Hp5, Tri-x, Rollei 400s, Orwo N74, Foma400, Ilford Pan 400 or what?

I have cameras. Several of them lurking around the place. medium format, largish format and 35mm. Hang on, excuse me a moment while I peek out and see what that glow is outside....

It's the Sun. Hurrah! Not seen that for a while. There goes my darkroom sesh!

To The Croft - Tri-x

As I was saying, I have several cameras and, things being what they are - the wind from the north, the price of carrots and what have you, I am using 35mm this year a lot. I like 35mm. The cameras are generally small, light and ,,,,, cheap. For the Island Crofter series [3 years and counting ] I have virtually exclusively used 35mm. I can creep up unawares and snap the Crofter doing his thing without him hearing me. Except when I have to take a meter reading first, wipe the rain off my face and find a spot away from the 50mph wind and shout at Maclaren to stop eating my boot - most of the time really. Still, the little Zorki6 does a lot of the work - a freebee from Mr Blomquist in Sweden - along with an OM10, the Kiev II and any other cameras that I notice around the place. Not sure where they came from really.

Toots feeling happy - Tri-x

These days proper film  is not cheap. In fact what with the price of silver being what is is/has been, movies using more digital than film [except for the good ones :-) ] the prices have gone up and up. So, I'm always looking for a bargain to grab. Ilford film from Mobberly is truly excellent - HP5 being a nice 400 film although my choice of developer - Rodinal - means that it's best at 250 really. Scanned or wet-printed.

I mean, I do like grain but there is a limit! It's not cheap though - the best never is - but I bagged a couple of  out-of-date 30m rolls from Spain recently at a good price so that should keep me going for a while.

Fallen Angel - Tri-x

The same goes for Kodak Tri-x - I bought 10 out of date cassettes of the stuff for - cheap :-). Looks like a grainy HP5 to me - but I'm sure there's a better way to do it! It was meant to be THE photojournalists film after all but I'm not so keen. I've also got some ORWO n74 - which is nice too. Grainy but nice tones me thinks . Foma 400 is fantastic at either 250 [rodinal 1:50] or 1600 [Rodinal !;50]. Don't ask me why, I just like it. Ilford Pan 400 - made for the export markets [India etc] I like too but the BEST real 400 film for me is Rollei400s - works lovely in Rodinal and wet-prints beautifully. Yes, really. Pity really since I haven't got much of that stuff left. 

Mmm, maybe I need some more for 120 / Medium format!

Oh bother. The sun has gone !