Another post from my ongoing 52 Rolls Project…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my efforts to simplify by using only one camera and lens combination*. I was trying to avoid the complication that meant that every roll that I produced looked different to the last, and so far the experience has been pretty liberating, allowing me to concentrate on taking pictures and not what gear to take.

The next step is to settle on a standard film (or films – one colour, one b&w) and so far, Portra 400 is looking favourite. I’ve used it now a few times through the year and prefer its look to my other favourite, the more colourful C200 by Fujifilm. The downside is that it is at least twice the price, so I’m still not certain…

I shot this roll of Portra across a couple of days last week and tried to vary the time of day and lighting to see how the film responded. They range from an early start on a foggy morning through to a bright day on a beach and a few sunset snaps. These are the scans direct from FilmDev and haven’t been adjusted at all.

The first few were taken on the way to work, just as the sun was coming up. I crossed the bridge over the River Soar and loved how the river looked in the mist. I was a few minutes late that day…On Saturday, I took a trip to Holkham Beach in Norfolk. It’s a huge expanse of sand and dunes with pine trees along the inshore edge. From Holkham, you can walk to the small town of Wells-Next-The-Sea where you can eat the best fish and chips in Britain (and they really are) and have a pint of real ale aboard an 18th Century North Sea clipper. Close to Wells are a row of beach huts, usually with a crowd of attendant photographers. It’s a lovely spot…Walking back along the beach as the sea went out, I was fascinated by the reflection of the clouds in the wet sand, and shot a couple of rolls through my Yashica – they’ll follow when I get around to scanning them…On the way home, I travelled through Hunstanton, a typical English seaside town that faces West into the Wash. The sunset did its best, but stormy clouds meant a dramatic end to the day.A couple of roll finishers featuring Emily helping Grandma in the garden, whilst wearing her new coat…*OK, so I had 2 cameras, but I used them in very different ways. I shot 24 exposures through the Yashica that are all very similar, as a mini-project. The Portra-fed Lieca for everything else…

Gubbins:

Leica M6, 35mm Summicron-M ASPH, Kodak Portra 400 processed and scanned by FilmDev.

Previous 52 Rolls stuff here.