Tag: Ilfosol 3

Birdsong in Black & White: A Morning at the Jardin Extraordinaire

Posted on Posted in Black and White Photography, Film Photography, France, Landscape Photography, Nantes Photography, photography philosophy, Reportage, Street Photography, The Film ArchivesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Birdsong in Black & White: A Morning at the Jardin Extraordinaire

I’d never been to the Jardin Extraordinaire before. And I’d never shot Ilford Pan 100.

Honestly? I wasn’t sure what to expect from either.

What I found was a place that felt alive — birds everywhere, water cascading down massive rock faces, people just being there. Reading on rocks. Walking along paths. Letting kids splash in the shallow pools. And if you look closely at a few of the wider shots, you’ll spot the Grue Titan across the Loire at the Hangar à bananes. It’s not in the garden, but it’s in the photographs. I like that. A small nod to the bigger story of this city.

The Jardin Extraordinaire is built on an old granite quarry in the Prairie au Duc. You can still see the rock faces where they cut into the hillside, metal walkways clinging to the stone, plants reclaiming what machines once carved out. And that waterfall — 35 metres of water pouring down the old quarry walls. Dramatic and peaceful at once, if that makes any sense.

What I didn’t fully register while I was shooting is how the garden fits into Nantes’ wider landscape of transformation. The Hangar à bananes, the Machines de l’Île, the whole Île de Nantes redevelopment — they’re all part of the same conversation about what to do with industrial space. The garden is the quiet, green chapter. The crane across the water is the bold industrial punctuation. When I got the scans back and saw the Grue Titan peering into a few frames, that clicked.

Full disclosure: I was the older gentleman in the Panama hat, moving slowly around the paths with a cane and an analogue camera. Taking my time. Stopping to frame things. Not in any hurry.

I watched the Nantais doing their thing while I did mine. A parent reading on a rock while children scrambled nearby. Couples strolling. And me, clicking through 36 frames like I had all the time in the world. Which I did. That was rather the point.

I did spot one other photographer — shooting with a very modern, very impressive DSLR. And I had to consciously stop myself from slipping into smug film photographer mode. Oh, you’re chimping your screen? How… digital. I held it together. Mostly. The honest answer is we were both just doing the same thing with different tools, and there’s room for all of it.

As for the Pan 100 — I’d heard it was contrasty, fine-grained, sharp. What I didn’t expect was how well it would suit this particular place. The Jardin Extraordinaire is all about contrasts: dark rock against bright sky, rough stone against smooth water, industrial metal against wild greenery. Pan 100 didn’t fight any of that. It leaned into it. I shot mostly between f/5.6 and f/16, trusted the FE’s meter, and when the scans came back I was — pleased? Surprised? Both. The images feel like the day felt.

My favourite shots aren’t the big dramatic ones. They’re the clusters of berries photographed close enough to see their star patterns, the metal butterfly on a gate, a single log on the path casting a long shadow. The things you almost miss when you’re moving too fast. With 36 frames and a roll that costs money, you look. You wait. You notice things. And then those become the photographs you actually care about.

I developed it at home, as always — Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, scanned on the Opticfilm 8100. No lab, no outsourcing. Just chemicals and patience. The smell of the developer, the little thrill of seeing what’s on the film. It’s all part of the same story.

I’ve got some Kodak Ultramax 400 in the fridge. Expired 2022. No idea what it’ll do. I think I’ll take it back to the Jardin and find out.

All photographs shot on Ilford Pan 100, Nikon FE. Home developed in Ilfosol 3 (1:9), scanned on an Opticfilm 8100. Jardin Extraordinaire, Nantes. The Grue Titan at the Hangar à bananes appears across the river, uninvited and welcome.

P.S. If you’ve been to the Jardin Extraordinaire, shot Pan 100, or you just love Nantes — drop a comment or send a message. Always happy to talk shop.

P.P.S. And if you’re curious about home development or scanning, ask away. Happy to share what’s worked for me.

P.P.P.S. And if you ever spot me at a photo spot with my FE and a Panama hat? Please gently call me out on the film snobbery. I’m working on it.

