This challenge has now gone cross border! I am very happy to welcome my good friend Chris Brown as a guest for this week...Xmas markets in Frankfurt and Melbourne, with some interesting results!
I figured it would be a good idea to mix things up and test out this film (Fuji Superia 400) on a similar theme but in two very different locations: Frankfurt and Melbourne. Not only for a difference in Christmas market vibes, but more importantly obviously very different climates! Fuji Superia 400 is a great all-round film and one I use all the time. So with that in mind I got in touch with my good friend (now photography obsessed like me) Chris from Melbourne. His write-up and photo selection are below, mine comes after that.
This is a longer post than usual - but well worth the read! And remember, you can look at the photographs full screen by clicking on them.
Chris @ Melbourne
Thanks to Neil for the opportunity to take part in the 52 rolls project.
Neil and I are friends and we used to share a house in London back in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until recently however that I found out about our common love for photography and he asked if I’d like to take part. The plan is that we’ll both shoot the same film (in this case Fuji Superia 400) me in Melbourne and Neil in Frankfurt with the common theme of Xmas.
I know that this project is all about film but I’ll start with a quick note about cameras. Way back in high school I did a course a course on photography, this was well before digital camera existed and the camera that they gave us to use was the famous Olympus Trip 35.
A few years back I found a place in London that was selling refurbished models so I picked one up for £50 for no other reason than the nostalgia of using the same camera from my youth. I shot a few rolls and then quickly put it in my bottom drawer of camera stuff to be forgotten.
When this challenge came around I thought I’d get it out and give it a go, however even before I'd put any film into the camera I realised that something was not right. When there is insufficient light to take a shot, the shutter should lock and a red flag should appear in the viewfinder. The red flag would appear but the shutter would not lock. Then I discovered that the aperture wasn’t being set correctly even when setting it manually. Originally I thought that the meter was broken, but I think it just that aperture blades are frozen, which apparently is a reasonably common issue.
Plan B was to use my other film camera a Canon EOS 33 (also called an EOS 7 outside of Europe). I purchased this camera off e-Bay a few years back when I heard that Canon were about to stop making film cameras and I wanted to get one before they disappeared. The EOS 33 seemed like a good choice because al of my existing Canon EF lenses would work on it as I shoot Canon for digital.
So with the film and camera decided on I hit the streets of Melbourne to get some Xmas shots. The images were taken over two days and despite it being summer in Australia both days were largely overcast (and some shots were taken at night and indoors) so I was bit concerned that ISO 400 film wouldn’t be fast enough.
I started off in the centre of Melbourne in the mainshopping area (Bourke StreetMall). There is a tradition in Melbourne of families going to see the Myer’s (department store) shop windows, which contain animated models telling a Xmas story.
There were also groups of people from Myer’s dressed as elves handing out candy to children.
I then walked past the Town Hall, which was tied up in a pretty bow on my way to the city square, which had been decorated with an Xmas tree, a nativity scene, a big advent calendar and a place for kids to meet Santa (however he wasn’t there at this time).
I then caught a tram (another Melbourne institution) to the Queen Victoria Market to try and get some of the Xmas market atmosphere I’d seen so much of in Europe. I came away a little disappointed it was more of a food market than an Xmas market.
After a quick bite and a beer I headed back into the centre of Melbourne as it was now starting to get dark.
After sunset it was back to the Town Hall for the ‘projections’. This is Xmas themed images and animations being projected on to the building with accompanying music. Once again I was worried about the speed of the film and my lens (f4) as my shutter speeds were getting down as low as 1/10s and I didn’t have a tripod. The results however were pretty good.
The following day I went back to the Town Hall to take my last few shots as there was a gingerbread village displaying various scenes from around Melbourne. This time I had a faster lens (f1.4) with me. I needed it as the room was pretty dark but all things considering the shots came out okay.
So what did I think of the film?
The results were excellent and it definitely has a particular look especially the colour of the greens and reds. It was reliable and I really didn’t miss too many shots considering it was a pretty dull day and some were taken at night. There was however the occasional shot where the colour was a bit weird. There was one in the Bourke Street Mall where the sky came out particularly red when it was really quite blue when I shot it.
Another one taken of the gingerbread village came out rather green as it was underfluorescent lights. I guess we’re all used to auto white balance these days with digital cameras.
I’d certainly use Fuji 400 again as it’s as reliable as any film I’ve ever used and I like the colours it produces (despite the odd one here or there). It’s also not overly grainy and coped well with tricky lighting conditions.
I’m looking forward to seeing the results that Neil manages to get using the same film in possibly more difficult lighting.
Verdict: Pass (with honours)
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Neil @ Frankfurt
A very big thanks to Chris for his excellent write-up and even better photographs! I am glad to see he had a good experience with the Fuji 400 - it is a great all round film. I couldn't really do a 52 week project without some shots of the Xmas markets and thought it would be fun to see the same theme in two very different locations and light conditions.
All of my shots were taken on one evening, a Monday actually. I did this on purpose to avoid wrestling with selfie holding tourists, and to be able to get some good shots of the stalls and different lights. All of my photographs were taken in Frankfurt along the 3 to 4 Xmas markets spread throughout the city centre. Below are my favourite shots.
Frankfurt city centre - great colours for night time shooting
Christmas markets here are all about food, Glühwein, sweets (and repeat). Some proper Medieval looking salmon below!
The stalls are all extremely colourful and worked very well for the Fuji 400 film. It worked quite well in capturing all available light and rendering everything else pitch black.
Looks like they will write pretty much anything on these Gingerbread hearts. Maybe I should get them to write out the longest word ever composed in German: "Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft" (Association for Subordinate Officials of the Head Office Management of the Danube Steamboat Electrical Services). Actually, German is not that hard you can figure that word out but reading the separate words in it, still I reckon you would need a pretty massive Gingerbread heart to get all of that on it!
Even on a Monday these markets can get very busy. We all end up a bit sick of them in a few weeks, but for now it's Glühwein like there is no tomorrow...
Christmas market workers hard at work...
A lone ticket officer...
All aboard the Christmas Express!
A final farewell from a Gingerbread heart...
So there you have it: welcome to Christmas from Frankfurt & Melbourne! A fun exercise indeed, a big thanks again to Chris for taking part. And of course an invitation to any other legends (also known as obsessive analog photographers) who want to take part - just let me know! Chris will be back again in a few weeks!
Overall result: PASSED. A great all round film, indeed.
Thanks again for stopping by - now get some inspiration from this and go take more photographs!
Happy Christmas!
Neil in Frankfurt, Chris in Melbourne.
