Bruce Robbins on his blog theonlinedarkroom recently raised some interesting ideas about one of my favourite films – Rollei Blackbird. Having been concentrating far too much on digital (especially video) lately it seemed a good excuse to get out the OM2N and shoot off a few rolls. It was pure heaven!
OM2N, Zuiko 85mm F2, closed down to f16 to give a shutter speed of 1/30th, plus some panning.
All shots at 100 ISO (25 ISO is too contrasty for me), developed in ID11 stock (identical to D76) for 10 minutes.
OM2N, Vivitar Series One 70-210mm F3.5 Series One
Interestingly these two rolls seemed a little less contrasty than normal, and the developer didn’t turn end up with a dark fine sludge after use – in fact it turned yellow. This may be due to old developer (4 months old) or possibly the formulation of the film has been changed. Whether this confirms the speculation on Bruce’s blog that Rollei Blackbird is re-branded Rollei Retro 100 is open to debate, though it does muddy the water (if not the developer).
OM2N, Vivitar Series One 70-210mm F3.5 Series One
There was a mixture of lenses used here. The Vivitar Series One 70-210 performed wonderfully as it always has, but I’d forgotten how heavy it was. The day became increasingly overcast which made focussing at F2 with the 85mm easier than the 70-210mm at f3.5.
OM2N, Vivitar 70-210mm F3.5 Series One
All of these were taken on one day at a local fair, the vintage cars and carousel horses being the best subjects around.
There’s something very attractive about some of the lines of old cars. New ones seem bland by comparison. 85mm F2.
Thanks for the link Bruce. I’m not sure I’ve answered the Blackbird/Retro question, but to me at least it doesn’t matter. Blackbird is still a favorite (along with Ilford PAN F) which produces results which are difficult to accurately ‘fake’ in digital, making its continued use worthwhile.
A few more examples of Rollei Blackbird shots are here and here.
Hope you like these – thanks for looking.
28mmf2 
I particularly like the lines in the final image, and the added dimension from looking through to the steering wheel.
Thanks Melanie – I can never resist old cars as a subject. That one was a 1960’s Ford Capri, which is a very photogenic car.
Me either!