Shooting with a 50mm f/1.2 old lens in Kyoto on black & white film // Nikon F4

Shooting with a 50mm f/1.2 old lens in Kyoto on black & white film // Nikon F4

I went to Kyoto in summer, brought 
along my Nikon F4 and a 50mm f1.2 AI-S manual lens. My friend runs a 
kimono rental shop right across from the four season hotel in Kyoto. I dropped 
by her place and took some photos there. I finished a roll of ILFORD Pan100 in the 
camera and switch to the Kodak Double-X. ISO 100 film isn’t great for indoor 
shooting. It’s just too slow. So, I’m going to loading the Double-X and pushing 
it to the ISO 800. Yeah, the Double-X handles pushing better. I developed the Double-X 
using HC 110 dilution B for 12 minutes. On the streets of Kyoto, you see lots of 
foreign tourists renting kimonos. You can usually tell them apart from the locals who wear 
kimono daily. Local Kyoto woman who wear kimonos regularly walk quickly and naturally. Tourists on 
the other hand often struggle a bit and move more carefully. Also, the patterns and the colors of 
their kimonos are quite different. That comes down to a cultural difference in taste and aesthetic 
between Japanese people and foreign visitors. Here is Miyagawa Cho. I like 
walking around here. It’s a quiet little street where Maiko san often appear. Manfuku-ji. This Buddhist temple is the head temple of 
the Obaku sect. One of three major Zen sects in Japan. It’s located in Uji Kyoto. Actually, 
there is an even older Manfuku-ji in Fujian, China, founded in 789 by master 
Zhengan of the Tong Dynasty. In 1654, a monk named Ingan came to Japan and 
established the Japanese temple found in the Obaku sect here. It’s a really quiet 
place. Almost no tourists visit this place. I went there hoping to hear the monk’s chant 
in the afternoon, but I didn’t get the chance. You know, the Japanese Buddhist chanting sounds 
different from the Chinese style. It’s flatter in tone with less emotional variation. I actually 
prefer it. But this time all I heard was the beautiful sound of wind chimes in the summer 
breeze. I sitting here quietly in the temple feeling the breeze and uh listening to the wind 
chimes. That sense of peace was enough for me. Still using the pushed double X at ISO 
800. You can see how pushing it to 800 doesn’t hold up well in high contrast 
scenes. The highlights get blown out and lose that film specific highlights tones 
and uh yeah I extended the development from 6 to 12 minutes. That’s too 
much for bright part highlights. On the way back to Kyoto from Uji 
by train, I stopped at Tofukuji station. It’s one of my favorite spots, a 
railroad crossing, the 踏切. I really like it. After finally finishing the row of 
double X, I loaded a ILFORD Pan100 again. And uh yeah, definitely shoot at 
box ISO always the best choice.

#kyoto #filmphotography #streetphotography
A quiet summer in Kyoto, captured on film.
In this video, I shoot with a Nikon F4 and a 50mm f/1.2 lens, using both ILFORD Pan100 and Kodak Double-X. I visit a friend’s kimono shop, walk around peaceful old streets, and sitting in the temple, feeling the breeze and listening to the wind chimes.
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#NikonF4 #DoubleX #JapanTravel

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