Mikeinlagardette's photos

As well as our children and grandchildren, quite a lot of our friends and neighbours, both French and Dutch, and our English friends, made our 50th wedding anniversary a day to remember! Aperitifs in the afternoon, a barbecue in the evening, - and the rest of the week spent clearing up !! Who knows, I might even get round to taking a few photos sometime in the future !! Canon Ixus 960is, photofinished in Gimp

No information about the negative or processing, but I can help with the subject !! This is Janty and I in the garden of the Longford Hotel, Gloucester, on our wedding day, 30th July 1966, and today is our Golden Wedding Anniversary. The children and their families have come over from the UK, and with our many friends and neighbours, a party is being planned for later in the day, so they tell me !! Scanned from old photo on Epson V500, and photofinished in Gimp

Most rhododendrons and their cultivars have quite shiny leaves but this hybrid has leaves that seem as if they are covered in felt! I bought a few of them some years ago as small plants, I think the variety is "Red Jack", but I really can't remember Getting to like the Retro 320 in PC-Glycol - tried this with the 1+50, but I can't see much difference, except for shorter time of development! 1983 Mamiya ZM Quartz, f1.7/50mm Sekor lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma Retro320 Soft at EI 320, 6ml PC-Glycol, 0.5% sodium carbonate solution to 300ml + 0.5g potassium bromide. 8 mins @ 23C. Scanned at 2400dpi on Epson V500.

Here's another frame of Foma Retro 320 Soft, exposed at box speed, and developed in PC-Glycol. I used the 1+100 dilution for 11 minutes because the temperature was almost 23C, but I think 12 mins @21C is about right. I am encouraged by these tests, the film and developer seem well matched, it's a pity the film isn't available in 120. I'll try some other films in PC-Glycol and see how it turns out, - I added 0.5g/litre of potassium bromide to the sodium carbonate this time, because the previous roll of Retro 320 had a bit of fog, but it's probably unecessary with most films. 1983 Mamiya ZM Quartz, f1.7/50mm Sekor lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma Retro320 Soft at EI 320, 3ml PC-Glycol, 0.5% sodium carbonate solution to 300ml + 0.5g potassium bromide. 11 mins @ 23C. Scanned at 2400dpi on Epson V500.

Another example of a negative developed in PC-Glycol, this time using Foma Retro 320 Soft. I exposed this frame at EI 160, and used a 1+100 dilution and gave it 11 minutes This is the first time I have been happy with this film, - the developer brings out a nice glow, and the grain seems to be less intrusive compared to other developers I've tried, but still gives a pleasant vintage look. 1983 Mamiya ZM Quartz, f1.7/50mm Sekor lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma Retro320 Soft at EI 160, 3ml PC-Glycol, 0.5% sodium carbonate solution to 300ml. 10 mins @ 22C. Scanned at 1200dpi on Epson V500.

The flowers of Stargazer Lilies don't last long, but while they do they are always spectacular! I finally got round to mixing up some PC-Glycol, a two part developer made by dissolving phenidone and ascorbic acid in ethylene glycol for the first part, and a 0.5% solution of sodium carbonate for the second. The glycol needs to be warmed a little to completely dissolve the other chemicals, and smells a bit, but it's easy to do on an old hotplate in the workshop, not too sure about doing it in the kitchen! The idea behind this developer is that the developing agents are only activated when mixed with the alkaline second bath - in glycol they are inert, and have an almost indefinite shelf life, and most commonly used alkalis - sodium carbonate, Kodalk, and borax, last for ages also, so good for casual use. The nice thing is that it seems to give quite fine grain plus the usual ascorbic acid sharpness, very like Caffenol, but without the need to mix it up every time. I think I will explore this more! 1983 Mamiya ZM Quartz, f1.7/50mm Sekor lens, x2 yellow filter. Polypan F at EI 50, 3ml PC-Glycol, 0.5% sodium carbonate solution to 300ml. 10 mins @ 21C. Scanned at 2400dpi on Epson V500.

Away from the house, the larger hailstones were not broken up by hitting hard surfaces, so these monsters survived intact! My ancient Astley pipe gives a sense of scale! (I have not yet renewed my Club subscription to Ipernity, so these are a bit smaller than images I have posted previously) Canon Digital Ixus 960is. Photofinished in Gimp.

These were just outside the house when the storm ended! Canon Digital Ixus 960is. Photofinished in Gimp.

We live on the lower western slopes of the Massif Central, so the occasional heavy storm is not a big surprise, but I thought these pics of a storm this afternoon might be interesting! A small stream has developed by the side of the old Citroen!! Canon Digital Ixus 960is. Photofinished in Gimp.