APUG - Blogs - keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/ APUG.ORG is an international on-line community, completely devoted to traditional (non-digital) photographic processes. en Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:44:25 GMT vBulletin 5 http://www.apug.org/forums/images/apug4/misc/rss.jpg APUG - Blogs - keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/ The American Squalor http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/418-american-squalor.html Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:35:31 GMT Apologies for another somewhat off-topic blog post; this is on the subject of the modern American scholar and is reposted (with slight edits) from a... Apologies for another somewhat off-topic blog post; this is on the subject of the modern American scholar and is reposted (with slight edits) from a newspaper article published here. The brief summary is that I advocate experiential, experimental learning, to buttress the American higher education against the online culture of download and parrot...

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The American Squalor
By making technology secondary, students and teachers can render the experience of higher education more worthwhile

BY KEITH A. WILLIAMS, GUEST VIEWPOINT on January 31, 2012

The college students of today face a number of exigent concerns:

How will I pay for my education? Will I be accepted to graduate school or a professional program? Will I find employment?

Most students and parents are acutely aware of the recent increases in college tuition, resulting primarily from state budget shortfalls which have been passed on to state-funded colleges after the collapse of the housing bubble in 2008. Now, with student loans approaching the $1 trillion level and a wave of student loan defaults ahead, there is concern that the tuition bubble could lead to yet another financial crisis among students and their families.

Ironically, these financial concerns come at a time when the cost of basic knowledge is lower than ever before. The Internet now provides almost limitless access to information and is completely revolutionizing education — in many ways supplanting the traditional roles of the library and even the textbook. Professors can now routinely call upon web-based materials such as Shakespeare’s theater and Newton’s “Principia” — translated into most languages. It is difficult to find a subject that is not freshly catalogued by Google, while YouTube provides thousands of lectures on diverse topics.

The open-source generation aims to use Internet resources to make higher learning virtually free to all. This is a well-principled, egalitarian ambition, but what then becomes of our colleges and the rising expense they pass on to students and their families? At what point will students be unwilling or unable to go far into debt to attend an institution that sources most of its course material from the Internet?

I believe that this is a critical time for students and faculty to question what brought them to a University. I believe that it is time for Universities to step forward responsibly and refocus on those educational experiences that cannot be downloaded from the Internet. It is time to define and reassert the core values of American higher education.

~~~

Students may wonder what they can do now to enhance the value of their college degree. If the first answer is to earn good grades, then I am sorry to report that grade inflation in the United States has created a problem of indistinguishable transcripts. In fact, this problem is so severe that some reasonably argue that we abandon letter grades altogether, in favor of a pass/fail system. I suppose this scheme might work, if it included a third grade option designed to reward high performance — e.g. “pass with distinction.” The larger issue, however, as we faculty assess our students’ performance, is not the number of bins and labels that we use. The larger issue is how faculty and students can work together to make the education worth more than the paper credential.

Many students seem to believe that declaring multiple majors will increase the return on investment. This strategy is especially common in those areas where high school advanced placement courses are available, permitting students to enter college with enough credits to allow them to devote their time to more advanced coursework. The strategy does indeed gain many students entry into smaller, upper-level courses, but all too often this is at the expense of a thorough introduction during that first year when simply adjusting to the rigors of college is enough of a challenge.

Faculty may wonder what they can do, as individuals, to increase the worth of their students’ experiences. Is not good teaching and mentorship enough? The answer is no, and the Internet has changed the role of the instructor so rapidly that many simply may not realize that they must expend far more effort teaching students to think critically about the information at their fingertips.

~~~

Many approaches are possible; my conviction is that ernest new thesis initiatives, if enthusiastically joined by students and faculty alike, could be very successful in setting apart the worth of the University education. The aim of a thesis is not merely to demonstrate ability to gather information, but also to establish a higher creative challenge. A thesis is a creative synthesis of the ingredients of coursework, research and perhaps internship or community interaction.

The main issue that I see with current research/thesis strategies is that the results can come far too late in a four-year education to affect applications to professional programs or graduate schools. Students typically prepare applications in their third year or even their second. This implies that even if a student undertakes groundbreaking research to cure cancer after completing the requisite coursework, the medical school admissions committee probably would not have a record of that experience when they consider that student’s application.

