After a restless night and a morning that saw me nearly pass out over a boiling kettle, I had to admit yesterday morning that, yes, I was indeed sick. I might even still be, as I wrote this yesterday evening while I still was. I hope not!

Unfortunately for sick old me, I required more provisions. To avoid a trip to the drug store on the weekend, we had planned to purchase them today after work. You know, just in case we needed them.

“Just in case” as it so happens, meant 11:50pm Sunday, when I was jostled awake with abdominal pain. So with the sun shining on Monday morning, I (reluctantly) got myself bundled up and took a very short little loop to one of the nearby stores.

I might also be a little stubborn, so I loaded a roll of Shanghai GP3 100 – my second ever – into the very weighty Fuji G690BL, which I had not brought out in about eight months since the rangefinder began its lazy drift.

I’m not sure why I do these things to myself sometimes. That anxiety can be harsh and unrelenting.

What I was hoping for was to try this film in sort of the opposite conditions that I had the first roll: instead of in an early-20^th century box camera marketed to children on a cold and overcast day, I would use a later mid-century camera marketed to professionals¹ on a sunny day.

As for the results? I am, in general, pleased. Nice and even, nothing too fussy and highlights and shadows are what I expect and prefer.

Unfortunately, as others have noticed, the emulsion might be a little on the fragile side. Scratches are readily apparent to the left side of the frame on photo no. 4 and, to a lesser extent, on no. 6 above. Although it would not likely have made too much of a difference, I even fixed it for six minutes (instead of my usual five) to help prevent damage.

While it’s unlikely to become a regular medium-speed black and white for me², I think it may have its place when the mood strikes.

Or when I want access to fresh 220 film!

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1. Well, at least to Japanese tour operators. ↩︎
2. That will remain a mix of Ilford FP4+, Fuji Acros II, Kodak T-Max 100, and ORWO UN54 / Lomo Potsdam (so long as it’s still available). ↩︎