. in Europe and 9:30 p.m. in South Africa if I read the chart accurately. Please pass the word along. Bring your favorite Nikon manual focus lens with you so that if we don't know what to talk about with one another we can do a show and tell...
Manual Focus Nikon Glass Get Together
Scheduled: May 3, 2020 at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Location: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9297171887
Curtis Grindahl is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Manual Focus Nikon Glass Get Together
Time: May 3, 2020 10:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
I spent time "at a distance" with a friend on Friday that included a visit to her garden. She knows I like to take photos and encouraged me to do so. When I sent her seven photos she was aghast... she had no idea her flowers were so beautiful...
I sang the praises of the lens I used, the 80-200 f/4.5 AI and of the benefits of shooting with a real camera... in my case the Df with its spot metering and narrow focal plane. Here are a few photos from her garden.
CGrindahl wrote:
I spent time "at a distance" with a friend on Friday that included a visit to her garden. She knows I like to take photos and encouraged me to do so. When I sent her seven photos she was aghast... she had no idea her flowers were so beautiful...
I sang the praises of the lens I used, the 80-200 f/4.5 AI and of the benefits of shooting with a real camera... in my case the Df with its spot metering and narrow focal plane. Here are a few photos from her garden.
Flowers are indeed beautiful but you have a skill that unlocks their beauty even further by way of framing, light-play and isolating them from their surroundings.
It is 6.45 am here. With a cup of coffee in hand I will go and see if there is anything worth sharing from yesterday's brief efforts at focus stacking with the 55/1.2 & PK-12 combo. It was slighty windy so I am not expecting the results to be much good.
Colin, I hope you noticed the post above about the gathering on Sunday... we'll get together at 7:30 p.m. your time. I hope you can join us. I've no idea what we'll say to one another but it makes sense we should all meet since that opportunity is available. Enjoy your coffee!
