The First Roll Of Film
Alright, I have Leica MP in my hands.
It is time to go out and try how it is.
My idea is to shoot for a long time with the same type of film - Kodak Tri-X 400. I will push it to 1600 to enable faster speed and a smaller aperture while shooting portraits on the street. This will put me outside of my comfort zone as the 35mm lease will require me to be significantly closer to my subject.
The first role in the film I’ve decided to try while traveling in the Rhodope mountains (map here).
First roll contact sheet, Kodak Tri-X 400
The price of the first roll
I’ve loaded the film following instructions. Now I am ready to shoot.
The first shot is to advance the film. After I got the film developed in the lab, to my surprise it turned out that even the very first frame is coming exposed. Looking at the entire contact sheet instead of getting 36 exposures, I can get 38.
The first lesson is that with Leica MP I can expect 38 shots, 2 more than what film manufacturers claim. Great! now the cost of a shot is getting down by 5.5%.
Seize the moment
I got lucky!
Just about to enter the mountain road and in front of me noticed the flying UAZ. We are about the crash, but then the driver turned to the right and ended up pushing the vehicle to the size. Nobody was hurt.
After I attempted to give rescue to those guys, I’ve noticed everyone is drunken and laughing.
Instantly I took my camera and start shooting.
I love the short above, just if I could wait 1 second more to have the eyes of the guy open…then it will be a perfect shot. Nevertheless, still love how well Kodak Tri-X handles the shades on the face. Perhaps 1/2 step more light will make it a bit better.
This picture will land to my Bulgaria photography album.
I like it very much because on the faces of the people you can read what just have happened. Also if you are familiar with Bulgarian folklore, it is funny to see those 3 guys with their hands in their pockets and wonder why the vehicle is lying on the side.
SHOTING B/W LANDSCAPE DOSN’T WORK VERY WELL
Let’s get it right out of the way!
I’ve seen many impressive B/W pictures of the landscape. Those that work are usually of impressive landscapes with dramatic lines & shades.
What I have captured above is just meh.
Breaking the rules
Leading lines, dramatic light…sometimes it makes an impossible shot to work.
Be open for surprises
Walking around the forest, I stumbled upon a small cattle farm. And from behind the building, this small fellow rushed towards me.
Shooting a manual camera & lens with a single hand is challenging. Happy to see that sometimes luck helps.
Perhaps next time it will be easier if I prefocus or just use the zone system for focusing.
Exposure, Exposure, Exposure
I kept walking down the mountain road.
Then I noticed this young hunter with his dog. Instantly in my head, I pictured an interesting shot.
Living the body language aside, the image is very much underexposed. Next time use the skin color of your left hand to pre-expose correctly.
Then I can concentrate on the FRAMING, FOCUSING, and FIRING.
It’s never too close enough
At the end of my walk, I have heard a noise coming from behind the corner of the mountain road. It sounded like a massive animal. And yes, my sense was correct. It was this semi-wide stallion. He was more afraid of me than I was. Nevertheless, my heart was beating like crazy. I was a bit scared to approach him. Gradually I have gain confidence and after chasing him for 15 min was able to get closer and closer.
Unfortunately, all pictures are underexposed.