Black and white film photograph of a tree-lined path leading toward an industrial building in Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE
Black and white film photograph of a woman reading on a granite boulder at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, a modernist building visible behind her, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Close-up black and white film photograph of dark reed stems crossing and tangled with cobwebs, backlit, at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a winding path through granite boulders and sparse trees at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph looking through wire garden sculptures toward rock climbers on the granite quarry face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, a man resting on a bench in the foreground, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of rock climbers in harnesses at the base of and ascending the granite quarry face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph looking up at the granite quarry rock face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, a metal footbridge at the summit, climbers on the stone below, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of families and children playing on granite boulders at the water's edge at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, the quarry cliff and metal walkways rising behind them, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a person lying on a granite ledge at the water's edge in the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, trees and an urban building in the distance, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE
Black and white film photograph of the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes seen through tree branches and leaves, people and boulders at the water's edge visible in the distance, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of the granite quarry rock face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, vegetation in the crevices, a metal walkway railing at the top against a pale sky, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a wood chip path bordered by log rounds and post fencing in the wilder section of the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, bare trees and an urban building beyond, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a wood chip and stone-edged path in the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, large log sections and an urban building in the background, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a couple walking away down a sunlit path through the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, a fallen log in the foreground and the quarry rock face beyond, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a wide sunlit path through trees at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, two figures walking in the distance and a person seated on a log to one side, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of dense undergrowth and bare tree trunks with early spring buds in the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of dramatic metal staircases and walkways clinging to the granite quarry face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, small figures ascending, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of the granite quarry cliff at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes with a decorative installation on the rock face, the Grue Titan crane at the Hangar à bananes visible across the Loire, a lone figure seated on the grass in the foreground, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a narrow stream winding through reeds and marsh plants at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, sparkling in sunlight, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a still pond with reeds in the foreground and a granite boulder beyond, ferns and vegetation reflected in the water at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a shallow water channel winding through granite boulders, marsh plants and grasses at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE
Black and white film photograph of a woman with a backpack walking away along a path toward the granite quarry cliff and decorative rock installation at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a large-leafed fatsia japonica plant in sharp focus at the edge of a garden path in the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, trees and foliage soft in the background, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Close-up black and white film photograph of dark berry clusters with distinctive star-shaped calyxes on fatsia japonica leaves at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE
Black and white film photograph of a wide view across the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes from higher ground, bare branches in the foreground, granite quarry cliff and garden paths visible beyond, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of fatsia japonica plants with large lobed leaves in bright sunlight at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, layered foliage and tree trunks in the background, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a garden path curving under a dense green canopy of trees and shrubs at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE
Black and white film photograph of the waterfall at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes partially visible through dense foliage, ferns and climbing plants in the foreground, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of the 35-metre waterfall cascading down the granite quarry face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, ivy and trees clinging to the rock on either side, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of water from the quarry waterfall hitting granite boulders in the pool below at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, mist rising from the impact, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of the full height of the waterfall on the granite quarry face at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, ferns and vegetation at the base, a still pool below, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of a shaded winding garden path at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, cobblestones edging one side, a log bench to the right, dense tree canopy overhead, light visible at the far end, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Close-up black and white film photograph of a single new leaf bud just opening on bare tree branches at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, the quarry and garden softly out of focus behind, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Black and white film photograph of two people walking away along a garden path toward the granite quarry cliff at the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, a residential apartment block visible on the hillside above, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Close-up black and white film photograph of the decorative metal entrance gate of the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, featuring cut-out starburst and organic shapes, the garden visible through the bars, shot on Ilford Pan 100
Close-up black and white film photograph of a cut-out butterfly motif on the decorative metal gate of the Jardin Extraordinaire Nantes, shot on Ilford Pan 100 with a Nikon FE

The HP5 Plus 100 ASA Experiment: A Happy Accident?

Posted on Posted in Black and White Photography, Film Photography, Photography Tutorials, ReportageTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Hello lovely people.

I’m a bloody fool. I made the stupidest of mistakes when shooting HP5 Plus 400 speed film at ISO 100.

I’d been intending to use 100 ASA film in my Nikon FE, so in preparation, I had set my camera’s ISO dial to 100. I loaded the HP5 and forgot to change this blasted setting. By the time I realised, I had already taken “some” photos. I didn’t want to wind the film on to change the setting because the sun was shining and I didn’t want to waste the light.

In for a penny, in for a pound. I thought, “What the heck?” They say you have all this “latitude” with film, so I went online to find out if I could salvage the roll. Here we go for a walk in the Parc Garenne Lemot in Clisson.

