Drab or flat photos

[tim_kimbler]

I took about 50 photos in the high desert country in southwest Texas. The area is mountainous desert country, and is beautiful. My pictures are somewhat flat of drab in apperance. What I'm trying to say, is the vista is mostly tan in color, and the photos don't show the beauty. Would toning the prints bring out the color seperation? Would a particular color filter have helped when photographing this type of terrain?

[triblett_lungre_thurd]

Kinda hard to diagnose without much info, like type of meter and

meter readings, film, bellows extension, time of day... all of

everything will help Tim. I'm from the high plains and I understand

drab/beautiful but I guess the big question is, was what you saw on

the ground glass different from what the film yields or what you

expected, did you take polaroids? Are you remembering colors that

weren't there? utilizing the old hindsight filter? And the little

question is, did you see the Marfa lights? The time of day is

paramount in this region. The unoccluded midday sun isn't flattering

at all out there. Are you remembering magic hour colors and wishing

you'd been ready or awake?

[bruce_schultz2]

I was in the SW Texas desert about a month ago and took 3 dozen B&W large format fotos and a roll of 35mm slides. I was pleased overall with the LF results but the 35mm color was disappointingly bland. Much of that had to do with the time of day most of the fotos were taken, midday. I should have used a polarizer. If you had a digital setup, you could accentuate the colors.

[tim_kimbler]

The photographs were taken through out the day. Between 10:00 and

4:00. I use a Pentax 1-deg spot meter, and zone system. The film was

TMAX 100. I use XTOL developer in a 3010 drum, following the Kodak

development time. The paper is Kodak VC mat, printed with a cold

light. I think the photos show a true representation of the area.

In the prints the desert is a light gray, the trees are various shades

of black, the mountains are light gray and dark gray, the sky is light

not white. There just isn't any snap. I use a photo taken by John

Sekton in Yosemite as a reference to judge my photos against. It

is mat paper and has a wonderful glow on the rocks. Any way I've

learned alot in 1 year and I keep trying.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Try using a blue filter for part of the exposure, If you are using a variable contrast paper this will help jump the contrast a bit. Joe Englander has written about this in View Camera or Photo techniques.

Otherwise, the red/orange/yellow family of filters used on the camera will also help your negatives contrast, especially between the sky and the rocks.

[triblett_lungre_thurd]

Yeah, I agree with ellis, I don't use filters much but in the midday

sun out there you'd need it. You could snap it up with some added

paper contrast and try to burn the sky back. Often I have to selenium

intensify my skys even with deep orange filtration. Then finding a

paper that truly renders a flattering sky and not some half-tone

looking crap is a challenge too. Shooting in the plains is great fun

if you live here and you can wait around for the right light. If

you're just passing through it's kinda tough. I guess I'd equate it

with surfing spots. You should have been here yesterday kinda stuff.

If you have been here at the right instant you know that "big sky

country" has nothing on us. I try to plan shoots either in the magic

hours or by watching the local weather reports and try to wait for

clouds if i can. You know you were rather fortunate getting to shoot

out here because you're not complaining about the wind and that is

odd.

[tim_kimbler]

I have the Kodak VC filters for my enlarger, 1-4 I think. Which one

would you recomend using? I have read that without a filter I get

grade 3 using my cold light, Aristo tube number 45 I think. The blue

filter, what number is it? Or will any blue filter work? As you can

tell I am new at this and have a lot to learn. I will be going to

Fort Davis, TX again in May and hope to get better photos than my last

trip.

[triblett_lungre_thurd]

Well, that's a hard to determine without seeing the neg or at least a

print. Start at g3 move up if it's still muddy. Next time out

bracket like mad and write your exposures on the cfh. The blue filter

# I don't know, what Ellis is wanting you to try is to filter with a

complementary color to accentuate and deepen the tan color. Here in

Oklahoma that would go black because the soil is a deep red-orange.

Look carefully at the color of the soil through your filters like a

visit to the optician, "better here....or here... this one now this".

I still believe if the info is recorded on the neg you can get it

out in printing. Blow some money on one of those expensive fiber

papers this will help no end with a flat neg. Believe it or not your

gonna learn loads about your methods and your equipment in doing this

and since I don't have your coldlight and your lens and your meter and

your neg to look at I couldn't guess as to what went wrong only places

to start.

[brian_c._ellis]

If you're comparing your work with a John Sexton print you're almost

certain to be disappointed in your work even though it might be

fine. I've taken four weeks worth of John's workshops and I've seen

many of his prints as "straight" prints and then seen the final print

after he has finished with all of his darkroom work. A huge amount of

what you see in John's prints isn't in the negative but rather is the

result of what he does in the darkroom. In saying this I don't mean

to demean John's work in any way. His negatives are very, very good

and without good negatives to start with he wouldn't be able to make

the prints that he makes. However, the negative is just the starting

point for what you see as the final print. The rest is John's talent

and few photographers are capable of printing as well as John prints.

[lot_wxs]

Tim, it is not by accident the cold light that does not work with VC

filters and/or Kodak VC paper? I know that the old Aristo did not work

with variable contrast, I'm not sure if the new one does.

[richard_hill1]

tim

while sooting did you use a lens shade? sand can create glare that

will raise the base fog level[this may be the wrong term] or the

effective toe of the curve. it has the same effect as prefogging your

film and lowers contrast. just a thought.

[rich_silha1]

You might try using a condenser enlarger, develop your prints to

3 minites, use glossy ilford mg fiber paper, try using edwal ultra

black developer or some other very active developer, sepia toning

bleaching to completion . All these will increase the impression of

contrast.