I keep a roll of Film Ferrania for my favourite escapes, and a recent trip to Hamburg provided the perfect scenery to look for some classic black & white city views.
I haven’t posted anything in a while because I have been too busy enjoying the bright summer daylight and taking loads of photos. I have also had a few trips so plenty of new posts coming up (and plenty of scanning prior to that also!). This post has been in the works for a while, since Easter actually. I spent 2 days in Hamburg and managed to grab some good shots on one of the days. This is a 1 roll blog post!
About the theme
My theme was simple: go look for some classic black & white views in Hamburg. I have shot Film Ferrania P30 quite a few times and it creates a black & white image unlike any other in my opinion. Its very low ISO 80 demands both lots of light and a lens that can open up enough for lower light situations. I paired the film with my Leica M2 and a Voigtlander 35mm F1.4 lens, a perfect combination for this film.
A quick reminder from Film Ferrania:
FERRANIA P30® is an 80 ISO panchromatic black & white motion picture film for still photography, and reintroduces the legendary P30 film produced by Ferrania during the 1960s.
With its cinema pedigree, ultrafine grain, and very high silver content, FERRANIA P30® has no peers in the modern analog film market.
It is hard to disagree with the above statement. I also like seeing the final images from this film as the darks are extremely dark and the overall image is always very sharp. Now onto the photos…
Hamburg City Hall. Still in use, this beautiful building was constructed in 1886.
Busy scene, but not nearly as busy as Christmas Markets time. I also shot that too, check that out here.
I was fascinated by the U-Bahn network, and took quite a few photos whilst down there (very hard to do with ISO 80 and no tripod!). I really like the straight lines in this shot.
I am a big fan of the idea of empty spaces in underground stations - check out Munich’s U-Bahn station whilst deserted on my post here.
Easily my favourite shot of the roll.
More empty stations. Shot wide open on the Voigtlander lens and you can see some vignetting on the sides, which this lens is known to do at F1.4. It works with this composition though and accentuates the circular nature of the ceiling and overall tunnel feeling.
Part of Hafen City, Hamburg’s regeneration project - plenty of great photo opportunities of the old buildings converted to offices or apartments. Some really excellent architectural views.
I liked the different levels in this scene, it just keeps on going.
Classically German.
I like that this shot came out a bit blurry, it adds some motion to the scene.
This shot came out very artistic, I like the overly bright lights and straight lines.
Also a favourite shot of the roll - I really like how much there is in this scene despite it being completely void of people.
Sharp, sharp, sharp! This is where Film Ferrania excels.
A landscape shot of part of the Hafen City.
I like how the perspective makes it look like the church is peering over the buildings to have a look.
A closer view of the Hamburg City Hall main square.
I always look out for frames within my shots, I like how this one came out.
Another keeper. Some really great shadow work going on here.
A classic shot looking down towards the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
Slightly blown out sky, which can happen with Film Ferrania.
You can see the maritime influence on the city’s architecture. Another really sharp shot.
The patterns caught my eye.
Wonderful architecture!
Overall observations
I hope you enjoyed a short walk around some interesting sites in Hamburg. Actually re-reading this post it is clear I spent a lot of time underground photographing! Another great experience with Film Ferrania P30 film - good that I have a few rolls of it left in the fridge.
This film does not disappoint, however it has to be used under the right circumstances. Its low ISO combined with a tendency to make the shadows incredibly dark means it isn’t for general use. I also think a film like this demands a classic subject, it would be a perfect film to take around Florence or Venice. It works very well for tack sharp architectural shots. I also shot it once on my old Hasselblad Xpan and that produced incredibly sharp shots (see blog post here).
I have plenty of more posts coming, so this site will start to get busier again in the coming weeks.
See you next time and thanks for stopping by,
Neil
