During this second lockdown period I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out perfecting some new film photography. I’ve used Fomapan 400 a fair bit in the past but decided to try Fomapan 200 for a change. Maybe not the best idea during the dull weather we’re having just recently but at least I can get to using a large aperture and throwing the background out of focus.
So I decided to do our local walk which starts at a small church. I first had a look round the churchyard. Churchyards are always good for some texture and interesting light shooting.
Further along our walk we pass the Henry Moore Studio and Gardens. Even though it’s closed at present there is an opportunity to still see some of the sculptures.
The walk takes us round the perimeter of the Henry Moore grounds and then along part of the Hertfordshire Way.
So, what of the film. I developed the Fomapan 200 for 13 minutes in Ilford ID11 at 20 deg C. Ilford ID11 is my go to developer at present. As it’s a powder developer it has an almost indefinite shelf life in it’s powder form so I can purchase a couple of boxes without having them go off before I can use them.
I quite like the tones of Fomapan 200 but not sure the grain appears to be much smaller than Fomapan 400 and I have to say that I think I prefer to use Ilford HP5+ for most of my photos.
I will though try the Fomapan 200 out with another camera/lens combination. This set was photographed using the Olympus OM2n fitted with the 50mm f1.4 lens. I intend to run another 36 through my Pentax Spotmatic fitted with the 55mm f1.8 Takumar lens.
Nicks Pics 
I’ve shot and developed a lot of Fomapan 400, but never the 200 varietal. I always appreciated the rough grain and vintage feel of Fomapan. I tonality in your images feels like the Fomapan I remember, but the grain is much finer.
I mostly shoot 400tx and HP5 for black and white these days. However, I haven’t really shot black and white since this spring. I’ve been too busy with C-41 film stocks. Now that the colors have faded and winter is setting in, I’ve filled my fridge with more black and white (400tx).
Glad to have found your blog, Tobias.
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Hi Tobias,
Thanks for your comments. I to have mainly shot on the 400 version of Fomapan.I’m not sure it’s worth the drop in film speed for the 200 version though as I can’t see a great difference in the grain. The fineness of the grain could be that I use Ilford ID11 to process the films which is a fine grain developer. Regards, Nick.
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That very well could be. I was mostly developing with Caffenol and Kodak D-76 when I was shooting Fomapan 400.
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