In the beginning, there was film. My favorite emulsions for the decades starting in 1976, were slow speed Kodachrome (25 and 64) and Tri-X shot on a Canon F-1n. I fell in love with photography, descended into the dark room and stayed there. But years later, with the advent of the digital age, I flipped over to a Canon 5D mk II and sold my film kit thinking film was dead.

Recently, like many others, I decided to take a hiatus from digital and return to film photography. What a wonderful experience! I ordered a Leica MP just for the radical manual nature of the camera, it’s solid build, it’s utter simplicity and the slow good approach it encourages. And for the last nine months, I’ve essentially shot only with film again.

I decided to spend some serious quality time with a few new films to see how they would render in this more modern era of film / scanning highbred. I’d heard good things about Delta 100 and decided to commit to shooting it under various conditions.

Delta 100 is a very sharp film with very small grain that renders in a wonderfully filmic way. I shoot with a slight bias to overexposure, setting ISO at 80 and then metering mid-grey or on the subject with some contrast. Despite it’s sharp and contrasty look, the skies were too white for my taste with only a yellow filter. So I shot this roll with an orange filter with my Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. You can see how that adds additional contrast as well as darkening the sky.

I shot these five in my home, Venice beach, CA. They represent a nice juxtaposition from the sun-drenched, color-driven experience that typifies the beach culture. I’m loving the Delta 100 in this context!

~ Roger Wojahn

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

6 responses to “5 Frames… With ILFORD DELTA 100 Professional (EI 80 / 35mm format / Leica MP)”

  1. I especially like the shadow level placement on two of the images: the street/storefront scene, and also the scooter shot.
    It is an aesthetic that I am drawn to.

  2. I’m interesting in some development notes too. At least the developer used could give a good hint what works with this film – I have a role lying around, so I would highly appreciate it!

    1. Hey Christian. I send my film of to Richard’s Photo Lab in Valencia, CA. They use one developer and a dip and dunk process. I frankly don’t know more than that but their consistency and quality is excellent!

  3. I’ve heard it requires very careful development but I’m looking for a replacement for Acros now sadly discontinued. Any development notes for Delta 100?

    1. I haven’t done any detailed comparisons between Ilford Delta 100 and FP4+, but for me the tonal range, fine grain and contrast of FP4+ make it a suitable replacement for Acros. For more technical details I’d be out of the conversation beyond stating that I like the results I can get from FP4+ souped in HC-110.

    2. Hi Faraz. I hand my film of to Richard’s Photo Lab but I can say that I’ve experienced fairly good exposure latitude considering the slowness of the film.

 

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