Boxing day 2022 finished with some nice clouds coming across in the afternoon so I thought that it would be a good opportunity to try a roll of Ilford XP2 400. Interestingly I have never shot a roll of chromogenic black and white film before. This was really just something to try out with no real expectations about how it would go so I didn't venture far. I really just loaded the film in my F2 and wandered around the paddocks at home to see what looked interesting.
Here are some of the shots that I liked. They were taken mainly with the Nikkor SC auto 50mm f1.4 for all of its lovely out of focusness. The rest were with the Nikkor S Auto 35mm f2.8 because I was trying to capture some of the great clouds.
Yes it is the 50 1.4 out of focusness again.
But then again, the clouds.
Out of focusness (PS because it is my blog I don't have to say Bokeh!).
Well did I like the XP2? yes somewhat. It is sharp enough and pretty fine grained. I can punch out a nice black when I adjust the scan. It will be really good for those times when I lose my developing mojo and can't really be bothered getting the gear out to process film for myself. A reservation is the dust. It seemed to need an extra large dose of the clone tool. I will need to see how another roll goes. It could be to do with just pulling it out of the plastic sleeve from the lab causing some static or something, but ALL OF THE DUST in my workspace seemed to make its way to the film as I was trying to scan it.
I'll leave with two more from right down the back corner of the paddock. There is a little group of trees that were killed by a bush fire that went through a few years ago. I quite like the tortured shapes that dead trees make (I have heaps more pics of dead trees, you will see i the fullness of time) so I wanted to get a shot of them in the nice light. I took quite a few frames and I almost decided that the sharpness of the 50 when it was stopped down a little was best.
In the end though the sky won out and I am going to finish up with the clouds and the tress in the fading light. Taken with the 35mm f2.8 even though it is not as sharp, it is all about the light. Perfect imperfection is the best you can hope for.
Back with more images and thoughts soon.
