This is the second ever roll I have shot with my Nikon F4! I was fortunate enough to finally get one last year. This camera was a dream camera to have back when I first got into photography. An autofocus professional 35mm SLR. However the price was unattainable for me in the late 90’s and I quickly dismissed ever having one and kept to my more basic Pentax ESII and Minolta X-700 with their manual focus lenses. These cameras were relatively cheap back then and seemed to do the trick for me. Over the years the price has come within grasp as my eyesight has started to fade on me. I have welcomed autofocus cameras with open arms and my pictures have become remarkably sharper!
On my search for an amazing black and white film stock and an unreasonable decision to “only shoot Kodak” I loaded up the F4 with a roll of Kodak TMAX 400. One of the most classic film stocks.
This actually took me an entire year to shoot the roll… I took a few shots last fall and then put it away while I was busy working and using other point and shoot cameras. I picked it up again and threw it in my camera bag determined to get some shots and finish the roll.
Let me explain why it sat idle for almost a year. This camera is a beast. It’s big, it’s heavy and has a bit of a learning curve after shooting with simple point and shoot cameras! Well I did eventually pull it out and this time was ready for it. Even though it was huge it felt super sturdy in my hand. This was not a toy. This is a real photographic machine. I am sure that I had on my Nikon 35mm f/2 AF for most of the time shooting and it was an excellent match. 35mm is quickly becoming my favourite focal length and way to see the world.
Shot over the month of October here in Ottawa (and a few shots from last fall) I pointed my camera at buildings, canals, trees, plants and my dog Sasha. I was very happy with how fast the camera focused and happy with the sharpness of the lens. I was extremely happy with the grain of the TMAX! Grainy yet still sharp and nice organic patterns going on in the out of focus areas. This just may become my go to film. Processing done here in Ottawa at Labworks.
That is it for now,
Jeremy
Dusty Negatives 