My suggestion is that undergraduate research experiences be encouraged far earlier than is currently the norm: Students should begin their hands-on work in their second year, at the very latest. I can report, from my own experience, that beginning undergraduate research in the first year is very helpful and tends to motivate faster progress through the introductory curriculum.

~~~

In closing, it is interesting to consider the relevant wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson, delivered in a speech titled “The American Scholar” one and three-quarter centuries ago. The context of his oration was the perception that American scholars were merely parroting the earlier efforts of Europeans rather than asserting their own distinct contributions. In “The American Scholar,” Emerson speaks of a “great mischief” that arises when recorded experience in the form of books is revered more than new experience itself. Then, “instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm.” With the slightest amendment, Emerson’s thoughts may be directly adapted to the current context: “[The Internet is] the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst.” (In the square brackets, Emerson referred instead to “books.”) Arguing to de-emphasize the value of books themselves, Emerson pressed his case that colleges exist “to teach elements … not to drill, but to create.” He also predicted that if this deeper role is forgotten, “American colleges will recede in their public importance, whilst they grow richer every year.”

I hope that the modern American scholar, and American faculty too, will reflect upon Emerson’s admonitions. A visit to Google today is ultimately worth no more than a visit to the great libraries in Emerson’s time. Students must not allow colleges simply to collect fees for nothing more than parchment; faculty must not allow students simply to download their degrees. We must act now to redefine the worth of the American education — with unique learning experiences that set the students, as well as their University, apart. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/418-american-squalor.html Digital Tattoos http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/417-digital-tattoos.html Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:24:20 GMT The traditional tattoo underworld is about to enter the 21st Century: Digitat, a startup company based in New Jersey, is introducing a revolutionary... The traditional tattoo underworld is about to enter the 21st Century: Digitat, a startup company based in New Jersey, is introducing a revolutionary new device that promises high resolution, pixel-perfect tattoos without the inconvenience of spending time in a tattoo parlor. This amazing new device also spares the customer embarrassment of baring a body part in front of a tattoo artist.

In a small enclosure resembling an old-fashioned photo-booth, customers can select any of one thousand pre-loaded classic tattoo images. For example, the familiar Rolling Stone "tongue" tattoo is now available in the form of a 1 megapixel tattoo on any part of the body where it will fit:

Click image for larger version Name: tongue-bitmap.jpg Views: 48 Size: 28.6 KB ID: 45151

For a slightly higher price, customers can request 2, 3, or even 4 megapixel versions.

The founder and CEO of Digitat, Guido Johnson, is excited about the success of the company's first booth recently installed on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Holding a device resembling both an electric shaver and a meat tenderizer in his hand, Mr. Johnson said "Yo people was like no way dude and I was like yeah just put your credit card in the slot and let the machine make you hot." Mr. Johnson pressed a button on the device and an impressive array of a thousand or more micro-needles appeared, each primed to deliver ink to whatever body part the device is pressed against. "It don't hurt too bad, it don't bleed. All done in like a minute and you can put the Digitat anywhere you like.."

Anywhere? we asked.

"Well almost anywhere, I mean, like, we have a disclaimer in the booth that advises people not to like put the Digitat on their like tongue and shit but like nipples and asses are cool."

The Digitat booth offers reliable performance, time after time as long as power is not interrupted to the device or the computer doesn't crash. You can have a truly unique tattoo created right on your own skin, selected from a vast library of one thousand professionally designed tattoos. And the issue of privacy is important to customers, says Mr. Johnson. "Yo who wants to like pull down their pants and have like a skank poking them down there and stuff. Digitat gets rid of all that." Wielding the device in his hand, Mr. Johnson exclaimed, "like you can get a Digitat anywhere it can fit" and then demonstrated that the device does indeed fit in some surprising places.

Mr. Johnson believes that the success of his Digitat booth on the boardwalk in Atlantic City proves that future of tattoos is no longer in shady, sleezy, skanky parlors on the wrong side of town. He envisions upscale high-resolution Digitat booths in Lowe's, Walmart, McDonald's and other locations where tattooed people are known to congregate.

When will color Digitat machines reach the market? "Yo we are like asking Epson to let us use their inks to like make all kinds of nice colors," says Mr. Johnson, "and they are like maybe." Imagine that! Archival, gallery-quality colored digital tattoos on any part of the body you like, in just a few painful seconds in a Digitat booth. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/417-digital-tattoos.html The Art of War or Forum Discussion http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/414-art-war-forum-discussion.html Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:02:29 GMT Few things annoy me as much as unsubstantiated argumentation. But one of those things is the predictable recurrence of an old argument, along with... Few things annoy me as much as unsubstantiated argumentation. But one of those things is the predictable recurrence of an old argument, along with the vitriol that it stirs.

Most recently, the tormented subject has been the future of Kodak. There is a case in which unknown facts could easily turn all arguments around, and then the forum combatants will find that they've lost friends over... nothing. And without the nuance of eye-to-eye discussion, a roomful of otherwise affable analogue photographers becomes a classic example of divide et impera.

My advice to all is to appreciate the good associations they have here on APUG, while they exist. As long as people are clear about what is fact and what is conjecture, there is truly nothing to sever good relations. For other cases where this is impossible, the ignore button may be deployed.

Some feel compelled to state and restate the same thing ad nauseum, as if others haven't read it or considered it already. But a good argument need only be stated once and clearly; that will suffice. Intelligent people will never let a good idea fall aside for very long. Only poor and unclear arguments need to be delivered many times and loudly.

So... let us say our piece and consider it said. If someone else doesn't heed the argument because their acrylic ball renders the future differently from our crystal then... waaah. Life goes on.

In the case of Kodak, there are many large game changers that are unknowns. Filing for Chapter 11 is the very first tiny step towards clarity, and it is only the first chapter in a volume that could span many years more. It'd not surprise me one iota to learn that Kodak has a billion dollar settlement in their favor for some key piece of sensor technology, or that Perez pushed all revenue losses into a category he believed already to be doomed so that he could buy time with his printer project, or that Fuji has already made an ektar-like product a few years ago and decided not to introduce it, or that Castro has actually been dead for a half year etc. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/414-art-war-forum-discussion.html The End is Near; Buy Film or Order Champagne http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/409-end-near-buy-film-order-champagne.html Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:32:24 GMT I am not in the habit of cutting and pasting items from forum posts into this little blog, but the flurry of opinion and argumentation makes it... I am not in the habit of cutting and pasting items from forum posts into this little blog, but the flurry of opinion and argumentation makes it almost impossible to make a point that rises above the din. So I'll record my thoughts here in slightly expanded form.

