nakia_benford

<p>Hey Everyone,<br>

We had the critique for this assignment and everyone including the instructor liked my work. The weather was not very cooperative leading up to the due date, so I took several pictures inside of the parking garage at my job. </p>

<p>The instructor did have some suggestions on things I could do differently for the prints that I submit for my final portfolio, but overall he liked my work. I'll find out what grade I recieved tonight when I get to class. (Keeping my fingers crossed for an "A")</p>

<p>Once I get the prints back I plan to scan them and post them for you all to see. Thank you so much for your advise and suggestions.</p>

<p>(till the next post)<br>

Nakia</p>

<p>OMG Dirk those photos are AMAZING!!! I love them both. That's the level I am hoping to reach. Your words and photos are both inspiring.</p>

<p>Ashley this is the first time I have ever even heard of a large format view camera.... I will have to google it. How does this differ from a full frame? </p>

<p>Stephen - thanks you always have great advise and inspirational things to share with everyone. </p>

<p>When I get my prints back I will try to scan them and post some. I am pretty nervous about sharing though bc I am just starting out......</p>

<p>Hey Canon FD Fam,<br>

It's Nakia again (BW Photo I student) I just have to say that I didn't think I was going to like shooting film very much in the beginning. However, I am stepping more and more to the "dark side".</p>

<p>It's like I am almost obsessed with film and the dark room. I heard someone say that it is a Science as well as an Art. This is SO true. (I know I can get an "Amen" from you guys ;o) </p>

<p>First of all, the anticipation of seeing how the film has turned out keeps me excited. I am very diliberate now when shooting because I know that I only have 36 exposures. (Versus an infinite number in digital) The shot HAS to be right when you take it. This film class is teaching more understanding of light in a scene and trusting myself to get the shot..... No checking the back camera, deleting and then setting up for a do over.</p>

<p>Now, it seems like I have the darkroom, enlargers, f/stops, contrast filters, dodging, burning on my mind ALL THE TIME. It's so crazy. Over the past few weeks I have spent so much time in the lab working on enlarging my photos. I would struggle with how to approach various photos to get a good tonal range. Many times only to leave the lab, still not satified. Then get home and ....... "LIGHT BULB" I think something like, "Oh I should have stopped down the enlarger, so that I could expose for more seconds to get more tones, or I could have tried split filtering to get the contrast I want and not lose my highlight detail. Or mabye I went a little too far with the contrast" </p>

<p>I have learned to start writing the settings for each print on the back so that I can recall how each was produced. I have also started a habit of saving my test strips so that I can remember or recall my logic on exposure for each photo. </p>

<p>It is like I never stop thinking about how I could make each print or initial shot better. Makes me wish I had a dark room at home. But then I probably wouldn't get much sleep bc I would keep going until I got the results I was looking for. </p>

<p>Sure is a lot to think about........ and I am loving every minute of it :o)</p>

<p>Any-who, just thought I'd share. Thanks for reading.</p>

<p>Nakia</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Ok, so it was still raining when I went out for lunch break yesterday, so I didn't finish shooting my roll of film before class last night. </p>

<p>Steve, yes we are developing and enlarging our own photos. At first I didn't think that we could crop any of our photos, but I found out last night that we can. As far as posting my photos - What's the best way of getting my print into an electronic/digital format? We have scanners at school....</p>

<p>Mike - what do I clean the vaseline off of my uv filter with after I've finished?</p>

<p>With everyone's suggestions and this pretty partly cloudy day, I am armed and dangerous. I may even pull out my red filter and try to shoot some clouds from the top level of our parking garage. (Red Filter is the correct one to use right???)</p>

<p>(Tom - I gave away my glass tables bc we have a toddler running around now.... darn, but the wheels in my head are spinning) </p>

<p> </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Wow, thanks guys!<br>

I don't think it is raining now so I am going to head out during lunch and look for reflections. AND I do have a large moving box that I was going to throw out. <br>

