I’ve seen a few photographers doing a year of black and white (BW) photos. That’s an excellent challenge, and good practice in general. Black and white eliminates an entire dimension of photography, forcing us to focus mostly on composition. I had not felt burnt out from photography and I needed to drastically change what I was doing. Moreover, I find it very difficult to get good BW shots, which might say something about me creatively. With all that said, I tend to shoot more BW during the wintery months. For the rest of the year, I have decided to shoot at least a roll of BW film per month with the Horizon Perfekt. As it is my favorite travel companion, I avoid using the Horizon when I’m not traveling. Which ironically means the Horizon tends to be neglected for months at a time. I do love some of the BW shots I’ve taken on that camera (which is extremely rare, since I tend to shoot expensive Ektar and slide film when I travel), so the one BW per month thing might actually work.
Settings for the sessions: I found a roll of Bergger Pancro in my freezer that I do not remember purchasing, so a very flat 400 speed BW film. Portland might be perpetually cloudy in the wintery months, but it is still kind of bright out during the few daylight hours. All were shot at 1/125. Aperture was set at f/8 outside, and f/2.8 when I’m in the shadows. Exposure is guesstimated using initial reading, and this lens has fix focus at infinity.
The plan for the day was to walk around town post New Year. Portland is kind of quiet and still recovering from all the holiday festivities. This can even be felt in the living room, also known as Pioneer Square, where no souls can be found. With that said, as I was planning to just shoot cityscapes, the lack of humans and vehicles allowed me to enjoy perspectives from a quieter city. Unfortunately, Horizon acted up a little in the beginning of the roll, and the swing lens mechanism failed completely halfway through the film. The bad news is, I’ve wasted half a roll of film here, and another 2 rolls later. The good news is, I found this issue before any major travels, and it is now back at the repair shop. I think I might be devastated if this happened while I was traveling.
And perhaps this is the universe nudging me towards a Xpan?
Date: Jan 7th, 2024.
Issue 89. Volume 15. Chapter 1. FA274_HPK