Very Sad

I do sound pathetic.....

cheer up ray, make up sex can be mindblowing;*)

Change is the spice of life.

Hope all goes well, Ray. Been there, too.<div></div>

Don't be so sad Todd. Cheer yourself up and get a proper camera - what about a Leica ?

As a 10D owner along with a M4-P and Hexar RF, I just need to add my 2 cents worth. First the 10D is really convenient to use, however it still can't do B&W any justice (it maybe my poor computer skills), nothing beats TriX or even comes close to it. So this end of December resolution is to get the Jobo processor going again (after 15 years of no use) and start processing and loading my own B&W film. Does anybody have a good source of canisters for film, along with bulkloader recommendations?

I'm a mix of digital and film. I own all film cameras but use a film scanner and print dye-sub and inkjet prints. The picture I'm attaching is one that drove me nuts in the "wet darkroom" era. It was taken in Tiger Stadium on a wet overcast day with strong overhead lighting. I wanted a print to frame and bought Dupont Velour Black for the print. It took nearly 20 sheets to get a perfect print. Move ahead 30 years and scan the negative and use Photoshop to correct the problems. Five minutes of work and make an inkjet print that is at least as good as the original. I'm going to use a combination of new and old technology to give me high quality images. When it's in a frame,on a wall or in a publication, it really doesn't make any difference what technology created the image.<div></div>

Hi, Todd. Nice to see you're still around. If you remember, we exchanged emails a few months back (maybe a couple of years ago?) in which I was enthusiastic about scanning lots of my old slides and seeing prints of them for the first time. You were also in the beginning of the process of doing digital prints. It's interesting that we've gone in different directions since then.

 

While you are now using digital methods for photography, my old film scanner has been packed away and I haven't printed anything digitally in well over a year. I've improved my darkroom facilities and I've renewed my interest in chemical processing. My computer is now mostly for browsing photo websites and ordering books, music and photo supplies. Not that I have anything against digigraphing, I just couldn't maintain my enthusiasm for the process. I'm more comfortable with traditional photographic processes. The only tension I feel about this is the typical growing polarization that's become so abundant in all aspects of life these days. There is a faction of photographers, especially on pnet, that delight in the decline of film photography and express subtle or overt contempt of those of us who prefer to shoot film and say so. In return, I find this attitude threatening. Photography is important to me. The way I do photography is important to me. I enjoy film-based photography and I don't want to change the way I do what I do because of circumstances beyond my control.

 

I'm sincerely happy that you are enjoying the photography you are doing now. I'm at "an age", too. But I would rather work at a slower pace doing what feels comfortable and right for me.

"I am now totally into quality digital imagery, and I am not using a Leica digital camera or any Leica camera...Anyone else feel these tensions?"

 

I just got back from attending my son's graduation from college. It was in an indoor arena with spotlighting on the stage. Tripods and monopods were not permitted. I had to shoot from my seat and could not predict where I was going to be sitting.

 

My dilemma: fairly low light, not matched to daylight film, too far for flash to reach and cover, need about 400mm to get a full body shot of my son walking across the stage. ISO 1600 print film is grainy, but moreso I'd have needed CC filters to correct the lighting (not wanting to take a chance it'd be too far off to fix in printing)and those filter would cut the speed down. Handholding a 400mm at those speeds? May as well forget it. I'm no Doug Herr.

 

My solution: Got hold of a Canon 20D with a 70-200 f/2.8 with Image Stabilizer, and a 1.4x telelconverter. On the 20D's crop that amounted to 157-448mm with constant f/4. The 20D can shoot at ISO 1600 with less noise than 1600 print film has grain, and with AWB no need for color filtration. Shutter speeds were 1/30-1/45 second at an effective 448mm, I got some motion blur from him walking and moving his arms, but the IS cancelled camera shake. I had the AF on in "Servo" mode, and the 20D can shoot 5fps. I manually focused when he stopped to shake hands with the various officials, but let the AF handle the rest of the shots. I got a number of very decent shots. Definitely better than _I_ could have got with a film camera, certainly of all a Leica. Again, someone with more talent and experience than me might have done just as well, I'm not saying not. But for me, this time digital was the best solution.

 

However I am happily going back to continuing to use my Leicas and shoot film for as long as possible, for 99.9% of the things I want to shoot.

It is not necessary to give up on Leica (totally) if you want to go into digital. I will never

give up on my Leica Ms but I do have some fun with my Leica Digilux 1. Sure, it's a

snapshot camera and I way overpaid for it based on a feature-for-feature comparison with

some of its competitors, and it would be totally unsuitable for professional work.

 

Finally, I think we all know that use of a Leica camera/lenses is no bar to participation in

the Leica Photography Forum. As long as you use that Sinar 8x10 camera in the

"rangefinder style" what's the problem?

No, not really.

The sad part is the negating of a superior method of photo-technique and products for the "latest" inferior system.THe 16mm movies replaced by crummy VHS on a dinky tv screen,the FLAT sounds of cd's over lp's, the seemingly end of any quality products almost everywhere all with built in failure and obscelence.I guess i use digital for stuff, pro, on internet, but scanned from my negatives or positives.I am waiting for scanner to post some here.I look at a lifes work and truly only like the black and white prints that i laboriosly made in temp darkrooms..I know i am a relic of the past.

I see prints from my work that are really large.Many at exibitions were 4' x 6' feet.These from Leica M3 or Pentax Spotmatic/Nikon-F.