upper peninsula michigan Pictured Rocks, 4x5

Great scene, nice and warm. You sure captured the sharpness perfectly. A wave crashing through the sunlight would have been a cherry on top.

Laughing--big film. Me too! Love it... Thanks for your comment. Yes, a wave would have been wonderful, but the South winds prevented it. This does look quite static without some other element.

 

Fortunately without the wind I was able to negotiate the slippery spot you see in the middle and make it to the two amazing formations right there... What a treacherous 15 feet that is!

 

I can see there's quite a bit more work to do on this one. It's a perfect exposure, but I don't know if the 4990 can do this one justice.

Whoa David, your brave. Looks like a natural waterslide with lubricant and no way out.(Venus flytrap)

 

Scanners are not about justice for sure...I always revisit my loupe for reassurance.

 

 

 

 

Hi Dave! No, I don't think this looks too dark nor overly saturated (as you mention in the Tech Details). You know I love the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore, in fact, I love the whole U.P., so I think that this one looks pretty good. Where exactly is this? I was never brave enough to scramble down the parts of the escarpment that I am familiar with.

You have a 4990! Well, I am thinking of getting one of those myself since I picked up the Crown Graphic. What do you think of it? I have read good and not so good about it, but for the price it certainly seems adequate for 4x5. I would still scan my 6x7 on my Minolta DSMP. Regards.

Thanks for commenting Walter!

 

This is 1/4 mile East of Elliot Creek along the shoreline. The trail is rough, overgrown and it was muddy enough that I wore knee boots. The opening to this is not easy to find the 1st time. The area in the upper right is a 200 foot tall cliff and you can't miss it.

 

On the 4990, it all depends what you want from a scanner. It will make nice 16x20's from 4x5, but not much larger. If you are used to your Minolta film scanner (I have 5400 II), then you will be immediately disappointed by the lack of sharpness and detail from the 4990. It struggles with perfectly exposed Velvia slides and is much better with 1/3 to 1/2 stop overexposed slides.

 

However, if you decide to buy it make sure you get the Pro package with Silverfast software (esp for multisampling slides). It is absolutely fantastic with negs. The profile for NPS is amazing and I get more sharpness/detail from negs than slides.

David, a friend of mine attended a Gurlach workshop in that was held in this same area. John G, was speaking to the group and took one too many steps back and fell into the lake. Apparently it was pretty scary; the height wasn?t more than 20 feet. John, being from Munising knew exactly where he had to go to climb back up and out of the water. I haven?t been to this area yet, but I think you have done a really good job composing and capturing the shoreline. I think you should definitely get this to Danny B asap so you can make a 20X30!

That's quite a story! This is no place to fall in the water, especially if there are any kind of waves. Even with the 3 foot waves on this night I was scared of being swept off and smashed to bits or drown. The wave action here is more like the ocean than a lake--it builds up and then releases. You don't know when it will hit you.

 

Thanks for the advice! This one would definitely sell well. Maybe I'll just hang it on my wall for a few years first :o)

Dave, this is GORGEOUS! I have yet to hike in the PR Lakeshore - probably won't happen until the kids are a bit older now. This is saleable material, my man! Superb work!!

Thanks for the info Dave. Once again, very nice photograph! Regards.

Dave, this definitelly is interesting and beautiful. IMO it's the best of your series from this trip. I really like all the aspects of this shot...

Jiri

Thanks everyone for commenting and your encouragement :o)

David, there is something in a 4x5 that makes an image pop like this one. A great image in every sense. Fantastic details and color notwithstanding the stunning composition. Did you use a Velvia here? Would you think that the V750 would also do justice since the 4990 has been replaced with this model? Best regards - Lester

Thanks Lester! Yes, this was taken with Velvia 100F. I don't shoot a lot of Velvia these days, but always keep a few sheets of it in the bag. It's a great film for yellow. These days I would shoot this scene with Astia, which provides more dynamic range.

 

I can't remember, but think I made a light and dark scan and then joined the 2 together. This is to overcome Velvia's shortcomings.

 

I don't have any experience with the 750, but it would certainly be good up to 16x20. I get excellent results from the 4990 at 16x20 using the standard holders and careful technique. Beyond that you lose the fine details and should find a better scanner.

Hello David - Just revisited your galleries after inactivity on my part, and discovered this awesome photograph (7/7). Super colors (obviously Velvia), details (obviously big film), outstanding subject, and so very well laid out composition!!!

 

A note concerning the scanner and the question from Lester concerning the 750 versus the 4990: I believe the results should be just about identical... it's my understanding the biggest change is software, and results should be near-identical. My brother uses a V750 and a close friend used a 4990 until recently. Brother has pulled up to 16"x34" prints with his V750 that have been very nice indeed. I've also used a MicroTek M1 Pro and can't see much of a difference between it and the 4990 and the V750... and also agree it's very capable of pulling 16"x20" prints on most scenes such as this one.

 

Only problems I've had with scans on these three machines has been with fine details (such as blades of grass sticking from snow) and intricate foreground details under harsh light. I generally scan any 4"x5" films (almost exclusively Velvia 50 & 100 & Provia) that may be classified as "Portfolio" and may need prints larger than 16x20 using a Screen Cezanne these days.

 

Are you wet mounting your transparencies for scanning?

 

Again... super shot... wish I had taken it..... ;-)

 

Glenn