Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thank you for this evaluation. Ed On Tue, 8 Aug 2000, Henning J. Wulff wrote: > At 2:20 AM -0400 8/8/00, ralph fuerbringer wrote: > > sincd ed meyers hides behind a magnum name with his flare infatuation i'm > >offering one in rebuttal. philip jones-griffiths is not just a photographer > >of equal repute but is a technician without an equal among magnum > >photograpers. i once asked Philip Jones-Griffiths whether to get the > >preflashing attachment for the bowens famous slide copier. he said it was > >not just valueless but a handicap. he was doing or supervising (president of > >magnum at the time) tons of slide copying. if preflashing w/precise control > >is a handicap in a labratory setup what does > >the degrading imput of flare from an uncoated lens add to an outdoor > >portrait? meyers and wulff claim this is why the preflashing effect works: > >flare is so pushy and fast it gets to your film before your actual picture! > >flaretheewell,ralph > > Maybe he likes the extra punch and lack of detail in shadows that that will > bring. Using the pre-flashing with the Bowens Illumitran does indeed help > control contrast at times. I had one for a while and found the pre-flash > definitely worthwhile for many shots. If you are using the regular slide > duplicating film the effort is often not worth the trouble, but the effect > is unmistakable. > > Maybe he was referring to the use of the pre-flash when he had a ton of > images to copy and time was more important than ultimate contrast control? > > It's a 'handicap' if you consider a flatter image a handicap. > > As you generally gain contrast in copying, and usually shift the HD curve > as well, you usually need to reduce contrast. You do this best by starting > off with a slide duplicating film matched to your taking film as well as > possible, then try to lift the toe area out of the murk a bit by > pre-flashing. Fairly straighforward. > > * Henning J. Wulff > /|\ Wulff Photography & Design > /###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com > |[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com >