~~~

At issue is the demise of Eastman Kodak, that 120 year old American company founded by George Eastman himself in 1892. Kodak brought us so many wonderful "Kodak moments" that it's hard to imagine America without them. This snippet from another beautifully cinematic episode of Mad Men quite nicely sums up what Kodak was all about:



For some, it's quite an unpleasant shock to go from this plausible boardroom presentation... to today's market reality (click to expand thumbnail):

Click image for larger version Name: EK_5yr.jpg Views: 79 Size: 75.4 KB ID: 44066

Clearly, there isn't much encouraging news from EK, and some see their demise as inevitable... and also a harbinger for the film market as whole.

It's time to set the nostalgia aside and ask what individual film photographers and studios should do, as we filmies go through yet another Chicken Little moment. What do we know for sure, versus what is being speculated? And how do we prepare ourselves?

First, it is apparent that Ilford is poised to capture most of Kodak's black & white market share; Fuji will likely capture the remnant colour market share and lure TMax enthusiasts with Acros. Ilford and Fuji will probably eke out more pure profit per unit sold than Kodak ever could. There are many reasons for this. One reason is Kodak's diversion of film-related resources to other sectors... a much maligned ballyhoo strategy which was arguably necessary, albeit improperly executed. Also, much of Kodak's manufacturing capacity already sits mothballed. It seems that little was done, at the precipice of the downturn, to ensure that the EK could scale back and maintain production -outsourcing as necessary- as the market contracted. But much of that capacity has already been picked up by other companies; if this weren't the case, then current prices would be much higher. Moreover, there has been a sense that many of us film shooters have been holding vigil while the company euthanatizes its film sector- a sense that has already driven many of us, somewhat bitterly, to their competitors.

So a big part of the good news, if there is any, is that the transition to companies like Ilford and Fuji is well underway, and both have better long-term position to defend and perhaps even expand their market. Regarding demand, this is of course worrisome in some film sectors (cine, e6) but quite solid in others (b&w). And as I have mentioned many times before, there is precedence of companies becoming far more profitable as the number of competitors declines. Yes, we don't like to compare rolls of film to cigarettes, but there you go, the business model is before you. Pursuing adjacent sectors and cannibalizing your competitors is how you do it. And those strategies can be very successful.

