Hi, my name is Philipp, I’m 38 years and like to photograph on film. I loaded my first roll of film with my brother at the age of 12 and since then I’ve been taking photos more or less. Sometime after my early introduction, my brother got an old Minolta SRT from our uncle who died a little bit later. This SRT laid around in my closet until I found it again and restored it and it lead me again back into film photography.
I started with another two SRT-101s, an SRT-303, followed by a few other Minolta’s. Always the same… BUT then… a defective Nikon FE found me. There was a fault in the battery compartment: it wasn’t there anymore. After few days of thinking and repair work, I got it to work and my love with her began.
A few rolls of film later I think we’re a great team and I hope it keeps running a while longer until it eventually breaks. It’s only a matter of time, so I have to enjoy what I have. Until now I used to shoot ILFORD HP5 PLUS or ILFORD FP4 PLUS, but — I don’t know why — I wanted to try Kodak Tri-X pushed to EI 800 in a dark lighting situation. I have a thing for moody dark blues pictures… I had heard Tri-X is a wonder for push processing, so I thought I should get some nice dark pictures while playing with light.
We decided to go to the BMW Museum in Munich. I thought it should give me an opportunity for good results with classic BMW cars in moody dark surroundings. In the museum, I had a playground full of new, mid-aged and classic cars. There were lots of photographers, but I think, I was the only (and lonely) one still shooting on film. Lots of people looked twice after I had to wind my film to the next frame.
I have to tell you…I was so excited to see the pictures and had to develop the film immediately after coming home. 5 frames of the result I want to show you all. It’s really hard to choose the 5 best out of 36. I hope, you like it.
I wasn’t there for the last time, that’s for sure, and I invite you to come with me.
~ Philipp
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10 responses to “5 Frames… At the BMW Museum in Munich on Kodak Tri-X 400 (35mm Format / EI 800 / Nikon FE + Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8)”
Excellent photos Phillip, can’t have been easy under those lighting conditions, this is one of the reasons I love black and white photography, I don’t think they would have had the same impact if they had been shot in colour
Thank you all for your kind comments… I’ve got some requests already if I would continue on 5 frames. Maybe I’ll post another 5 frames, cameras I would have enough, to post different frames, but the last word have the guys of emulsive.org.
Developed them in Xtol as EI 800, but I didn’t believe the lightmeter, I metered with my eye and my feeling. I think, if I would shoot the same cars again, I doubt, that I’ll get the same results. I think, the frames were good luck.
Hi, loved the photos of the BMW museum in Munich, I was there about a year ago and the olympic park is also worth a visit with a camera. Fantastic tonal range achieved in B&W, a nice set of 5 frames!
This was a trip down memory lane for me, I used to shoot Tri-X on an FE2 as a newspaper reporter in. And in college before that. A great camera and film pairing…wonderful images from the museum. Thanks so much for sharing.
This sharing is great.
I love the images.
The FE + 50mm serie E is a fantastic kit at the best price.
I tjank also emulsive to give the opportunity to comment, ask question without censorship, it’s great.
The way you catch these BMW is great. (Hello to my family in Bavaria).
Bravo and thanks.
One more time one great photographer here, well done.
Also emulsive.org is a great web site because we can type comments for all articles without censorship.
Thank you.
Nikon FE + Nikon E 50mm/1.8 is probably the best buy for film, excellent camera and great lens for a low price. Your great images of BMW Munich (Say hello to familly in Bavaria) are fantastic because TriX gives his best because you, a wonderful emulsion.
I appreciate the sentiment but it’s not quite a free for all here: https://emulsive.org/policies/policies-community-guidelines
Great pictures Philipp. Thank you for sharing.
Good morning Philipp,
I enjoyed your article nd the great shots from the BMW museum. When displayed in a museum setting, the autos take on a sculptural form. Your use of the dark areas as a compositional element adds to the shape & form of the cars. I especially like the large, left-hand photo with the highlights and curves.
The FE/FE2 cameras are a delight to use. I’ve got a FE2 that is the ideal size complement to my old Leica M2. They fit each other like a hand & glove. Both fill a specific purpose.
The FE should last a long time if not abused. If it does give up the ghost, they are readily available on ebay for reasonable prices.
Stay safe and healthy in these pandemic times.
-Dan Castelli
Well, Philipp, now you know why you subconscious wanted you to try Tri-X! Rich blacks, very smooth tonal range, excellent contrast and sharpness. It’s a perfect match for your low-key style of shooting. Good exposure and composition, I like your pictures. Excellent grain control, hard to imagine that this was your first time with pushed Tri-X because it looks to me like you nailed the development. You forgot to tell us how you did it…