I developed the film in Ilfosol 3 (1:9) and used the development times for Kentmere 100, praying that I would have something usable…

ParameterDetails
FilmIlford HP5 Plus 400
ExposureRated at ISO 100 (2 stops overexposed)
DeveloperIlfosol 3 at 1:9
Development Time5 minutes 30 seconds (using Kentmere 100 time)
ResultLower contrast, smooth tonal transitions, fine-looking grain, excellent shadow detail
CameraNikon FE
LocationParc de la Garenne Lemot, Clisson
Black and white photograph shot on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at 100 ASA, pull processed, February 2026
THE STATUE – Front view of classical statue on pedestal – This shot demonstrates the beautiful tonal range achieved through pull processing

The Theory: Pulling Two Stops

For those who aren’t deep in the film weeds, here is what I actually did. By setting my camera to 100 ISO while using 400 speed film, I was overexposing by two stops.

Now, common wisdom says that pulling HP5 to 200 ASA (one stop) is perfectly fine. But I thought I was pushing my luck pulling it two stops to 100 ASA. I thought I was taking the mickey with the film gods.

By giving it extra light and less development, I was essentially asking the film to reduce contrast and grain significantly. I was testing just how much abuse it could take before the negatives turned into flat, grey mush.

I didn’t develop it for standard HP5 400 times. I treated the whole roll as if it were 100 ISO film from start to finish.

The Results

When I pulled the negatives out of the tank and held them up to the light, I braced myself for grey mush. What I got instead was dense, rich negatives — a bit chewy for the scanner, but nothing it couldn’t handle. And when the scans came up on screen, I just sat there for a moment.

The first thing that struck me was the shadows. HP5 at box speed can get muddy in the dark areas — a graininess that clogs rather than adds texture. Here, the shadows under the pergola and along the fence are deep and rich, but they’re not blocked up. You can still see into them. That matters.

Film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus pulled to 100 ASA, showing the fine grain and tonal range of overexposed HP5+, February 2026
FENCE WITH LONG SHADOWS – Diagonal shadows cast across gravel path – wood grain inside film grain. Both doing their job.

2. Texture and Grain

But the real revelation was the grain — or rather, the near-absence of it. Because the film had been drowning in light and starved of development, the grain structure in the mid-tones is almost Delta 100 territory. Look at the texture on that weathered wooden post. Every crack, every split in the grain of the wood — the film is rendering it, not obscuring it.

Black and white portrait format photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 100, demonstrating pull processing results
WEATHERED WOODEN POST – Close-up showing wood grain and texture – The fine grain structure is clearly visible in the wood texture

3. Highlight Control

I’d been braced for blown skies. Two stops of overexposure in spring sunshine — I was mentally preparing my excuses. But the reduced development had pulled the highlights back beautifully. Look at those bare branches against the sky. It’s a grey gradient, not a white void. The film held on.

Landscape format black and white photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, pull processed, scanned on an Opticfilm 8100
BARE TREE BRANCHES AGAINST SKY, Garenne Lemot — I was expecting white sky. I got this instead.

4. Tonal Range

And then there’s the tonal range across the whole roll — from the white marble of the statues to the dark foliage behind them. The separation is superb. There’s a creaminess to it, a classical smoothness, that I’m honestly not sure I’d have got from HP5 at box speed. A happy accident, as it turns out, can sometimes produce results you wouldn’t have had the nerve to plan.

Landscape black and white photograph demonstrating Ilford HP5 Plus pulled to 100 ASA on a Nikon FE, showing highlight retention and low grain
ORNATE URN WITH STATUE IN BACKGROUND – Layered composition – Foreground and background detail with smooth tonal transitions
Wide landscape black and white photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA pull processing experiment, February 2026
CLASSICAL COLONNADE – Stone pillars with cloudy sky – Weathered stone texture and cloud detail demonstrate the technique’s versatility

The Verdict

So, was this a disaster? Absolutely not.

In fact, it might be some of the most satisfying film I’ve shot in a while — and I shot it by accident. The shadow detail is rich, the highlights are controlled, the grain is almost invisible in the mid-tones. It has that smooth, almost medium-format quality that you usually have to pay for in slower film and longer development times.