What does all this mean for the individual photographer? Years ago, when I heard that Polaroid was going under, I bought up a good amount of 8x10 polaroid. When deciding whether to invest in that, my motivating thought was: how much will the last polaroid print be worth? And the correct answer was, of course, priceless. Regardless of whether that last image is a cat's ass or the Queen of England. So, with no experience using 8x10 instant film, I bought... and then sold it a few months later at 3x+ profit, when I saw that the worth of the individual sheets exceeded the price I could set on my own 8x10 polaroid output. I don't like cats and I doubt the Queen would have me over, so why not let someone else shoot the frames. Last I heard, someone at a fancy studio in New York did profit quite handsomely from the 8x10 polaroid packs that I sold.

The moral of the story is that there is plenty of profit (financial and artistic) in reach of those confident enough of the long-term worth of their output to see beyond the ups and downs of individual companies. We who aim to record valuable images must recite, as a mantra, that the value of the images created by historic processes will actually increase in the coming years. The analogy to the aforementioned companies is clear. As less people produce high-quality, archival silver and Pt/Pd prints, the value of the output from remaining few will increase.

To put it another way: as long as the traditional process is completed to archival (=collectible) specifications, the image composition is solid, and the final image affirms the special capabilities of the medium, then the traditional print will be far more valuable than a comparable inkjet facsimile. That is, unless somebody really famous personalizes the inkjet- a rare exception!

It is my opinion that there is no better time to assert the long-term worth of traditional / alt process-derived imagery. We must make the best use of what is available, invest appropriately... and shoot, shoot, shoot... and print.

I do realize that some of you may not have sufficiently deep pockets and clear artistic visions, to profit from a longer-term investment in film. If so, then my best advice is to dress up like Don Draper and purchase some champagne... and lift your glass in honor of the brilliant people behind all the wonderful scientific and artistic accomplishments recorded by film for more than a century. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/409-end-near-buy-film-order-champagne.html Timed http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/408-timed.html Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:35:34 GMT Time is an inference Pressing on to our ends: Morbid clicks and beeps upon each increment- faster in the traffic. Even in this cold blur of... Time is an inference
Pressing on to our ends:
Morbid clicks and beeps
upon each increment-
faster in the traffic.
Even in this cold blur
of numb inconsequence,
We saw each other-
Through the lens; then
with a shutter's wink,
the counting ceased:
And you have become
my enduring treasure. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/408-timed.html We need more *real* Jobs http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/404-we-need-more-real-jobs.html Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:06:36 GMT Count me among those who've just about had it with all the recent Steve Jobs adulation.

So that I don't get hundreds of flames in my inbox from those who adore Apple products, I'll preface my comments with a few disclaimers. My first "real" computer (after the Commodore 64), was an adorable little Apple. And I worked hard to buy the next version, and the next. In college, I sold Apples- quite successfully, I might add. For all my image editing, I love my Apple. I wish every operating system were as intuitive and stable. So I am certainly not anti-Apple, and I thank Steve Jobs for the very high standards that he brought to the industry.

All that said, this shortsighted admiration of Steve Jobs needs to stop; the world needs to hear a bit more from cranky oldtimers like me who lived through the transition from papers to DVDs and saw how it affected American society. From my perspective, we've become a culture of disposable, replaceable, nondurable, self-obsoleting electronics and software. And far too often, we buy for want , not for need. And we even dispose of our new gadgets irresponsibly as well.

To top it off, so many of these objects we adore are made overseas, often in truly wretched circumstances, in places mostly invisible to the American media, with no labour standards and wages that an American kid with a lemonade stand wouldn't tolerate. Apart from a few Jobs and Gates and Bezoses, does anyone really profit from our consumer culture?

Recently, I read The Great Stagnation by Tyler Cowen- I recommend it highly. In this provocative little book, we learn that the iPod has "created less than 14,000 jobs in the U.S." It's instructive to contemplate how many units have been sold in the U.S., versus how many jobs were created abroad. Surely I am not the only one who finds Steve Jobs surname just a bit ironic. And come to think of it, my college job selling Apple computers wasn't exactly well paid, considering how many units I moved.

As an educator, I worry a lot about how the next generation will find inspiration to create and to find employment. Some of my students will be lucky and find some highly paid, virtual occupation as a manager at a desk, like I did. But what if they want to use their hands to do something other than type at a keyboard? What if they want to build something great? Will they need to go overseas? We probably won't have any manufacturing capacity to build the flying saucers, even if one of our ingenious kids designs one.

