Concerts : Ash Code ( IT) – March 2024

Ash Code is a Dark Wave band from Italy, actually form Napoli. They were playing here in March, opening for French band Corpus Delicti. I could not resit to go back to concert shooting after a very long hiatus.

I wasn’t sure how much gear the venue would allow me to bring in, so I settled for one lens one body set. Namely the LeicaM6 classic and the summicron 50mm v5. My favourite provider had no more Kodak TMZ 3200 so I bought two rolls of Ilford 3200 for the whole show.

The venue is  229 at 229 Great Portland and the evening organized by Reptile. I had no problem checking the camera in. I had set the body to 6400 ISO, but I will come back to this later.

The concert was great. Ash Code, produces some dancy tunes, not very remote to what Sisters of Mercy would have done, with a bit more synthwave side. Maybe a better comparison could be found in the direction off some 80’s belgian bands , remote cousins of Neon Judgement or Parade Ground.

They deliver a pretty good show, Alessandro and Claudia taking turns to the mic. Although I am pretty new to their music, that was a very enjoyable.

The scene was quite dark with a lot of back light, so not super ideal, but access to the front of the stage was super easy. I shot a concert of a friends band with the same set-up a few years back and I realised that the only good shots are those where there are both dark areas and highlighted ones, there is not point shooting a scene without contrast, whatever the ISO.

I also had a discussion with a pro about the value of metering : because most of the scene is in the dark, your meter will be fooled and try to over expose. So having shot the rolls at 6400 ISO I had them processed at box speed, actually pulling the film or compensating by -1 stop ( there is no compensation setting on the M6 ). I think that was a wise choice. Because most of the shots were taken at 1/125 f.2 or f2.8, I have a fantasy of setting the speed and aperture once for all and not to bother, but I was told otherwise.

More on on Ash Code:

Discogs : https://www.discogs.com/artist/3844956-Ash-Code

Bandcamp : https://ashcode.bandcamp.com/music

Oh great party afterwards by the Reptile team, but it takes too long to recover past a certain age.

A Harman Phoenix 200 test roll

Happy new year dear readers. January is coming to its end, but its never too late, so here is my first post of the year.

Back in December we visited the amazing exhibition of Daido Moriyama at the Photographer’s Gallery in Soho ( London) and I discovered that their shop in the basement has a dream selection of films.

I am still going to patronize the usual smaller shops but I think it’s great to be able to put one’s hand on the stuff you read about in blogposts. So I browsed the shelves and found a roll of the just available ( and if I am correct not for long) color film from Harman.

I vaguely remembered that Harman is the company producing the Ilford films, but frankly I don’t know much more. So at the end of December we were back home in Cannes for family holidays and I finished my roll of TMY400 and loaded the roll of Phoenix 200.

As you can see on the first picture the film has a very pretty ( odd?) yellow color out of the canister and once processed a pronounced purple tint. I loaded the film in full light, in the skate park above, but I don’t think it had any effect. And set the meter to 200ISO, although the film is said to have latitude ( but not so much if you read some reviews).

The skate park is a new addition to the Cannes cityscape, that day was really gorgeous and the tint of the film goes pretty well with the colors of the place.

Moving a bit further towards the Pointe de la Croisette I took a couple of shots of boats. I think we see here what people mean by the film being very contrasty.

I quite like the picture above, probably the color scheme fell right into the soft spot of the film, and the light being softer the contrast is less accentuated ( oxymoron )?

The four pictures above are taken along the promenade des Anglais in Nice. A certain atmosphere develops there, probably mid afternoon winter light and overcast day helps with the contrast. The feeling is very vintage.

Back in London, the dummies below were remarkable by their red heads. The glow is quite funny, I would say unexpected.

The Standard building renders pretty well ( overcast, mid afternoon ) with not so much color cast. Definitely vintage and some glow around the lights.

Bye Bye Georg Baselitz sculpture in Hyde Park.

Finally walking on a beautiful lunch time towards Hyde Park I met these two nice Brazilian students, one holding a Nikon F3, we had quite a long chat ( in the cold), and parted our way after taking this shot. This gives an idea of how skin tones are rendered.

Final word? Probably worth a try. Surely has a lot of character, I think Hartman said the film was experimental. A very specific vintage look, a lot of contrast but I probably won’t try again to be honest. If I compare with the post about the Cinestill 400 D I think the Cinestill has a lot less color cast, a smoother rendering of contrast, but ok its more expensive ( 12.5 GBP vs 17 GBP if I remember well).

