Just dropped by to see if the VSL world HQ is locked up tight and bolstered with sandbags at every window. New Years Eve in Texas can get... rambunctious.

 All good here. Nothing to see until the 31st. But mostly from January first onward. Have fun out there. Don't get hurt, or arrested. Just remember what my favorite CEO's body guard used to say to his protectee when we traveled for work:

"Sir. Please be in your suite by 10 pm. Nothing good ever happens after ten."

I spent part of the holiday learning how to scan film with a camera and how to process the files from the scans. Fun.

Note. Not back from vacation. This post was originally published on the 3rd of Dec. but somehow got lost. I'm reposting it... See you in the new year.

When I sat down to distill my archive of photographs into a manageable collection it dawned on me that in addition to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of digital files I also have tens of thousands of various film frames. In fact, the first 25 years of my tenure as a photographer were, of course, all done on film. And a large amount of the work was done on black and white film. In the early days of PhotoShop and digital post processing I worked with a Nikon CoolScan 4000 to scan the 35mm images I wanted to play with and depended on a series of ever improved flatbed scanners to create files from medium format and 4x5 inch pieces of film. Neither of these methods was particularly efficient of fun so after a while I just gave up and took the occasional handful of negatives and/or slides over to Holland Photo and had them scan the film on one of their Noritsu machines. Again, since I couldn't put my hands on that process I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the results. I had become far too conditioned to spend time doing my own tweaks and improvements during the course of the process. How could I not, having spent two decades hunkered down in my commercial darkroom?

With an ongoing wind down of commercial work since the pandemic I once again turned my attention to the idea of getting my favorite images scanned and out into the wild. Further motivated by the high resolution cameras that have come onto the market. I recently took a big plunge into researching how other people handled their "camera scans." (camera scans is my reference to placing a piece of film into a film holder, putting that on a very good light source and then photographing that frame with a high resolution camera body and a macro lens. After some DIY trial and error I broke down and ordered a Negative Film Supply negative holder and one of their high CRI/TLCI LED light sources. Those, along with a sturdy copy stand are the bedrock of my new scanning methodology. And I find it all works quite well. 

There is one caveat that must be voiced. You have to clean the dust off your negatives/slides before you scan them because every little spot and speck shows up. The worst is scanning black and  white negatives because there is nowhere for the dust spots to hide. Clean film is your friend. Clean film is your time saver. 

It's interested to note that everyone starts out their film scanning/camera scanning with the presumption that the highest megapixel camera is the best route to success. Of course, this all depends on your final target. But I have found that 24 megapixels digital cameras that have a good "multi-shot" high resolution mode are very good choices. Especially if that's what you have in house and don't feel like splashing out a lot more cash for what is really, mathematically, a relatively small amount of improvement. 

The lead photo of this post (above) was shot originally on Agfapan 25 medium format film. I think I did a good job processing it (Rodinal 1:50) and washing it because it's clean and stain free after 40 years of storage. I camera scanned this using a Panasonic S5, the Sigma 70mm f2.8 Art Series Macro lens and the above mentioned Negative Film Supply gear. I brought the raw file into Photoshop and inverted it (adjustments menu) and then worked on it by adding some contrast and some basic tweaks. It took about five minutes for me to get it just right. Much less time than my old flatbed scanner took to do a worse job....

I use the camera in the Aperture preferred mode. I set the aperture to between f8 and f11. ISO is set at 100. I use a blower brush on the front and back of the negative to get off as much dust as possible. I use a daylight WB. The LED is bright enough to give me a shutter speed of around 1/160th of a second. I've been using the camera set to multi-shot, high res and raw. So far it's been a good way to work. 

Of course I am manually focusing since we're down at near life-size. I have to say that some modern conveniences such as focus peaking are most welcome. It makes getting focus much easier. 

Since I already owned the cameras, the lens and the copy stand I've only had to come out of pocket for about $300 worth of additional gear. But, unlike cameras the film holder and light source don't become obsolete and are not "objects of desire" so it's all pretty much a one time expenditure which, I hope, will provide years of entertainment and material. 

A camera scan from a medium format color negative of Lou. Original photo 

done with a Hasselblad 500 CM + a 180mm CZ lens. The lens has the worst 

bokeh of any lens I have ever used and I blurred out the background a bit so

you would not have to see the harsh highlights caused by a five bladed aperture/shutter. 

The film was Agfa Portrait which was a lower saturation negative film.

From the Spanish Steps. Photographed with a Mamiya 6 camera and a 150mm lens.

Exposure info not recorded but the edge print of the film tells me that it was

captured on Tri-X film (TXP-6049). 

this was originally photographed on a rare film stock. It was Agfa Scala 200, a black and white positive transparency film. It was quite contrasty and sometime rendered reds too strongly. But it's a fun look and even more fun to scan. 

