My first LF shot (need advice)

[aroundomaha]

<p>This is my very first ever large format shot, taken with my Wista M450! I didn't get a hard print, so my

first look at this was via my Microtek 990 scanner.</p>

<p>First of all, I was overjoyed that my first shot worked at all (man was I anxious to see the negatives).

</p>

<p>This shot was done with Fuji NPS ISO 160 film, using my Fuji 150mm lens at f/11 at 1/8th of a

second.</p>

<p>While I'm happy at the large confluence of events that made my first shot even viewable, I'm also

curious. The first scan appeared pretty flat from a color/contrast perspective. Is that normal? </p>

<p>At any rate, my sincere thanks to all who have given me advice and help in the past few weeks. I'm so

excited to be starting this cool journey into the large format world. While this isn't a very nice shot, that it

came to fruition at all was in part because of the helpful voices on this forum. My sincere thanks! </p>

<p><img src="http://aroundomaha.smugmug.com/photos/73852884-L.jpg" /></p>

[paul_viapiano]

David...

 

Congrats! I'm not a large format person yet, but hope to be in the future.

 

Are you a Photoshop person? It's very easy to color correct the scan. What scanner and software are you using?

[elliot_n]

your scan looks strange...

 

shouldn't it look more like this:<div></div>

[francisco_bal1]

its nice you have started large format maybe in the near future ill into large format also and

its a great shot for a people just starting, I only just notice the right hands it seem so big

maybe the distortion of the focusing I dont no whats the remedy for that since Im not yet into

large format thanks for sharing

 

Francis

[bob_gentile]

<em>"... your scan looks strange... shouldn't it look more like this..."</em></p>

 

<p>Uh... ya<em> think</em>? Ha! LMAO!</p>

 

<p>Welcome to LF, David. I only do B&W, so my problems are much simpler.

[aroundomaha]

<p>Thanks for the responses. Yes the color was wayyyyy off, but this was a rushed scan

with almost no post processing.</p>

<p>I went back and did another scan, this one at 1000 dpi that turned out pretty nice. I

did one at 3600 dpi but can't imagine editing a 2 gigabyte tiff file :)</p>

<p>This wasn't supposed to be artistic or anything, I just wanted my first ever LF shot to

be of my son, and here he is in his natural environment (crikies... watch out be might be

vicious! :) Seriously though, after running the gauntlet of finding a camera, getting all the

right parts, reading Steve Simmons book (highly recommended) and loading my own sheet

film I am too pleased to put into words that I got any shot at all. But it has been a blast,

and it has changed how I shoot with my digital Nikon and 35mm. Shooting LF has

engrained some basic shooting mechanics in me that I knew but didn't consistently apply.

Especially in how I frame my subjects. It has also made me a much more patient shooter.

Heck it took me 3 weeks to get this first shot off! </p>

<p>But the wait has been well worth the while. Now I'm quite excited to reload and try

some more serious shots.</p>

<p><img src="http://aroundomaha.smugmug.com/photos/73933200-L.jpg" /> </p>

[doc_w]

My experience (ymmv) is that colour negative needs more correction that colour reversal, in general. There are lots of exceptions of course. In any case, I almost always have to do colour correction with colour neg scans.

 

Why is this not a "serious" photograph? Because it is large format and there are no mountains? You seem to have not just photographed your son but captured some of what it means to be a boy that age (at least, in the rare contemplative moments). It's a good photograph.

[aroundomaha]

Don, thank you for the kind words and positive outlook. I did spend some time setting this

shot up (he had a full plate when I started! :)

 

I'm curious, what dpi do you find works good for you in terms of work flow, and what's the

largest print you've made from a self-digitized negative? I'd like to take some family portraits

and blow them up to say 20x30 or in that relative neighborhood.

[manjo]

had u repositioned the boy and let more light fall on him from the window, and used a reflector you could have used F16 or F32

[ted_chambers]

The rule of thumb is about 300 dpi for printing. So for a 20x24 print, which is a 5x enlargement from 4x5, you'd have 20 x 300 / 5, or 1200 dpi.

 

Large format files can get unwieldy much beyond 1200.

[ken_schroeder]

David,

Nice image. You have captured a nice sense of presence. I predict you will become another 4x5 addict. Yes, the smoothness, delicate textures and tones are addictive. I also believe having to slow down makes for a more comtemplative image. In your quest for large prints, don't overlook the jewel like quality of 8x10 prints. Not every image needs to be large to sing Keep up the good work..