Sandeha Lynch

Carry a small folding umbrella for a windshield.

These shots <i> are</i> contrasty, and some of Sam's color shots are Amphetamine Velvia, but this is part of the appeal to me.

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A bit like Robert Crumb with a camera ... cartoonish, except that composition seems to count higher than content - and I think that's where he scores on the street.

Elements I don't know, but in PS7 the USM offers Amount, Radius, and Threshold. Mostly I set them at 50, 1, 0, sometimes 30, 1.2, 0.

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However, it's also 'how'. If I have a 6000 file, I'll resize it to 3000 and USM once, resize again to 1500 and USM once, 750 +USM, and so on as necessary. It varies somewhat according to the details of the shot. This works for me, but I suspect there's other magic out there somewhere.

Sam - great answer. Now try this:

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Digital has no irony.

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(If Mike E can come up with some more we could put together a best-practice document.)

Roger Rabbit said, "I can only do it if it's funny."

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Digital has no humor.

I reckon Duke Ellington would have been happy if you really had blasted a few clarinets into outer space.

LOL. Same designer.

"Great - now try going forwards!"

This here below is from a 124G with a Yashinon. Great machine, only drawback is the winder, but it shouldn't be a problem if you use earplugs.<div></div>

Diwan - I agree. One of the advantages comes with a shot like this - an experimental one-off. It's only one step from shot to dev with the single sheet. <p>

The film is Ilford Ortho Plus, which most people suggest needs a yellow filter for non-technical, pictorial purposes with smooth tonality. (It can also be used as a high contrast film.) I shot this at EI 40 under fairly bright, but shielded window light with a yellow filter mounted. The pinhole is 0.36mm so, using a spotmeter, the final exposure was 1m 50 secs - that was including a reciprocity factor from Mike C's chart on the basis that the Ortho film requires approximately double the extension of HP5. Dev'd in Rodinal 1+100 for 10 mins at 20C degrees.

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Mike, I used to feel like a kid in a candy store with the duotone options, but now I settle on a few that I consider 'proven' with only slight adjustments above or below depending on the tonal range of the neg.

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Here's a shot of the filter mount I've just put into my folder.<p>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3542955-lg.jpg"><p>

Purely practical reasons for the position as you'll see if you check the other shot in the folder. You'll notice also the line across the rear - that's part of the cotton thread 'cross-hair' across the rear frame - allows me to use the entire box for viewfinding.<div></div>

OK, so I don't get out enough, I know. But anyway, the sun was

shining and I'd just fitted an empty 49mm filter ring to the back of

the pinhole mount - so this is using a yellow filter on Ortho film,

and then toned.

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<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3542123-lg.jpg">

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4"x5" full frame, developed in Rodinal.

Like the Fotobus - always impressed by photographers who manage to get their models to turn up color-coded to the environment!

Irrespective of genre, I'm fairly certain that if it's YOU, really YOU, taking the shot, and not just "you-while-thinking-under-the-influence-of-insertnamehere" then it will be an original shot. The final tally of people who also like it is not so important.

I don't know what it is, but I'll bet a pizza on what kind of project it's going to become.

Cool work, Patrick.

Much of what I do is experimental for me, but traditional rather than cutting edge (a term I am skeptical about anyway). But Dennis, to get us straight on terms, would you class this as sentimental or nostalgic?<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3005997-lg.jpg">

I apologise for the last post. I don't quite know what came over me.

Heya ... I'm younger than I thought! Doo, doo, be, dobop, yah!

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(Dat's ma spotmeter jivin' wit ma T.el.arrrrrrr.)

Caption check, Mike ... World War I ?

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But great; IR, and portraits.

That's handy - I can easily tape that to my pinbox. Thanks.

Allan, I downloaded your file, and it opens OK, though for some reason Excel reports that the file is corrupt.

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Mike, that graph looks good - I was surprised that the curves are so straight.

I think I've picked up the data sheet for every film I use, but much of the time I've referred to Steve Simmons' <i>Using the View Camera</i> for reciprocity figures. OK, that's sheet film, but he gives examples from a variety of makers in all three types of emulsion with a range of metered times from 2secs to 120secs. It's been very useful.

The MZ-S has mirror lock up if you use the self-timer. Works great.

Some day there probably will be a film sensor wafer that you can cut to size with a pair of scissors and just stick onto the film gate with duct tape. The controls will be on a wireless box thingie that fits into the hot/cold shoe. No further modification required.

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And so ?

'Cos I enjoy the workflow.