danny_liao

It's sad to hear that they were considered the "BEST." The most recent issue of PDN

had a similar spread but it was called "PDN's 30." I recently left art school, Art Center,

because those were the type of images my fellow classmates were creating. It was

boring, lame, and just simply awful. The images they created, similar to PDN's 30,

seemed to have no meaning...no passion...no heart. But that style seems to be the

trend all the young photographers are going after. I think what the problem is that

these days young photographers stopped trying to be original/creative. All they do

now is imitate. I think that's why the images are boring to me, they all look the

same...with a few exceptions. I swear you could put 10 different sets of photos by

different photographers together and they would look like they were all shot by one

photographer. Nothing original.

I've posted the same question about 3 weeks ago. I tried the Krylon and it did a

horrible job. I contacted Krylon and they stated that they had a batch of bad finishing

sprays. It made my prints look like it had a layer of white frost. I would wait awhile

before buying Krylon again. Anyway, someone on my post recommended Prismacolor

Final Fixative. It worked great and it was about 7 bucks a can. And I sprayed about

70 8x10 prints before the can died.

I'm trying to put together a "digital" package and I'm looking for opinions. I'm

considering purchasing a D1x along with the 28-70 AFS lens. I had this lens way

back with my F100, and I loved it. But now moving to digital, I was wondering if it is

wide enough of a lens for high quality for full body environmental/editorial type

portrait shots? And is it long enough to go close up head and shoulder shots? I'm

quite new to DSLR, so any help or suggestions would be greatly aprreciated.

steve,

i understand everyone wants the "best" all the time. but what if you don't need the

best? what if all you need is 5 megapixels? why pay more for extra pixels when you

don't need it? also, new cameras are suppose to be better, right? but after reading

reviews after reviews, new DSLR doesn't seem to be making that big of a

improvement. so why pay more for a "newer version" camera when the improvements

aren't there yet? am i missing something?

I'm some what new too digital. So I appologize if it sounds stupid...what's the deal

with the counter? I understand that it keeps track of usage but does that mean the

camera is not good after a certain amount? Is it going to produce less than

satisfactory results after the maxium # of shots have been reached?

Looking for some opinions. Do you think it's wise to purchase used digital SLRs of

Ebay? Particularly, the Nikon D1x.

Ahhh...I remember that joy and excitement when I got accepted to Art Center. Too

bad it doesn't last. Sorry, don't mean to bust your bubble. If this photography school

is as good as you make it sound, than be prepare to work your a$$ off. Congrats.

Yo Marc,

Here it is...set your shutter speed closest to your film speed and set your aperture to

f16. For example, if you have ASA100 than set you shutter to 1/125. If you are

using ASA400 than set your shutter to 1/400 or 1/500 (for Hassy). No matter what

speed you set your shutter to, the aperture always remains at f16. That's a good

starting point. Shadow areas usually need about 1-2 stops more light so open it up

to about f11 or f8 or open accordingly. If ever in doubt, always open up (overexpose)

than stop it down (underexpose).

Also try shooting with a 65, you'll love it.

Danny

2 stop is not bad. Still within tolerance. When you get it processed, just request it

be pushed 2 stops. You will still get useable results. Pushing film will usually result

in high contrast and lack of shadow detail. But other than that, it is still workable.

Conni,

I went and tried out Prismacolor and it worked out great. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steven,

What does DRY MOUNT have to do with photo finish spray? Do you even know what

we are talking about?

Hey Liz,

First of all, what are you shooting? Are you shooting people? If you are, than learn

how to use fill flash. If not and you are shooting landscape, than you are metering

wrong. The problem with shooting during mid day is because it's way too

contrasty...very bright highlights and very dark shadows. So if you try to expose for

the highlights, you're going to lose shadow detail...making your shadow areas go

black. If you expose for the shadows, than you're going to blow out or wash out the

highlights...which is what I think you are doing. Other than that, you might have set

your camera on + exposure. Double check your camera setting to see if it's set on +

exposure.

Regarding printing. The problem with washed-out highlights is that you can't really

print and expect detail in them. No matter if you play with contrast. If it's not on

film, than is not going to be on print.

Regarding polarizers. They won't help your washed-out problem.

Regarding underexpose. Depends on what you want to achieve. Next time you

shoot, think about what you want first. If you want nice highlights, than go ahead

and underexpose it by 1/2 to 2 stops or even more. But remember, you'll lose

shadow detail if you do this. If you want shadow, than expose for the shadows and

DON'T underexpose. Again, by exposing for shadows you'll lose highlight detail.

Anyway, as a rule of thumb, it's better to have slight over exposure than under.

To others,

Mid day is actually one of the best time to shoot if you know how to work with lights.

Look at Dan Winters. He does it all the time.

I just got this email from Krylon. Which sounds better than what the rep told me over

the phone.

Danny,

"Due to new spray paint industry regulations, Krylon was forced to change the 1311

Matte Finish formulation. Since the change, we have found that some cans were

leaving a white film on the project sprayed.  This problem has been corrected, and

product performance is the quality you expect from Krylon.  

Although the white film does not occur with every can, Krylon will be happy to replace

any cans of Matte Finish that were produced during the formulation change. Or, if you

would like, we will issue a refund for the Matte Finish with proof of purchase.  We

sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, and hope that

you will continue to use Krylon branded products in the future."

Thank you,

Jared

So avoid Krylon for now.

Hi Connie,

Yes, my test prints were completely dry. I actually printed them a month ago. I just

got off the phone with Krylon and they told me it's due to moisture or humidity in the

air or low temperture. Which I don't understand because, 1) the prints were dry.

Been sitting around for a month. And 2) I live in CA where humidity is not a problem

or was the wether below 70 degrees or above 80. Anyhow, I'm going to return these

and try other ones. Thanks for all your help.

I just tried Krylon's UV Resistant Matte Spray and it left a layer of white coating on my

image. Is this suppose to happen?

Which finish/photo spray do you guys prefer for your digtial matte prints? For

Hahnemuhle German Etching paper and Epson Matte?

Thanks for all your help. I just checked and the film plane and ground glass does

match up evenly. So that's not the problem.

Thanks for all your help. Now, which one performs better, the 180 telephoto or the

180 short barrel? Or does it matter?

Last night I tried examining the ground glass and fresnel lens more closely and I

noticed that it's extremely grainy and dark. Funny I didn't noticed this earlier. The

ground glass is made by Beattie, I know they make after market ground glasses but

do they come standard with the Horseman? Are there any other ground glasses that

are brighter and not as grainy that I could use?

Hi Michael,

You're right. F8 will not be tack sharp. But what I'm trying to say is that it should be

sharper than what I'm getting. Anyway, besides it being two different cameras, I'm

not doing anything different compare to the Sinar.

I did purchase the Horseman used. But it was like brand new. And it did come with a

fresnel lens that I still use. Do you really think that's the problem, the fresnel lens?

I'll try doing some shots without it.

Regarding the rear standard. You could extend out about another inch on the rear

standard on the 45FA. Once extended, you could shoot with it normal, with it tilt, or

with it swing/swung.

Thanks for your help.

danny

Nghi,

I don't mean to sound rude but how do you manage to shoot half a roll of film with

the darkslide inserted when you can't even trigger the shutter if the slide is inserted?

Regarding multiple exposure. You could feel the difference with the lever when you

are advancing film or not. It's tighter. Hopefully, you'll get the feel and notice it.