I decided to combine two different film rolls into one post, with a photowalk around Alcala de Henares on Agfa 400, and a never tried before Rollei Blackbird Creative through central Madrid. Come join me for the results!
I shot these two rolls of film back in December, where I spent some time in Madrid. Having grown up there I have spent a lot of my life photographing the city, so it is always hard to think about new themes and places to shoot. I had brought with me quite a few different film types, in particular Rollei Blackbird Creative, which I was keen to try out for the first time.
Agfa 400 film in Alcala de Henares
Agfa 400 film is easily available in most Germany drugstores, and at under €5 a roll it is very affordable. I believe it is a newer emulsion of a classic professional version. There is also an ISO 100 variant. According to Agfa:
APX 400 provides remarkable performance and reliability even in bad light. The applications for APX 400 are almost limitless: action, sports reporting, fashion and advertising.
I took this roll with me for an afternoon/evening wander around Alcala de Henares, located 35km north of Madrid and famous for being the birthplace of Cervantes, the author who penned ‘Don Quijote’. I didn’t really have a theme to this roll, I was looking out for some nice strong contrasts and interesting lighting.
The main street down the old town. Busy with Spaniards going for an evening stroll.
Some interesting lighting under one of the churches. I am not sure I got the right focus on this shot but I still like how it came out.
A really cool Christmas tree made out of long illuminated ropes.
One of my favourite shots - I really like the strong contrast in this shot. All of these were taken handheld with my Leica and a 35mm lens.
Always look up!
I really like the contrast between in and out of focus parts of this shot.
Another shot looking straight down the main shopping street.
My favourite shot of the roll.
Actually I quite like this one too! Nothing like a dark alleyway with some moody lighting in black & white.
This is definitely a shot I am going to take into the darkroom and try to get a good print.
Back to Madrid - this was shot near Puerta de Toledo (I just noticed it is written on the street sign!). I liked the shapes in this composition.
A bit cliche, but I liked the shadow.
Puerta de Toledo.
Rollei Blackbird creative film
According to the manufacturer:
An excellent film returns! Dramatic light rendition, without neglecting the detail. High-resolution results, outstanding sharpness and finest grain.
We are talking about Rollei Blackbird Creative. The orthopanchromatic black and white creative film from Rollei offers the possibility to expose images from ISO 25/15 to ISO 100/21°. A versatile and popular film with which we celebrate its comeback in limited numbers.
- orthopanchromatic sensitized black-and-white negative film
- nominal sensitivity ISO 64/19
- extremely high resolution and low sensitive film
- dramatic light reproduction
- exposable from ISO 25/15° to ISO 100/21°.
- sensitivity utilization through development duration controllable
I was curious to shoot this film as it was limited and seemed quite specialised. I had heard it was really good for strong contrasts and sharpness. I went for a walk around the back streets of Madrid in and around the Puerta de Toledo area.
A very typical Madrid street scene. Nice contrast and sharpness too.
Another typical Madrid scene. I like how everyone seems to have something with them.
This was the first shot of the roll and there is a bit of light leak in the frame. It looks like the little boy is covering himself from the light leak too (sorry, bad joke I know).
I shot this in a hurry and it is a pity because I was hoping to get a view of the scene inside, however the high dynamic range has completely obliterated that with strong white of the walls.
I like the layers in this shot.
Nice shadows and strong contrast in this shot.
It was very bright at this stage and it was hard to get the right balance of light, you can see how the highlights are completely blown out.
Another very typical shop front, pity I didn’t nail the focus though.
I think my theme for this walk was typical Madrid shop fronts!
I was caught by the strong shadowy area in this shot.
I really like how the lamp post came out so dark, I wasn’t expecting that when I took the shot.
I really like this shot - I was curious to see how it would come out given the strong sun glare. I am impressed but how balanced this shot is given such high dynamic range.
I really like how the road seems to bend in this shot.
Shot with my 50mm lens, I really like the tightened composition in comparison with a 35mm lens shot.
Now that I look at this shot I am not sure what caught my eye.
Overall observations
I enjoyed shooting both of these rolls, even though the environment was so different it is hard to compare them. Actually that was not the point of this post, I decided to combine them as I didn’t feel I had a clear set of images from either to warrant a stand alone post. That being said, I was very impressed with the Agfa APX400 film and it is definitely a film I will buy again and probably push to 1600. It is extremely sharp and clear from what I can see from this sample roll, and its price point is excellent.
The Rollei Blackbird Creative was interesting, I am not sure I tested it properly to get an informed decision. It seems to come out in limited numbers and costs quite a bit more than the Agfa film. Apparently it can be shot at a number of ISOs from as low as 50, so perhaps it is one I will try again under different circumstances. From my initial experience it does seem to be a very strong contrast and sharp film.
Thanks for stopping by!
Neil