Above all else, I cannot tolerate the hyperbole with which Steve Jobs is compared to other great American industry and technology entrepreneurs. There have been been far too many headlines prcolaiming that mr. jobs was the greatest this or that. Look, Steve Jobs is up against Ford and Edison and Eastman and Bell and Land... and many, many more. Between them, those inventors created tens of millions of jobs, and not just within one generation.

Recently, while flying at night over the U.S. and surveying the glowing cities and mile after mile of highway full of cars and trucks, I realized just how transformative Ford and Edison's contributions were. Yes, those two men may very well have marketed their products for personal profit, but the implications for the country and the world were enormous. Chances are that you and I have employment today because of them.

There is a real problem with modern American gadget culture. We seem to have forgotten the difference between need versus want; between durable versus disposable; between innovation versus fashion; between
plastic and metal. And between genius versus merely clever.

Perhaps it's too early for me sound this alarm: historians will count the real contributions of Steve Jobs and his contemporaries, many decades from now after all the hype has tamped down. But my real fear is that the historians will point to this generation and all its virtual consumption, and find only impermanence, convenience, and greed. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/404-we-need-more-real-jobs.html Signs of life at Kodak... http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/254-signs-life-kodak.html Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:15:41 GMT For some time I have been keeping the pulse of various companies that are of interest here. I do this primarily for my own capitalist gain :p but... For some time I have been keeping the pulse of various companies that are of interest here. I do this primarily for my own capitalist gain :p but also to try to divine the direction of the film-related industries.

Here is a quick stock bulletin: there are some encouraging signs of rapid recovery at Eastman Kodak (EK). I am not quite sure what's up but the company has apparently recaptured the attention of the private investor... see the attached stock data.

Incidentally, Eastman Chem Co. (EMN) is also doing well, aproaching the highs right before the '08 crash. Apparently, they are thinking of selling of the PET business, which could be of importance for film users.

Quote Originally Posted by Comtex Smartrend(r)
For the full year, analysts expect the company to post EPS of $0.58. In the year-ago period, the company reported a loss of $0.95 on sales of $1.5 billion. In the previous quarter, the company reported EPS of $1.08, topping consensus estimates of $0.18.
Fuji's stock (FUJIY) continues to do well; it is a very diverse company with a lot of inertia in basic research, so they weathered the storm better than most.

Harman (HAR) is also doing well:

Quote Originally Posted by Comtex Smartrend(r)
SmarTrend is bullish on shares of Harman International Industries and our subscribers were alerted to Buy on July 13, 2009 at $20.98. The stock has risen 143.2% since the alert was issued.
In other news... Tom Petters, the ponzi 'mini-Madoff' who led Polaroid down the tubes was given a 50 year sentence. I can't figure out who owns what now. They apparently now have Lady Gaga as their creative director. Hummm....
Attached Thumbnails
]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/254-signs-life-kodak.html Scale and the Photographic Print http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/203-scale-photographic-print.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:06:59 GMT We photographers use all manner of format sizes, and the scale at which we print our photographs is also highly variable. These days, the mural... We photographers use all manner of format sizes, and the scale at which we print our photographs is also highly variable. These days, the mural sizes seem to be ever more common, with some photographers apparently compelled to display their work on the largest scale possible. At the same time, some of us print at relatively small sizes and even avoid enlargement altogether, by contact printing.

So what underlies the photographer's decision of how small or large to print a photograph? And how does print size affect the way a photograph is viewed? I typed a few stray thoughts on these issues and welcome any comments and discussion.

~~~ Look at Me! ~~~

The need to compete against omnipresent commercial background noise has caused some photographers to seek truly enormous scales in their prints. With large flat-panel displays and enormous billboards filling the cityscape, and with HD televisions piping an almost cinematic experience into many homes, it might now be a good deal harder to arrest the attention of the casual viewer with small prints than it was a few years ago. The availability of affordable wide-carriage printers in the home has also raised expectations of professional prints. It is unfortunate that size is taken by some to be a synonym for impact!

Of course, not all large prints are created in order to compete for attention- there may be many other reasons underlying the photographer's decision regarding print size. In some cases, the grand scale of a print forces an entirely new look at the subject. A photographic series which recently gained some press coverage was Martin Schoeller's 'Big Heads.'


Schoeller's take on Barack Obama

I have not sees Schoeller's work exhibited, but I understand that it features tight-cropped familiar heads reproduced many times larger than life size. Most viewers would, I assume, feel obligated to stand far back from these prints in order to see them with appropriate perspective. This would seem to be at odds with the macro-like depictions of these subjects: I note that the nose/ear ratio suggest that Schoeller's camera is typically quite close to his subjects. So, the photographer was working at close range, yet the viewer is obligated (by the size of the prints) to stand far back. An interesting effect, perhaps!

