By:
On:
In: Film Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

After getting some excellent results from TMax 400, could lightning strike twice with TMax 100? Now I like TMax 100 far more than the 400 version mainly because TMax 400 despite being super sharp lacks a lot of character. But with TMax 100 I’ve always liked the results I’ve gotten out of it, but I’ve always under-exposed and pulled in development but I’ve never under-exposed and pushed. So will I get similar performance from TMax 100 as I got before? Well the answer is… Film Specs Manufacturer: Kodak Name: TMax 100 (100TMX) Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Acetate Film Speed: ASA-100 Formats Available: 135, 120,Read More →

By:
On:
In: Developer Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

Do I really need to do another D-76 clone review? The answer is yes, yes I do. So during the end of production of Kodak chemicals by Sino Promise the fine folks at Adox Photo went out and purchased the rights to some of the names of Kodak chemicals, including D-76 (although you can still get Kodak D-76 now produced in the USA) as part of their efforts to ensure that the supply of these chemicals continue. And so in 2023 Adox D-76 hit the market, the one thing that sets Adox’s version apart is that it has a longer shelf life thanks to aRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

I love winter. Well, a specific type of winter, the winter we had this past winter. And while we’re all here now, looking forward to spring, I wanted to look back at the winter that was, because I had a lot of fun this year. So what made this winter better than, say, the past two that we had? Well, first off, we got snow early, back in November 2025, which was awesome. And sure, we did lose all of it over the rest of the month and into December. But we did get some back in December, only to lose it again. But weRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 1 Comment

I had a lot of fun last year working through some of my cameras and picking a different camera and film each month and shooting them for the enjoyment of photography. Often I would tie the roll to a YouTube video, specific blog post, developer review, or a podcast episode, but sometimes it would be for the fun of photography. These were always posted to Instagram and I worked again in collaboration with the community of folks through the 12monthsonfilm account. For 2025 I’ll admit there were repeat cameras from last year, but I did make a point to include some new arrivals and thoseRead More →

By:
On:
In: Film Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 II, a reborn version of the classic Fujifilm Acros 100. A film with a near cult-like following and one that is known best for having a low reciprocity failure. But when it comes to latitude, it is often seen as narrow. Even when pushed in processing, it can often result in dark, under-exposed, and under-developed images. So, it makes for the perfect film to kick off a new series of reviews to see how Diafine handles this legendary film. Film Specs Manufacturer: Fujifilm Name: Neopan Acros 100 II Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Acetate Film Speed: ASA-100 Formats Available: 135 (35mm),Read More →

By:
On:
In: Developer Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

Like my last developer review (Fuji Microfine), Fuji Super Prodol (SPD) has little information online about the developer. SPD is the faster version of Prodol and according to what I could find online says that this developer is designed for push-processing films. And to make things even more interesting is that looking at the chemical formula it shares similar characteristics to Crawley’s FX-37. This was part of the care package from a reader that included Microfine which turned out to be an amazing developer with Fuji Acros 100 II. The package does appear to be a modern pouch, and appears to be still in productionRead More →

By:
On:
In: Optical Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

Nikon is known for many things; among them is its insane level of detail regarding its macro lenses, or micro lenses in Nikon parlance. For those who aren’t in the know, macro photography is photographing small objects and reproducing them at life-size. Nikon produced its first macro lens in 1956 for the rangefinder or S-Series of cameras, a 55mm f/3.5; this got carried into the F-Mount in 1961, the Micro-Nikkor 1:3.5 f=5.5cm. This lens was improved through its lifetime, eventually becoming the legendary AI-S Micro-Nikkor 55mm 1:2.8, then got an AF make-over and eventually was superseded by this lens, the Micro-Nikkor 60mm 1:2.8. First introducedRead More →

By:
On:
In: Optical Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

There’s no denying it; this lens is a monster. I have some big and heavy lenses in my tool kit, and while this one is undoubtedly smaller than my 70-200/2.8G, it is the largest and heaviest of my manual focus kit. It is also often overlooked compared to later versions of the lens, which means that it’s an excellent, affordable lens, no matter what other people say about the number of aperture blades. The lens itself comes from a long lineage, released in 1977. Designed initially by Saburo Murakami and released in 1964, the Auto Nikkor-P 300mm 1:4.5 used a five-element design but struggled withRead More →

By:
On:
In: Developer Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

If you have never heard of FX-37, don’t worry. I didn’t know about the developer either until I saw a post from Flic Film about it on their Instagram feed. It fits in with the plethora of other “FX” developers, some of which I have reviewed on the blog (FX-39 II and FX-2). FX-37 is the invention of noted British photographer Geoffrey Crawley to solve the problem of sharpness in T-Grained emulsions. As a developer, FX-37 is a non-solvent developer designed to maximise the sharpness of these modern emulsions but can also work with traditional cubic-grained films. Technical Details Manufacturer: Flic Film Name: Crawley’s FX-37Read More →

By:
On:
In: Musings
With: 0 Comments

So far in this ongoing series, I have only focused on my written content, mainly because there continues to be an influx of AI-generated blog posts. But this isn’t the only area where AI is starting to get in the way of real creative content. AI videos are a thing with avatars that can act and look like real-life people. Also, the number of ‘faceless’ videos with obviously generated images and voices is large. I’m happy that my channel is AI-generated content-free and always will be! Let’s dig into the process of how I go about creating a YouTube video. In the case of thisRead More →