Film and Such Stuff...
I embarked on my photography career sometime in the 7th grade at Central Junior High in Iowa City, Iowa. (around 1971 as near as I can tell)
Both my parents were research scientists at the University of Iowa specializing in two different disciplines. My mom was in the research wing of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and my dad was in the Department of Microbiology.
My dad oversaw the Electron Microscope facility in the Microbiology department and was basically in charge of the lab and the ancillary components. This gave me free reign of their photographic darkroom and also allowed me to become conversant with the operation of the Siemens EM. This pretty much made me the only kid in high school who knew how a microtome was used and the overall operation of the microscope itself. Pretty cool stuff!
One of the things my mom was using in her research was a process called Radioimmunoelectrophoresis (say that 5 times fast)! Link will give you a mind numbing description of the process. That said the agar coated glass plates were photographed for preservation and eventual publication. I have some of the images saved, here's a sample:
Due to the volume of these images, when my parents built the house in Iowa City a dedicated darkroom was included, I was in heaven! The films are 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 and were shot with a Linhof Baby Technika. So in the early 70's I was skilled in loading cut film and processing the same. I did most of the photographic work after a while and am well published (but not credited) in the New England Journal of Medicine and a few other similar publications. My mom introduced me to the scientist in charge of the Scanning Electron Microscope lab in the Zoology Department at the University. I took many items there to photograph, the end of an English Horn reed is really cool! A few samples from my collection are shown above. the electronic chip is a 555 timer and the "waffle" is a sample grid used in the Transmission Electron Microscope. The grid is roughly 3mm in diameter and is made from copper alloy as to not distort the electron beam.
My first camera was a Kodak 35 that my dad gave me when he got his Leica M3, which I also was given quite a few years later. The Kodak had several options for shutter and lens and apparently the one my dad had was the best of both worlds. It took some surprisingly good images. Those two cameras kept me busy until I was a junior in High School and I purchased the first Pentax ES sold by Henry Louis Camera in Iowa City, Iowa. I have examples of both cameras, while the Kodak 35 is not operational the ES works great and brings back memories every time I use it. Images are representative for both.
Over the years I shot a LOT if film. December of 2024 I sat down and dug out all the pages of negatives and scanned and cataloged them using Excel. Those adventures are documented here. As of April 2025 there are 803 pages of negatives and a rough calculation puts it at 13,800 images (and counting...)
When I set up my darkroom in Tempe AZ around 1990, I started saving the film cans from the 35mm film. I recently found the box of flattened cans, it is 8" square and just about 3" deep. Realize that this does not include film I shot from bulk rolls as I reused the 35mm cassettes. The bulk loaded film was mostly Arista 50 B&W and Fuji RDP slide film and possibly some Kodak TMAX 400. The Arista 50 was about as close to Kodak's Technical Pan as one could get. Here is a shot of the few cut film boxes I saved over the years. Somewhere around here is a large box of empty 120/220 film spools and I know of at least nine 100' 35mm Bulk cans. There are also three cans in the freezer! Yes, I shot a lot of film!
Here are some of my past favorites as well as current films.
With the apparent demise of Fuji E6 films in 4x5, I had to go looking for a replacement. My preferences have always been transparency film, but with the limited offerings I started looking at C41 process sheet films.
Cinestill 400 Dynamic
Cinestill has recently come on the market with 120 and sheet film offerings of their 400Dynamic. they did a kick starter and were overwhelmed with the response and a year or so later came out with more. I had put my name on the wait list at B&H Photo and managed to get some in the first order. I have shot a number of sheets and thus far am pleased with the results. The film is generally considered to be Kodak's Vision3 250D with the Remjet layer removed.
The left image was shot at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior AZ. I made no specific attempt to fiddle with the exposure and shot it at ISO400. Detail is pleasing and the grain is a non issue despite people online making a point about it. Please bear in mind both of these sheets were scanned in teh negative sleeve to be used here. Direct scans are much better looking.
