Notes on film

Occasional writing about home developing, old lenses and long walks.

Rodinal at 1+100, again

September 2026

Stand development keeps winning for overexposed rolls. One gentle inversion at the half hour, nothing else. Edges come out crisp, the highlights stay put, and the sky no longer turns into chalk.

A Helios that finally behaves

July 2026

After a full clean the aperture blades stopped sticking. The swirl is still there wide open, which is the point. At f/4 it is simply a sharp, slightly warm lens.

Scanning without a scanner

April 2026

A macro lens, a cheap light panel and a holder cut from mount board. The camera does the rest; inverting negatives is the fiddly part, not capturing them.