I loaded my Nikon F3 with Kodak’s resurrected T-Max P3200 film and took it along on our early-December trip to Chicago. It was to be a gray weekend, and we were going to be walking about a lot after dark. That seemed like a perfect opportunity to try this nominal ISO 800 film that cheerfully pushes to 3200.
It was so much fun to shoot anywhere and everywhere — indoors, after dark, on an overcast afternoon — at generous apertures and shutter speeds. I was too busy having fun to take notes, but I think I was shooting at f/8 anywhere I wanted with shutter speeds of at least 1/30 second. I never had to worry about camera shake.
The first two photos are from the Christmas display inside Macy’s on State Street. Here’s a shot of Macy’s exterior all decorated for the holiday. The P3200 needs just a little ambient light to make a plenty usable image.
Macy’s bought the former Marshall Field department-store chain. I miss Marshall Field.
We also walked through Christkindlmarkt twice. The first time was on a busy Saturday afternoon and the second was early on a Monday when we had the place largely to ourselves.
I shot an ISO 100 film on our Chicago trip last year. That slow film gave me limited depth of field, which limited what I could do. Not so this P3200 — I could shoot up close and choose just how much blurred background I’d get.
Christkindlmarkt offers so many subjects: the market itself, the individual booths, the wares in each booth, and the people enjoying themselves.
The P3200 let me photograph any of it in pretty much any way I pleased. I’ve never had so much flexibility in bad light with a film camera.
So many people wander Christkindlmarkt with their cameras out that I don’t feel as self-conscious as usual about photographing people. But I’m happy I didn’t notice until this roll was back from the processor that this fellow here spotted me in the act.
One night we walked over to Millennium Park to take in the Christmas fun. The ice-skating rink was open late.
The P3200 wasn’t fast enough to let me freeze the skaters as they sped by. I suppose you can’t have everything.
We also explored the Great Hall at Union Station. It’s gorgeous; you should see it.
It, too, was all decked out for the holiday. You might not be able to make it out, but this Christmas tree is decorated with logos from various railroads, past and present.
I had a ball shooting Kodak T-Max P3200. Anywhere I went, in virtually any lighting conditions, my Nikon F3 could get a solid exposure and I could make an image.
As you can see, the images I got have good sharpness (through my 35mm f/2.8 AI Nikkor lens) and decent tonality. I especially enjoy the rich blacks this film returned.
These images would make lovely snapshot-sized prints. I’ll bet they’d even make usable 5x7s. But the grain becomes more pronounced the larger you make these images. Click any of them to see them on Flickr, and then click the image there to see it at full scan size. You’ll see: the grain is giant. Fortunately, it’s also really pleasing — and subjects hold their definition.
I’ll definitely buy more P3200 and keep it on ice for gray-day and nighttime shooting. Shooting these two rolls and seeing the wonderful results was a real joy.
Last updated on 14 March 2020 by Jim Grey
I need to get back to Chicago one of these days. The waiting room in Union Station has always amazed me, and they have just completed an extensive restoration, so it is supposed to be even better than I remember.
Definitely enjoying this series of posts.
Union Station is wonderful! We wouldn’t have thought to go there but we met my wife’s brother and sister and they took the train in. We walked them back there so they could go home and … wow!
Sounds like a fab film, and you definitely got some great images with it!
It was so much fun to shoot film at f/8 at night — and get usable shutter speeds!
When TRI-X (ISO 200). first came out the grain was even worse. We’ve come a long way!
Film really is very good now. It wasn’t always so.
That was a great post.Keep it up!
Thanks!
Thanks for showing my Chicago in a good light (actually low light). I need to visit your beautiful small towns in Indiana next year
Happy Holidays.
Even low light is good when the film is fast enough! Nice to see you ’round these parts again Richard.
I really enjoyed this series. It is satisfying when you are confident that film and camera can convey your vision, no matter what light you throw at it.
I got so many good photos in Chicago on this film that I was able to write several posts using them! Stay tuned.
You captured some of my favorite spots. Perhaps you need to do a Chicago book? 😉
That’d be fun! I need to figure out a way to do zines. I’d love to publish something I could sell for $5 or $6. The books I do through Blurb have to cost a lot more because Blurb wants its substantial cut.
Thanks for sharing this post. Love your wonderful b&w shots. 3200 seems to do a great job. Well done ;)
Wow, thank you! It was so much fun to make the night shots, especially.
These are great images. You should abandon all else and just hit the streets of our large cities and see what you can find. Merry Christmas.
Wouldn’t that be fun! I ought to try this film downtown in Indianapolis here soon.
Jim,
Great post and thanks. Did you shoot at ISO 3200? I’ve shot the new Tmax at 1600 but I’m looking for experiences from anyone who shot at 3200.
I shot at 3200. It was straight up great to be able to do f/8 at night at comfortable shutter speeds.
Not shot resurrected P3200 yet. Although I do have a roll in my camera bag. I did shoot the original P3200 at ISO12800 on my Canon A1 and got acceptable results!!
Oh cool – I should try pushing this film farther!
Great images! I haven’t shot the resurrected P3200, I’m gonna have to give it a try.
It was so much fun to shoot and the images turned out great! Recommended!
Love P3200! With our grey and short Indiana winter days it’s all I’ve shot. 1600-6400 has the same amount of grain making it a pretty flexible choice. I normally shoot it at 3200 and have enlarged to 8×10 with very good results. The grain is always going to be there but it’s a very beautiful film, xtol has been my favorite developer so far.
After just these two rolls I can see that this film could become one of my go-tos, just because it’s so useful and beautiful.