~~~ Scale and 'Intimacy' ~~~

Even though the current trend seems to be toward larger and larger prints, some photographers assert that smaller prints have a certain 'intimacy' that affects how their photographs will be viewed. One might say that...

(1) smaller prints will encourage a viewer to come closer to the print or even hold it in their hands;

(2) smaller prints necessitate individual viewing (or at least small group viewing). Murals are things that many people can view at once so they tend to give rise to collective viewing and response, whereas a small print may only allow one person to have a good look at a time.

A familiar case in point, of course, is da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which frequently stuns visitors... with its small size. The painting, which measures roughly 2x3 ft and is dwarfed by far larger pieces nearby, is almost always surrounded by a throng of visitors, all clamoring for a good view. I was lucky to see it at all, from great distance, over the heads of the crowd. Mass viewing is clearly not what Leonardo intended!



Notwithstanding the actual size of a print, there are other issues affecting 'intimacy' including the mode of presentation, e.g.:

(3) the type of matting/framing and whether the print is under glass;

(4) whether the space that the photograph inhabits is a big drafty gallery... or a more intimate setting.

Perhaps the biggest factor affecting the 'intimacy' of a print is the composition itself. A less capable photographer may deliver non-intimate, clinical views of some of even the most intimate subjects such as figure nudes. No matter what size such work is printed, it will still be viewed as non-intimate and insensitive, if the photogrpaher did not compose the photograph with sensitivity. In contrast, other more skilled photographers seem able to coax all kinds of powerful emotion from a rock or a vegetable! So that is the wild card in all of this... how the photographer composes the work, and how much of their own emotion is invested in the composition... and the print.

~~~ 1:1 ~~~

The reproduction ratio of the print... relative to the actual size of the subject... is an oft-forgotten issue. But it is an issue that I have been thinking about for some time and it motivates a current project underway. At this point in my thinking, it seems to me that the only print size which has any fundamentally logical basis is 1:1... i.e. life size. All other sizes necessarily mean that the subject will be represented on a different scale. I am not saying that is bad or good or anything, I am just saying that the rescaling does necessarily affect our perception of the subject. The implications of this are, I think, pretty important. Mountains, trees... they are represented far smaller in print than their real dimension!

How can any landscape print be effective, then?!

I think that in order to rationalize the truly diminutive scale at which subjects such as mountains are typically represented in prints, the viewer has to be able to imagine looking through the frame as a window, as if the real subject exists at its full majestic scale some good distance beyond that frame. Also, the viewer has to recognize scale cues in the composition (clouds, cars, people) that establish the scale in the mind of the viewer. Without these kinds of processes going on in the mind of the viewer, the tetons simply wouldn't feel so grand!

At the other extreme, macro subjects like flowers, insects etc. are are often depicted on a greatly magnified scale. I never put any thought into it at all until I started LF, then I realized just how common it is to rescale things in print.

Now, the 1:1 print, that is something that has a very unique power, I think. It doesn't really require any scale cues, it just is.... at the exact same size the subject is: nothing more and nothing less. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/203-scale-photographic-print.html Photos not Stolen http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/197-photos-not-stolen.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:51:36 GMT Recently I found some old negatives stuffed in a box stuffed in another box stuffed in an old suitcase. For some, these may not seem old at all- but... Recently I found some old negatives stuffed in a box stuffed in another box stuffed in an old suitcase. For some, these may not seem old at all- but they were my first attempts to record, in a meaningful way, what I had seen- so that my family could see it too.

In 1992, at the age of 19, I went to Germany on a stipendium. Arriving in Heidelberg, I discovered that the housing situation that had been promised me had also been promised to a few hundred other students. There was no place to stay. Notunterkunft (temporary / emergency housing) was all that was available, and it meant sleeping outside near the hostel, on the benches in the parks, or in the pews at the churches.

I was told the situation would not improve for weeks due to various bureaucratic procedures. Each foreign student would need to get various forms of Bestaetigung and Genehmigung and Erlaubnis, and only then after navigating that bureaucracy could we have a room assigned. Some of the students simply gave up and went home. This being my first time away from home, and with my family an ocean away, I decided to hit the road for two weeks on my own.

