[Delta 3200 Test] The Beautiful Refrain @ The Blue Nile \\ Harrisonburg, Virginia

October 12, 2012 | Filed Under film, Personal 

Last Tuesday I headed over to The Blue Nile in Harrisonburg, VA to check out The Beautiful Refrain and to test out some newly acquired Ilford Delta 3200. I believe this is currently the fastest black and white film available, besides pushed tri-x of course. High speed film and digital sensors are really useful if one wishes to not rely on a flash unit. Though sometimes necessary, I feel that the more flash can be avoided, the better. I like to try and retain the original atmosphere of the event. Though the meter in the Pentax is on it’s way to death really I think the grainy, contrasty look gives the set a lo-fi, rock-and-roll-esk feel.

***DISCLAIMER*** Yes, a few of these images are WONKY in appearance, especially around contrasty edges. As mentioned above, the built in meter on the Pentax is on the brink, therefore the scanner was forced to compensate; things can sometimes get ugly in that situation.. .On the other hand, I have a digital set from the same event at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

DELTA 3200 [film]

Canon 5D Mark II [digital]

I wanted to see how closely I could match the 5D to the Delta 3200, so I added grain, as well as several other contrast-tonal adjustments in post. Low light images just look plain weird without grain. . .