ross_wilson1

<p>A late post but still.. Pinkhassov's work is obviously too subtle for some people here, an inability to see nothing more than pretty colour is the limitation of the viewer not the artist. Most profound yet non-human drama focused work in all it's forms is often passed by, by those who think they have a refined appreciation of art. The reality with this kind of work of which Pinkhassov's is included, is that it doesn't rely on human convention to frame or provide context to the content, he simply lets the image use it's own un-inhibited language. Or in layman's terms, he doesn't communicate in human.</p>

I love shooting 35mm, I'm going onto the Leica R system soon, I could afford medium format if I wish but there's something about 35mm I love.

 

I have a scanner but I hate scanning. Usually it's okay because you only have a few to scan anyway, but when you have a lot, I really hate it..

 

That's only half the story..

 

To finish the cycle of taking a picture you obviously have to print, I got zero satisfaction from inkjet printing, and the results were always lack luster.. sending a neg or a file of to be printed too was really dull, good results though.. the best thing is to print B&W and Colour yourself.. amazing results and very satisfying. Not for the impatient though, and you have to be willing to learn and have a good eye for subtle colours..

 

Shooting 35mm and loving it!

Pro negative film needs a very good exposure to bring out what you're paying extra for. The colours are more nuanced and can look amazing but if you under or overexpose by a couple of stops you won't see it. You need to treat pro negative film like slide film. It also has less grain and as mentioned better colour consistency batch to batch.

 

The standard film, Superia etc is great and made to be punchy and contrasty, this allows for off exposures and the contrast helps poor consumer lenses. That said a lot of pro's will use it especially for it's high saturation. Definitely the best way to start. But play with some pro stuff and see for yourself.

 

Also, you'll need to scan or get a very good lab to make your prints. Consumer labs crop the negative, automatically lighten a picture if the machines spot a face in it (regardless of weather that face was supposed to be lit) and can scratch your negs (they'll always blame your camera). Consumer labs played a big part in making film less popular, then again there wasn't a whole lot they could do at the prices people were willing to pay.

Hi, can anyone help me decipher the Fuji Hunt x-press kit developer agitation step?

 

It says, agitate for 30secs, then place in water bath for 13 seconds then agitate for 2 seconds..

 

Okay, I get that, then it says:

 

Repeat procedure for 10secs at the end of the processing step (i.e. the whole dev time period).

 

So it sounds like it only needs that first lot of agitation.. That doesn't sound right. The whole dev step is 3m

15 secs long!

 

You'd think it would say after the last 2 second step how long to leave it before repeating the 30sec agitation..

 

Anyone help?

Can someone help me with this?

 

I've relatively new to colour darkroom work. I started out using room temp Tetanal chemicals in a Nova dunk and

dip which really got me going, made some nice prints but wanted more of a punch.. or at least I just wondered

what the difference would be with 35 degree chemicals.

 

I recently bought some and tied them out in my cpe2, can't say I can see any difference whatsoever. The kit is

the Tetanal 35 degree kit. I don't know what I was expecting but I can't see an improvement at all! It's just

more awkward.

 

Is this right? Am I missing something?

 

Also, with the cpe2 I'm using one shot, does anyone know if using 500ml drain and keep for about 10-15 prints

okay, or is one shot used on rotary processors for a reason??

 

Thanks

I think some of you have demonstrated with your own mean spirited words why this guy wants non believers to skip this thread.

 

Some of you are getting really annoyed about the fact some Leica owners really like their cameras and lenses and want to wax lyrical to each other on the Leica forum. What in the hell is wrong with that? Do we really need to address people as Sir here? How come you're all getting so uptight!? Does this description really anger you so much!? If it does, maybe you should have skipped the thread like the man says. We're not talking political ideology here.

 

If you're so content with your gear let the dude have his description.

 

I seem to remember photographers mostly being artists. Is it any wonder then we might take to using such terms?

 

Yes I use a Leica M system, I've used a lot of others too. I don't think I've seen this glow in my photographs, but the character the lenses posses does seem to stand out, a lot. No I haven't done any tests. Test won't make a damn bit of difference, being happy with what you have and being inspired to shoot does make a difference. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, no one is hurting anyone here. Each of us are drawn to subtle nuances in mediums, it's probably why we choose one over the other, fortunately that's not the reason people are looking at our pictures. Therefore it only matters that we like what we like, and I Leica Leica.

Hi, I started using room temp chemicals for RA4 processing a few weeks ago, I

got some nice results at first but now prints seem to lack punch. I appreciate

a slight cast can contribute to this problem but I was wondering if it's really

worth trying the 35 degree RA4 chemicals offered by Fotospeed or Tetenal, as I

recently read that room temp kits can be inconsistent and generally inferior.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the difference between the results the two

types of kits produce and can you recommend any brands?

 

Many thanks

"My M2, M3, Md-2, M5, M7 (.72) and M7 (.85) are collecting dust on the shelf because of my 40 D. And I wont give up zoom, autofocus, high ISOperformance, auto sensor cleaning etc. (and the money in the bank) for an M8/9"

 

My Canon 40D is sitting gathering dust (actually my girlfriend uses it) while I shoot roll after roll of 35mm film on my M3 and M6. I wouldn't qive up small, discrete, film quality aesthetics's, with prime lenses for any DSLR.

