http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/ APUG.ORG is an international on-line community, completely devoted to traditional (non-digital) photographic processes. en Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:41:13 GMT vBulletin 2 http://www.apug.org/forums/images/apug4/misc/rss.jpg http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/ http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/222-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-five.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:01:35 GMT Another thing that I noticed about digital photography is that it's advancing. Just when you think that the cameras couldn't be improved on, the next generation of image sensor comes out. The film cameras are no more advanced now than when the F6 series stopped production before most people even knew that it existed.

Our last mixed-format outing involved an old school house on a ranch out of Likely California, a Nikon D300, a 4X5 monorail camera, and a clear (very cold) night. During the exposure, Dan and I were trying to keep warm inside with a barely functioning, propane heater that needed to be re-lit every 20 minutes or so. There was a Coleman lantern spilling light out the windows for a couple of hours. Before we settled down for the night (about 3 hours of sleep), I walked around the building with a mag-light and a red plastic notebook cover while Dan was saying things like "You missed a spot!" and "We need more over there!". I can't complain about the result.

Dan put that CMOS sensor to the test for about 7 hours of stacked images that were, as I recall, about two minutes each:


I opened the shutter on my 90mm Schneider Super Angulon wide angle lens for about 4 or 5 hours:


The first thing that I noticed about my shot is that I should be the owner of a f5.6 verison of the lens instead of the f8. Sometimes the universe just isn't fair. I used ISO 100 Kodak slide film pushed two full stops. As you can see by comparing with Dan's digital, the sky had a lot more to offer than what I could get.

You can find more about Dan's adventures on his site:
www.liquidinplastic.com

Maybe I can find a 75mm, f4 lens that I can afford. (I just got goose bumps thinking about that!) Until then, I'll just keep calling this series "Keeping up with digital" rather than "surpassing digital"

Now go shoot something. ]]> Jehu http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/222-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-five.html http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/216-keeping-up-digital-part-4.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:49:47 GMT Now that I've figured out that you can push slide film two stops effectively, I can (somewhat) keep up with the digital shooters in the studio. VS100 can be shot as ISO 400. When I scanned the negative, I left the white balance setting "as-shot". Comparing the screen shot to the film, the colors look about right.

Dan's digital version:

Shot at ISO 400

My attempt with film:


I'm still getting some blues where Dan's digital shot got clean white. I don't mind that but I would like to figure out how to get things a little cleaner.

The setup involved 4 nikon speedlights. They were set at 1/128th power because that provides a flash duration of about 1/40,000 of a second. The audio trigger was set off by the .22 pistol that we shot the bulb with. The .22 rounds are primer only. They only pack about 11 ft. lbs. of energy but that works for busting light bulbs. ]]> Jehu http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/216-keeping-up-digital-part-4.html http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/213-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-three.html Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:45:52 GMT The next time I met up with my digital shooters... First let me say that no fish were harmed in the making of these pictures. Two of them are... The next time I met up with my digital shooters...

First let me say that no fish were harmed in the making of these pictures. Two of them are living happily at my sister's house and one is at my house. One has the curious habit of floating on his side. Once you get his attention he acts normal. Weird huh?

Dan's result:


My attempt:


At this point, I was still limited by my camera's excessive size for sharing a composition. Also, I kept using BW film so I'd have the ISO400 that the setup was lit for. The awkward cropping is due to the edge of the background creeping into my frame. I also didn't refocus between shots. We only had three fishbowls so the attempts were limited. I didn't realize how much the subject was moving around between attempts. This explains the bad focus and background alignment. The next meeting was a good one. I'll post that soon... ]]> Jehu http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/213-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-three.html http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/212-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-two.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:06:24 GMT The first time I had the opportunity to shoot with my friend Dan in the digital arena:
Dan's photo:


I didn't do quite as well:


My camera was too large to get close enough to the center with the other cameras. The edge of the background got into the reflections. Also, the speedlights had to be turned down to 1/128th power to get the short duration. This necessitated ISO 400. I wanted to shoot VS100 but, rather than opting to push two stops, I went with my TMAX 400. That's a decision I later regretted.

At least I started making progress. ]]> Jehu http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/212-keeping-up-digital-shooters-part-two.html http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/211-keeping-up-digital-shooters.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:56:31 GMT I just paid my subscription. What do I do next? re-explore the site to see how different it is for a paid subscriber. I see that I have a blog and a... I just paid my subscription. What do I do next? re-explore the site to see how different it is for a paid subscriber. I see that I have a blog and a gallery. Cool! Now, what do I use the blog for? How about a place to publish my progress on keeping up with digital shooters.

I've found that the primary use for digital photography is filling up hard drives with photos that will never be printed or even viewed ever again. That's a little like the boxes of negatives that most of us have only multiplied by about a gazillion.

There is another use for digital that is much more useful and, in my humble opinion, honorable. It is now possible to see results and make adjustments in the field. The closest thing we analoggers have is bracketting. When the digital shooters make use of this aspect, the results can be impressive. This gives them a real advantage and allows them to explore new aspects of photography.

My goal is to keep up with this aspect of digital photography as much as possible. The way I see it, it can be done with skillful metering and previsualization. I'm going to try to keep a careful record of my attempts here. ]]> Jehu http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/jehu/211-keeping-up-digital-shooters.html