A few shots with Lomo "Potsdam" B&W

[Paul Taylor]

I bought a bunch of this a while back when it was on sale - and never shot any till now. Unfortunately much of the roll was damaged by my squeegee - and I don't think it is the squeegee's fault. I think this film may be "soft" and not like being squeegee'd so when I shoot it again I will make a mental note to be gentle. I inspected the camera - and all is well there.

However, I do rather like the film. Developed with Cinestill monobath and shot with my Bronica EC.

DSC_1676 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

DSC_1673 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

DSC_1672 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

 

[Paul Taylor]

Just as an update, after doing some research - apparently this film stock is known for weird streaking issues. I ran another roll through the same camera, and was super careful about processing and handling - didn't squeegee - and had same / similar issues. A bit of google-fu and apparently this is a common issue.

This is disappointing as I just ordered more (it is cheap) and now I think I will have 8-10 rolls total to shoot. I guess I will have to use it in select situations where I want some weird stuff to happen. Lomo being lomo I guess.

From "The Darkroom" website : "Please note that this film often exhibits unusual streaking or other artifacts that at first glance appear to be processing-related, they are not. This is a known issue with this film stock."

 

[Paul Taylor]

For documentation if anyone else uses this - here is some of the shots that had a lot of the issues.

When I was drying the roll I ran through today - I was seeing some of the same stuff and was racking my brain. So if you have any of this film stock - just beware it does this on many of the frames. Lomo said they possibly had an old/expired large spool from the supplier, and that could be the reason - but who knows.

Apparently it is actually Orwo N74 film.

Looking at other pics with the film online they exhibit the same issues - and it apparently is well noted it is a film stock issue. Guess I need to start reading up on all the film I buy if I am not already familiar with it.

DSC_1667 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

DSC_1674 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

DSC_1668 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

 

[Paul Taylor]

From the roll today.

DSC_1697 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr


DSC_1689 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

DSC_1688 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Possibly a good argument for sticking with a known stock? While I have shot a lot of Tri-X, Plus-X, and HP5+, I'm now sitting on 48 sheets of Fomapan 100 4 x 5 sheets. I'm hoping that switching back to the old stand-by Kodal chemistry, I'll end up being happy with what I have.

In 4 x 5 sheets, the Fomapan was significantly less expensive than either Tri-X or HP5.

 

[Paul Taylor]

Luckily I stick with the tried and true when it comes to photos I might care about - so I usually shoot a roll of a "new" to me stock in the same few places I visit often. It is just disappointing this stock has issues as I rather like the look of it. Perhaps they have it "sorted" now, and the stuff I ordered won't have the problem. The stuff I was shooting is probably about a year old or so.

If anything I guess it is good exercise to examine your process and camera, and this resulted in that.