fomapan – Late Developer

It’s got to be… Prefect

June 4, 2020Ian McCLeave a comment

The Halina Prefect, what can I say. It’s a bit rubbish – but solid with a bit of heft, easy to use and it looks nice sitting on a desk. I paid a fiver for it just to see how bad it would be.

It’s a metal bodied pseudo TLR. It takes 120 film with 6×6 negatives. It has a fixed-focus lens. It has one shutter speed – 1/30th sec and B. It has three aperture settings – f8, f11 and f16. It has a shutter release. The viewerfinder is bright-ish. And that’s your lot. Load the roll, wind on looking at the red window for film frame number, guess the 1-of-3 f stop, and click.

I took it on a shoot with a few musicians (mainly digital..), and grabbed a few shots using Fomapan 100 developed in Ilfosol.

And the verdict? I was pleasantly surprised. It was a bright day, so F16 was going to be used and they were reasonably sharp and maybe better than the spec deserves. I’ll probably take it out for another shoot – on a bright day with lots of contrast – and play around with it. Certainly worth the fiver.

Hol18: Carry On Up the Kehlstein

March 11, 2019March 10, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Visiting the Eagle’s Nest.

Eagles nest sign 2 — The easier way to see the Eagle’s Nest

The Kehlstein, site of the Eagle’s Nest and the Nazis’ Bavarian getaway outside Berchtesgaden has always held a bit of fascination. Is it a case of considering whether even the most evil of humanity needed the odd vacation or a natural curiosity to visit a significant historial site which happens to be in a spectacular location? I’ll go with the latter.

The Kehltstein can be reached on foot (long and very hot in summer) or you can get the bus from the train station and use the path (about 40 mins climb) or you can get the lift via a dark and cold tunnel.

Eagles Nesttunnel 1 — Entrance to the Eagles Nest Tunnel – built in 1938

EaglesNest tunnel 2 — long dark cold tunnel of the Nazis

Once up, it’s time to enjoy the views from the top and have an enjoyable walk as well as a suitably priced coffee at the Kehlsteinhaus.

Eagles nest busker — high altitude busking

Eagles nest bloke taking photo on ledge — brave man

Eagles nest cafe — The high altitude priced Kehlsteinhaus

Kongisee Romy schneider — View of the Kehlstein from the Romy Schneider Haus, Königsee

Shot on the Vivitar V3000s (before it died) and Fomapan100

Hol18: auf wiedersehen goodbye

March 10, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

I enjoyed Salzburg – plenty to see and a great city for walking about. I probably didn’t get the best of it not being a classical music lover or enjoying fine (= expensive) dining. However there are a few city views that would warrant a return.

salzburg along the river — View along the River Salz

innenhof — Inner city Cafe – Salzburg style

cafe altstadt — Hotel Altstadt – fixer a bit spent in developing…

salzburg SoM path — Cycling from the Sound of Music tour

Kit – Ricoh KR5 and Fomapan 100

Hol18: Signs of Salzburg

February 21, 2019February 18, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

Austria and southern Germany have really eye catching signage on hotels, cafes, shops – whatever some old building needs to identify itself with.

salzburg apothek sign — A fancy chemist. Engel’s

Salzburg Cafe Innenhof — Inner city cafe – Salzburg style

salzburg Gosser sign — Gösser drank here

salzburg towers — A nice bit of sign, spire and cloud

Ricoh KR5 with fomapan 100.

Hol18: More Salzburg Music

February 20, 2019February 18, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

And here’s a few non-Mozart/Maria music themed shots.

Salzburg guitarist — Lunchtime strumming – not busking

salzburg glass player — Shredding glass solo

herbert — Herbert von Karajan – his place

Hol18: Salzburg – My Favourite Things

February 19, 2019February 18, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

As well as Mozart, the other big tourist theme in Salzburg is The Sound of Music. You can get all sorts of bus tours and walking tours, but I went by bike – Fraulein Maria’s Cycle Tour.

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Of course the disadvantage of cycle tours is that it’s hard to take photos without stopping every 2 minutes, still there were a few highlights that were worthy of a photo.

First off, the guide isn’t a ‘Maria’. We had a guy with a beard. Good guide – and played the flute.

One of the main stopping points is the Nonnberg Convent

nonnberg ground pax — Nonnberg inner courtyard

nonnberg3 shadow tower — Nonnberg gardens

salzburg SoM hoaus — A von Trapp exterior

salzburg gazebo — The Gazebo (16 going on 17 …etc..)

mozart platz — Residence Fountain, Maria splashed here

gardens salzburg — The Mirabelle Gardens

Salzburg view 6 — Felsenreitschule – stone stage

and of course, a selfie…
bty

Ricoh KR5 and the Fomapan 100

Huawei P9

Hol18: Salzburg – Amadeusville

February 18, 2019February 12, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

When you arrive in Salzburg, you know you are in Mozart’s town. He’s everywhere in the form of 2 Mozart Houses, numerous statues, music venues and every item of tourist tat you could think of. I have to confess to actually not liking classical music (I’ve watched the Amadeus movie a few times..) and I’ve no real academic interest but he has definitely become a bit of a tourist magnet for the city.

mozart statue — One of the better Mozart statues

Of the 2 Mozart houses, we visited the Mozartheim – where he grew up before going to Vienna. His birth house in the main shopping area is above a Spar and had much longer queues. There’s no photography permitted inside the Mozartheim – and it is rigorously enforced.

One slightly dodgy statue of Wolzgang is artist Markus Lüpertz’s ‘Hommage to Mozart’ outside St Mark’s church. The half male/female ‘lumpy’ piece isn’t overly prominent in the city tour guides and not too revered by its citizens. It puts the Ronaldo one in a bit of perspective.

salzburg mozart statue — Hommage to Mozart. It reflects his inner turmoil, apparently

Finally despite all the keyrings, stickers, phone covers and countless other pieces of tat, my favourite item of shopping is the Mozart Chocolate Balls. (genuine Salzburg)

salzburg mozart balls — Chocolate classical balls

Kit – Ricoh KR-5 and Fomapan 100.

Hol18: The Sound of Villach

February 17, 2019February 11, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

On the second day in the southern Austrian metropolis of Villach, a street music festival was taking place. I took some photos, naturally.

Villach Drummer — drummer eye contact and a person’s feet

Villach bass — a rather dapper bass player

Villach flamenco guitar — a thoughtful guitarist

Villach flamenco dancer — traditional Austrian flamenco

Villach flamenco band — The Full Spanish

Hol18: Villachers

February 16, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

A few more shots taken while lurking around the quiet yet delightful Austrian town of Villach.

There’s the usual source of nutrition by the river

King of Bratwurst Villach — The Bratwurst King

A cliched shot of object-obscuring-head

flowerhead Villach — flower in place of head

Some decorative cafe/hotel decal – something you see a lot of over here

Villach church — going by the church to the Biergarten

Ricoh KR-5 and Fomapan 100 providing the imagery.

Hol18: Villach – Austrian surprise.

February 15, 2019February 11, 2019Ian McCLeave a comment

This part of the trip was a bit unplanned. Trying to get a cheap train north from Ljubljana resulted in a few nights staying in Villach, a town in the Gailtal Alps in southern Austria on the river Drau. I hadn’t heard of until I checked the direction of the railway line on Google Maps. And it turned into quite a nice stopover. We got a good value AirBnB in a residential area overlooking the town and spent a nice 48 hours around the river, churches, statues, squares, beer and food.

A bit like Ireland, there’s no shortage of places to go for a drink. Villach has its own brewery – Villacher beer – and a splendid Brauhof.