 

I find it strange as one post stated that Pro M8 photographers are selling their M8's because they're waiting for a real Pro M camera. A pro who uses a rangefinder would use a range finder because of its unique attributes. It would imply their work couldn't be done, by them at least on a dslr. You wouldn't here of a DSLR user dumping their SLR gear for a range finder simply due to some extra pro qualities on a range finder. The camera types are too different with very different advantages and ways of working.

I don't know about 10 years from now but I'd imagine the stuff will still be around, many other supposedly superseded formats for sound and even old movie cameras still exist today that were forecast for demise many years ago.

 

There's an economic term called 'the long tail' thanks to the internet suppliers can continue to supply customers with niche products, it may take longer to turn a profit but there still is one, especially when you sell many niche products. The people here, like most, only think of companies and shops stacking shelves in every city with products to make sales. Darkroom supplies aren't sold this way now because of very low local demand. With the internet you pick up all the worlds demand, and it all adds up. No there won't be so many suppliers, but there will be some where there's a profit.

 

Colour darkroom materials ARE readily available from 3 or 4 places on the internet in the UK alone. People who say they aren't don't look or don't want to find them to justify their digital decision, not that they need to.

 

Colour darkroom is highly rewarding, with so much of our lives carried out through a monitor these days it's also a welcome escape from the silicon world. Not forgetting the results are nothing short of fantastic. Buy a cheap shed, do it in the garden! Do it now! Do it because it's rewarding. I say this having tried (and still owning) a dedicated film scanner, and enthusiast dslr.

I had one once, I let it go after a short time because I didn't realise it needs a direct feed of temperature controlled water for each wash stage. I had the non-programmable ATL-1000. I didn't have such water set up and had no where to put one in.

 

There is a pump available, or was, so you can use it with a bucket of warm water. Can't find them for love nor money now though. You can buy other pumps but this thing had a hole for a lead into the ATL1000 which would tell the pump to turn on or off.

 

Ultimately I couldn't use it for anything other than B&W. In the end the time I saved wasn't put to any good use. Though for temp critical stages and many colour films it's probably great! A few 8x10 prints too. Now I've gone over to a Nova dunk and dip process.

Shutter speed is only adjusted to give you correct exposure and to eliminate or reduce blur in action and hand held shots.

 

You have to choose whether you want a larger aperture and a faster shutter, or a smaller aperture and a slower shutter.

 

The brand of film you use makes no difference.

 

If you're shooting 100-400 ASA film at night, then you probably want to use the largest aperture you can and just live with whatever shutter speed the camera offers you for correct exposure. You'll need a tripod too, although blur at night, can create nice effects too.

 

Hope that helps.

I bought a Cool Scan V and it's great.

 

Only thing is, the whole preview, scan, straighten + crop, adjust procedure is really dull. So dull I put it off for weeks.

 

In many cases not having to scan may keep you shooting and printing, scanning however may be no problem to you at all. Some people love the sit down and fiddle side of photography.

Thanks for that!

Hi, I just bought a used 50mm 1.4 Summilux.

 

The aperture ring is a little (and I mean almost unnoticeable) bit wobbly, that

is not my issue but it may be linked to the fact that when turning the ring, it

feels no where near as well constructed as my older Summicron f2. It feels more

like the aperture on an old Nikon lens. Is this something that can be made better?

 

Also the focus is stiff, can this be made less stiff?

 

Just thought I'd ask before I bothered to send it off, ether way I can certainly

live with the issues if they're stuck like that.

 

Thanks

 

Ross

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I've got a real buzz about this weekend now, just what I needed.

 

I've been making a list of places to go and got all my gear together, I'll make a post on Sunday to let you know how I do and if the bug really bites.

 

I know how lucky I am with regards to my girlfriend, we met working in a camera shop, she knows loads about photography generally so I can talk to her about it too. And she looks hot toting her little rangefinder.

 

Thanks a lot for all the kind responses.

My girlfriend bought me a new Tachihara for xmas and a Polaroid back.

 

Until now I've been 35mm guy, home processing and print, B&W and Ilfochrome.

 

I'm finding it difficult to get enthused enough to use the Tachihara (I've take

one shot). Do you guys have any ideas on where to start, what subjects to start

with? Perhaps some stuff where I can see the real LF benefit.

 

I used to think I took my time with medium format, but that's fast compared to

this beast!

 

Do you often take the camera out only to come back with nothing?

 

Regards

 

Ross

Pete.

 

I regularly refer to the over rating of a film and its subsequent over development for compensation as pushing from one ISO to another. This, obvoiusly isn't litterly the case as most photographers know. But usually people know what I'm talking about, photographers that is. That and one is all but actually changing the light sensitivity of the film itself. I hope you're not too upset that my terminology isn't obvious enough for you.

