5 frames with a Hasselblad SWC and Ilford XP2 super

We rarely have snow here in southern Germany anymore, so whenever winter makes a brief visit, it’s time to grab a camera, go outside and capture the unique atmosphere and the fairytale-like, wonderfully alienated landscapes. One of my favourite tools for this, my Hasselblad SWC, is now almost 60 years old. With my favourite film for such adventures, the Ilford XP2 super, I have been familiar for several decades. 

The camera

The Hasselblad SWC is one of the strangest and most fascinating cameras at the same time – basically nothing more than an almost distortion-free Zeiss wide-angle lens with the option of attaching a film magazine or, in the later versions, also a digital back. In its film version, it initially offers nothing more than a vague clip-on viewfinder without any real connection to the actual camera, but at least with an integrated spirit level. With all kinds of accessories, such as a ground glass adapter and various viewfinders, it can be upgraded to a highly technical tool including accurate integral or spot metering, ideal for capturing perfectly beautiful architecture. 

However, I find it much more exciting to take the 1360g medium format out for a kind of photographic blind date, where the viewfinder allows me to frame the image reasonably correctly, but the image effect is left to the skill and imagination of the photographer. In the early versions with a C-lens, it offers an ingenious tool that is only now returning to cameras in a similar form, albeit digital and not nearly as easy to read: a depth of field scale that changes with the aperture value and precisely indicates the area that is in focus. With the SWC, a film magazine and the clip-on viewfinder, the photographer not only gets a precise tool, but also an ingenious point-and-shoot camera, a small and lightweight companion for, in this case, winter walks, where the 12 6×6 shots are, in my opinion, just right for capturing the mood of an afternoon.

The Film

I can no longer remember exactly when and why I started taking pictures with the Ilford XP. If I remember correctly, I think I found it useful, even as a teenager at the end of the 80s and with a 35mm SLR, to have a film with such a wide exposure latitude that the sensitivity could be freely selected between 50 and 800 ASA from from frame to frame without having to adjust the development. This is a considerable advantage, especially with 36-exposure 35mm films, as only the graininess changes. In addition, the film could be developed together with colour films in the large laboratories that were widespread at the time; thanks to the C41 process, the film consistently delivers good results with excellent sharpness and detail reproduction, with only the colour cast typical of XP changing somewhat depending on the developer used.

At some point, I had given up analogue photography and only used digital for a few years. When I took my old Contax out of the cupboard again about two years ago to try out film photography again, I was very pleased that the Ilford XP2 was still available. Even today, I appreciate the wide latitude, albeit for a different reason than in the past. No longer because of the flexibility of 36 shots, I now only shoot with roll film, but because some cameras after 40 years or more no longer control the shutter speeds as precisely as they did back then, and because the XP2 perfectly compensates for these age-related quirks in some cameras. There is another big advantage: whereas I used to enlarge and print pictures on photo paper myself, the negatives now first end up in the scanner. Since the XP2 is a black and white colour film, Silverfast’s infrared-based dust detection can be used.

The Hasselblad SWC with the Carl Zeiss Biogon 38 mm and its large depth of field and the Ilford XP2 are therefore the ideal combination for capturing the impressions of a walk or a hike in a carefree and playful way. Whether in winter or summer, in the forest, in the open countryside or on a city tour – with a roll of XP2 and a SWC, you’ll always have the perfect photographic companion. 

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