carl_crosby3

Generally, a good effort. Closer, more light, and wait so the hand wass not covering the face, so more of the character of your father in law is visible would have improved it. Crop the left side. (leave the pot in) Black and white is good for this sort of photo. The pills... Hmmm.

Lynn: what has worked for me after a LOOOONG time of experimentation is: A reversing ring. That allows you to attatch your lens backwards to your camera, for really close ups. You will lose automation with the set-up, but you can still meter the subject. The other selection, and my personal favorite, is the 2 element close up lenses marketed by Nikon or Canon. Step-up rings will solve your fit problems, if any. Relatively inexpensive,and very effective. They come in a couple of powers, and I got the most powerful one I could. With close ups, I want it to be BIG! Reversing rings produce larger images, but you have to be careful you don't bang the rear element of the lens on something, you will be so close. Some guys cut the bottom out of a rear lens cap, and use it as a lens hood/protector. Not a bad idea.

I used my 2 element close up lens on a 70-210 zoom for some forensic photos in a case I am investigating, and the results were amazing. About 2X life size , with no mental gymnastics. Thank you TTL and automation!

In his first book on nature photography, John Shaw came up with the darndest hammer mechanic contraption I ever saw. (well, maybe just a slight exageration) It was a gizmo that allowed a normal lens to be screwed to the filter threads of a telephoto, for really large magnifications. If you can find the book, it might be something you would want to experiment with.

400 speed, bounce flash with card, or 80-20, F/8 and BE THERE!

Good choice! The Super Graphic is/was the only model to have the rotating back, as far as I know. Some guys had an auxilliary tripod socket put on the side for vertical format. Crown/Pacemaker graphic cameras are lighter than the Speed Graphics, because the focal plane shutter was eliminated. (good move, IMO) Super Graphics are the last of the breed, and have a metal body, rather than wood, which isn't that big a deal. The front movements will not be that much different between Graphic models, if any at all. The Bushman Press Camera also has a rotating back, and more front movement,(how much do you need, anyway?) I have read. The extra shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. was a marketing thing, because you seldom need more than 1/500 with a a press/field camera. A good lens in a good shutter is the most important thing. Good luck in your search, and enjoy what you buy.

Toilet paper, something cold to drink, and a sandwich.

Yeah! What Cliff said! Animal senses are lots sharper than ours, and I swear, birds have x-ray vision! Photographers tend to move a lot. We also stomp, clank, rattle, slosh, gurgle, snort, (and how DO you describe the noise the film wind makes? A ZEEEP?) and smell funny.(To animals, that is. But sometimes...) They generaly KNOW you are there, and if you appear non-threatening, move slowly, and/or go to places where the animals are used to people, plus shoot a lot of pictures, you tend to get lucky oftener.

 

Low profile, all the way. Muted colors. (faded) Thrift stores are good source of inexpensive, disposable clothing. If need be, you can modify it to suit the environment with magic markers, spray paint, or a roller and a gallon of Dutch Boy, for that matter. But my wife has a black blouse with green leaves and BIG red hibiscus flowers. You would be surprised how well it blends into the brush. I do get some strange looks, tho. Even large red and black mackinaw check will blend nicely in shaded surroundings. The face mask is a good idea, too.

 

Comfortable is the thing , buy it large, and military surplus has BIG pockets to cary all the rattling, clinking equipment we need. Civilian copies of military clothing ususlly is lighter, and you won't sweat so much. Anyhow, what's the matter with Lederhosen and an Aloha shirt?

Dan: You have been given good advice. My $.02: Keep it simple: For single or couples' portraits, you have one of the best focal lengths--85mm, second only to the 105mm, IMHO.

 

Separate the subjects from the background to eliminate distracting elements, Shoot one or two stops from wide open, and use what I call the "standard" portrait lighting set up for 2 lights. Imagine a circle: Camera and you at the top of the circle, subject in the center. Main light either on the right or left side of the camera, somewhere between camera position and 45 degrees to either side. Position the main light above eye level. Fill light, to the other side, with the ratio set for 2-3:1,(less fill light)about eye level. If you can't adjust the power of your strobes, move the lights back and forth to establish your ratio. Remember the inverse square law.(further away=dimmer light)

 

With your umbrellas, you could use just one light. Or, according to a buddy of mine, you can gain a stop or so by shooting through the umbrella, rather than bouncing the light from it, if it is translucent. I don't understand why this is so, but he swears it is, and he runs a portrait studio. Experiment! Main light--shoot thru, fill light bounced, from the same distance = an easy 2:1 lighting ratio?? Keep it simple, or you 'll get confused. Don't ask me how I know this! If you can, shoot an experimental roll of film or two prior, and take notes so when you find something you like, you can remember what you did. Good luck with your shoot, and don't do like I did when I was asked to shoot group portraits for a church congregation.

