Mikeinlagardette's photos with the keyword: diafine

Taken near our home, some years ago, using a Mamiya 4B rangefinder camera. This was taken on 200ASA colour negative film, and developed as a black and white negative in Diafine. The deep brown dye layer of colour films makes them difficult to scan, but the results are often interesting. Mamiya 4B, f2.8/45mm Kominar lens. Fujicolor 200 in Diafine 5+5mins @21C. Scanned @2400dpi on Epson V500

Looking upwards to the top of Porte Saint Jean, from rue St Jacques. Much of the gatehouse we see today is from the 15thC, but the foundations date from the mid 13thC. The upper level was used as a prison in the middle ages. The buildings in rue Saint Jacques are much later - 18th/early 19th century, with Mansard roofs & stylish dormer windows. 1953 Agfa Ventura 66 Deluxe, f4.5/85mm Agfa Solinar, X2 yellow filter. Fomapan Ultra 200 @ 400 in Diafine, 4+4 mins@21C. Scanned @120dpi on Epson V500.

This superb art-deco monument is an appropriate celebration of one of the giants of French literature. The main structure, of polished red granite, is by Franz Jourdain, and the bust of Zola is by the sculptor Phillippe Solari. In fact, Émile's body was re-interred in the Panthéon in 1908! It's still the family vault though, and shares this cemetery with many other famous names from the world of arts - Degas, Alexander Dumas, Hector Berlioz, Offenbach, Stendahl, the dancer Nijinski, Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone - to mention just a few! A fascinating, if slightly macabre, diversion in Paris !! 1940's Voigtlander Bessa 66, f3.5/75mm Heliar, X2 yellow filter. Shanghai GP3 100 @200 in Diafine 3.5 + 3.5mins @ 21C Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500

For my sins, I have been made administrator of the group Vintage 120 Camera - not an onerous task, since the group has currently less than ten members !! Which is a pity, because there are a lot of lovely old 120 cameras, most of which are capable of making wonderful pictures. I haven't done too much photography recently, so here are three pics taken a while back, with some of the vintage cameras I have owned, all 120 format. This beautiful doorway which dates from the late 15th century, is in the former presbytery at Bénévent-l'Abbaye, and the little Voigtlander Bessa 46 which I used has captured much of the lovely workmanship, and the careful restoration of this feature of the building. The lens was an uncoated f4.5/75mm Skopar, a real jewel of a lens - I bitterly regret selling this camera !! 1940's Voigtlander Bessa 46, f4.5/75mm Skopar lens, Moment yellow filter. Foma Ultra 200 developed in Diafine 4+4 mins A&B. Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500

Chateau de La Roche. The Department of Creuse is not famous for it's chateaux - you need to go to the Loire to see the most beautiful examples, - but there are a few here, and this is an impressive building, by any standards Here is a view of the front facade of the chateau, which is surrounded by a very formal, strangely five-sided moat, ornamental, rather than defensive. The original building was built for Gabriel Foucauld, between 1533 and 1588, but only a little of this remains, and we are looking at a largely late 18thC rebuild, by the architect Pierre Berthomier, and the result of further restoration during the 19thC. Taken with a 1942 Voigtlander Bessa 66 some years ago, in fact the very first roll of film I exposed in the camera, which came from the late Robbe Keppens, in exchange for a very strange 35mm Agfa Flexilette! 1942 Voigtlander Bessa 66, f3.5/75mm Heliar lens, X2 yellow filter. Fomapan 100 @200 in Diafine, 4+4 mins @21C

This former monastry building is well hidden, despite the fact that is quite close to the centre of the village. The Order of the Word Incarnate was founded by a priest who was born in Azerables, and the chapel was built in 1889, the work of a local architect, Léon Vallet. Following it's closure as a religious building in the 1960's, the main accomodation was turned into a retirement home, which has since moved to new premises, so these buildings were empty at the time this photo was taken, in 2011. 1948 Kodak Tourist 620, converted to 120, f4.5/105mm coated Anaston, X4 Orange filter. Rollei RPX 400 @ 1600, in Diafine 4 + 4 mins @ 21C. Scanned@1200dpi on Epson V500.

Most of the time we have to make a guess about the age of any particular building, based on personal knowledge, local history, materials & techniques, and so on, but here, thanks to the town's elders, we are certain. The house was the property of a jurisconsulte, - a lawer, called Joachim du Challard. He was born in La Souterraine - we are not told when, but we know that he died in 1562, and this fits in well with this style, from the early 16th century. The work is of high quality, carved in granite, and borrows heavily from church masonry in both technique & style, and M. Challard must have been a wealthy man to have commissioned such work for a secular building. The door is later, of course, but suits the building well, made from oak boards of random width, - the central slot was for a letter flap, although this is now unused, a separate letter box is now mandatory in France. 1948 Kodak Tourist 620, 6X9, converted to 120 film. f4.5/105mm Kodak Anaston lens, X2 yellow filter, Fomapan 400 @800 in Diafine 4+4 mins @21C Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500