The near beginning

002 - 8 frames on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki

I mean, who doesn't want a beautiful, mechanical camera?

When I started my film photography journey, a Leica was always something I wanted.

With my budget, a Leica was very much off the table. But this didn't stop me from getting a mechanical rangefinder camera. There are definitely a few other options for a well-made, mechanical, good-feeling rangefinder. I settled on the Soviet-made Zorki 4K. My example was made in the KMZ factory in 1976.

I had my camera. I had a film I'd used before, Ilford HP5+, and I was pretty comfortable with developing black and white film myself. But there was something I'd not tried yet: pushing film.

What is pushing film?

Pushing film is the process of purposely underexposing film and then overdeveloping it to create different effects and looks on the developed negative.

In short, with Ilford HP5+ at 1600 EI we get higher contrast, darker shadows and harsher highlights. We are basically crushing the latitude of the film. If we follow the widely understood standard of expose for the shadows and the highlights will take care of themselves, we will get fairly normal shadows and midtones, but our highlights are likely to be blown out.

For the shots below, I used Ilford HP5+ at 1600 EI pushed two stops. That means I've taken my 400 speed film and doubled its exposure speed twice, giving us 1600 ASA.

Don't forget: pushing film does not give us any more film sensitivity. We are purely overdeveloping underexposed film. Shooting very dark subjects with pushed film can create issues with shadow detail.

On to the frames

The photos below were taken in Manchester city centre around January 2022.

Manchester street photograph 1 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 2 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 3 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 4 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 5 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 6 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 7 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Manchester street photograph 8 shot on Ilford HP5+ with a Zorki 4K — Zorki 4K - Jupiter 8 50mm F2 - Ilford HP5+ @1600 EI - ID-11 2 Stop Push Development

Personally, I really dig this look. It's contrasty, punchy and still detailed. To me, it almost has an old-timey look, more akin to something you'd see from more traditional grain films such as Fomapan. We have a healthy amount of grain without it becoming overbearing, while keeping a good amount of detail across the frame.

Check out my review of the Zorki 4K camera and Jupiter 8 50mm lens used to take these photos here.