I've seen some of my classmates stuff and they have really come up with some good stuff. The instructor told us to steer away from tree bark. I guess he has been tree barked out :o)<br>

Travis those pictures have given me some inspiration. <br>

I'll keep you posted.....</p>

<p>Hey All,<br>

It's me again - Nakia..... Boy have I been through the ringer in my BW Photo 1 class! Now we have an abstract assignment to shoot. </p>

<p>I am stumped!!!!! Our instructor suggests getting close to objects, or shooting something from the perspective that keeps the veiwer from recognizing what has been photographed.</p>

<p>We are supposed to use our 50mm lens. .....so no zoom or macro lenses. Each time I try to frame a shot - Everything JUST LOOKS NORMAL :-( Not abstact at all (can you hear the sadness in my voice ???? LOL)</p>

<p>It has been raining the past two days, and I need to get this roll of film complete today...any suggestions on what to shoot or how to approach the assignment?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steven,<br>

Thanks for the tip. I will check that out because the lense is very nice. I was bummed out about it being broken. <br>

I am not quite sure I understand what I should be looking for once I remove the lense... I will try on my own to look at it but I may just pay a visit to our local camera shop. <br>

As far as the film company - I just purchased four more rolls. This class is SOOO much more expensive than my digital one.....well maybe not, when you compare the price of the two camera's digital vs film.<br>

thanks again - I'll keep you posted.</p>

<p>Hey Everybody,<br>

Boy have i been BUSY lately. I have had so many ups and downs with this photography class. After I posted this question, I went out with my iphone app, my Canon EF, and shot a roll of film. I bracketed many shots so that I could figure out what my meter was doing.</p>

<p>Got to class, took all of that time to develop my film and guess what? All of my shots were horrible! My outdoor shots were all over exposed. The best shots were the indoor shots. But I noticed that each shot that I bracketed looked like the exact same exposure????....... and my indoor shots even when I was shooting for a wide depth of field looked shallow???? Upon examining my camera and lense, we discoved that my lense was not stopping down at all. I could manually stop it down enabling the "stop down metering" function. However when the time came to actually take a shot, my lense remained wide open reguarless of the f/stop I set it to....So I was alway shooting at f/1.4</p>

<p>MYSTERY SOLVED - HALLELUJIAH my mystery is solved! I have another lense (not as nice as the broken one) and my instructor gave me an extension. Too bad I have wasted about 3-4 rolls of film. But I am so glad that it was not me....(know what I mean)</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your advise. Ben, I can forsee a handheld light meter in my future too.<br>

Nakia</p>

<p>Hey Everybody,<br>

Boy have i been BUSY lately. I have had so many ups and downs with this photography class. After I posted this question, I went out with my iphone app, my Canon EF, and shot a roll of film. I bracketed many shots so that I could figure out what my meter was doing.</p>

<p>Got to class, took all of that time to develop my film and guess what? All of my shots were horrible! My outdoor shots were all over exposed. The best shots were the indoor shots. But I noticed that each shot that I bracketed looked exactly the same....... and my indoor shots even when I was shooting for a wide depth of field looked shallow. Upon examining my camera and lense, we discoved that my lense was not stopping down at all. I could manually stop it down enabling the "stop down metering" function. However when the time came to actually take a shot, my lense remained wide open reguarless of the f/stop I set it to....</p>

<p>So HALLELUJIAH my mystery is solved! I have another lense (not as nice as the broken one) and my instructor gave me an extension. Too bad I have wasted about 3-4 rolls of film. But I am so glad that it was not me....(know what I mean)</p>

<p>thanks guys,<br>

I was told that a good meter would run me about $200. I've never purchased anything from ebay. So that makes me nervous bc I have to trust that the equipment is good. Someone told me that legitamate stores sell things on ebay - so I may give it a try. <br>

I really need a back up bc the meter on my camera is not very trustworthy....when tested - it was off by a stop or two...<br>

