I thought we had it made with digital imaging in 2022. But then I found a scan of a slide taken with a manual everything camera back in the 1990s and I realized that....
If you could nail exposure and all the basic settings when shooting color transparency film (slides) and you didn't lose the frame in the chemical processing the results could be quite good. On par for use online with the best of the current digital cameras. It's an awkward realization; for sure.
7 comments:
Allen Smith
said...
Very true and some architectural photography is still done this way. But it does bring up a painful analysis of scanning equipment and techniques and then of course digital post process and eventual output for an actual use of the photograph. I’d love to read some of your thinking about that stuff. Thanks Allen
I bought two rolls of XP2 today along with a battery for my wife's old Rebel. It has not been used in about 20 years so I wanted to see if it still worked. Also, I want to digi-scan the negs with my Oly MFT and macro lens. Just for fun.
The interesting bit was finding a store that sold film. First place I tried on Bank St here in Ottawa, a national chain, doesn't carry film. There's another national chain a few blocks north that does carry film but I didn't have enough time on the meter to walk that far. But Ottawa's only "locally owned camera shop" Galaxy Camera is only a block away so I tried it. What a throwback to another time. A tiny single aisle shop, inventory from floor to ceiling, no obvious layout, enlargers, old tripods, new digital cameras, old film cameras, a mish mash and not enough room for more than 5-6 people in the store. The counter where the owner is stationed is surrounded by bricks of film, different sizes, different types. I'd recommend anyone who lives near here to visit the place. The used equipment is not labelled, no easy way to browse for deals, you have to talk to the guy.
I've been rethinking my photography over the last couple of years, and I really miss what was. How hard we worked to get the image, and how rewarding it was when we did. It took everything we learned from school, people, other photographers, and most of all our successes, and failures. We learned from our failures and it made us better. I asked a friend the other day what camera he would take if he were able to go on a shoot with Kirk Tuck or Pete Turnley (two of his favorites) or other photographers,..... his reply "my F2 and 2 rolls of slide film, maybe a Nikon D810." He went on to say "you don't have to know much when you shoot digital. You just shoot till you get something, law of average." He asked,... what would you take? My reply, I'd take my Sigma FP with a OM lens adapter, and use my OM2n and my Zuiko lenses.
So it's road trip/bucket list time with 2 cameras, 3 lenses, and 5 rolls of slide film, 2 SD cards. Simple/less is better.
The only problem with slide film is the cost. I'd love to shoot 35 mm slides, but a 36 exp roll of Fuji Velvia 50 is now £21 in the UK. And then there's the processing on top. Ouch! And I see that B&H have it for $34 a roll, Double ouch!
The real question for me Mr.T is why would you want to do that? I cut my photographic teeth back in the 60s in the hayday of film and wet chemistry. Loved to play in the darkroom Even spent some time as an industrial X-Ray tech ... try developing 11x17 sheet film in a dip tank. Every once in a while I get the urge to try some "film" and just go lay down till the feeling wears off. The nostalgia is nice, but I'll stick with digital.
Except for a year or two break in the mid-aughts, I've continued shooting film -- entirely black and white. I still have and use a home darkroom. If I want color it's digital all the way.
For the last year or so, I have been scanning my dad's Kodachrome slides beginning in the early 50s. Nice photos from relatively modest camera. Many were shot with an Argus C3 Brick. I've scanned up to the early 70s, fun memories!
You might take a look at Andy Saunders' "Apollo Remastered." He gained access to NASA's archive of frozen Ektachrome originals from the moon missions, and did hi-res scans of some of the choice shots. He was able to recover quite a bit of detail from the shadows (which we all let go to black, so as not to blow out the highlights). The astronauts did quite a job, considering they were mostly zone-focusing Hasselblads.
7 comments:
Very true and some architectural photography is still done this way. But it does bring up a painful analysis of scanning equipment and techniques and then of course digital post process and eventual output for an actual use of the photograph. I’d love to read some of your thinking about that stuff. Thanks
Allen
I bought two rolls of XP2 today along with a battery for my wife's old Rebel. It has not been used in about 20 years so I wanted to see if it still worked. Also, I want to digi-scan the negs with my Oly MFT and macro lens. Just for fun.
The interesting bit was finding a store that sold film. First place I tried on Bank St here in Ottawa, a national chain, doesn't carry film. There's another national chain a few blocks north that does carry film but I didn't have enough time on the meter to walk that far. But Ottawa's only "locally owned camera shop" Galaxy Camera is only a block away so I tried it. What a throwback to another time. A tiny single aisle shop, inventory from floor to ceiling, no obvious layout, enlargers, old tripods, new digital cameras, old film cameras, a mish mash and not enough room for more than 5-6 people in the store. The counter where the owner is stationed is surrounded by bricks of film, different sizes, different types. I'd recommend anyone who lives near here to visit the place. The used equipment is not labelled, no easy way to browse for deals, you have to talk to the guy.
Happy New Year to All
I've been rethinking my photography over the last couple of years, and I really miss what was. How hard we worked to get the image, and how rewarding it was when we did. It took everything we learned from school, people, other photographers, and most of all our successes, and failures. We learned from our failures and it made us better. I asked a friend the other day what camera he would take if he were able to go on a shoot with Kirk Tuck or Pete Turnley (two of his favorites) or other photographers,..... his reply "my F2 and 2 rolls of slide film, maybe a Nikon D810." He went on to say "you don't have to know much when you shoot digital. You just shoot till you get something, law of average." He asked,... what would you take? My reply, I'd take my Sigma FP with a OM lens adapter, and use my OM2n and my Zuiko lenses.
So it's road trip/bucket list time with 2 cameras, 3 lenses, and 5 rolls of slide film, 2 SD cards. Simple/less is better.
Have a wonderful and Happy New Year
Roger
The only problem with slide film is the cost. I'd love to shoot 35 mm slides, but a 36 exp roll of Fuji Velvia 50 is now £21 in the UK. And then there's the processing on top. Ouch! And I see that B&H have it for $34 a roll, Double ouch!
The real question for me Mr.T is why would you want to do that? I cut my photographic teeth back in the 60s in the hayday of film and wet chemistry. Loved to play in the darkroom Even spent some time as an industrial X-Ray tech ... try developing 11x17 sheet film in a dip tank. Every once in a while I get the urge to try some "film" and just go lay down till the feeling wears off. The nostalgia is nice, but I'll stick with digital.
Except for a year or two break in the mid-aughts, I've continued shooting film -- entirely black and white. I still have and use a home darkroom. If I want color it's digital all the way.
For the last year or so, I have been scanning my dad's Kodachrome slides beginning in the early 50s. Nice photos from relatively modest camera. Many were shot with an Argus C3 Brick. I've scanned up to the early 70s, fun memories!
You might take a look at Andy Saunders' "Apollo Remastered." He gained access to NASA's archive of frozen Ektachrome originals from the moon missions, and did hi-res scans of some of the choice shots. He was able to recover quite a bit of detail from the shadows (which we all let go to black, so as not to blow out the highlights). The astronauts did quite a job, considering they were mostly zone-focusing Hasselblads.
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