I know, it’s redundant, the experimentation phase of the experiment. This is where it starts to get fun, or at least where things start to “Click.” I call it experimentation because once you have a perception of the fundamentals, once you feel that confidence with the tools and the process, you can begin to look at everything else. This is not the “I’ve perfected it” phase, it’s the “I think this might actually work” phase.
For me, it was a few things; let’s start with the cameras. I’ve identified two solid performers with a handful of appropriate lenses. My Contax RTS does occasionally suffer from leaks, but as long as it’s not getting banged around, It’ll perform. I’ve noticed the internal light meter is a bit inconsistent, but that’s something you can always work around. I’ve got 50, 35-70 and 135 mm lenses for the C/Y mount, and I absolutely love them. I also a ver rugged and reliable OM-10 with a 50 that is unbelievably consistent. These two are the ones I feel confident with.
The other piece of the mixture for me is the film stock. What I like is Ektar 100 and 400TX, both are Kodak stocks, I’m a sucker for the home region. In the mountains, the high contrast from Ektar is glorious. I love it. Otherwise, Black and White just seems a bit more… natural to me.
I waisted quite a bit of film on failure before I got to place where I was liking the results. Some of the images here are pretty great in my opinion, definitely not perfect, but they’re what I was hoping for. The best feeling when it comes to the film process is having something turn out exactly like you had hoped. I haven’t gotten gold on every outing, but such is the nature of experimentation.