I stuffed three days' worth of clothes into a small duffel, grabbed my coat, and headed for the railway. There, on the spot, I decided to go as far north as the rails and my eurailpass could take me: to northern Norway.

Photographically, I was armed with a few panoramic throwaway cameras. At that point I had not used a "real" camera- my father had a TLR but there was no film for it where we lived, so I had played with it but not actually shot film. This was to be my first adventure on my own... and my first attempt to record my own photos as I went.

My first real stop (at that age, I was afraid to get off the trains and stay in a hostel) was in Stockholm. Ah, Stockholm in the fall! It was early October, as I recall. The leaves were turning, the weather was changing. The colours were spectacular. I found my way from the station to some park and took this photo:



Unfortunately, Stockholm's hostels were full and the hotels were an expense that I could not afford, so I found my way back to the trains and resumed my journey north. I soon crossed over the border from Sweden and found myself in Narvik, near the top of Norway. There in the train, a kind lady tolerated my attempt at norwenglish and gave me chocolates; thus my impression was formed that all Norwegians are very kind. After I found the hostel, it gave me tremendous pleasure to phone my parents and tell them that I was above the arctic circle- they thought I was still down in Germany. (I was 19, you see) I still remember them fumbling with a world atlas, trying to locate where I was, while nervously checking that I had warm boots, gloves, a scarf, a hat, money... and were there polar bears up there?

Now, up to that point, I had the firm goal to persuade a ship captain to take me aboard to Svalbard. I assumed that this would be possible and that they wouldn't mind a stowaway if I volunteered to work. (I was 19, you see) Well, I did earn a meeting with a serious seaman and he took great humour in my plans. No one, he said, is crazy enough to go up there now, and even if I did go I would be dead in a few hours on that water. Thus my teenage adventure novel was cut a few chapters short!

So, I decided to rent a car and go explore on my own- I'd never seen anything like that landscape before, except perhaps in a National Geographic. There was one little problem: the only cars for rent were manual shift, and I'd only driven automatics up to that point. The man at the rental office told me that if I could drive the 'bil' around the block then I could rent it. He gave me a quick lesson and I drove it around the block- in first and second gear... and gave me the keys with a very concerned expression. He probably thought it'd be the last he'd see of me. I do recall him warning me not to drive to Sweden.

Heading off into the unknown in the early morning -in a vehicle I could barely drive- I ventured for a full day and drove in almost every direction. I can tell you that it was a trial by fire, driving a manual transmission for the first time up and down those mountains. But I did establish a friendship with the clutch and was able to see some amazing sights. I recall a small town called Liland which was especially charming farm scenery and dramatic light. Somewhere I must have a few negatives from there as well, but I haven't found them yet.

In the late afternoon of my driving adventure, I saw some ominous clouds approaching and felt the temperature fall. Fearing that I wouldn't be able to drive the car through snow, I tried to find my way back, but that took a while. I had no map. (I was 19, you see)

On my way back to Narvik, I spotted the amazing scene of sun barely breaking through between low clouds and high mountains, with a reflection along a fjord below. The light set the water aglow like silver. In a hurry because the temperature was near freezing, I leaned out the window of the moving car and took this photo:



Now, actually, this photo is what motivated me to take up photography more seriously- I am so happy to have found the negative after all these years. The camera had recorded an effect that I hadn't anticipated (the blurred trees in the foreground versus the static looking background) and I became rather fascinated by the possibilities. It'd be another decade before I had the time to learn and the funds to get some more capable equipment, but this one photo was always in my head, and I wanted to improve my equipment and my technique.

Back in Narvik I met a German compatriot who spoke not a wink of anything but dialectal southern German, and with whom none of the locals would even attempt to communicate. Before the storm hit, I and my friend, Jochen climbed a hill beside Narvik, and he took this photo of me on my pano throwaway:



This photograph elated my family because I always hated having my picture taken. Truth be told, I do like the photo. I only wish it had been taken in Svalbard... with a polar bear in the background...

The next day, Jochen and I could barely make it to the station: there was at least a meter of snow on the ground. My eurailpass was almost finished, and I had only a few days before classes would begin down in Heidelberg, so I made a bee-line back down.

