N is for Neighborhood and Need

The Film26 project challenges it's members to get out there and shoot more film - every 2 weeks we have a new letter for inspiration (26 letters in the alphabet, 26 2-week chunks in the year), we submit our photos to a group photo pool on Flickr. There are moderators who sometimes choose to showcase some of the photos on their blog, but mostly it is just an online community where people who all shoot in film can get together, share their photos and support each other. I am really enjoying participating in the project, I have tried out some new and different cameras and films because of it, and it is definitely encouraging me to get out and shoot more film!

Here are my submissions for the letter N -

N is for Neighborhood

I absolutely love our neighborhood with the large trees, gardens and greenery - I could just walk around for days enjoying the scenery and snapping photos.
Taken as part of our first experiments with the new to us Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 (and first time using 120mm film - Kodak Tri-X 400 B&W)

N is for Need - as in All you Need is Love

 Taken with my Pentax K1000 & Kodak Max 400 colour film.

Testing, testing, 1, 2

Amongst the "new to us" cameras that we received at Christmas time from our sister-in-law, was a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2. An adorable folding camera, complete with bellows and a leather carrying pouch.The Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 was produced from 1934-58 and uses the 120mm medium format film as opposed to the more common 35mm film (there is a good little review and description of all it's stats here).

Jeffrey & I were super excited to try this one out, because I think it might be the oldest camera that we own now. We had no idea if it would even work! The good news is... it worked beautifully! And produced some really neat pictures with interesting textures and tones. 

Unfortunately with 120mm film, you only get 8 frames and the cost of film and development can be more expensive than 35mm film. The benefit of medium format film is that you can produce larger enlargements with less grain.
However, since we rarely print or enlarge our photos (at least for now), the Ikon Nettar won't make it's way into our regular camera rotation, but I would definitely like to try it again now that I know what it can do, and pull it out for special occasions or specific shots. I'd also like to see what it can do with colour film.

Me! By Jeffrey

At the Farmer's Market

Duck Pond at Queen Elizabeth

The view from the top! Overlooking Vancouver from Queen Elizabeth Park

A nice place to rest

Our "new to us babies" - The Zeiss Ikon is the one in the centre

'I' is for Ikon & Incongruent

I am late on my Film26 project... again. But to my defense, I was waiting on Jeffrey to finish a roll of black & white so that we could get 3 rolls all developed at once in order to save a little on the scanned digital versions (only paying for one disc rather than 2 or more). We really do need to consider investing in a film scanner...

At any rate, 'I' is a super tough letter to shoot. I found it much more difficult to find words that fit than previous letters.

I is for Ikon (Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2)

Ikon refers to our Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 which was given to us by a family member over the Christmas holidays. It was our first time getting out to use it because it requires 120mm film (which is more difficult to get your hands on than regular 35mm film), and because we wanted to wait for good lighting conditions for the first run. More on this cool little camera to come.
This photo is of Vancouver, taken from the top of Queen Elizabeth Park.
Taken with our Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 and Kodak Tri-X 400 B&W 120mm film.

I is for Incongruent

When we were in Las Vegas, I just couldn't get over the incongruency of the New York "Chrysler Building" surrounded by palm trees. That city just baffles the mind, and the mish-mash of cultural references all crammed together in such a dense area is like a crazy caricature of the world on steroids.
Taken with my Olympus PenF and Kodak TMAX B&W 400 film.