Good morning 👋 

It’s the last day of 2024! 🥳

I hope you had a great holiday 🎄 and went through some rolls film. 🙌

Here’s what I got for you today:

1. 🎞️ Wow…HP5+ where have you been?

2. 👀 Looking on Instagram.

3. 📷️ A new old camera, the “Brick”.

4. ⏪️ Reviewing 2024.

🎞️ Wow…HP5+ where have you been?

Have you ever shot a roll of film that you’ve shot before, but this time it just hit differently? Well this is what happened when I shot a roll of Ilford HP5+ on my Canon A1. I’m a fan of Ilford’s B&W film, but usually I shoot Delta 100, 400, or even 3200. I’ve shot HP5+ before and was kind of meh 😐️ about it.

This last roll though has gotten me excited about it. It just looks good! 😍 The grain has a really nice texture to it. Good contrast with a wide tonal range. It’s a little gritty, and has this almost cinematic look. At 400 ISO it works in many lighting situations. 💡 

While I haven’t tried yet, my understanding is that it can be pushed without issues, if you want more contrast or are in lower light.

The best part is that it’s pretty cheap. 💵 You can get a 35mm roll from B&H for $8.95, which isn’t too bad. For comparison, Delta 400 is $14.50.

So if you’ve slept on HP5+ before, I’d recommend picking up a roll and giving it a try. It may surprise you.

👀 Looking on Instagram.

Like many, I spend a lot (maybe too much 😳) time on Instagram. There is a lot of great work on there and when I come across something I really like, I want to share it with you.

With that said, I want to highlight Lloyd Morgan (@cinewales)’s work. Filled with fog and atmosphere his photos are really wonderful to look at. The foggy woods are really eerie and beautiful. Lloyd is from Wales, which I’m now convinced is the fog capital of the world. 😁 Check him out!

📷️ A new old camera, the “Brick”.

My brother gave me an old camera he found at a thrift store for Christmas 🎁. It’s an Argus rangefinder aka the “Brick”.

Argus, which I hadn’t heard of before, is an American camera company. The Argus C3 was a very popular camera, produced from 1939 to 1966. It has a distinctive boxy rectangular shape, hence why it was nicknamed the “Brick”. It’s very rugged and well made, which is why it was used in World War II.

The best part is it uses regular 35mm film! 🎉 I’ve run a roll through mine and the camera seems to be in working order. Looking at the negative, there doesn’t appear to be light leaks, but I’ll have a better idea after I scan the film.

It’s a fun camera to use, although I will say it’s not the most ergonomic. And the lever to cock the shutter has to be in the worst possible place. 🤦 It’s right where your right hand fingers rest; this makes it easy to cock the shutter. But several times when taking a picture, the lever would hit my finger. I’m hoping that didn’t have an impact on the shutter. 🤞

📐 Specs:

• Film: 35mm

• Focus: Rangefinder

• Lens: 50mm

• Max Aperture f3.5

• Min Aperture f16

• Shutter Speed: 1/10th - 1/300th second

Next week we’ll go through some of the photos and see how things turned out. 🫣 

⏪️ Reviewing 2024.

I thought it would be fun to look back through the year and share some highlights.

In 2024, I…

• ❤️ Used a 4×5 camera for the first time (and loved it).

• ✉️ Started this newsletter.

• 🖼️ Had a photo printed and professionally framed.

• 📷️ Used some very vintage cameras.

• ❌ Tried some expired Polaroid roll film (didn’t go well).

• 😎 Photographed, on film, the solar eclipse.

• 🧂 Tried salt contact printing (didn’t go well).

• 🧮 Shot & developed:

  • ~16 rolls of 35mm

  • ~28 rolls of 120

  • ~46 sheets of 4X5

What were some of your highlights in 2024?

That’s going to do it for today. I’ll see you in 2025! 🥳 

Happy New Year!! 🥂 

Ben Henschel

Argus C3 / Kodak Portra 800