I will be shooting this film pretty much exclusively on 4x5 and possibly some 6x7. A lot of the online reviews comment that the removal of the Remjet (anti halation) layer causes issues and bright highlights will show this. As I will pretty much be using this film for landscape uses and little chrome or polished metal can be found at Indian ruins and Spanish Missions, I am going to be fine. The right clip from an image on Cinestill's website shows the extent of the halation that can occur.
Fuji RFP50 / RDP100 / RDPII Slide Films
I used a variety of Fuji transparency films over the years, but surprisingly little of the actual Velvia trade marked film. My favorites were RVP50 and RDP100. the bulk of my most impressive sheet film transparencies were shot on these two films.
Cluster of cactus on Peralta Road, Arizona and San Javier Del Bac Mission in Tucson AZ. The mission image was my very first 4x5 transparency shot. Both of these have been printed 20x24 and hang on the wall at home.
Montezuma Castle in Camp Verde Arizona, this image was printed 20x24 and was selected to hang in the Stieglitz Camera Club exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum, summer of 1993. I managed to get into Lower Antelope Canyon on a day when there were very few people to make it difficult to get the images.
All of these presented here are once again basic scans of sleeved negatives.
Kodak 5042 Ektachrome
This film was a mainstay when my wife and I were both shooting 35mm. Lovely colors and sharpness. Statue as the Bronze Foundry in Santa Fe NM (L), Collared Lizard at Wupatki NM Arizona (R). The groundskeeper at the foundry was humored by my wiping the statue with a damp cloth to remove the water spots. Alluded to having seen this done before...
Kodak C41 Process
When I re-entered the hobby I tried out some Kodak C41 films, specifically Portra and Ektar
In certain situations I found the Ektar to be a bit muted on color. These contact scans are a little washed out and should not be used to judge the film. The Morning Glory image is beautiful when scanned correctly and is one of my few images that I like better in color.
Arista 50 35mm
I shot several bulk rolls of this film, starting in the early 1990's. The grain was very fine and the results when I used the Zonal Pro developer were very much like Kodak's Tech Pan. The rumor at the time was the film was made by Ilford and was pretty much their PanF, this has not been proven or dis-proven to anyone's satisfaction. The sprocket hole shape was the usual detail that promoted this theory. Lovely tonal range and excellent sharpness. I still have two 100' rolls in the freezer.
Dance Hall, Vulture Mine Wickenburg AZ (since collapsed) (L) Agave, Desert Botanical Garden Phoenix AZ (R)
Arista 400 Sheet Film
I shot a fair bit of the Arista 400 sheet film and developed it almost exclusively in Zonal Pro developer. Horse Shoe Bend Page, Arizona.
Kodak TMAX (100 & 400)
I shot a lot of this in 35mm, 120 and 4x5 over many years. Most of it was developed in Zonal Pro
Rear Courtyard of San Javier Del Bac mission, Tucson AZ (L) Lomaki Pueblo at Wupatki National Monument, Northern Arizona (R)
Kodak Tri X (an olde favorite)
When I first started shooting large format in B&W, I used Tri X and had lovely results. My photographing partner (Dan Nelson) suggested trying the TMAX films. I used both for quite a while before gravitating to TMAX
Tumacacori Mission north of Nogales Arizona (L), Carved Tree (120) at Boyce Thompson Arboretum - Superior Arizona (R)
Ilford HP5 Plus
While I shot a modest amount of the HP5, I tended at the time to use the TMAX films, mostly iso 400. Now that I am beck into large format the HP5 is my sheet film of choice. Lower Antelope Canyon (L) and Agave at Desert Botanical Garden Phoenix Arizona (C) on the older HP5 and Morning Glories at Desert Botanical Garden (R) shot on the current HP5 Plus
Niche and Other Films
Here are some samples of occasionally used films I have experimented with over the years.
Lomography Orca
Since I dug out my Pentax 110 Auto I needed film. The most commonly available B&W film is the Lomography Orca. I have yet to find any color film that is not some sort of strange art like film with odd color casts. Bronze lizard Statue at he Phoenix Zoo (L), Flamingos at Phoenix Zoo (R). Pretty good for 110 sized film. Sorry for the crooked scans...