Many years have past since I last shot colour film. Maybe 20 years ago I was using the Lomo Smena 8m camping. Mostly FujiFilm because I liked the greens. Once I started shooting Black & White and developing the film myself, I really didn’t see the need to have someone else develop the film. Digital could usually scratch the itch when colour was required. But when Eastman Kodak started selling “new” film I thought I’d give it a go. If this emulsion is just repackaged ColorPlus I wouldn’t know.

These images were all shot handheld, usually shutter speed of 1/125 and likely aperture f 11. The body is an original Nikon FM with two Nikkor O lenses, a 135mm f3.5, and 35mm f2.
They have only been scaled and converted to jpeg with 90% quality.
Developed and scanned at The LAB Vancouver.

My recipe for shooting B&W is usually box speed (50-100 asa), maybe yellow or red filter for contrast. After metering and compensating for filters, old film and such, I usually round up, sometimes a whole stop. Many of these images might have fared better with the Sunny-16 rule however I chose f11 to express the summer heat and keep the highlights.

Channelling my inner David Hockney. Kits pool at midday just days before it reopened this year.

I like this composition with the lamp post and the willow tree that appears to be reaching for the people.
Taken with the 135mm, it really flattens the layout. A good range of greens in the tree.

Vanishing point blues and whites. Rounding up when metering sure makes the bloom pop. Much of what I have experienced with this 35mm lens would lead me to describe it as soft. However this is just the bloom.

These hydrangeas also exhibit extreme bloom but are otherwise reasonably sharp foreground and background.

What might have once seemed as a fault in this lens, I now embrace as a desired look.

And one more as a bonus…
Getting as many colours as I can in one frame.

The verdict is that colour film is really fun. Kodacolor 100 seemed to produce the colours I was looking for and expecting.
Looking for punches of color is different thinking than looking for B&W tones and shape. I enjoyed the difference and I learned a few things for the next roll, however I’m not expecting to be going through too many rolls. The price is prohibitive which makes me slow down and think even more.

I’ve got a bunch of old film I need to get through. Stored properly – I shouldn’t need to add too many additional stops.
I think this may be the golden age. Enjoy while you can.

A couple more pictures from the Nikon FM with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
This time using Ilford Delta 100 film, developed in Ilfosol 3 for 5 minutes at 20°C
Fairly rare for snow in Vancouver to stick around very long.

Trees really are the lungs of the earth.
The negative I developed looked like lightning. I like this one.

I’m a bit slow to shoot a whole roll of 36 and develop it so it feels out of season while currently enjoying Spring.

On a few photowalks around Kitsilano in Vancouver BC with my first roll of Fomapan Classic 100.
All pictures shot with older, non-AI Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Developed in Ilford Ilfosol3 for 5 minutes at 20°C and scanned with a cheap film scanner. Color has been removed and some levels adjusted slightly.

Gate to the Northwest Passage

Here at this impressive 4.6m (15ft) art installation sculpture by Alan Chung Hung (built in 1980) I walked around appreciating how the profile changes as you view it from different angles. The rusting weathered steel boasts some great textures and patina.
Without a battery for the FM I metered using a phone app and shot handheld usually 1/125

Museum of Vancouver

The Museum of Vancouver was rehoused in this funky building in 1968. As I walked up the street I noticed a stormy backdrop over the city with light getting through to the building. The ramp curves help frame the picture a bit as well I think.

False Creek – Burrard and Granville Bridges

Vancouver really does have great looking bridges. Down at the public boat launch you can look down False Creek. Maybe too washed out, I may like the landscape version of this better but this one has some tension.

Seaforth Armoury

This Canadian Forces LAV III or Light Infantry Vehicle sits at busy Burrard Street in front of the Seaforth Armoury. With a 50mm lens I needed to back up to the curb with a sidewalk and bike path in between. Head on a swivel.
You can really make out some of the soft grain in the white building behind.
The lighting and perhaps a cheap scanner make that front tire look Photoshopped but it’s not.

Wharf Light

I liked this shot even though there appears to be glare and light leaks. At the edge of the public boat launch dock in frosty temperatures I remember feeling a bit nervous and perhaps gripping the camera a bit firmer than normal.

Took me a while to both get through a roll of 36 and also to narrow down to just five pictures. Happy with the results and will definitely use Fomapan 100 again.