Thank you so much for welcoming me into your group. I am struck by the great variety present in the folio. There are cha-chas, long night exposures, extreme hyper stereos, multiple exposures, homemade cameras, handheld shots, flash and more. All these different methodologies are used with a vast array of subjects. There is so much to explore with MF3D, and I can’t believe my luck that I’ve stumbled upon it when slide film is still available and this small but dedicated user group exists to support one another in our craft.

Thanks, I’m very grateful!

Claybank, Saskatchewan is home to North America’s best preserved brick making site. The Claybank Brick Plant was operational from 1914 to 1989 and made bricks for many building projects, including the Château Frontenac in Quebec City. The national historic site is open for tours during the summer, but you are able to visit the clay hills any time.

Shortly after receiving my Sputnik, I tried to think of locations near me which would provide good stereo photographic opportunities (a somewhat challenging task on the bald Canadian Prairies!) Claybank occurred to me as a unique place to photograph with its derelict brick-making plant and its eroded hills. I hoped that using black and white film would communicate a kind of neglected feeling about this old place.

All images taken in the Spring of 2016 on PanF+ except for Kilns which was Delta 100.

Some of the technical difficulties with my entry to the folio:

My Sputnik leaks light. I originally bought a Sputnik which was quite good, but it had a shutter problem. I opened it up, fixed the problem, but as I put it back together, the shutter release trigger broke off due to the soft metal. So I ordered another Sputnik, but it was not sealed as well as my first one. I cannot for the life of me figure out where it is leaking light. It is flocked and I use it with hoods, but there is still significant flare/light leak on some frames.

As a college student, I like to save money where I can, but I also want to shoot at least one roll per week on the Sputnik. This has led me to home reversal processing B&W film. I think I mostly understand the theory of the process, but I certainly haven’t perfected it yet as I am not yet getting the Dmax I would like. The slide “Rejects” has some crescent shaped rivalry — this is where I was still learning how to load 120 film onto a developing reel and bent the film. Hopefully I’ve learned and I won’t have to deal with this type of artifact again.

My main difficulty with MF3D/Sputnik is shooting in sufficient light. I mostly use PanF+ to keep the grain down and to get consistent with my development process, but then I’m stuck with 1/15 shutter speed at f/22. This doesn’t work for any vegetation where I live since it is ALWAYS windy. Maybe the solution is just moving elsewhere. If I want to shoot colour, then I get an extra stop of light using Velvia 100, but if I want to shoot when the colour is good (during magic hour), I lose this speed.

It’s challenging to do MF3D, but that makes it extra rewarding. I apologize that my slides this round are not technically up to the level of others’ contributions, but I hope the content makes up for this somewhat. Thanks for your consideration.