 

EVERYTHING was going well, my camera had never operated so smoothly, and I thought "Great! maybe I've got it broken in at last!" I had forgotten to load the film! Anyhow, go and take some pictures. cc

Thank you all for your responses. BOY, how DID I ever get that mixed up? That is what I like about the forum, somebody will know the solution to a perplexing problem. As for the earlier comment that "there is no color in black and white, so that would have nothing to do with it." Interpreting colors in a pleasing way as a black and white photo IS what it is all about. It reduces our efforts to a stark image, which doesn't have color to distract from any major flaws. You have to be GOOD to do good black and white. Maybe one day... anyhow, thank you all. Until next time.. CC

I have read that in Black and White photography, a blue filter will

give "more pleasing" flesh tones. Is this because many skin blemishes

have a reddish component to their coloration, and blue filters block

red, making some blemishes less noticeable? Could a blue filter be

used in conjunction with , say, a Tiffen softnet filter to further

deemphasize blemishes, freckles, scars, etc? The manufacturers seem

to make very few blue filters nowadays--could the 80A Daylight-to-

tungsten balancing filter be used with success? If not,

recommendations, please.

Also, for color: what sort of a warming filter can be used to move

the flesh tones from the normal pasty white to a more pleasing

tonality? Would something as light as the Skylight 1B work, or is

something stronger called for? I assume (a dangerous word) that the

Tiffen softnet filters could be used also to soften and minimize

blemishes. Has anyone had experience in these areas? Thanks

Does anyone have a source for serial numbers /year of manufacture for

Pentax K-series and Spotmatic cameras? Thank You.

Jon: You will enjoy yourself! The road construction may even be finished. Bring some 200-400 speed film, because the weather can be very dark and grey. It can also be so beautiful that it will take your breath away. If it rains, put on your waterproofs, cover your camera with a plastic sack. and have at it! Bring a sturdy tripod, and before you do anything off the road, tape your trousers around your ankles and apply insect reprllent to your shoes, socks and pants legs. Reapply every 2 hours. Yelowstone chiggers are MEAN, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever is not sometning you want to flirt with. Don't worry about it, just take a little care, and all will be O.K.

 

The last of September is just before the Elk rut, and all the bulls are in hard antler, (no pun intended) and tend to congregate in several areas. The rangers at the gates will give you information as you enter, but sometimes pure luck is on your side.

 

Entering the park from Jackson Hole, Wyo., through Teton Nat'l Park (Two parks for the price of one!) There is a view area tht will give you a great view of the Tetons and a river in the foreground. A river really does run through it. The place will be fairly well stocked with photographers, but I've never had any trouble with the gendarmerie. I use a 35mm, and don't look like a "pro", whatever that is supposed to look like. Just look like a tourist. Entering the park from West Yellowstone, There are several meadows on the sides of the road, where Bison, Elk, and Coyotes can be seen on good days. Look up the back issues of OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER, and read Leonard Lee Rue's accounts of trips he has taken there. That sly old dude doesn't give many clear directions, but the places are there, if you can spend some time looking.

 

Last time we were there, we saw two wolves. I thought "That is the BIGGEST damn Coyote I have ever seen!" Wrong!

 

Best to carry a camera you can run with, if you plan to get far from the car. Better yet, don't get too far away. Bears can cover ground amazingly well. Although I have tried to explain I am in no way interested in their ladies, Bull elk are not noted for their great intellect or sense of humor. One year, a woman with a P&S was attempting to approach an elk with two or three cows, and had to step lively, because the Bull was about to do her! There is a herd of Elk that live around Mammoth, which is inside the North entrance, at Gardiner, Mont. That entrance gate is a must see, IMO, and Moose can be seen on what is known as the "upper Loop"

 

There are actually two loops in the park, and it will take about a day to do each one, to get your bearings. The eastern entrance to the Park, near a place called Pahaska Teepee, where Buffalo Bill had a hunting lodge sometimes has Grizzly Bears 'WAY up on the mountainsides, so you need a lens like the Hubble Telescope to even tell what it is. That gate leads to Cody, Wy., Where the Buffalo Bill museum is located. It is a definite should see, but it will take a day to drive there and see it.

