5 Frames with an Olympus Trip 35 – By Chris McPhee

By Chris McPhee

This is a camera that I would guess everyone is familiar with. It’s not a complicated piece of machinery and millions were made in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Made famous in the UK by various tv commercials, it is simple to use with range focusing, an internal battery powered by the selenium cell around the fixed lens, and a cunning way of preventing you taking pictures when there’s insufficient light. It raises (literally) a red flag and locks the shutter release. It’s not foolproof, however, as I have managed to prove once or twice.

The 5 images were taken during a recent trip to Manhattan. We were visiting a cousin in NJ and I wanted to go to B&H in New York. I considered what camera I should take, I had a Fuji X-E2s, a Nikon F90x with colour film loaded, and my Trip with JCH Street Pan 400 black and white. New York? Black and white. No question. I hadn’t tried this film before but I have a preference for contrasty black and white and had seen other results on Flickr and various Facebook groups. It was a sunny day so it was an easy choice. I’ll be shooting some Ferrania P30 soon and that has a similar feel from what I’ve seen so far.

The roll was developed in Blazinal, which I believe is the trade name used in Canada for Rodinal. Blazinal is, again, a developer that brings out lots of contrast without having to make any adjustments to the standard developing time, so gave me the look I wanted with minimal effort. A win-win. So presented below are 5 of the results of that trip, images of 2017 Manhattan given a classic feel by a 1970’s camera.

Manhattan 2017
Inside the Oculus – JCH Street Pan 400

Manhattan 2017
The Naked Cowboy – JCH Street Pan 400

Manhattan 2017
NYPD – JCH Street Pan 400

Manhattan 2017
The Runner – JCH Street Pan 400

Manhattan 2017
The 9/11 Memorial – JCH Street Pan 400

My Flickr

Share this post:

Find more similar content on 35mmc

Use the tags below to search for more posts on related topics:

Contribute to 35mmc for an ad-free experience.

There are two ways to contribute to 35mmc and experience it without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here.

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

Sign up here.

About The Author

By Chris McPhee
Originally from Manchester in the north of England, I now live just outside Toronto in Canada. My first SLR was a Petri, bought from the Dixons electronics chain many years ago, before I really knew anything about cameras. I only taking photography seriously when the Nikon D70 came out around 2004 and have had several Nikon DSLRs since then. A couple of years ago I restarted shooting film, and since then I've shot 35mm, 120, and recently, the much-derided - but fun - APS. Although an amateur I do shoot assignments at the Toronto Wolfpack rugby league matches on behalf of Touchline Pics in the UK and have been lucky enough to see my pictures on the front page of the League newspaper as well as in local papers - but that's all digital!
View Profile

Comments

Eric Manten on 5 Frames with an Olympus Trip 35 – By Chris McPhee

Comment posted: 15/12/2017

Great images and aren't those old small rangefinders fun?! I use a Canonet QL17 on a regular basis. Hilarious to see that the Naked Cowboy is still there. Your NYPD image reminds me very much of one I made a couple of years ago. Totally different location in NY, but same "setting": facing street to the left, buildings in the background, and NYPD vehicle moving in the center (NYPD, 2012. If you like you can check it out in the Black & White section of my website)
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *