Burning the midnight oil with Ilford HP5 at 1600 ASA

Last time I have attended a night concert was back in August 2000, Bon Jovi playing at the old Wembley Arena. Great times, really great; but as with all good times, that concert was the last one, for me. Life happened; what with this and that, I stopped going to such events and moved to quieter pastures, as it were. Still have the stub from the BJ’s gig, though.

But life has a funny sense of going round in circles and so I got to experience again the thrills of a night concert. My daughter (14) decided that she wanted to attend this thing in our town, a 3-day concert, with lots of artists playing lots of rock. I have barely heard of one or two players, only because they are played over and over again on the radio. But when one’s (almost) teenage daughter orders, one has to click one’s heels and comply. And I complied, with some reluctance though; hard to get a guy my age to be thrilled to bits for going on a night gig.

And so I took a Nikon F2AS with Nikkor 105/2.5, loaded with Ilford HP5 which I dialled in at 1600. Summer late evenings here are not really dark, and the event would have plenty of artificial lights going on, so I thought 1600 would be about right up my alley, for both mild light and dark scenes. Upon our arrival at the gates the light was really good, still sunny after a fashion, but as my roll was already dialled in and already had a few shots on the film, I left it as it was. The 105/2.5 played here the role of a mid-tele lens, for I was too lazy to get my 135/2.8 out of my cupboard. Yeah, I know.

Took us a while to get through the admission gates, and once inside, the whirlwind of youth engulfed me. They say that when you’re surrounded by young people you feel young too; that is so right. Legions of teens going about their preferred places, food booths, drinks and refreshments galore, and so forth. I was a bit surprised at the apparent lack of control on alcohol, seemed to me the supervision was less than strict. I cannot say this is true, for I was not there in my professional capacity, but from what I saw, the control could’ve been better. Anyways, this piece here is not about that.

I took some portraits, not the best and not in the manner I would’ve liked, but they are not bad. Shooting in this active and bustling environment is a bit challenging, people coming and going in a crammed space, so of course one cannot go back or forth to frame anything in a proper manner. But I do like the shots, they are what they are: a night out within a very fluid gathering of beautiful, having lots of fun, young people. What an experience.

As intended, my shutter speeds were great, no shot wasted. I mean, I lost a few frames, but of my own fault; both the camera and lens behaved very well. There were situations when I would have liked to have my 35/2 or a 50, but generally, the 105/2.5 held its own and delivered. As for the film, wished I had some more with me, but the only other roll in my small bag was a Rollei RPX 25, kind of useless given the circumstances. So, I was left with only the one I had in my camera. Planning, you know, or rather lack thereof…

We left in the wee hours, by which time the fervour of the event never lessened. These teens were partying like there was no tomorrow, which reminded me of my own party days. Those were the same, I was the same. It’s nice to revisit my memories, while my daughter is building hers.

A few last shots, and we took our leave, tired (me), but with a happy daughter in tow. As much as I wanted her to bring her own film camera, she declined before we left house. It made perfect sense to me, that was a night to have fun not to shoot film. That was daddy’s role, which I took gladly and obliged. The things we do for our loved one, eh?

I am really thrilled and happy to have spent the night out with my dearest; such moments cannot be revisited. They grow up so fast, and one day this is all I’ll have: memories. To cherish and remember.

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