"Chapter one. He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion. No, make that 'he romanticized it all of proportion' - better. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gerswhin."
That, of course, it the great opening monologue of Woody Allen's Manhattan. There is just something about New York glistening in black & white while Gershwin plays in the background that is just perfect. It’s hard to argue, no matter what your thoughts are on Woody Allen or the film itself. What Wendy Peffercorn is to Kodachrome, New York is to HP5. She shines in black and white.
Here’s what I saw.
Canon Elan II with 50mm f/1.4
Ilford HP5
The natural history museum and the latitude of film
So I messed up. I shot a roll of HP5 at 1600 and developed it at 400. It wasn't on purpose of course, and I thought that an entire roll would be wasted. Thankfully it was fine. Despite being underexposed by more than 2 stops, these are actually some of my favorite photos. The scans from my lab were extremely flat and dull, but once I crushed the blacks in Lightroom and adjusted the highlights I quite like the look. Not ideal, but not horrible. Still learning…
Kodak Tmax 3200
If grain is your thing, then you already know.
