Day 5 and we decided to go back to the fun park. A game of crazy golf had been decided weeks before, and today was the day.
Having taken the Leica M60 on the holiday, and not shot with it at all, I decided this was the day. I’m actually pretty pleased with the shots I got around the park with it, there are few that are much more than family snaps, but actually – as mentioned in my M60 review – that pretty much what I’d use it for if I owned on.
Joy of joys, traveling back from the fun park we had a blow out. A loud bang and Hannah saying “erm, the car is pulling to the left” was the first clue, the second was the very flat tire. After the problems with the MAF sensor on the way down, a flat tire felt like a real kick in the teeth. A quick mooch on google and there turned out to be a tire shop in Newquay, which was only 6 miles away. Space saver fitted and off we hobbled. Of course, tiers take a little while to fit, so we did what most people do when they go to Newquay and headed for the beach pub. The nice surprise upon entering the pub was that it had a pub garden, but not just any pub garden, this place had a cliff top garden with views down the coastline! Not bad!
It wasn’t long before matey from the tire place phoned, so off we trotted back to pick up the car.
Connie being Connie got into all sorts of daft conversations with the chap at the counter…
Ordeal over, and a few £££ lighter (low profile tires are expensive… Who knew?!) we headed back to the house for some dinner.
Since the weather was pretty bright, and we’d had an expensive day, the best thing to end it on seemed to be a family walk on the dunes.
These evening photos were of course taken on the Leica iiia with voigtlander 35mm 3.5 and Leica M6 with 50mm summicron. Still all with Portra 400, developed and scanned by Uk Film Lab.
Cheers for looking, only one day to go!
Hamish
Love the colours of the Portra 400, can’t believe I haven’t tried it yet.
It is lovely, but definitely better put through a good D&P!
I keep thinking I’m perhaps fooling myself that my obsession with film isn’t worthwhile and digital is just as good. But scrolling down this page between digital and then film – it really is clear that film has such a nicer look – that’s just my opinion of course – neither is “better” than the other. The digital just looks…well digital.
I switched to digital in 1999 with a Kodak DC290 and then had all the early Canon cameras from the 300, 350, 40D to 5D Mark II so I have certainly enjoyed some great cameras but the results from my M6 with a 35mm Cron V3 and Portra 400 (at 200) are just beautiful and the look of a properly developed and scanned negative is just amazing.
Digital has of course won the race and is infinitely more accessible for most people but I’m very glad I can still shoot film and have a choice.
You’re right, it’s all about choice! Digital has just as many merits, just different ones. I too prefer the shots I get from film, and it’s not like digital can’t look stunning… I just find it a lot harder and a lot more of a faff to get digital looking nice. I’ve not done anything to these digital files, and for digital they look ok, but for me to engage with them as images properly, they need a little something more, and I just don’t have time for that post process etc.
of course, it is worth baring in mind that the above, as a comparison, isn’t entirely fair. The film photos have light and arguably more universally attractive subject matter on their side too.
If I’d had the guts to, I should have taken the m60 on the beach and saw how well it could do in the “golden hour” … But Unfortunately I kept getting these premonitions of me tripping and dropping it in the sand. That was a repair bill I didn’t feel like footing!
Agreed – definitely not a fair comparison as the light was better in the film shots but I am in the same camp with you trying to get the right colour in post-production in LR or whatever is just painful with digital.
There’s no way I’d be taking that M60 on the beach either – you’d be paying for any mistakes for many years to come 🙂