Welcome back, Dear Reader, to the film archives, still with the Canon AE1 and HP5 Plus from Ilford, but in Clisson this time. You will remember Clisson from previous articles and will have seen the pictures, so it shouldn’t be a stranger to you. Who knows, it could even feel like revisiting an old friend. It certainly is for me.
But why Clisson I hear you say. Well, it’s not very far away from where I live. It’s also one of those market towns that is renowned for the beauty of its architecture with an Italian slant. It has the massive castle that towers above the river. It has me taking photographs of it.
Clisson, like most things, has options. On a Friday the main option is the huge market, and wandering around the 14th-century Halles, which can keep you out of the sun, the rain, the heat or the cold, depending on the time of year. I either go down to the river and wander along the river banks in the Garenne and Lemot park, or park at the top of town and stroll around the Halles and surrounding streets. In the series of photos at the end, you will see some stone steps that join the two options, but I have dodgy knees, and those steps are like leg day at the gym. You can avoid those steps by just following the road that wraps itself around the church, and going under the tree that just got tired and decided to rest on the house opposite.
But this time I decided to break out of my habits and visit the Quartier St Jacques with its decommissioned chapel, and garden. It’s yet another pretty place in a pretty town, and when I was sitting there in the sun, I felt that I didn’t have a care in the world. Serenity flooded my mind and all was well with the world…
Welcome back to the film archives. Today I’m going to share some photos of the first reel from my “new” Canon AE1. Well, not new, but certainly new to me. The Canon AE1s were produced between 1976 and 1984. It is one of those iconic cameras and at the time I must have paid about 50€. When I say iconic, I really mean iconic. It is a shutter speed priority camera using Canon’s FD lenses. I used it an awful lot that summer. I liked it so much that I even bought a second one that I ended up giving to a photographer friend.
Colour
To some people of my generation they represent their first cameras, and were so popular. Talking of popular, the photographs from this part of the archive are from the very popular and photogenic town, Clisson. Also you will have noticed that the photos are in colour. Which only goes to show that not all film photography is black and white photography.
Clisson, as you can see in the photos, is one of those beautiful French villages that oozes Gallic charm. It also exudes a certain Italian charm, and is known for its Italian style architecture.
Canon AE1
I have both a Canon AE1 and AEI Program. The AE1 is the big brother of the AE1 Program, and doesn’t have a program mode, but as you can see from the photos it still works a treat.
Feature
Canon AE-1
Canon AE-1 Program
Differences
Release Year
1976
1981
AE-1 Program released 5 years after AE-1
Exposure Modes
Shutter Priority AE
Shutter Priority AE, Program AE
Program AE added to AE-1 Program
Metering
Center-weighted Average
Center-weighted Average
No difference
Shutter Speeds
2s – 1/1000s
2s – 1/1000s
No difference
Viewfinder Display
LEDs
LEDs
No difference
Film Speed Setting
Manual
Manual
No difference
Self-timer
Yes
Yes
No difference
Depth of Field Preview
Yes
Yes
No difference
Motor Drive Compatibility
Yes
Yes
No difference
Other Notes
First Canon SLR with microprocessor; revolutionary for its time
Simplified controls for easier use; appealed to wider audience
AE-1 Program aimed at beginners and enthusiasts
As you can see there’s not a huge differece between the two. The major difference being the Program option, and the other allowing for easier changing of the ASA film sensitivity setting.
On the day in question I must have parked just next to the river and concentrated on this picturesque area. You can see the castle, the bridge, and the river, all making for a peaceful spring moment.
I think the film was Fuji Superia, and I just wanted to use colour. Thetones are slightly muted and warm, and the flowers, trees and plants were just screaming out to be photographed. I remember the excitement of loading the film into this “new” camera, and the novelty of simply using an iconic camera.
Here is what fuji tells us about the film:
FUJICOLOR SUPERIA X-TRA400
An all-round general purpose, high-performance, high speed color negative film delivering truly fine-grain. Superb for snapshots or action, in low light with flash, outdoors or indoors. Ideal for general use with compact zoom lens cameras.
Excellent skin tones For beautiful, clear people-shots.
Fine grain Great results even when enlarged.
High-speed Superb results, whatever the shooting conditions.
Sensitivity and Film Sizes ISO : 400 Film Sizes : 135 : 36 exp.
When using digital, it’s so difficult to get that particular film look, and using film and an older camera just changes your whole outlook. The fact of not having your image straight away leaves you with that anticipation that we all used to feel when we sent off our films to the lab.
Give film a try. There are still cheap film cameras out there, and your photography experience will be totally different. I certainly appreciate it.
IJM Photography 