Landscape format film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at 100 ASA and pull processed in Ilfosol 3
Ornate scrollwork detail – Razor-sharp detail and micro-contrast prove no sharpness was lost

It turns out, what I thought was a stupid mistake is actually a technique some photographers use on purpose. Pull processing HP5 (rating it at 100 or 200 ISO and developing accordingly) is known to produce finer grain and lower contrast. I thought I was pushing my luck going two stops, but the film handled it like a champion.

Would I Do It Again?

Would I do it deliberately? Probably not — if I want 100 ASA film, I have 100 ASA film. But that’s almost beside the point now. What this roll taught me is that HP5 has reserves I hadn’t tested, and that sometimes the best thing you can do is commit to the mistake and see where it takes you. In for a penny, in for a pound — and in this case, the pound came back with interest.

If you ever load the wrong film, or find yourself caught between changing light and the wrong ISO setting, don’t panic. HP5 can take the abuse. It might even thank you for it.

Have you ever accidentally shot film at the wrong ISO? Did you save the roll or bin it? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy shooting

Ian from IJM Photography

P.S. The Kentmere 100 development time was a guess. An educated one, but a guess. The fact that it worked is either good research or dumb luck. Probably both.

P.P.S. I have since checked the ISO dial on the Nikon FE before every single roll. Every. Single. Roll.

P.P.P.S. The images from this roll are available as prints. Some accidents are worth keeping.

Black and white film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, showing clean shadow detail from pull processing
Wide panoramic black and white photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, demonstrating the film's latitude when overexposed
Portrait format black and white photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at 100 ASA, pull processed, scanned on Opticfilm 8100
Portrait black and white film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at 100 ASA, Ilfosol 3 pull development
Portrait format black and white photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, showing fine grain from pull processing
Wide landscape black and white film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus pulled to 100 ASA, clean highlights and rich midtones
Portrait format black and white film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus pulled to 100 ASA, fine grain and soft tones
Portrait format Nikon FE photograph with Ilford HP5 Plus rated at 100 ASA and pull processed, showing tonal richness of overexposed black and white film
Black and white portrait format photograph on a Nikon FE with HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, demonstrating reduced grain from pull processing
Landscape format HP5 Plus pull processing result, Nikon FE, rated at 100 ASA, showing how HP5 handles overexposure with grace
Landscape format Ilford HP5 Plus pull processing result on a Nikon FE, rated at 100 ASA instead of box speed 400, February 2026
Portrait format black and white film photograph on a Nikon FE with Ilford HP5 Plus at 100 ASA, February 2026 pull processing experiment

The Opening of the Film Archives – On the way to work

Posted on Posted in Black and White PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Sometimes we can have a tendency to ignore our habitual surroundings as photographers.  In this series of photos from the film archive, I’m going to show you part of the route I use to go to work.  What is ordinary to one person might be an pastoral idyl to somebody else.  It only goes to show that there is beauty everywhere in this world and one of our roles as photographers is to document it for future generations.

My wife, bless her, has always said that my black and white photos have a timeless feel to them, be they in the city or out here in the country.  I think that using film, especially this grainy HP5 Plus, even shot at box speed, adds to that sentiment.  The fact that I used Rodinal as my developer might have accentuated the grain too.  Also don’t forget that this is the beginning of my return to film development so I might have been a little vigorous in my “agitations” whilst developing the film.  I now use mostly Ilfosil 3 and lower grain film, and have brought a little more “calm” to my “agitations.”

The camera that day was the FED 5 rangefinder camera from Ukraine.  I’ve talked about it before, and although I mainly use SLRs, I still feel guilty about not using it more.  It’s a beautiful camera and I don’t want it to feel neglected.  I might just have to correct that soon.

I lived just outside Paris for 7 years before moving out to the country in 2001.  The change in ambiance was startling.  I went from blocks of flats to village life in the French countryside.  I went from riding the metro, and suburban Parisian trains, to learning to drive though this beautiful landscape.  Driving through this scenery still gets me every time I get into the car.  I wonder what I’ll see.  I see the changes in the fields and countryside through the seasons.

I want you to promise me, Dear Reader, that you will take a closer look at your route to work, and maybe I can convince you to record it too for prosperity.  Don’t worry about film or camera, even just using your phone will do the trick.