I’m from Seattle, WA, US yet I have been overseas for the last 13 years, working, exploring, and experiencing what you see in travel vlogs. I’m now in Hai Phong, Vietnam, around 2 hours to the west of Hanoi on the coast near Ha Long Bay. I arrived from Birmingham, UK with previous stops in Chennai, India, and Shanghai, China. It’s been humbling to have immersed myself in local cultures with photography at my side.

I switched back to film from Nikon D810 and Fujifilm XT2/XPro2 as I peaked with digital overload. It was no longer about quality, just quantity. I leapfrogged my previous 35mm cameras and landed with a Mamiya M645 120 medium format SLR. The right choice at the time.

As my confidence grew with medium format, I reached out to my first Hasselblad 500CM loving the 6x6cm square format. As I shifted to a 503CXi along with a 903SWC and Flexbody, my collection was complete. I was a happy camper. Later a Shenhao 6×17 format view camera with five lenses joined the collection (given its 120 format nature). Note: I did not say 120mm format. Who would?

After experiencing the challenges of the 617 view camera given its rise/fall, front/rear tilt, and shifting movements for proper composition, perspective control and focus positioning came the urge to learn large format.

In 2019, a Chamonix F2 4×5 arrived to start a large format journey full of many learning opportunities, mostly due to my personal mistakes. Large format is unforgiving to novices and pros alike yet it’s the path we’ve taken on our journey without a destination in mind.

Finally, I landed with my dream camera, Graflex RB Tele 4×5 c.1920. An engineering marvel ahead of its time given 1/10 to 1/1000 sec. focal plane shutter speeds. Not even my Hasselblad 500 series camera can compete given their max-leaf shutter speed of 1/500 sec.

[EM: Try a 2000 series 😉 ]

I’ve developed film before, yet being on this train across multiple international stops, it’s been a challenge to take a traveling darkroom and even find 120 film, especially 4×5 film. Don’t feel sorry for me as not all is lost. I get a 120-roll developed or one 4×5 sheet with high-resolution TIFFs scans for $2.50 in Hanoi, so why would I at this point set up a home development and scanning.

For acquiring film, Chennai was impossible, Hai Phong doable with Hanoi and Birmingham/Shanghai were no problem. Many international friends often hauled back film and camera accessories for me. Thanks. Now, my local Lab (AEG Lab in Hanoi) supports me with B&H purchases on 4×5 sheet film.

Let me share my thoughts on the five images from my every Sunday morning Temple Series shoots around Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Traditional Vietnamese Hat / Bicycle: Have always had my eye for such a composition, caught in the Temple yard.

Traditional Vietnamese Hat / Bicycle - 5 Frames... Around Hai Phong, Vietnam on my 1920 Graflex RB Tele 4x5 and ILFORD HP5 PLUS (4x5 Format / EI 400 / Voigtlander Heliar 210mm f/4.5 c.1920 lens) - by Stuart Kinkade

Sculptured Bush 1: I see these wonders in every temple yet only a few catch the light just right.

Sculptured Bush 1 - 5 Frames... Around Hai Phong, Vietnam on my 1920 Graflex RB Tele 4x5 and ILFORD HP5 PLUS (4x5 Format / EI 400 / Voigtlander Heliar 210mm f/4.5 c.1920 lens) - by Stuart Kinkade

Three Best Friends: A challenge to compose, expose… as everyone thinks the Graflex is a giant phone with instant pictures. Had to provide direction not ot move. Love the Heliar lens at f6.3 in foreground to back ground separation.

Three Best Friends - 5 Frames... Around Hai Phong, Vietnam on my 1920 Graflex RB Tele 4x5 and ILFORD HP5 PLUS (4x5 Format / EI 400 / Voigtlander Heliar 210mm f/4.5 c.1920 lens) - by Stuart Kinkade

Joyful Cleaning Lady: As lunar new year (Tet) approaches in Vietnam, the temples are getting a makeover.

Sculptured Bush 2: Couldn’t resist showing another bush.

Shooting film for me has been therapeutically relaxing as it slows me down to stop, look and think the scene through to the exposure.

~ Stuart

Submit your 5 Frames… today

Get your own 5 Frames featured by submitting your article using this form or by sending an email via the contact link at the top of the page.

Share your knowledge, story or project

The transfer of knowledge across the film photography community is the heart of EMULSIVE. You can add your support by contributing your thoughts, work, experiences and ideas to inspire the hundreds of thousands of people who read these pages each month. Check out the submission guide here.

If you like what you’re reading you can also help this passion project by heading over to the EMULSIVE Patreon page and contributing as little as a dollar a month. There’s also print and apparel over at Society 6, currently showcasing over two dozen t-shirt designs and over a dozen unique photographs available for purchase.

Similar stuff on EMULSIVE

8 responses to “5 Frames… Around Hai Phong, Vietnam on my 1920 Graflex RB Tele 4×5 and ILFORD HP5 PLUS (4×5 Format / EI 400 / Voigtlander Heliar 210mm f/4.5 c.1920 lens)”

  1. Love your temple pictures. Some are landscape, others are portrait mode. Are they cropped? Or does the camera have a rotating back? I’ve been thinking a long time about what kind of camera to use to get get big negatives while traveling. Your article is about the Graflex but the first picture under the title also shows a kind of range finder type 4 x 5. The difference in size is quite large. You use both I assume?

  2. Arthur Gottschalk Avatar
    Arthur Gottschalk

    Great pictures! I’d like to see an article that explores travel with film: buying, processing and avoiding X-rays.

  3. Excellent photos. What a great opportunity. What a strong back to carry that camera around!

  4. Totally agree 😉
    By the way I believe he is also blessed by the person who paints Guan Yin Bodhisattva de Bodhisattva of Great Compassion 😉

  5. I love Your very personal path into analog photography again. And Your pictures are inspiring. Thank You for sharing.

  6. Tomasz Szerszeń Avatar
    Tomasz Szerszeń

    Wonderful images !!! Good for you ! (Maybe someday I will be there…)

  7. Justin Mueller Avatar

    These are the best “5 frames…” pictures that I have seen thus far.

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from EMULSIVE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Discover more from EMULSIVE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading