Another Minolta Autocord Portrait

A short post today, as we are currently holidaying by the beachside. I've brought along the Bronica SQ-A and two boxes of Ilford FP4+, so am hoping to get some nice sand dune images.

This is another recent Minolta Autocord portrait. Taken on the same expired roll of Ilford FP4+ as the last portrait, in late afternoon light.

Lucy
Minolta Autocord, Ilford FP4+

Wrought Iron Fence

Another Minolta Autocord image, this time a close up of a stone and wrought iron fence at the University of South Australia. I was as close as I could get to the decorative fence support (about 3.3ft / 1m) and shot with as wide an aperture as the light would allow, in order to throw the background out of focus. I didn't record the details, but I was shooting expired Ilford FP4+ at ISO 64, so it was likely around f4 to f5.6.

The Autocord is impressively sharp at this aperture and with a close focus distance the background is blurred as I had hoped. This image was taken as part of my 'The Block' project, which I'll talk a bit more about in an upcoming post.

Wrought Iron Fence
Minolta Autocord, Ilford FP4+

Minolta Autocord Portrait

With a 75mm lens, the Minolta Autocord lens is not a portrait length lens, but its rendering is very pleasant. This particular image was taken in late afternoon light, in the middle of a paddock. The Autocord continues to impress me with its sharpness and image quality, be it portraits, landscapes or anything in between. I'd like to track down a lens hood for it, but I haven't experienced any issues with flare or anything. The genuine Autocord hoods are very hard to find, but cheap plastic ones are relatively abundant on eBay.

Lucy & Thomas
Minolta Autocord, Ilford FP4+

Asphalt

Another camera in my stable is the under rated Minolta Autocord, although its popularity has increased in recent times due to more photographers promoting its virtues on the internet. It was such reviews, and sample photos, that lead me to acquiring one. TLR's are a unique photographic experience, and as a walk around camera, I like the fact that there is no mirror to cause vibrations. When using slow(ish) film (and with the Autocord's maximum aperture of f3.5), its a nice feature to have.

This particular photo was taken as part of a project I am currently working on. I like it because its not something I would normally photograph, and I find the lines, textures and tonal range interesting. I think medium format film helps here, and I'm not sure it would work as well using 35mm film.

It reminds me that it's important to be open and receptive to the unexpected when out photographing. Too often we have preconceived ideas of what we want capture that we miss other opportunities. Many a time I have headed out with a specific idea in mind, only to stumble on an unexpected composition that has turned out much better than the planned scene.

Asphalt
Minolta Autocord, Ilford FP4+ (expired)

No Entry

One of the benefits of working in a city is the opportunity to wander the streets at lunch time. In Adelaide, there are lots of interesting spaces and places within a short walk of the CBD. Rather than spending half an hour trying to figure out what to have for lunch, I would pack a sandwich, eat it at my desk and then head out onto the streets.

On one such lunch time, I wandered down a small side street located between Grenfell Street and Rundle Mall. I was heading for the nearby Botanic Gardens, but noticed an interesting light being reflected onto the building walls, which piqued my interest. Up a little further was a bicycle chained to a No Entry sign, with the reflected light of the background wall.

I was sporting my Olympus 35SP, loaded with trusty HP5+, but with its 43mm lens I had difficulty getting back far enough to get everything in. I had to back up tightly against the opposite wall to get everything in. The 35SP viewfinder is not exactly 100%, so the resulting negative had space to spare. I no longer have the Olympus. It was a really nice camera to use, but my copy had a few issues, so I ended up departing ways with it. It was later replaced with a Canon Canonet QL17 GIII.

No Entry
Olympus 35SP, Ilford HP5+, Unrecorded

Elder Park Moonlight

For my first 'real' post on Exposing Shadows, I thought I'd share a recent image, taken with my fathers Mamiya 645E medium format camera.

The 645E is a simplified model introduced in 2000, having a fixed (metered) prism finder, and fixed film back (that accepts film inserts). It's a bit more plastically than the M645, but feels solid enough in use.

I purchased the camera on my fathers behalf, and put a test roll of Ilford HP5+ (one of my favourite films) through before passing it on. I planned to shoot part of the roll indoors, taking some portraits of the kids, so I pushed it one stop to ISO 800.

After taking most of the roll, I headed into work early one morning, camera in tow, so that I could finish off the last few frames. I planned to take a walk around North Terrace, but noticed the moon lighting up the clouds across Elder Park. The beautifully lit rotunda provided a nice foreground subject, with the river and city skyline in the background.

I setup my tripod, attached the cable release, switched to manual mode, and took two shots. The first was ruined as I bumped the camera trying to shield it from the wind, but the second turned out nicely.

Elder Park Moonlight
Mamiya 645E w 80mm f2.8, Many Seconds @ f11