 

As for Ilford actually stating the film is ISO 1000, they do, I obviously have older literiture:

 

"DELTA 3200 PROFESSIONAL allows photographers to take pictures under difficult conditions including fast action and poor lighting. With a measured speed of up to ISO 1250 (up to ISO 1600 when developed in ILFORD Microphen developer) the film has been designed to be 'push' processed to achieve its nominal speed of EI 3200."

 

Arjun,

 

If I'm totally honest, I thought Delta 3200 was ISO3200 until you made this post and I went of to look into it. So I agree, it is misleading a little. However the info is there for one to check, that said I've never had an issue with the film and it maybe that it's designed in a way to look like real ISO 3200 film. I don't know.

 

The stuff after all looks great at EI 3200, it says it's EI 3200 and anyone who doesn't know about home developing of film, or overrating will see 3200 on the box and get to shoot at really low light. I may never have overrated for years until I understood it and a lot of my 3200 shots would have been missed.

For the guys in the good'ol US of A:

 

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

 

It seems you don't have to worry so much, however, harassing someone would probably constitute the same actions as in the UK. Either way, you may want to check the legal definitions of harassment. Other than that, you can do as you damn well please.

Hi sorry for the delay, check this bad boy out, obviously this is UK law:

 

http://www.sirimo.co.uk/ukpr.php

 

There's a downloadable pdf file stating the law. Skip to the harassment section.

 

Regards

 

Ross

There is no false advertising with Ilford 3200 film.

 

If you look on the film itself it states the film is EI 3200. EI or exposure index is not necessarily the films actual speed, but is the speed it should be set at when using it.

 

Ilford actually state the film has an ISO rating of between 1200 and 1600. They also sate it's been designed specifically to be pushed to 3200.

 

If Ilford said it was 3200 ISO film then yes that would be false advertising, but because people assume the the number on a film box is always a ISO/ASA rating and not EI, then that's hardly their fault.

 

Basically it works great at 3200 EI and they never say it's anything else. The packaging is not misleading since the film is actually designed to be pushed to 3200 ISO. If that were not the case, you may have a point.

It's against the law to take pictures of someone who has requested you don't, no matter what the couple wants. If a bunch of people come up and tell her to have her photo taken you should probably ask again just to cover your arse.

 

On another point, if you did take a picture of someone in the secret service, how would anyone know!? It's not like secret servicemen are revealed by the photographic process!

 

And what the hell is WA-LA? Did you mean voila the French for "there it is".

Hi,

 

I recently started colour slide developing and printing, and whilst not the same, there are similar aspects, especially in how daunting it can appear.

 

You can do colour neg and slide developing in something like a Nova daylight processor. It's basically a heated water bath with slots for chemicals and in large format's case a combiplan film tank.

 

You process like B&W only everything is heated, pour one chemical in after time x then drain and add the next for y etc. Just make sure you're consistent in your technique. Time and temp details come with the chemicals.

 

Printing is a whole different ball game. You obviously need a darkroom and enlarger, a book on colour printing, or at least the basics and a print processor. You have to add and subtract varying degrees of cyan, magenta and yellow light to get the right colours for your print. Once the paper is exposed you can process it in something like the Jobo CPE2.

 

The CPE2 is a combination heated water bath and a motorised rotating drum. The print goes in the light tight drum, you add chemicals at the specific times once they are brought up to tempreture, drain and repeat.

 

I make it sound easy, but there's a fair bit to buy and learn, essentially however it is only what I just explained. I appreciate people can find it more challenging.

 

I picked up what I know from Photo.net, the instructions that came with the machines and chemicals and Michael Langford's 'The Darkroom Handbook' ISBN-10: 0852231881 ISBN-13: 978-0852231883 and the internet in general.

 

There's nothing like just buying the bits you need and going for it!

 

Good luck.

If photography was only about being in an advantagous spot we'd all be great and

everyone would buy our prints.

 

There's no such thing as an easy ride, or a cheap one either. You deffinately seem to have

your market, but I'm not sure the product your supplying is unique enough.

 

Parents probably think it's their kid, in a shool's play, why should they pay for the images,

unless they are really something. Not just snaps from a good position.

 

Keep doing it and get better, try to be more original, see it like they wouldn't. You will

always have the trouble though that your subject is amerture and sets okay but void of

atmosphere. No matter it's Bobies first play. The only advice I can give, is to concentrate

on the parts where people are laughing and smiling. They always sell, but they're hard to

get. People only want a picture on their wall of family 9 times out of 10 because they're

smiling.

They are two different looks.

 

I choose the lab prints every time over inkjets and I can see the difference easily.

 

Go for what you like the look of.

 

You may find inkjet printing too time consuming and/or costly, or you may find it satisfying to print at home. The happier you are with what you do, generally the better your results will be.

If you're scanning slides a dedicated scanner (not flatbed) will be better by miles than anything other than an exprensive pro shop.

 

For negs it'll be better too, It'll give you more control, unlike wallgreens who will lighten a face in your photo and sacrifice eveything else regardless of where it is, how small it is and wheather or not you wanted it lightening.