Reloaded!

Ilford Delta 400 (+1 stop), shot with Nikon FM and Helios-44M-4 58mm f2

It’s been 3 weeks since my last post. I needed to focus on my studies for a little bit – had 3 assignments to hand in last week! – and also to take a step back and reassess things, photography-wise. I guess I felt like hiding from the world a little too, as I even made my Twitter, Flickr and WordPress accounts private (my flickr is still private, more on that later).

After my assignments were out of the way and I could relax once more, I suddenly had the grand idea to visit Kew Gardens yet again, but this time taking only my Nikon FM, paired with my Helios-44M-4 58mm f2 lens. There had been a half-completed roll of Delta 400 in my FM for a good month, and I decided now was the weekend to finish it off. I wanted to see how my Helios lens performed with b&w film too, as the only time I’d shot it on my FM was with a roll of Lomochrome Purple last summer (I think). I shot the Delta at EI 800, with the intention of getting it pushed 1 stop in development.

Well the Sunday I decided to go to Kew was not the best day, we had that annoying pesky little rain that was never really a true downpour, but never really stopped either. However the sky was fairly bright, yet overcast, which is the lighting I prefer for flower photography! I wouldn’t have been able to go to Kew the previous day, Saturday, in any case, because I was busy with family stuff. So I braved the rain and headed on out.

I’m so glad I did. A few of my faves:

Yes, I took a lot of photos of Camellias. Kew was full of them and not much else, but they’re also some of my favourite flowers. Big, bold and beautiful, I am currently a little bit obsessed with them.

More importantly, I’m in love with how this roll came out. About half was shot with my Nikon 50mm f1.8 Series E lens and yellow filter around Nunhead Cemetery, the rest was with my Helios-44M-4 58mm lens and occasionally an orange filter. Either way, can’t wait to get my hands on some more Delta 400! I also shot a roll of Pan 400, and I might share a few of those images in another post, or you can follow me on Instagram if you want to see them in the next week or so.

I am also looking forward to using the Helios on my FM some more. Because the 58mm focal length on Micro Four Thirds is equivalent to 116mm on full frame because of the small sensor size, when I use the Helios on my GX7, the field of view is quite narrow; I often struggle to fit in everything that I want. With the FM, I can include a bit more, and I am actually starting to prefer the 58mm focal length over my usual 50mm plus it has a shorter minimum focus distance which I am also enjoying and it benefits from having a max aperture of f2 compared to my 55mm Micro-Nikkor’s f3.5.

Ok, that’s enough gear talk!

In an unrelated note, I have decided to move away from Flickr; my account is now private. I don’t really feel like using it anymore; it’s yet another place that I feel I must keep up-to-date. The main reason I was keeping it was for this blog, but I don’t even think I’ll be be blogging that often from now on; once a week is too much for me at the moment haha. Over time I may replace all the broken links that are now all over this blog with uploads to WordPress, or… abandon it altogether.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my images. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter, if you’re interested in cat photos and political rantings!