This image started life on Verichrome Pan film.

A nice and long toned black and white negative film; kind of an opposite of

the very contrasty Plus-X that was also popular at the time.

shot on a Hasselblad; I just check and found the little "Vs" in the film edge.

I'm breaking the scanning into projects. First up are my favorite old black and white negatives from multiple trips to Rome. Then I plan to dig in and scan tons of portraits --- family and friends; interesting other people. It's an interesting rabbit hole. Already having much more fun than I thought I would. 

Questions? Sure. 

For the aggressively pendantic. I'm currently calling the conversion of analog film to digital files "scanning." Call it whatever the heck you want. But it's not a straight copy shot anymore. That train has sailed....

This image was "copied" directly from four dimensional "real life" directly through the camera sensor and onto a solid state memory card. It required additional steps for me to be able to post it here. 

Give me a break.

Film scan from Agfapan 25 MF negative. ISO 25.

 

Bye for now. Taking the rest of the year off for the holidays. Enjoy the year end festivities.

Wreath on a house in Iceland.

 A second M 240 comes in for a soft landing.

Coffee at Mañana to reset the menus.

Or...what I'm doing on my December vacation.

End of day coffee break.

 Coffee and quiet at Mañana Coffee.

Soup. Just Soup. Medium Format Color Transparency Film

 

No edge notches so it must have been taken with a Rollei 6008i camera and appropriate lens. For some reason I couldn't find the exif information for this one....

My one Christmas wish? Besides world peace? Besides eliminating hunger and disease? Oh that's easy. It would be for either Hasselblad or Fujifilm or some other bold camera company to come out with a digital medium format system built around a 6 x 6 cm sensor. Full frame for medium format. The perfect aspect ratio. At this point I'm not sure I even care about the price. I guess I could always sell one of the cars and get a nice electric bike. But wouldn't it be great to

Last Minute Sales equal Last Minute Shopping.

Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprising, as we get closer to December 25th more and more of the things I am interested in are going on sale. I'm assuming that as consumers run out of gas for buying more expensive "luxury" items those items become overstocked and a drag on future earnings for retailers. Of course, we should point out that one person's "luxury" items might be someone else's basic necessities. After all, who doesn't need another short telephoto portrait lens or two? Or three?

I watched another video about using high res cameras to replace film scanners and it renewed my interest in the Negative Film Supply light source for camera scanning of film. I looked it up and found that it was currently available at $100 off its regular price. They made up for the lost profit when I went ahead and also ordered a medium format film holder as well. I was tired of using old flatbed scanner film holders and duct tape.

I took advantage of a flash sale to get the Voigtlander 75mm lens at a hefty discount as well. If I were shopping for a good, hybrid photo and video camera I would immediately take advantage of the $450 temporary discount on the Panasonic S5ii. It kind of makes sense. They need to move niche product. 

And I've constructed a reality in which I feel like I need niche products. What a good match! 

There is another shopping theory playing around in my head right now. It's the idea that many people at the higher end of the photography market will be upgrading to "exciting" new products this season to "reward" themselves for a full year of being mostly... just more privileged than everyone else. In the Leica world this means Leica will be selling M11 cameras and Q3 cameras full tilt. And they'll sell every one they can piece together. The folks who will rush to buy the M11s and M11Ps are almost undoubtably current Leica M10 and Q2 owners. Many of them don't share my own personal mania for having multiple cameras and so will trade in those gently used M and Q last generation models. 

Crafty and parsimonious buyers who couldn't stomach or justify spending the full retail price of new M10s will hover and, just after the holidays, start to pounce on all the recent Q2s and M10 (of all varieties) that will doubtless flood the small market of Leica users with many used models. In order to justify their upgrades to newer M10s and Q2s those second string upgraders will, in turn, start off by trading in their solid and trustworthy but largely obsolete previous M and Q cameras. 

With this in mind I am keeping the proverbial "powder" dry. Saving enough to snap up one or two more mint condition M240s or even an M262 when they start to appear, at lower than today's prices, on the 2024 used market. It's just a matter of time. And patience. 

This plan probably won't work as well for lenses because, as many people say, "You date the cameras, you marry the lenses." But that's okay because I've got scores of lenses I can use already. 

Sadly, now that I've revealed my master plan I fear many of you will see the amazing logic thereof and rush to beat me to the prizes. But believe me; I will be vigilant. But the vigilance will start only after I've had my fill of pecan pies, eggnog, and Champagne and movies about Santa Claus. Somewhere in the first part of 2024 we'll go treasure hunting. Until then I'm just cherry picking some of the stuff I wanted but thought was too expensive. Now it's on sale. More cheer for the holidays.