Just Stop Oil protest Dec 23

No prison for peaceful protest

Here are 8 shots of last week protest by climate activist group Just Stop Oil in London.

The protest was mostly against the imprisonment of members of the movement after some protest last year I think ( maybe related to Occupy Westminster ).

A very peaceful march from Scotland yard to the High court of justice. Probably as many photographers as protesters and more policemen it seemed.

I understand that as part of recent legislation changes some protest actions like road blocking can lead to prison charges for their perpetrators.

On top of this main request to free their fellow activists, they also protest against recent changes in UK policy to come back on their promises to fight climate change and limit fossil fuel exploitation.( In case you don’t know, UK has off shore fuel resources ).

Blame my inexperience in protests, but I was a bit shocked by seeing the police film the whole event. I know we live in the period of social media ( this post is proof if need be) and most people there will have their face / name in the public space, but still.

I also don’t like my journey being disrupted by protesters, but lets remember there is no planet B.

All shot’s done one a slightly expired TMX 3200, that has travelled by plane a couple of time ( here goes my carbon footprint ). Only one camera this time, the Leica M6 classic with Summicron 35mmF2 Asph. The film was shot at box speed.

There are a few more shots is the next roll, stay tuned.

Agent Shadow in Paris

The Leica M4 was my first Leica, I bought it in 2011 for the incredible amount of roughly 2000 Eur with a Summilux 50mm v2 attached, to the amazement of my son ( 9 years old then ) who looked at me counting 100 SGD bills as I paid the seller.

Bibliotheque Mazarine, Institut e France – Paris

The M4 had a strange double effect on me : first it was not love at first sight, second it still pushed me further down the Leica rabbit hole. Fast forward 12 years, I only shoot rangefinders ( 90% or more of my pictures ) and I sold my Nikon Digital Kit (awesome gear) .

Libre Service

So as per the opening picture I still own the M4, and shoot with it from time to time, the lack of a meter make me use the M6 more ( or the IIIC if I want to go back to basic). Over all these years however I am ashamed to admit that I have only shot about 50 rolls with it, so roughly 4 a year.

Bourse du commerce

Heading for Paris recently I attached the Summicron 35mm Asph v2 ( the only Leica Lens I ever bought new ) and loaded my second roll of Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow film. This is a pretty sexy combo, I also carried the Sekonic 380x.

La petite tailleuse de pierres

Actually not : the young lady above is not a stone mason, but close enough : she is a project manager in a company renovating historical buildings. And she was giving a hand for the “Journées du Patrimoine”, and yes : she can handle a hammer.

I can’t I have pop-up

So back to Agent Shadow… I found the name a bit ridiculous, why do you have to give witty names to films? Also I was not so amazed by my first roll. But at a third of the TMY / TRI-X price, it is worth giving it a second chance.

A Love Letter to Paris by Peter Turnley, by the Paris Townhall

In fact this roll gave me some good reasons to like the film : it is not too contrasty, grain is small, details are good. All in all this a very good midway between the HP5 and the TMY.

La Sorbonne

Mazarin statue on his tomb

We were lucky to be in Paris during the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine as we could visit a couple of historical buildings like the Institut de France, la Sorbonne and the College de France.

La Sorbonne library

A professor introducing us to the College de France

On the last day we had a bit of street action as the sun was going down. Walking towards Chatelet, we met what was left of a street party / demonstration.

On n’arrete pas un peuple qui danse

When suddenly arrived a massive party of rollers / cyclists.

Causing an interesting / interested reaction from the party side of the place.

Ensemble / together

I hope you enjoyed the pics. Film was processed ( and bought ) at Analogue Films in Shoreditch.

When in Rome… my first roll of Ferrania P30

Lago Maggiore

I have been following the resurrection of Film Ferrania for a long time. This is very interesting story of passion and perseverance, it could be a plot for a movie.

Pallenza market

Their first film has been available for nearly two years now, but I must say I did not made too many efforts to get some.

Pallenza Market

We had a family trip in Piemonte this summer and I could not resist looking up photo shops ahead on getting there. In Torino, there I finally found a shop ( Grande Marvin ) very well stocked where I could purchase two rolls of the said P30 and two of the Ortho 50, for 13.90 Euro each inc VAT.

Grande Marvin is strategically placed opposite the Leica Shop

So the P30 is a  panchromatic ISO 80 B&W film. I loaded my first roll in the trusty Leica M6 classic, using mostly the 50mm Summicron (v5 I think).

