More Vigilant Now!

   More stuff.  It takes awhile to accumulate enough films to justify the trip down to get them processed; hence the lack of new posts. However, I just got 5 -- count 'em -- 5 -- rolls back.  Here's a preview.  As always, click on the picture to see a bigger version.

   First off:  a  30-second time exposure from the 30th floor of the Minto Hotel in Ottawa:

 

   We're looking north-west, towards the Ottawa River. The long streak of light in the middle,  foreground and background, is Albert St., and the S-shaped curve of street lights on the right is the Ottawa River Parkway.

   Next, a snowy street scene in Toronto.  We had lots of the white stuff this winter, and not too much, just enough.  

   The meniscus lens is a funny thing; snappy and sharp in the centre, soft and a bit distored at the periphery.  But contrast is good.  The tone is from the non-neutral colour of the acetate base of the cheap Chinese film.  At least, this is how the scanner is rendering it.  Fuji Neopan, whose base is dead-neutral, looks more blue-black.

   Here are some kids doing what kids are supposed to do when it snows in a park with a hill:

   I note simply this: they were not just the only kids in the park, they are the only kids on a toboggan I saw the whole winter.  Good thing I had my 70 year old camera to record the proof.  Future generations won't believe me!

   Same park, different angle, and cropped square to fit the composition better:

   Another part of the same park: the jungle gym, partly buried.

   What would winter in Toronto be without drivers struggling to find legal parking on snow-filled side streets?

 

   

   One more word about the Shanghai GP3 film:  the actual emulsion has many small imperfections.  They don't show up much on such a big negative (6x9 cm) but would be the size of boulders on a 35mm neg.  Don't use this stuff for anything serious.  It works great for the Vigilant Junior, because the camera's technical limitations dictate the overall quality much more than the film.