 

Do visit the Old Faithful Inn. It is a national treasure, IMO. The food isn't very good, and the rooms are little and overheated,but it is a photographer's joy. Old faithful is a great sight, when it decides to coperate.

 

Don't approach the Buffalo, no matter what everyone else is doing! It will be the end of the season, and the animals are nervous and just plain tired of dumb humans harrassing them. The day we were there, a few years ago, a pilgrim got gored in the parking lot of the Inn. The buffalo threw him about as high as the 20 foot pine trees they have for decoration.

Bring LOTS of film, and enjoy your trip to one of my favorite places on earth. We are going in October. Boy, this got really long. Does it show, I love the place? Good Luck!

I would like to buy a Graflex Super Graphic camera, and fit it

with the 150mm f/5.6 Schneider Symmar S. Is this a good combination,

and is a cam available to synchronize the rangefinder with the lens?

Does this lens have enough coverage to provide some use of the camera

movements? If not, what would you suggest? It will be used for a

studio camera and field use. What lens should I consider for studio

photgraphy of butterflies and moths, (shades of Jaime Gumb)and maybe

spiders, which I will raise myself? Thank you; C. Crosby

Is there a real choice between a used Yashica Mat 124 g or a

Minolta Autocord,(Can't afford a Rollei)and a brand new Seagull TLR

with the 4 element lens? It appears that all can be had for about the

same price.

Oh, about 4 inches more than the processing reel will hold.

I liked the Star Trek one best, myself! Hee hee.

I have shot some rolls of Ilford XP2, and notice that my

negatives appear thinner and have less contrast than my "normal"

negs. My meters seem correct with both slide and negative film. I

checked the minimal info Ilford prints on the inside of the box, and

it looks as if the film is optimized for machine processing and

printing at 400. Can I improve negative density for normal darkroom

printing by rating it at 320 or 200? Any other suggestions?

Artistic gabble is the refuge of those who make technically deficient photographs.

Cool! Now get out there and take some more pictures!

Mr. Liu: I can't find your photo, but the short answer is Yes, if it shows people as the subject, instead of like the little black dots in the meadow , labelled "Buffalo in the meadow". We have come a long way towards nit pickiness, when we believe those who say because it isn't Black and White, it can't be street photography. BALDERDASAH! That's like saying the person with a point and shoot camera isn't REALLY a photographer! My granddaughter has a little, cheap plastic camera, and she does good stuff. I have a Nikon I'm saving for her, if she wants. Some people should wake up, and enjoy photography as it is , which is absolutely marvelous.There is room for everybody whatever their opinion.

Nicely done porait of two young ladies. Not great art, just damn good photography of attractive subjects, which is what most of our photgraphy should aspire to be, IMO.

Sir: You DO seem to have captured the essence of the young lady. Whatever you did, keep doing it. Beautiful portrait!

Neat picture! The girl is a definite improvement over Elvis! Now get out there and take some more pictures! CC

REALLY, really late for this one, but: Orient your film holders vertically, grab the film, also vertical, by the right corner with your right hand, feeling the notches with your index finger. The emulsion is now facing you. Slide the film into the holder. Emulsion is on the proper side, and as long as you have the film notches under your right index finger, nothing can go wrong...can go wrong...can go wrong.....Waste a sheet of film in the light, and practice. It is easy! CC

Cecilia: STUDY others' photos, READ about lighting, Practice, Practice, Practice. Maybe find a friendly architectural photog.(do they exist?) that will answer questions, and/or could use an assistant. Good Luck!

Dave: It somewhat depends on the camera you are using. If a full view camera, then it will always be more susceptible to breezes, what with the bellows hanging out there, and all. If you are using one of the older Speed/Super Graphic cameras, which IMHO will do 85% of what a view camera will do, and are more convenient in the bargain, the problem is somewhat less. The Super Graphics have a revolving back for horizontal and vertical perspective, which is nice.

 

No matter what camera system you use, some days are absolutely unsuitable for photography. Usually though, you can find shelter on the lee side of a building, dock, dune, bush or vehicle, which will give you about the same view as was revealed in that half-state between wakefulness and sleep last midnight. Then, you can brace your tripod, and /or use a golf-size umbrella,(smaller is lighter, but will be less useful)and proceed with your photography.

 

Hopefully, your film will be at least medium speed. Use the highest shutter speed you can, wait for a lull in the wind, and shoot! Need I say, remove the dark slide? Keep your equipment dry and clean, even if it means not taking it out of the car, or bag, BUT the most important thing is to keep yourself warm, dry, safe and comfortable. Have fun! CC