I shoot a lot of street photography, most of which is in Japan where I live. Grain has never been my thing. Usually, I shoot Kodak T-MAX 100 or Fujifilm ACROS 100 NEOPAN for their fine grain, but my view of grain is changing.

Johnny Martyr on his blog has written about the grainy beauty of Kodak T-MAX P3200. His photos and writing inspired me. So when Kodak re-released that film, I bought a few rolls.

My five frames are of Tokyo’s renowned Tsukiji Fish Market – not the inner market of the tuna auction, but rather the outer market with its myriad shops, stalls, and storefronts. I shot these around 4:00AM on Thursday, October 3rd 2018, two days before the Tsukiji inner market was to be closed and relocated to Toyosu two kilometers away.

It was barely first light, and I was expecting the film to excel in low light conditions. I was not disappointed, and I agree with Johnny Martyr. There is beauty in the grain.

Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200 (35mm : EI 3200 : Leica M3) - by Steven Bleistein
Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200 (35mm : EI 3200 : Leica M3) - by Steven Bleistein
Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200 (35mm : EI 3200 : Leica M3) - by Steven Bleistein
Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200 (35mm : EI 3200 : Leica M3) - by Steven Bleistein
Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200 (35mm : EI 3200 : Leica M3) - by Steven Bleistein

I used my Leica M3 fitted with a pre-aspherical Summilux 50mm f/1.4 lens. I shot at box speed and developed with Kodak T-MAX developer.

~ Steven

[5-frames-with]

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About the author

Steven Bleistein

I am a street photographer and entrepreneur in Japan. You can check out more of my work, including my Tokyo street photography, on Instagram

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  2. Thanks for your comment. I enjoy the pieces you have published on 35mmc and JHC. On one sunny day out in Tokyo shooting with my Leica M6J around the Ueno and Yanaka Ginza areas, I popped in a roll of what I thought was TMAX100, but was not paying attention and accidentally loaded a roll of TMAX3200. (They’re both yellow, after all!) I shoot TMAX100 at 650 push process at 800. When I realized my error after unloading the film, I merely pull processed TMAX3200 at 800, and the results were absolutely amazing! I agree with you. TMAX3200 is not just for low light!

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