What I hesitated for a long time. No, I don’t need this camera. Why should I? I have a Minolta X-300 and I’m very happy with it, so why should I get an SR-T 101 or 303? Damn, it’s fully mechanical and except for a light meter, doesn’t need any power. All right, in no time I found a SR-T 303b, equipped with an MD f1.7/50mm.
When it arrived, I first took a good look at it and tested it dry. All was well, so film in.
This would be a good opportunity to try the Washi A: a 50 ISO orthochromatic black& white “leader” film. Ideal in this dull weather with the f/1.7 lens. It was not so gloomy after all on the Saturday morning I decided to shoot the roll, so I set off on a long walk through woods, fields and open countryside.
I had read that the film doesn’t like hard contrasts because it is hard as a stick itself. But what is the name of a record by the rock band Nazareth? Expect no mercy.
On my tour it could not be avoided that a bright sky and a shady meadow or shady forest came on the picture.
While I was walking along, I had some doubts. Leader film, for film texts, orthochromatic?
I remembered lith and line films from my earlier work on the large repro camera. Okay, lith film was a little softer than line film, and the developers were also highly concentrated, so there really was and could only be black and clear. With a thinner developer, it should actually be possible to tease out a few shades of gray. It’ll work out.
To conclude the film, the opportunity arose for a photo that had been floating around in my head for a long time.
At my neighbor is a large stone in the garden and next to it is already for months a wheelbarrow. But that was not enough for me, there was still something missing. I had already agreed with him before and one evening, it was already dawning, was the chance. Published with the kind permission of Mario.
And now off to develop: 13 min in Rodinal 1+50. ISO 50 and Rodinal 1+50 promise a fine grain and indeed, hardly a grain visible. And yes, the contrasts became very hard but still with plenty of grayscale. And maximum density hovered around 2.3, so ideal for scanning or enlarging.
A film that makes you want to see more. And the Minolta? A great camera that offers everything I need.
~ Olaf
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2 responses to “5 Orthochromatic Frames… Of Washi A (35mm format / El 50 / Minolta SR-T 303b + MD F1.7/50mm)”
Lovely shots and lovely film! I’ve shot one roll before and you’re right it’s super contrasty, but it is possible to save some mid tones as well.
Thank you very much Chris! High contrast is always good, well, almost always.