Film recommendations for Krakow?

[dave_chadderton]

I'm off to Krakow next weekend, any ideas for film choices? I have

some FP4, HP5+ & Efke 100. I don't want to take slides but don't mind

C41.

 

I'm looking for atmospheric shots of the town and surrounding area.

I've also got a couple of rolls of Fuji Superia 800.

 

Also, any recs re must-see places (apart from the obvious one)?

[mostly sports]

I'm assuming that you are shooting 35mm, as this is the Leica Forum. My advice for

"atmospheric shots" film is to take a tripod. Many foggy dawns or glowing sunset exposures

will be too short to support hand held shots. Landscapes often call for hyperfocal setting

and longer exposures at smaller apertures. You won't be getting the best from your Leica

landscapes without a tripod.

[low light]

FP4 and HP5 are excellent choices, although i prefer delta 400. Some delta 3200 would be great for atmospheric shots.

[peter_evans4]

Krakow is a sizable city, attracts many tourists, and is sure to have a wide variety of film available. Find what's convenient for you there and buy more of it there. Faster film will thereby suffer less from cosmic radiation, you'll be contributing to the economy of the city, and you gain an opportunity to converse with one or two "natives".

 

(I tend to think that tourists who import piles of film because it's 10 or even 20% cheaper where they come from deserve all the radiation they get. Or anyway they deserve to discover that it's actually a lot cheaper than it was back home.)

 

The film you have at home will be just as usable after you return from your trip.

[Nowhereman]

I travel all over the world and have not had any problems whatsoever with film in carryon

luggage going through x-ray machines. I'm not sure what B&W film you'll find in Cracow;

and I'm not sure that you don't want to run around tracking down B&W film, particularly if

you're there just for the weekend.

 

However, looking at the title of your thread, " Film recommendations for Krakow?", I

thought that this was a joke thread, as I don't see that one would take different film to

Cracow than what would take to New York, Tokyo, Peoria or Nairobi. Jeez.

 

--Mitch/Singapore Airport

[dave_chadderton]

Ok, to be specific.

 

Anyone got any recommendations for film for suitably atmospheric shots of Auschwitz?

[malcolm_tentt]

Hey mate, you've placed the same question on three different bloody Leica forums. Do you really need other people to tell you what bloody film to use, or are you just looking for commiseration over the fact you're being shuttled off to Poland?

[Nowhereman]

What film for Auschwitz? Are you for real? How difficult is it to figure out that you can you the

same film at Auschwitz as for Guatanomo -- no this isn't a political statement! -- or as for

Disneyland. And, yes, you can use the same film for Disneylnad as for Disneyworld. Cam this

guy be as big a twit as he sounds?

[Nowhereman]

And can I type more accurately?

[frank_skomial]

Once you arrive in Cracow, look at the airport for a tourist office or display, and will get numerous brochures with up to date information. There are many places to visit there, e.g. Zakopane, Wieliczka, and the Auchwitz(perhaps it is called now Oswiecim ?).

 

Poland in now part of European Union, and I would not count on prices being much lower than in USA. Perhaps prices are similar or the same in London, Berlin, Rome, etc.

 

As for film availability, due to rapid digital camera deployment in huge quantities, and Poles being aware of the technology, many of the photo chemical processing and film selling businesses are already closed, but certainly in the large city there are many left operational.

 

As for film selection, use color film of ISO 200, or 400. In dark places (means undergroung salt mine) like Wieliczka or other grottos, you may have need for faster films, e.g. 800.

 

For the special place in our history, the former concentration camp museum, I would recommend a back and white film for many reasons, I hope you understand. Perhaps you would want to better preserve the sorrow and sadness associated with the place. Perhaps you can purchase there some old black and white photographs of historical value, but they may not be appropriate for everybody.

[dave_chadderton]

"Hey mate, you've placed the same question on three different bloody Leica forums."

 

And if you look carefully you'll see that there are relatively few contributors who post on all 3 forums. I may get different answers elsewhere. Who knows.

 

Please feel free not to contribute.

[Nowhereman]

Make sure at dinner to try the Zubrowka: a vodka with a "bison straw" in it -- after a few of

those you won't care what film you use.Try a nice estaurant called something like

"Aniolka" (Angel) on the main street going down from the huge market square.

[dave_chadderton]

Frank,

 

Thank you for restoring my faith in some members of the forum.

 

 

Mitch,

 

"What film for Auschwitz? Are you for real?"

 

Yes.

 

"How difficult is it to figure out that you can you the same film at Auschwitz as for Guatanomo -- no this isn't a political statement! -- or as for Disneyland. And, yes, you can use the same film for Disneylnad as for Disneyworld."

 

No. For Disney I'd use a 'happy' Fuji Superia or bright Kodak film. My initial thoughts for Auschwitz are to use a gritty b/w film (400/800) to achieve the the sobering effect the subject matter deserves.

 

"Cam this guy be as big a twit as he sounds?"

 

Please explain? Have you used Foma, Efke, ADOX, Ilford, Agfa, MACO and Gigabit films for such documentary purposes? I haven't used most of the above brands and wonder how they would perform.

 

As I said above, please feel free not to reply again unless you can contribute to the topic.

[dave_chadderton]

"As I said above, please feel free not to reply again unless you can contribute to the topic."

