Author name: Tony Warren

In my 60 or so years of serious involvement in photography I have seen the demise of the viewfinder, the rise of the SLR and the eclipse of them all with the meteoric development of the digital camera. Through it all, however, and above all else, the image is what it is all about so I now use film alongside digital. whatever is the most appropriate or practical. My contributions will hopefully be useful for anyone interested in using film and also how a died-in-the-wool antique like me is continuing his life-long addiction in the digital age, using both platforms.

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Is my Old Light Meter Reliable? A Little Test and the Results

By / / Gear Theory / 14 Comments

The seperate exposure meter was an indispensable accessory in the time before built-in and through the lens meters became the norm. Nowadays, when the attractions of old, all mechanical cameras has taken hold, exposure assessment often has to be made by the photographer in some way. In the past, a photoelectric meter could be had but a cheaper option would be a calculator like the Johnson of Hendon range, all I could afford at first, or you could just rely on the film instruction sheet. Granted, tolerances were not tight (e.g. ±30% for shutter speeds) and film could tolerate some variation so we can be moderately relaxed on the subject.

Focus Adjustment and Other Considerations when Shooting Infrared

By / / Gear Theory, Processes, Tutorials & Guides / 3 Comments

From very early in my photography I have been fascinated by the unique look and simply luscious tones infrared images can produce. Ansel on steroids. I have only been able to produce anything like decent images recently but pre-digital, inspired by Sir Simon Marsden’s work (www.sirsimonmrsden.co.uk or www.jamescwilliamsphoto.com), I tried some Ilford SFX 200 film that has extended sensitivity up to 740 nm (nanometers). At the time I only had a 6x red R25 filter which produced an infrared result of sorts and I didn’t take it any further. Sir Simon used the same R25 filter but with Kodak High Speed Infrared, sensitive up to 900nm and with less sensitivity to visible light. That combination and a lack of an anti-halation layer gave much more dramatic results with the halo effect so characteristic of his work.

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Diffraction and its Impact on Sharpness – By Tony Warren

By / / Gear Theory / 13 Comments

I recently had some disappointing results while trying out a colour negative film in a Retina IIc. I was shooting the urban art (and some graffiti) that has been created here in Dunedin, and some shots of the rhododendrons in the Botanic Gardens. Many of the frames are distinctly soft in places whilst others are bitingly sharp, despite careful focussing with a well adjusted, rangefinder camera.

Set up used.

Shooting infrared with a rangefinder camera, Rollei Infrared film and a Retina IIc – By Tony Warren

By / / Gear Theory, Photos & Projects / 17 Comments

A comment on my review of Rollei Infrared film triggered this follow up. In his comment, Neal Wellons pointed out, quite correctly, that, for infrared photography, using a rangefinder camera would be much simpler than a single lens reflex (SLR) which is what I had available for the article. The rangefinder route certainly would be more hassle free than the SLR, so I decided I should try out some IR in my Retina IIc rangefinder.

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