roman_p

<p id="docs-internal-guid-72bc2e15-0838-e5ee-c648-dd5c0744c4fc" dir="ltr">Lack of snow in the past couple winters really impacted my winter photography. I was pretty much excited to see the snowfall this year as early as the end of November. This sunset shot over Lake George was taken from Buck Mt in the Adirondacks, NY.</p><div></div>

<p>Oops, forgot to attach image..</p><div></div>

<p>It happens very rare in our area. At the begging of November there are still plenty leaves having autumn colors down to the valleys. The first snow might hit unexpectedly … The rising sun warms up earth quickly and this fragile snow starts melting. You got to act fast – in a couple hours all this will be gone…</p> <p>Mother Nature gives harvests and feeds us. But it also gives us beautiful nature to enjoy. Yes Laura, you are right - a natural world full of wonders to photograph. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!</p>

<p>You can find GF670 below $900 on E-bay, used in good condition. Keep in mind that the camera comes with lens. Is your budget $400 for a body only? I believe that the weight vise you cannot find anything lighter: GF670 is about 0.9kg (with lens!) and it will fit in a pocket of your 3 season jacket; GF670W is about 1 kg (well with lens also but much more expecive).</p>

<p id="docs-internal-guid-63ce6c99-d4ee-03d6-3d37-4776a3703815" dir="ltr">Jim,</p> <p dir="ltr">The picture I’ve posted here actually was taken on Ektachrome which is E6 (or slide) film. it’s quite different from Ektar 100. However I’m using Ektar 100 eventually too. I might agree with you that Ektar is not that easy film to use as Portra and it isn’t a general purpose film. It’s more like Velvia - you have to find perfect conditions to unleash its beauty. I have troubles with its bluish cast too. But it’s a fine film and I like it. A couple rules I usually apply toEktar usage: avoid shooting Ektar in overcast day or in midday under cloudless blue sky; alvways use a warm up filter somthing like 81A or 81B; it doesn't like underexposure; the best time to shoot Ektar is early morning or late afternoon hours (so called “Golden Hours”). Try, may be you find your way to this very nice film. Here some shot with Ektar. I’m posting them here basically as scanned so you can see how raw files look like.</p><div></div>

<p>October colors. </p><div></div>

<p id="docs-internal-guid-63ce6c99-c5a0-e03a-2f16-e5c4ba8a5b5f" dir="ltr">Jim, your BW pictures are wonderful as always. They are so “real” so can feel touch the texture... October is over… It’s probably the busiest time for outdoor photography. Here some my pictures.</p> <p dir="ltr">Misty morning at Troy, NY. </p><div></div>

<p id="docs-internal-guid-a21bc054-c0de-b6c6-f611-226a39be97de" dir="ltr">Sunrise over Brant Lake, Adirondacks, NY.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Laura for your greeting and creating this wonderful thread.<br> Shun, thanks for supporting this thread. I’m glad that my image brought some memories for you. I hope those are good memories. This is the power of photography - to create good memory and good feelings. Velvia that you mentioned probably is the 1^st version of Velvia 50 – the only Velvia available in 90’s. Nowadays we have the 2^nd version of the 50, plus 100 and 100F. All are wonderful films. I’ll post some images here in future (well, if I find time to edit them for web posting).</p>

<p>How did I spend some time? Climbing the Adirondack Mountains at the beginning of October with my favorite photo gear. October usually brings to us many changes especially in colors. Needless to say that for many landscape/nature photographers it is probably most favorable month. Here’s one of the shot: Adirondack Great Range from the 1^st Brother.</p><div></div>

<blockquote> <p>I don't shoot color film anymore because there are no RA4 minilabs in my area. And I don't want prints made from low quality scans or "dry" prints with obvious scan line artifacts.</p> </blockquote> <p>Lex, sorry to hear about your situation. But where do you live? I live far away from big cities but have at least 2 photo labs within 25 min driving. They do hi-res scanning also. Plus Costco and Walmart’s (never used them anyhow). Plus Dwayne’s of course (well, shipping orders only – about 3000 mi away).<br> Go back to the thread. Why am I shooting color neg films? Actually I shoot everything: color neg, B&W, chromogenic, E-6 and eventually, very rear, digital. Being heavily involved in wild landscape photography I have quite strong addiction to E6, especially Velvia (well, nothing else is available anyhow). Unfortunately there’s literally no room for negative films. But I still love color neg films and usually use them for general street photography, travel and occasionally portraiture. Film like Portra 400 has quite delicate and pleasant color palette and gigantic exposure latitude so it forgives your technical slipups and doesn’t require heavy bracketing (if any) as E6 do. Color neg films are cheaper than E6 and even than BW (film + processing if you outsource the processing). Some of them are still available about $2/roll from many retailers. It’s also easier to scan and adjust in PS. Might agree with Karim that many color neg films resolve more details that E6 but the grain/noise is usually more pronounced.</p>

<blockquote> <p><em>However, I have noted that it feels delicate, almost fragile in the hands.</em></p> </blockquote> <p><em> </em>Jim, GF670 indeed is much more durable than it feels. Once I was shooting waterfall staying on bare rocks under spitting rain. Being clumsy I didn’t attach the quick release plate properly. While maneuvering with the camera the plate got snapped off the head. I wasn’t able to catch the camera and it landed right on the rocks, some of them were quite sharp. I inspected the camera: a couple good scratches, no dents. The only “serious” damage was a broken tip of release cable stuck in the socket. On next day I spoiled a roll just to verify the rangefinder alignment. Everything was just perfect. So the total cost of this terrible accident was $15 for a new release cable. From my personal experience I can claim that GF670 is quite robust and well-built machine. I believe that this camera is a must for everybody who’s traveling and wants to get it light.</p>

<p>I really urge you to take a close look at Fujifilm GF670. This is a light, compact, solid built and ergonomically friendly camera. When it’s folded it easily can fit inside my Kelvin Klein winter jacket. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that 6x7 camera can be that light and compact. It’s a dual format camera: 6x7 and 6x6, with bright and crisp viewfinder, deadly accurate metering and sharp optics. Much much better that Mamiya 6 which I used to have (I guess that Mamiya 7 is same as M6 but bigger). It’s good for travel and some “landscaping”. This is a pretty versatile camera. Not sure about classical music concerts. Never shot it. I guess for this purpose you might need Contax 645 with Sonnar 210mm or 350mm Tele Apotessar.</p>