I'll also look at the website you refered to Stephen.</p>

<p>thanks,<br>

Nakia</p>

<p>Hello everybody,<br>

It's me again.....Nakia....photo I student....<br>

You may have read my trials with my Canon EF and metering correctly. Looked at hand held meters....outside of the current budget. <br>

I see that iphone has a few light metering apps. (many are FREE... can you feel my smile as type the word FREE....there my smile goes again....LOL)<br>

What's you guys take on them?<br>

Let me know</p>

<p> Thank you, Thank you , and Thank you....everyone for all of your responses. <br>

Craig - I have been researching the Zone System (has helped me a lot), I don't have sunny f/16 rule and all of the apertures and shutter speeds memorized yet but I think before this is all over I will. <br>

Steven Endo - that is a great point about the meter and shooting vertical. thanks I will remember that.<br>

Michael McBroom - I will look into the Canon Ftb. That's not a bad price. I've never purchased anything off of ebay...so that makes me a little nervous.<br>

I was very frustrated about how my film turned out. I ended up taking my Canon EF to a local camera store to have my meter looked at. They tested it with a grey card and hand held meter and found that my meter was reading either a stop and 1/2 or two stops off. (I should have wrote it down, bc now I can't remember )<br>

Anyway, they suggested that I increase my ISO from 400 (which matched my film speed) to 800 to compensate for the difference. The instructor also suggested that I do some bracketing on each shot. At least shoot one at the suggested exposure and then go down one and take another shot. <br>

Now I have to rush to shoot the rest of this roll. It kind of bums me out bc the shots I took for shallow depth of field were of some men working to dig a home foundation, the foreground, middle ground and background were beautiful....and I know I can't recreate that one :o( <br>

There are more interesting shots out there....I have to find the time to go shoot them. <br>

Also in this assignment is motion...got the expressed motion, have to retake one for captured.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your advise. I will definitely take my digital camera out as well and compare the meter readings. <br>

As far as the shutter speed goes, I thought that I could use as slow as 1/60 while hand holding too. I asked the instructor last night about this and he said that he would prefer we keep the shutter speed at 1/250 or higher to ensure we don't have blurred images due to camera body shake. If we just have to go lower stay above 1/125.<br>

Since this is a depth of field assignment, I think I am going to use my tripod, set my appeture and then change the shutter speed until I see the meter reading match the appeture I have chosen. Then I'll take the shot. With the tripod, I won't have to concern myself as much with the 1/250 shutter speed recommendation.<br>

you all have raised another question for me on the metering.....<br>

I read that both camera's have a center weighted meter. Not sure I totally understand how to meter a scene with bottom weighted.<br>

I do have a grey card and I think I am going to take it out with me along with the tripod. <br>

Thanks for your advise - I will keep you posted.</p>

<p>Hello,<br>

I am a photography student...in BW photo I. I have two camera's a Canon EF and a Canon AE-1. I understand that both my cameras are made for shutter priority and have the Automatic Exposure function. For the class we have to shoot everything manually. <br>

I am struggling because I am used to shooting with a DSLR Canon T1i and used to metering for a "0" exposure. Now I am challenged with both of these camera's to set the shutter speed and then read the suggested f-stop, set the camera and then shoot.<br>

Can the "stopped down metering" feature be used to help me get a good exposure quicker and more like what I have become accustomed to with my digital camera. <br>

(With the Canon EF) I recently shot a roll of film for a depth of field assingment and most of my pictures were overexposed. I was shooting outside. Our instructor told us to shoot at shutter speed of 250 or higher if hand holding. So I used a speeds between 250 and 1000 so that I could increase and lower the f-stops for either shallow or wide depth of field. I used the f-stop that the meter suggested, but most of my pics were over exposed.<br>

Most of my classmates are using Pentax K1000 which has a meter similar to what we are all accostomed to on our digital cameras. At this point I really don't want to buy another camera. <br>

Any suggestions?<br>

Thanks</p>