Tag Archives: 35 mm film

Paignton Pier – Pentax Espio 120mi

Paignton Beach - Pentax Espio 120mi

I recently went down to Paignton in South Devon to see me my old mate Garry – we had a splendid day drinking at a Beer Festival and managed to take some decent photographs of Paignton Pier with an old Pentax Espio 120mi. This is point-and-shoot, mid-range, 35mm film camera. The Espio is an autofocus unit with automatic exposure settings and a built in flash unit.

One of the most useful applications available on this model is ‘backlight compensation’ setting, which enables you to take a photograph using natural light in the background and flash in the foreground, giving an even tone across the image. Panorama mode is included in this little package which gives a different aspect ratio from most other cameras.

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Still life painting – Pentax Espio 120mi

Bottle and Glass - Pentax Espio 120mi by 35mm_photographs

Still life painting is something that I have grown into and I am inspired, not by the great masters like, Caravaggio who applied his form of naturalism to still life, but photographs.

Using the camera to – set the composition, the precise aspect ratio, depth of field, the distance – is a great tool. I then use these images in conjunction with the real observed objects.

The photograph above was taken using a Pentax Espio 120mi, which I obtained from a charity shop for £1.50. I used Ilford HP5 Plus a 35mm black and white film. More on HP5  here?

The quality of point and shoot 35mm film cameras is rather poor if you compare them to modern digital SLRs but…

The warm quality and retro feel of the images are perfect for my paintings.

The Pentax Espio 120mi is point-and-shoot, mid-range, 35mm film camera (also called a compact camera) and is a still camera designed for simplicity. The Espio is an autofocus unit, having automatic exposure settings options and a built in flash unit.

Flowers Vase and Bowl - Pentax Espio 120mi

Design initiatives make this a small and flexible camera – notably the physical size and overall quality of finish make this camera a stylish baby. It houses a good quality zoom lens (38-120mm), with plenty of features that enable a variety of picture taking settings.

The focus and exposure system on this easy to use camera is an improvement on earlier Pentax compacts, giving sharp results and a decent contrast of tones. One of the most useful applications available on this model is ‘backlight compensation’ setting, which enables you to take a photograph using natural light in the background and flash in the foreground, giving an even tone across the image. Panorama mode is included in this little package which gives a different aspect ratio from most other cameras.

Caravaggio‘s Basket of Fruit (c. 1595–1600) is one of the first examples of  -pure still life, precisely rendered and set at eye level.

Olympus Trip 35

My rummaging around in junk shops sometimes reaps great rewards. On my recent hunting expedition I found an Olympus Trip 35, another film camera I was searching for.

The Trip 35 is a 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued, after a lengthy production run, in 1984. This camera makes use of a selenium photocell to select the shutter speeds and aperture let novices use the camera as a “point & shoot”, unfortunately this does not work on mine.

The Trip name was a reference to its intended market – people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s it was the subject of an advertising campaign that featured popular British photographer David Bailey. Over ten million units were sold.

Olympus Trip 35. (2012, August 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:03, October 20, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olympus_Trip_35&oldid=507702469
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Painting out is painting in. #printmaking

I have begun to work over a screen printed canvas (the painting below is the one I have reworked) in the studios of West Buckland School, to illustrate/show a student how to edit a painting. It is important to remove all the noise from a image to get to a meaningful statement – too much clutter, to much overkill detracts the eye from the real deal.

The image above is a photograph I took with a Pentax Spotmatic 35mm camera using ‘old stock’ (March 2000) Agfacolor HDC 200 film. My current preoccupation with 35mm film photography as taught me to look at things again – capturing the odd moment or peculiar juxtaposition. The colours and layout are similar to the painting I have created from the screen printed painting below (I will post the finished painting image soon).

“Reflections Ilfracombe Harbour Jubilee Day 2012?

The composition of this painting is based on a Union Jack and is a combination of screen printing and painting.

The reflections in the harbour in Ilfracombe always amaze me – the dirty sea water mixed with the vivid colours of the reflected boats, the bobbing flotsam and jetsam, the sunlight and oil spills.

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