Pallenza back streets

The roll was processed by my usual lab in London ( Analogue Films in Brick Lane)

Overall I am a bit disappointed, I think this is due to me shooting the roll at 100ISO instead of 80, making it a bit underexposed. That said, I am not a specialist but I wonder what difference this really makes, but ok I’ll shoot the second roll at 80.

Castello Rivoli

Italy shots were very touristic and more about static subjects, back in London, I had something close to half a roll left that I used for my usual street style.

You got milk ?

100 ISO is not much for street shots and some shots were taken with big apertures so they appear out of focus, soft.

Hare Hare

Hara Hare

Also when there is some movement after 6pm, 125th/s does not quite cut it, particularly for the picture above.

Plant powered penises last longer

A not so sharp picture of the sharp dressed man you can meet from time to time in Soho. His large hats remind me of the The Mask but Sharp Dressed Man came to my mind.

The sharp dressed man

I think I mistook Joe Jackson’s “Look Sharp” and ZZ Top “Sharp Dressed Man” songs, but never mind I thought there should be a music reference in this nick name.

Duke of York Square food market

Next Saturday, I was lucky with the light in Duke of York Square ( Kings Road ) food market.

Paella stall

So what do I think all in all ? Well, I am a bit disappointed with this roll, but it can be down to my skills. There is plenty of details and I think there is little grain ( you can see on the shots with writing or small details like the above), this I like. I also like very much the blacks which are really really dark. That said, there is something I don’t like so much in the contrast. Lets see if I can make a better job at ISO80.

I always likes a bit of panning shots, as you can see in the two final pictures:

Take your tree for a ride

A vintage ride

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2023 – 5 film shots

This is a small follow-up to Notting Hill Carnival 2023. I also carried with me the Leica M4 and Summicron 50mm v5 loaded with a roll of Kosmo Photo Agent Shadow.

This is the first time I use this 400 ISO film, and I don’t have a lot of info on it. Is it a knock-off of some existing formula ? I am not sure. It is said to be a 400-ISO panchromatic black-and-white film, so far so good. I read that the Mono 100 was some rebranded Fomapan 100, so it is likely to be a rebranded film, maybe Kentmere or Fomapan, I cannot find any decisive information.

The day was super bright anyway so al these shots were taken around F8 and 1/250th. I don’t this I measured for each shot, rather once for all.

These shots turn out to be quite pleasing to my taste, with good contrast and a lot of details. I would say probably a bit better that my average Ilford HP5 rolls, but once again the conditions were very good that day.

Notting Hill Carnival 2023

Last week end was Notting Hill Carnival in … Notting Hill area in London. The party last 3 days with the Monday, that falls on a public holiday being the “adult” carnival.

About two millions of people, converge to the area for a Caribbean, African, South American party.

It was my first time and as much as I like a street party this is a bit borderline. It was already very difficult to move where reaching Notting Hill gate, I was not sure it was such a good idea.

Very light closing, lot of booze, that shouted for a cocktail for a not so family friendly afternoon.

But then you go by the back streets ( because the wife said so ) and you get close to the action, people are cool and happy campers, music is loud and enticing.

So well you grab your Leica and lets the fun begin.

I carried the M262 and 35mm Summicron Asph v2 as usual ( I am boring ) and no change of lens. I also put in my bag a M4 with Summicron 50, but that will be for another time.

Once again the 35 is a great lens for such event where you can stand in the crowd. Compared with London Pride where you had to stay outside of the action, this is an opportunity for close encounters.

Moving location we found a nice spot where in between sound systems I met a group of film shooters.

The arrival of a Brazilian batucada was a welcome change in between blasting sound systems.

… temperature was rising

Photographer trying to convince a dancer to pose. This guys was doing some off camera flash shots and was pretty good at directing “models”.

Everybody was pretty happy to pose.

Above is a group of French speaking participants, the carnival is a real babel.

You already know I am not a mass shooter so all in all I shot below 200 frames in 2 hours, and maybe 3/4 of a fil roll, that is not very professional I know. But I am just a hobbyist. I will off course put 2024 Carnival in my agenda. Advise to self ( and others if they are interested ) : travel light, just bring the M262 and 35 and maybe the M6 and 50, avoid bringing a bag its hard to move with one in the crowd. Also pay more attention to the shutter speed, maybe it is time to play with the auto ISO.

LONDON IN PRIDE – On Film

Spartacus?

I wont write much in this post as I probably said it all in the last one : London in Pride. Start of the film was a bit damaged when loading, but I feel it has style.

