Similar to how I want to limit the number of different cameras I want to use, I’m also thinking I want to limit the number of different film stocks I use.
As a still new-ish photographer, I think I’ve been excited by the possibilities of trying different cameras and different films. I’ve been shooting film for just under 4 years and have enjoyed exploring a lot of different options. But I think now I want to settled into a more comfortable and reliable approach to my photography.
Which brings me to a roll of film I recently got developed and scanned. I tried a roll of Lomography Berlin for the first time in my Canon AE-1.
I was generally pleased with the results although I found them a little inconsistent. At times, especially with closer up shots, the darks came out quite dark. Granted, some of that could be due to me and perhaps not exposing correctly.
Other times, the photos seemed to have very dark blacks but also lacked some contrast. It almost seems like the dark blacks got very dark but the grays got a little washed out, especially for things farther in the distance.
I think one of the issue might have been that it was an extremely bright and sunny day, and the Berlin has a 400 ISO.
Holly and I had gone out for a long walk to Lemon Hill. I started shooting with the AE-1 but given how bright it was, I felt that the Berlin being black and white and 400 ISO was not ideal for that situation. Luckily, I thought to bring along my Olympus TG-5 as a backup. I already posted about those photos.
The rest of the photos from the Berlin roll on that walk turned out decent enough although there aren’t any I’m in love with.
I had a bit better luck on a later walk around the city. It wasn’t quite as sunny so the 400 ISO was a better fit. As in one of the photos above, my other photos under the train tracks were a little dark but the other shots didn’t have the same issue, at least not to the same extent.
The results were good enough that I would consider giving Lomography Berlin another try at some point. But in the near term, I think I’ll rely more on the black and white film that I’ve had better success with. Not surprisingly, I really like pretty much every Ilford film I’ve tried, which is quite a few. I’ve also liked what I’ve tried from Foma and Rollei, as well as Kodak Tri-X. I really liked the one roll of Ferannia P30 I shot, although it’s not readily available so I’m not sure if or when I’ll get a chance to shoot with it again. With so many good choices, it’s hard for another black and white film to capture my attention.
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