quiet, I’m on the phone

I do like to experiment at times and usually those experiments kinda work, even if the first attempt might go a bit wrong. For example the first roll where I tried cold Caffenol had more grain rather than less, because it was extremely overdeveloped. Once I figured out the right time it gave me beautiful results though. I also have a less beautiful example of what happens when you forget to add KBr when developing a high speed film – excessive fog and grain. Normally such slight failures don’t ruin any shots though. However the way this last experiment tanked was quite the opposite and I really can’t figure out what’s going on there at all. I developed a batch of T-Max 400 in Caffenol Delta Std and got horribly thin and foggy negatives. So thin and foggy that there are even a few shots that can’t be rescued at all! Especially the fog is quite annoying, because in this case it’s unevenly distributed and therefore really difficult to edit out. Normally potassium bromide is added to combat fog, but then, adding a restrainer to a developer that is already much slower than expected doesn’t quite add up either. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually! I could of course just stick with Caffenol-CL, but I don’t like giving up.

And T-Max 400? If you know me, then you know that I don’t like the look of T-Max at all. I don’t see myself getting warm with that one even when I figure out how to develop it properly. However, having only shot 2 rolls of this stuff until now (of 300+) I don’t think I’ve given it a fair chance. Unsurprising that such open-mindedness was immediately met with complete disaster on the first attempt of developing it in Caffenol! I still have 12 rolls of this stuff though, so I better figure out what to do with them soon.

All pictures taken with: Leica M6 + Zeiss ZM C-Biogon 35mm f/2.8.
Double-X @400 stand-developed in cold Caffenol-CL.

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

Yep, it was the pole on the left that made me gave up on getting the tilt out of the shot. If everything is pointing in different directions it will look crooked no matter whether it’s straight or not.

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

Hah, I sure do!

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

The spinning top is what the yoyo was for my generation.

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

Lately I’ve noticed that my best shots in this boring beach town are either of kids or of dogs. The very best combine both. Probably my favourite shot of that month.

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

Getting the right perspective …!

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

The pattern does my head in …!

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

I like how already the hands of the kid describe the whole situation perfectly. I don’t need to see more.

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

© Lilly Schwartz 2015

Yep, he’s carrying a creepy cat under his arm …!

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