Lets just say that I carried along the Leica M6 and I switched the summicron 35 and the summicron 50 with the digital Leica M262. The other post contains the digital shots, this one the film ones.

Tom was here!

I arrived with the M6 loaded with the Ilford Delta 400 roll I used for the post The Corpus Christi procession 2023 (The film version), quite a different style or parade.

I then brought a roll of Cinestill 800T that if my memory serves me I bought back in 2017. I shot this tungsten film in daylight without filter, and it seems its ok.

The film is probably decently expired as Cinestill goes. I shot it at 640, same as I did in the past.

The film shots suffer from the same issue as the digital ones, as the afternoon passed I had more and more back light, which is not strictly great.

A bit of flare or processing issue here? I don’t mind, its quite cool.

BA crew deserves an Oscar for their performance

Our neighbour in all his glory!

I hope you enjoyed the viewing.

The Corpus Christi procession 2023 (The film version)

In Singapore I often shot Hindu, Buddhist or Taoist ceremonies, but never Christian ones ( nor Muslim by the way). I came across the Corpus Christi procession two years ago by complete chance and it is now on my agenda one year to the next.

You can find details info at https://catholicengland.org/ but if I may quote the site:

The Westminster Parishes of Maiden Lane & Spanish Place, together with the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the Order of Malta, invite you to a week of celebrations, centred on the Blessed Sacrament.

The week culminates in a procession bringing Christ to the streets of London, and honouring Him in the Most Holy Eucharist

One to two hundred devotees walk from Maiden Lane in Soho, through Regents Street, Oxford Street, make a first stop at the Ukrainian Cathedral (opposite Leica Mayfair), then cross Oxford street north along Selfridges to end in a short celebration at the Spanish church in George Street.

a guest

Regents street as you never saw it

certainly an interesting unday attraction

The Ukrainian Cathedral

This type of events is also a good opportunity to meet fellow photogs years after years, or to make new friends.

All shots with the Leica M6 “Classic” with either the 28mm Summicron Asph v1 or the 35mm Summicron Asph v2. I used two rolls of Ilford Delta 400 bought in my last trip in Singapore to my favourite shop there ( Ruby Photo ).

I also carried the M262 and the 90mm, but that’s another affair.

the good usage of the 28mm

If you read that far I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Shall I indicate that these pictures have no intentions to mock nor to proselytize?

London in Pride

Our left neighbour

Saturday 1st on July 23 was my first time attending London in Pride. I wasn’t sure about my expectations, but it was soon clear that this is a very popular event.

Our right neighbour

We managed to find a spot near Hyde park corner with direct access to the parade (behind grids though). We were super lucky to have colourful neighbours on our left and right side, so many of the people participating in the parade engaged with them, giving me some opportunities for some “action” to shoot.

Tom was here!

As much as I like taking snaps, I like enjoying the moment, so I stayed at the same place all afternoon, this is not necessary a great idea as after a while I had some serious backlight which is visible on the later shots.

Flying proud and safe with BA

So on the gear side, I brought the M262 for the digital shots and the M6 for film as usual. I carried a 50 cron v5, a 35 cron Asph v2 and the 90mm Elmarit.

The fireman’s kiss

On the M6 I had a few shots left on a Ilford Delta 400 ( black and white ) and rummaging in my film box I realised I did not had many rolls, I stopped hoarding films a while back. I bet that colour would be best suited (good guess) so between a Ektar 100 and an expired Cinestill 800T I settled for the later.

Ni hao

Ok that’s a bit silly, to shoot in daylight with a tungsten film I know, but being unsure of how easy it will be to shoot film that day, I settled for the cheaper film. I purchased this Cinestill as least 5 years ago so it probably cost me half of the Ektar cost, it was time to shoot it and I had decent daylight shots in the past. We ‘ll see in a couple of weeks how sound was this reasoning. And I compensated a bit for the old age of the roll by shooting at 400 ISO

Reflection

So here are a selection in my 600 or so pics. On the M262 I switched a few times between the 90mm and the 35. I think I rarely used the 50.

Pups out for a walk

A camera friendly diva

The flare due to the backlight is quite pronounced in the above, I did serious ( for me) Lightroom edition to compensate, but that’s not 100%. Also I did not put my reading glass when formatting my SD card so I inadvertently reset the camera to factory settings, so I lost the compensation control on the thumb wheel, which I normally use a lot.

Everything is better with bubbles

Mind the Gap

Mister Leather was in town

Y.M.C.A.

A lot of fun, charm, good spirit and probably quite a dose of courage for some participants. I’ll be back.

I hope you enjoyed the post.