A stack of pancakes for Pancake Day!

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Pancake stackA stack of pancakes
Nikon D5500, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX, 0.6s, f11, ISO 100

Physically thin, short barrelled lenses for single-lens reflex and mirrorless cameras are colloquially known as ‘Pancake’ lenses… for obvious reasons!

My collection is pictured above, from top to bottom we have the Minolta MD 45mm f/2, the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, the NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8P and the NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8 AI-S.

I rather like the slightly wider view offered by the 40/45mm lenses and as can be seen in the image below (comparing the ‘pancake’ NIKKOR 50mm with the ‘standard’ NIKKOR 50mm) such lenses tend to be smaller and quite pocketable.

Nikkor 50mm lensesNikkor 50mm lenses
Nikon D5500, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX, 1.3s, f11, ISO 100

Over the years I’ve used others… the Contax Tessar T* 45mm f/2.8, the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 and the Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 but the ‘holy grail’ of such optics is definitely the Olympus Zuiko Auto-S 40mm f/2 for the OM system… I’d love to get my hands on one of those!

Monochrome Monday… Experimenting with bellows…

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BobbinBobbin
Yashica FX-D Quartz, Yashica ML 50mm f/1.9, f16; – Kentmere Pan 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

I’ve recently been experimenting macro photography using a set of bellows between a Yashica FX-D Quartz and a standard 50mm lens… it’s not the easiest setup to use, if getting the camera in the right place is difficult then keeping it still is nigh on impossible!

This cotton bobbin is roughly 25mm in diameter and only a slight crop has been applied to the image. The bellows were set to give 40mm of extension which gives (according to my calculations) a magnification of 1.1x, slightly larger than life-size.

More experimentation and practice is definitely needed…

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Single frame… ‘When the red, red robin comes bob-bob bobbin’ along…’

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Robin (Erithacus rubecula)Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Nikon D5500, Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD at 300mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO 140

I’m not really a ‘twitcher’ (although I have just joined the RSPB) but photographing birds whilst out and about is proving to be very enjoyable and the acquisition of a Tamron SP 70-300mm lens for my wife’s Nikon D5500 has made doing so much easier…

Granted, so far a lot of my images are of Robins (Erithacus rubecula) but the UK’s favourite bird is incredibly numerous and not at all shy, making the capturing of images a breeze!

Monochrome Monday… Groyne, Bridlington, November 2019

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Groyne, Bridlington, November 2019Groyne, Bridlington, November 2019
Olympus [mju:] Zoom, Olympus 35-70mm at 50mm – Rollei RPX 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 10 mins at 20°c.

Another image from my charity shop find Olympus [mju] zoom.

There are many things I miss in these lockdown days but trips to the coast and ‘Photography Friday’ jaunts with Rachel are at the top of the list…

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Square Saturday… Aysgarth Falls

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Aysgarth FallsAysgarth Falls
Bronica SQ-A, Zenzanon-S 80mm f/2.8 – Fuji Superia 100

I haven’t posted a ‘Square Saturday’ in a while… this one is a bit of a test, my first medium format image digitised using the pixl-latr and also the first colour negative.

I’ve no notes for this image but I’m certain it was shot in May 2003, using a friend’s (Hi Dave!) Bronica SQ-A and standard 80mm lens. A neutral density was also obviously used (likely the Lee 100mm 0.6 I’ve had for years).

I really should do a scan of the negative to compare it with but I’m rather pleased with this version…

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Doggy Drinks Station

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Doggy Drinks StationDoggy Drinks Station
Nikon FA, NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8P, 1/125s, f11; – Lomography Lady Grey rated at ISO 320
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 9 mins at 20°c.

An image from what’s likely to be my last roll of Lomography Lady Grey film… Don’t get me wrong, it’s a film I like a lot but it seems to have increased in price lately to the point where I might as well buy (my preferred) Ilford HP5 Plus!

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.