Brembo & Concert - Fomapan 200 in SuperGrain

Fomapan 200 in SuperGrain 1+12, 5'30"

Canon E-F

Decently developed, but slightly thin. Perhaps slightly underdeveloped, shadows are thin, but have detail. Also indoor inside a church, the results are quite usable. Grain is very good.

Brembo - Canon E-F Canon FD 85mm/1.8

Concert in Madonna del Castello - Canon E-F Canon 20mm/2.8

Aerial Pictures: Lambro and Certosa

Aerial Photographs taken with Nikon F90s.

Film used Rollei Retro 80S in Rollei SuperGrain 1+15 developed for 11 minutes, a combination I never tried but which definitely looks interesting.

Nikon F90S - Nikkor 100/2 FC and 180/2.8 ED

Aerial view of the Realdino Bridge over the Lambro river. The old mill Krumm and the Bernini factory (with chimney) - Nikkor 100/2 AF Defocus Control

But the best success is the Gratiarum Cartusia, the latin name of "Certosa di Pavia".

Gratiarum Cartusia - Nikkor 180/2.8 ED

Flood 3rd October - Val Brembana SuperPan 200 & E100

 On the 3rd October a consistent flood of the Brembo river, caused by the heavy rains of the whole week and especially the night before, came through the Brembana valley. The peak was in the morning, in the afternoon the sky cleared enough that I took a trip with the motorbike and see if I could capture the immense mass of brown water which ruined many structures near the river.

First I went to iconic San Pellegrino, where the valley is larger and the river banks are walled and and so the water was flowing regular although in a full river bed. Further north, in San Giovanni Bianco, instead, the valley narrows and the power of the flood was more evident.

Black and White images were taken with an Zeiss Ikoflex, Tessar 75/3.5 on Rollei SuperPan 200 developed in Rollei SuperGrain 1+15 for 10' at 21°C and the negatives are pleasant. Shot under harsh light or later in open shade, the film captured all details in a pleasant way.

Color images are Kodak Ektachrome E100 Slides, taken with a Canon E-F. 

 

The Brembo in San Pellegrino:

 

Canon EF - Canon 20/2.8

Canon EF - Canon 20/2.8

Canon EF - Canon 20/2.8

Zeiss Ikoflex - Tessar 75/3.5

 

The river at the old bridge of San Giovanni Bianco, the stones were trembling and shaking at the sheer power of water, but resisted at the end. 

Zeiss Ikoflex - Tessar 75/3.5

Fomapan 100 in SuperGrain: a film for everything?

Fomapan 100 in SuperGrain 1+12 for 6'30"
Minolta SRT 303 with Rokkor Glass.

Balanced output with exceptional highlight details and shadow detail.

Very good highlight rendition and overall tonal range in this image of rocks and ice:

But then I did even some aerial shooting from a Plane, with good light but standard haze, views of Padova are still amazing.

Bergamo - Canon EOS - SuperPan 200

SuperPan 200 developed in Rollei SuperGrain 8 minutes, agitation every 2nd minute, 21°C

The results are slightly thin, but with excellent highlight details, the developers extracts a very interesting character out of this excellent film.

Here some images with difficult lightning. Canon 28mm/1.8

Instead, with sunny light and a blue sky, the details reveals even better:

The sky and clouds are rendered perfectly and the open shadows are rich of details and shades.

Rollei RPX400 in SuperGrain

I shot two rolls of RPX400 in two different 35mm cameras and conditions and developed them in Rollei SuperGrain 1+12 for  7', agitating every minute with slight rotation in tank.

I noticed that both films had the first pictures with light leaks - since I hope that both cameras did not suddenly develop sealing issues, I suppose that the canisters are not extremely light tight (I suppose the velvet baffles). I did load the camera in subdued light and the leaks do not look like light-piping: also RPX400 (as well as RPX100) are coated on traditional substrate and not PET/ESTAR like some other Rollei films.

The resulting negatives look a bit thin, 15"-30" more would be advisable, I will test next time. However the dynamic range is impressive as is the compensating effect of film+developer, as can be seen in some examples below, where the dynamic range was very high and the highlights retained full detail.

I used this film during documentation of FAI Giornate di Primavera, which mean a mix of inside/outside lightning: documenting places and people during this unique event.

Here some images with Nikon F501

Here some images with Olympus OM-1

Rural conditions and traditional works:

Olympus OM-1 - Zuiko 50mm/1.4 - RPX400

Olympus OM-1 - Zuiko 50mm/1.4 - RPX400

Olympus OM-1 - Zuiko 28mm - RPX400

Inside the Palazzo Podestà of Vilminore with halogen light the compensating effect of this developer is so strong that the result reminds me of stand development!

Olympus OM-1 - Zuiko 24mm - RPX400

Here similar condition inside the Palazzo Moroni in Bergamo, where ambient light is prevalent, but detail is retained in the highlights and texture in the windows outside!

 Nikon F501 - Nikkor 28/3.5PC - RPX400

Nikon F501 - Nikkor 28/3.5PC - RPX400

Nikon F501 - Nikkor AF 28/2.8 - RPX400

HP5 SuperGrain - Industrial heritage

Industrial Photography - inside Serimide Impianto Idroforo

Film: Ilford HP5+
Development: SuperGrain 1+15  7'

Camera: Minolta SRT303

Slightly thin at visual inspection, high range negatives.

Here some direct negative scans. Even in difficult indoor lightning situations, the tonal range is impressive.

Pump room - Minolta SRT303 - Rokkor 28/3.5

Here an image with just indirect window light, metal and bricks.
Not only the light Rokkor 28/3.5 defends itself quite well at full aperture, but this film and developer combination extacts good detail and contrast.

Boiler front - Minolta SRT303 - Rokkor 28/3.5

As a proof, here an extreme detail of the boiler plate. You can clearly read "Associazione Utenti di Caldaie a Vapore" ! Not bad for HP5+.

If you like it, the image is on sale, in different prints and on some objects.

OM1 + SFX200 in Supergrain - Aerial and not

I run an  Ilford SFX200 in my Olympus OM1

I developed it Supergrain 1+12 21°C 7'.

The results are slightly thin but quite pleasant and usable. Scanned very well, the grain is present, as I have experienced with this film before and the developer also, so somehow expected. Looks a bit like HP5.

Here some aerial images, with a standard Red filter (Olympus OM1 - 50/1.8):

Here an image without filter which shows the extreme dynamic range this film can handle with this developer combination (Always Olympus OM1 - 28/2.8).

Rollei Supergrain - Venice 2016

I experimented with the Rollei SuperGrain developer with the rolls shot in Venice, 2016.
Shots are from a Mamiya 645 and the weather was rainy, the light wasn't optimal. Bad conditions for good black & white!

First, Rollei RPX 100 in Supergrain 1+12, 22°C for 6'30" (right time, high temperature).
I find the results smooth with an incredible depth of greys.
I would definitely recommend this Film/Developer combination.

Ilford HP5 in SuperGrain 1+12, 20°C for 6'30" (suggested time)
The results are a bit harsher than the RPX100, however still good.