A thought. Prudence is good. But if you've resisted spending on things you'd love to have because you want "to leave a financial legacy" to the next generation you might want to listen to what psychologists say. That giving your kids a largely unneeded "golden parachute" robs them of motivation, resilience, the ability to make smart financial choices, etc. Yes, you actually might be doing more good for them with your purchase of a new Phase One medium format camera, a bag of lenses, and that long put off trip to the Galapagos, than you might think. Interested in changing direction? Start out gently. Maybe just pick up the newest top of the line camera featured in the brand in which you are already invested. You can't take all the money with you when you go.... but you can take some fun cameras along with you on your own personal ride right up to the gates of final entropy. 

Or you could just write some checks to good charities. But, if you've been frugal enough you might be able to do both!  

(Kind of kidding...mostly. Don't worry, kid).

SXSW will be here before Austin knows it.

"Forks next to knives." A more moderate point of view.

Sunday Afternoon Swimmer's Party. New Lens Ordered. Life on an Even Keel.

 

We had the annual Holiday Party for our Masters Swim Team today. One of our fellow swimmers hosted it at his home. The party was scheduled to run from 11-3 and was well attended. Coaches were there, tons of swimmers were there. The open bar was there. The catering was there. The sunshine was there (one of those great houses open to the outside with lots of space to mingle and come together in small groups). A groaning dessert table. Tons of healthy side dishes and near endless cheer. It's a favorite party of the season for many of us because we have time to really get to know our fellow swimmers --- and their non-swimming spouses. 

What was missing? Negativity. Gloom. Self-pity. Helplessness. Loneliness. Envy. Comparison. Sermons. The ill-used word "should've." And out of shape people.

All of which reminded me of why I swim. Every day. Why I love being around people for whom success and happiness is a daily thing. Not a goal. Just a way of being. Swimming year round in the outdoors, in a sparkling, clean pool, surrounded by happy and seemingly well-adjusted people, is so incredibly therapeutic one wonders why pharmaceutical companies haven't tried to bottle it and sell this kind of joy for a king's ransom. 

A bit before 3 we headed home and I found myself looking forward once again to Tuesday morning's swim practice. And another full year of swimming, camaraderie and being able wear the same size pants I did when I was in college. As my doctor routinely says at yearly physicals: "Whatever you are doing....keep doing it." Being in shape may not extend your life at all but it will sure make the time you have a lot more fun. Can't buy that with an Amazon link. 

******

I finally decided what I wanted the company to give me as a Christmas bonus for all my hard work at the VSL idea and content factory. I talked about it to the boss. I let him know that the Leica 75mm APO Summicron SL was the ticket. He laughed (a bit too derisively) and mentioned that my silly idea of gradual retirement had cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in profits this year. I sat quietly on the edge of my chair, my tattered cap in hand, looking down at my worn socks poking out of my Birkenstock sandals and waited for the next shoe to drop (and me without toe protection). My boss got up from behind his desk and walked to the whiteboard that hangs on the wall to one side of his collection of Napoleon statues and Neville Chamberlain knick-knacks. He pointed to a graph of clients to whom I'd waved "goodbye." And the he flipped over a transparent overlay showing the decline in income caused by my happy enthusiasm about waving ponderous clients "goodbye." 

"This!" he said, "This is why you are NOT getting a hopelessly overpriced Leica lens as a year end bonus." And then he hastily drew an image of a lens on the whiteboard. I didn't have the heart to tell him we'd run out of dry erase markers and I had substituted big, bold Sharpies instead. And he said, "After discussing your disappointing performance with the board of directors we decided that you deserve one tenth of what you're asking for. We're done with this discussion. You're getting a Voigtlander 75mm f1.9 M Ultron lens and you'd better enjoy it. That's all. No fruitcakes. No hams. No car battery jump starters. The VM lens is it." 

Oh, I'll take the lens. That's for sure. But little does my pompous boss know that I'm the majority stock holder in the company and I'm firing him and the board at Christmas. A clean sweep going into 2024. 

In retrospect though, I guess the VM lens makes a lot more sense. It's smaller and lighter. Less bulky. Marginally faster. And thousands and thousands of dollars cheaper. I like M lenses. I can use them on everything from an M camera to  SL cameras to a Panasonic S series camera to a Fuji 50Sii. ( They won't cover the Fuji's extended frame but they will sure look cute on the big camera....). I'm hoping to gift wrap it, forget I bought it and put it under the tree so I can open something really cool on Christmas morning. That's the initial plan at any rate. Too late to back down --- it's on the way.

I don't know how we ever got anything done in Decembers past. Seems like one dinner party, reception, opening, gala, fund-raiser and family event after another this time around. Just keeping dinner jackets in decent shape and shoes polished is turning into a chore....

Hope you have happy chores to attend this season. Beats watching football on TV. (How would I know? I've never watched a football game on TV....).

That's my wrap-up for the weekend. Hope yours was spectacular.