A few steps forward (or back, as in vintage)

 Another weekend has arrived during the Age of Covid. We are above 165,000 deaths as a result of this virus, and each day, we are averaging about 1,000 more in the United States alone. Mexico is accumulating almost that much too, at times seeming to run neck and neck with its neighbor to the north despite the fact that its population is 2.5 times smaller. Mexico is definitely not doing well, but neither is the United States.

Yesterday I had driven to Santa Fe Springs to purchase some film from Freestyle. I don't know what has gotten over me, I am accumulating boxes and boxes of film, and I guess I have to admit that it has become a substitute for something else. When all our lives have taken a wild turn as a result of the current pandemic, and it seems as if we will never get back to normal, I think we all feel the need to compensate for this feeling of frustration, and in my case, I tell myself that I will not stop taking photos. I may not use my digital cameras any more, except for my snapshots with my cellphone, but I am delving deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of film photography. 

I took some pinhole photos yesterday at Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs. At least, I thought I had taken two photos, but turned out I had only taken one, since I forgot to reload the other side and just stuck the slide back in. I put the camera down next to some cacti that surrounded an old-fashioned house at the park, and held it there for about 70 seconds, as I recall. I developed and saw another thin negative, and felt like hurling the box of Catlabs 80 film into the nearest trash bin, but I held off. I went ahead and dried it and did a scan today.

There is some progress, I am proud to say. Here is the slightly yellowish (I would say hepatic, as if it had been struck by another virus) hue.

I think there is a light leak. However, it is a better negative, and when I invert it, crudely, using the program I have on my Mac, I obtain the following:

It does look a little better. Once again, I aimed it at a subject that was very well lit, although I am seeing the underside of the nopales because I set it on the ground. From a higher vantage point, the cacti are very well lit. You can see the house behind it, and since I balanced the camera against the fence, it was more stable, instead of wobbling in the breeze as happened in the other photos. Plus, 70 seconds is more exposure, although I would like to see what this would be like with twice as much time. (I took some photos of the Riverside County courthouse today with 160 seconds, but will not develop them until a later time.)

I am proud to say there is progress. I still feel a little frustration, because the exposure chart for this focal length camera indicates I should only have had to expose for 10 seconds. I suspect it has to do with the film and developer combination, because the same thing happens with I use Arista 400 film and D76, I get extraordinarily thin negatives. I will have to wait for another week and a half, though, to use Arista 200 8x10 black and white film. I cannot afford to add any more debt to my card.

I also scanned a few negatives today of other scenes as Heritage Park. These were with fresh Arista 200 4x5 film. Here are two scenes:

Love the clarity and resolution of the structure. I also photographed it with my cellphone yesterday, and the color photos are what I had uploaded as well. This is black and white, I have the negatives, I promise.

Here is another scene: 

These are the cacti and the house that is also pictured in my pinhole image. These last two are with the Travelwide camera, though. Look at that clarity!

I couldn't resist loading some old Arista 200 film that I must have bought fifteen years ago and left in my parent's garage all that time. Taking photos keeps my mind off other things, such as the depression and the feeling of everything going wrong. When I took my morning walk today, Saturday, I took a few holders with this ancient film and took some photos. I used a red filter, and I knew I was gambling. Well, I got home and couldn't resist the urge to see what I had. I developed and when I pulled out the film, saw sheet after sheet that looked almost completely dark. I thought it was a failure, but when I held up the sheets to the light from the bulb, I saw faint images. Hope was not lost! I hung the sheets to dry, took a drive to Riverside to take my pinhole shots of the courthouse, ran some other errands and returned. I then scanned the old Arista sheets. Here are a few images, which I had to modify slightly, increasing exposure and contrast.

Looks very old fashioned, but I like it, I like it! This was taken as I climbed up the overpass on my way towards the intersection of Lincoln and Railroad. I took the photo as a train was passing. 

This building is the structure for Lucas Oil, located next to a lumber yard and the railroad tracks.

Next:

The same overpass I had crossed earlier, but from a different vantage point. I was on Railroad now and ventured down a side street and encountered this, a scene with sunflowers in bloom. I thought it was different. Love the old look, it says vintage!

And finally:

The river canal as I reach Lincoln Avenue. I don't know what happened, I have uneven development, I think. The river has large blots of algae, but it doesn't look so offensive when it is in black and white. There are homeless people who live under this bridge over the river.

So, I think that old Arista 4x5 film from 15 or more years ago will give me inspiration for some time. I am glad. The images look almost timeless, and with the right subject matter, I think I can accentuate that quality.

I'll write more at a later point. We are nearing sunset now. We have Sunday coming up. If I can, I'll try to go to San Diego tomorrow to see if I can photograph the Star of India.