 

Fair enough, you just did. Thanks.

[Nowhereman]

>>>Please explain? Have you used Foma, Efke, ADOX, Ilford, Agfa, MACO and Gigabit films

for such documentary purposes?<<<

 

You've used quite a few B&W films -- for a trip shouldn't you stay with what you know? You

can take HP5+ and push it to say 800 or higher and get the look you want. The other day I

saw a portrait shot with HP5+ pushed to 3200, and it had a wonderful quality. I say this

because HP5+ is commonly thought not to push well past 800. You might want to run a test

before your trip and push some of the films you normally use.

[dave_chadderton]

Mitch,

 

My point was that I've only used Foma and Ilford (but have bought some Efke recently). Nice advice re HP5 though - I might try some at 1600/3200 while I'm away.

[Nowhereman]

>>>My initial thoughts for Auschwitz are to use a gritty b/w film (400/800) to achieve the

the sobering effect the subject matter deserves.<<<

 

Maybe, but other people could get that sort of sobering effect with slow, fine-grain film and

pulling it. You can visualize what sort of effect you want and then rate your HP5+

accordingly, pulling it or pushing; or you can use FP4 or the other films. It's not the film

that's going to make your pciture; it's how you use it; how you develop; and how you print.

My point was that there is not a particular type of film that's going to be the best for

Auschwitz -- it's the photographer who'll be the determining factor.

[andy m.]

<i>-- 'it's the photographer who'll be the determining factor'.</i><p>

 

So true, IMO. But if you want <i>grainy</i> and <i>contrasty</i> results, go with somethng like Tri-X pushed to 800.<p>

 

The reality is that the nature of your images will come down more to exposure, composition and, after the fact, to development and printing than to selection of a specific brand of film. And thank goodness for that. Otherwise photography would be far too easy and homogenous ;-)

[charles_stobbs3]

Serious subjects demand Kodachrome.

[dan_mitchell4]

Dave - Please check your email.

 

Thank you - Daniel

[jerry_lehrer]

Dave-- when you get to Krakov, you nust contact Stanislaw Stawowy. He is an avid Leica and Rollei photographer. His English is better than mine, so communication is no problem. He is also an expert on Krakov.

 

Jerry

[dave_chadderton]

Thanks all, particularly Dan. Some good advice amongst the bickering!!

[hywel]

Dave,

 

Not only was I in Krakow a month ago, I just logged-on only to pass the time whilst my

scanner is doing it's job on the 14th of 19 films I'm slowly getting through.

 

I've only ever put B&W film in my Leica and I took with me a whole bunch of HP5 and some

FP4. Very quickly I was out and about trying to find more FP4--almost all the time I was

there the sun was out and the widest apature I could shoot with an MP and HP5 was f8 or

f5.6. At the time I thought, and now I can see, that that can sometimes be too much depth

of field.

 

Should you need to buy more film when you are there, it's actually not too difficult. There's

a shop on the south side (just next to Hotel Wentzl) that sells a range wider than the

tourist stuff. It has Ilford B&W but not HP5 & FP4--Poland seems to be one of those

countries where Ilford markets the Pan100 & Pan400 instead. I bought and used the

Pan100 and in the scans to date it doesn't seem any worse than the FP4.

 

Also look for the department store about half way up the east side. They have a fridge full

of Kodak film. Lots of colour and all the T-Max's but no Tri-X in B&W.

 

There's a lot of buildings worth getting inside and the old part of town gets lively as the

sun goes down, so also have some high-speed film along. The night life is so enjoyable

that I never made a sunrise.

 

I didn't go, couldn't bring myself to go, to Auschwitz, so can give you no specific tips for

there, but Krakow, I thought, was a lovely city. I'd like to give you advice about where to

take great pictures but whilst I try, I'm not sure that I take great pictures. Those I like the

best are not of the landmarks but those I took just aimlessly wandering. And even if

they're not any good, I still had a great time doing it.

 

Hope you also have a wonderful trip,

 

Hywel

[albert knapp md]

Several members have mentioned Auschwitz as a must see stop while in Cracow. I would have the hotel book a driver very early in hte morning, say 5AM and drive to Auschwitz. Figure on arriving by 6AM. At this time of the year, the mornings are very foggy and this will make your photos even more lugubrious/sinister/sad.... Auschwitz was, in 1942, built as three camps, I, II, & III. Auschwitz I is the former Polish army garrison, Auschwitz II is also known as Birkenau and is the site of the slaughter of millions of Jews, Gypsies, Poles and Homosexuals amongst others. This is where the railroad lines go.

Auschwitz III is the I.G. Farben industrial complex that has been destroyed. This is where the slaves labored making military equipment for the master race. Remember, this is the epitome of mankind's evil/ depravity and cruelty so don't be surprised if you become emotional. You may want to look at pictures of AI and AII and figure out where you should be on htat early foggy morning. Never forget what you see.

[dave_chadderton]

Hywell,

 

Thanks for the advice/tips. I should have plenty of iso 100 film, but the shop is noted!

 

 

Albert,

 

I intend to treat Auschwitz with the respect it deserves and anticipate some throat lumps and possibly tears. I experienced this reaction when visiting the Somme, so visiting Auschwitz will, I sure, be another life changing experience.