Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jeffery, Three of my test shots last week were to see how Fomapan 200 behaves in the kind of stong lighting you are referring to. Here in Scandinavia, when the cloud cover breaks and the sun blazes through to a landscape covered with ice and snow, you get some contrasts. This first one was to see if I got detail in the highlights (the snow) and the shadows (behind the shovel): http://www.dlridings.se/gallery/v/shoebox/2006v09/06v09-0008.jpg.html If you ask me, Fomapan is an easy ISO 200 and doesn't need to be down-rated with D76 1:1. The shadow detail is there and the highlights are not blocked up. The same thinking was behind the next two shots. Extreme tonal range from reflecting snow down to the other end. http://www.dlridings.se/gallery/v/shoebox/2006v09/06v09-0009.jpg.html You can see that the snow doesn't block up. There is plenty of texture and detail and you have the nice greys in the tree trunks and down on the ground, at their bases, the lower end of the scale. The next one is slight backlighting on the snow but still some shadow areas: http://www.dlridings.se/gallery/v/shoebox/2006v09/06v09-0012.jpg.html I think I'd give Fomapan 200 a serious run for its money. The fact that it performs so well with off-the-shelf stuff like D76 speaks in its favor. Daniel On 3/9/06, Jeffery Smith <jsmith342@cox.net> wrote: > What I'm trying for is a lot of grays like I get from grayscaling color > print film in PS. My reference to Capa and HCB was not so much their > subjects or style of shooting as the qualities of their negatives and > prints > (the technical side). I learned 30 years ago that the Zone System is hard > to > use down here when it is sunny outside. You either get zones I - VIII or > zones III-X. Try to bracket, and you can get zones II-VIII. Very > frustrating. So I need to */Watch the light/* from a very basic > perspective, > i.e., don't try to shoot in broad daylight without clouds. I suspect that > many of the folks on this forum like to shoot in indoor available light > because they CAN get zones I-X in one image with rich grays, no blown > highlights, and no blocked-up shadows. For me, a badly shot negative cannot > really be "fixed" per se in PhotoShop. At best, it can be salvaged. > > In scanning about 20 rolls in the past few weeks using a variety of films > and developers, I have come to the conclusion that the guy who develops > film > in the local pro lab down the street is meticulous enough and enough of a > perfectionist that I may need to rely on him to develop my film until I > find > a look that I like. Then I'll stick with that film. > > The days of XP2 and T400CN sure were easier...they were always exactly the > same roll after roll. > > Jeffery Smith > New Orleans, LA > http://www.400tx.com > > > > > > Jeffery: > > If all it took to emulate Capa, HCB or Frank was a trip to the local > photo store we'd all be rich and famous. Unfortunately, (well, you fill > in the rest) > > One point though, density is a function of exposure not film speed and > in fact slower films are much thinner emulsions than say Tri-X or HP5. > I'd bet Capa and Bresson were shooting something akin to the fast > films of their day. > > When Photographers Formulary starts producing their Rodinal copy in > liquid form and you're still looking for "that look" try it and Tri-X. > That darn stuff was the oldest formula developer on the market and would > give substance to your images like nothing else. > > If you want to experiment, try 1 camera, 1 lens (28 or 35) and a pocket > full of film. Go back to the 9th ward (where you've done so well > already) and pick one scene. Do this one scene until it can't be done > any better. Most importantly, look at the scene. */Watch the light/*, > and when it's time to shoot, do it. Don't forget the most important > thing, /*Watch the light. */When you think you can't do it any better, > stop and /*Watch the light. */That's why they call it photography. > > Walt > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >