127 Day - January 2015

Baby Ikonta with Rollei RPX400

Although I've been keen to observe the 127 Days in July and December for a few years, I haven't chosen to take photographs on the 127 Day in January in the past. This might be partly due to the lighting conditions one can expect in January in the Northern hemisphere. However, I had recently made an ad hoc film slitter to cut down 120 rollfilm to the 46mm width of 127 format (which also creates a strip of 16mm for subminiature cameras) and had cut a roll of Rollei RPX 400 to size. The film slitter was made from a box camera and a craft knife blade embedded in a block of foamboard that was designed cut the film as it is advanced through the camera. This worked, but with some drawbacks: the cut edge of the film was surprisingly rough (and caused a small tear as seen in the image above); the camera itself scratched the whole roll of film; and the knife blade wasn't secure enough to cut as accurate a width of film as I would have liked (this was more of a problem when using the 16mm offcut in my Kiev-30M as it varied in width by around a millimetre or so, enough to make it difficult to fit into the Kiev's cartridges without causing some light leaks). With a film slitter, one can of course use any medium format film currently available, and using a 400 speed film meant it was easier to take the photographs I did on Tuesday, given that I shot most of the film either on the Underground or after dark (some handheld, some on the 'T' setting placed on walls and fences, like in the last two shots below). Cutting down medium format film is also more economical than buying the only 127 format black and white film currently on the market, Rera Pan, which I have yet to use. I will no doubt write about the more permanent version of the film slitter in another post once made.

Baby Ikonta with Rollei RPX400

Baby Ikonta with Rollei RPX400

Baby Ikonta with Rollei RPX400

Baby Ikonta with Rollei RPX400