Black and White Film

Multiple Exposures With The Hasselblad 500c/m

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I’m embarrassed to admit that for the longest time I had no idea the Hasselblad 500c/m was capable of making multiple exposures on a single frame with a roll of film. With most of my cameras, the ability to do multiple exposures has always been controlled by a dedicated switch, typically labeled “multi” or by an icon of two rectangular frames over top of each other. With the Hasselblad 500c/m I just figured this wasn’t an option. However, when it comes to Hasselblad, simplicity usually wins the day and the process to make multiple exposures is not only quite simple, but also incredibly easy.

Before going any future, I suppose I should answer the question; what is a multiple exposure? Multiple exposures are photographs in which two or more images are superimposed in a single frame. With a little bit of practice they can be quite fun and often yield dreamy or otherworldly results.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford PanF ISO 50 film in medium format.

So if anyone out there reading this is like me and didn’t know you can do multiple exposures on a single frame with the Hasselblad 500c/m, here is a quick outline of the steps you should follow:

STEP ONE: Expose your first image like normal. Typically when doing multiple exposures I underexpose each frame a stop or two to keep the final negative from getting too dense.

STEP TWO: Without advancing the frame, insert the dark slide into the camera and remove the film back.

STEP THREE: With the film back removed, cock the shutter on the film body only!

STEP FOUR: Re-attach the film back and remove the dark slide.

Your Hasselblad is now ready to expose another image onto the same frame of the film roll. Since you removed the film back when you cocked the shutter, the roll of film has not been advanced and you are now exposing the same frame again.

You can repeat these steps as many times as you like to make as many exposures on the same frame as you want. Two, three, five, one-hundred if you want to! Personally I haven’t gone above two exposures on the same frame because I think it is easy to get cluttered and messy with compositions, but hey, in the creative process there are no rules and I’m sure someone could point out to me a photographer who does a lot more than two in camera.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford PanF film in medium format.

These images are from my first outing after discovering this new technique. Ilford Pan F would perhaps not be my first choice of film when working with a process that requires a bit of guess work, but the day was very bright and warm and I wanted to open the aperture up wide to blur my backgrounds a bit. Even with an ISO 50 film I was still forced to work at about f/8 which wasn’t ideal and put some constraints on my creative vision. Even on the best of days photography is about compromise so I worked with the resources and situation I had on hand and made the best of it.

I plan on doing a lot more multiple exposures in the future.

Summer Has Yet To Begin

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The weather has been very dreary in the Pacific North West this year. Oddly, I’m not bothered by this in the slightest. When I read the weather reports of other parts of the United States hanging out in triple digit heat I can’t help but think I’ll gladly take a little bit of rain and overcast. Getting a little wet when making a photograph has never been a very big deal.

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Ilford FP4 120 film.

I really enjoy the soft lighting of overcast weather. Sometimes it can make working with a slower speed film a little bit of a problem, but nothing a tripod or a steady hand can’t solve. Plus it gives me an excuse to work with the lens aperture wide open. On my Mamiya C330 TLR working at f/2.8 creates a tad bit of softness to the final image that can be enjoyable for portraits and figure studies.

Ultimately, whatever weather gets thrown my way, the bottom line is you have to work with it and do your best!

Olympia SM3 - Playing With Form

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I’ve mentioned on this blog several times that along with photography I also have a passion for typewriters; my Olympia SM3 being a personal favorite. I’m not a particularly good writer mind you, but I do spend a good deal of time journaling with typewriters and writing letters to friends. It is a fun way to pass the time and I think it creates more meaningful and memorable communication with people; something that is sorely lacking in this day and age of social media, memes, and texting.

Olympia SM3 photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 120 film.

Generally speaking, I have great admiration for machines dedicated to a single task. Film cameras, typewriters, a well made compass, a useful pocket knife. There is something special and admirable about a device that performs a useful function, especially when it can perform that function through mechanical engineering alone.

Seriously, I could ramble about this topic for a very long time.

Put a couple of cocktails in my stomach and you’ll find me talking endlessly on the subject. Every so often my admiration for typewriters merges together with my love of photography. It honestly isn’t really much of a leap when you look at it from a visual perspective. Since a typewriter is meant to be used by humans, the form and interface are designed to be pleasing in a physical sense, despite the fact that it is made from metal and rubber. A typewriter is an extension of your ability to communicate. Using one show flow effortlessly from your brain to your fingers to the page in front of you. It’s no accident that the lines and shape of a typewriter are similar to those of the human body.

Olympia SM3 photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 in 120.

Of all the typewriters in my collection the Olympia SM3 is probably my favorite. It is just engineered so well. Completely bulletproof and yet so elegant at the time. This is the typewriter that has a permanent place on my desk and it is the typewriter I use about 90% of the time.

It doesn’t hurt that it photographs beautifully.

Storm in the Oregon Sky

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The wind was whipping around something fierce on this particular day out on Sauvie Island. High winds can easily be some of the most difficult conditions to work under. Cold weather is one thing. Cold weather with winds moving through your skin down to your bones is another thing entirely.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford Delta 400 medium format film.

I feel extremely fortunate that despite the difficult conditions there are some excellent photographs that have come out of this session. You’d never know it looking at this image, but the model and I blew through twelve frames of Ilford Delta 400 in about three minutes flat. Anything longer and the model would have probably started turning purple. On top of that, it was impossible to look through the ground glass on my Hasselblad without my eyes becoming a watery mess thanks to the high winds. I ended up just simply zone focusing using the distance scale on the lens.

Photography isn’t always, in fact it is rarely ever, the glamorous activity people assume it is. I’m lucky to work with brave and very resilient people.

Columbia River Gorge with the Mamiya RZ67

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It’s been raining something fierce here in the Portland area for the last few days. I don’t mind so much. I rather like the rain. It gives me a great excuse to curl up on the couch with my laptop, put on some very warm socks, and get caught up on editing images and watching movies. Over the next couple of days I plan on diving into a John Cassavetes box set I bought some time ago and will develop at least three rolls of film.

Photographed with a Mamiya RZ67 and Ilford HP5 film in 120 format.

I often don’t give my landscape photography the attention that it deserves. I’m keenly aware that it is less popular than the art nudes and figure studies and long ago I made my peace with that. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy doing it though. Heck, as I get older and more grumpy and have less of a desire to be around people I often enjoy doing it more. Landscape photography gives me the excuse to do something solitary without feeling lonely. There is something rather profound and good about that and I feel lucky to have a hobby that allows me to experience such a state of being.

I dragged my Mamiya RZ67 up a rather steep trail in order to make this particular image. I’m not the most physically active person on earth but I’m certainly not out of shape either. The trail up to this foggy hillside was a series of switchbacks that seemed to take forever, especially considering I had my Mamiya RZ67 with me (not a light camera…) a couple of lenses, a couple of film backs, a tripod, and a healthy amount of water and snacks. I don’t think it helped when you consider that it was a very foggy day and I couldn’t see the top of the hill where I was headed so I had no idea how close or far I was.

As always though, in the end it was worth it.