On the way back, I slept soundly on the trains, and much of my stuff was stolen out from under me. I had a hard time explaining my lack of tickets to a conductor but then he saw that almost everything was gone and took pity. If I'd had a real camera, that would have been stolen too! Fortunately for me, the only things of value I had were a few pano throways... and nobody would steal those! ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/197-photos-not-stolen.html <![CDATA[Keeping it "Fresh"]]> http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/181-keeping-fresh.html Fri, 22 May 2009 19:22:34 GMT Recently I was persuaded by my good friend and co-experimentalist, Diwan Bhathal, to try some metal-plate ink printing, which produces results... Recently I was persuaded by my good friend and co-experimentalist, Diwan Bhathal, to try some metal-plate ink printing, which produces results resembling intaglio.

The process is simple: you lay out a print, sketch it roughly onto a metal plate with a wax pencil, add ink, flip the inked plate onto some paper and brayer it. The ink partially transfers to the paper, and you get a print.

Faced with the task of drawing my image onto the plate and inking it, I conjured up all manner of difficult ways to get a more exact facsimile. I proposed cyanotyping a negative onto the plate and using that as a template; I proposed outlining a print with pencil and then rubbing the pencil off onto the plate, like we've all done with tracing paper. I proposed numerous other complicated solutions.

Diwan said "nah," handsketched an image, inked it, and produced a very nice print in a few minutes. He claimed that working quickly and without templates/guides would keep the image "fresh."

Now, Diwan knows a good deal about art and intaglio in particular, so this wasn't a comment I could ignore. In fact, the "fresh" comment caused me immediate discomfort. How am I supposed to put "fresh" into something? When it comes to photography and printing and drawing, I am typically slow, methodical, and I have a strong tendency to discard most of my work! The product is either acceptable to me from start to finish or... into the dustbin it goes. Forgotten.

Diwan succeeded in getting under my skin with this requirement that a print be "fresh."

So what is "fresh" ? I do know that it is the opposite of contrived. It is not too deliberate nor affected. "Fresh" has an impromptu feeling of movement, impromptu like a phrase spoken ad libitum, rather than a recitation. If that's the case then I suppose that Monet was the ultimate practitioner of 'fresh"... I've read that he may have painted works like "Impression, Soleil Levant" in only a few minutes. Perhaps there is a necessary speed required to produce freshness, because the impression has to be delivered to the canvas before too many thoughts (and doubts) start to cloud it over and overcomplicate it.

"Fresh" is, above all, not stale. That sounds obvious, but if we start to look at photography and printing, it's not at all clear to me how to make "fresh" happen without sacrificing something... detail, tone, all those little things we sweat to get the best possible print. Perhaps, then, "fresh" requires acceptance of all those little things that really won't play much role in the effectiveness of the final print.

I should complete the story of me, Diwan, and the metal-ink printing. Eventually, I relented and tried one myself. So I set a print to the side, duplicated its basic lines and curves in wax, inked it up as freshly as I could, trying very hard not to overthink each stroke. I did not erase, I did not "fix" mistakes. Oh, I definitely wanted to! But I did not. I admit that I was thinking far more broadly about the subject than I normally would, under an enlarger. It was even therapeutic. Within a half hour or so I had an inked plate and was ready to print it. To my delight, Diwan himself wanted to make a few changes, but stepped back when I declared it fresh. So we printed my plate and I got something.

And it was indeed fresh. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/181-keeping-fresh.html Photographic and Musical Composition http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/158-photographic-musical-composition.html Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:07:30 GMT Do you hear music when you compose a photograph? For those with the condition of sound-colour synesthesia, the association between the visible... Do you hear music when you compose a photograph?

For those with the condition of sound-colour synesthesia, the association between the visible and auditory experience can feel quite literal: colours can be experienced as sounds and vice versa. My own favourite synesthete, Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, developed quite a rigorous theory around his own associations of sound with sight, complete with a coloured keyboard to confound his contemporaries.



For the rest of us, the association between sight and sound is not quite so literal. We may loosely associate certain sights with certain sounds. This can of course happen after years of training by exposure to cinema and television... think of sharks and BAH-bah-BAH-bah-BAH-bah...! We may find deliberately impressionistic musical pieces especially evocative, even though the actual impression they fix in our thoughts might vary from one individual to the next (alas, Claire de Lune still sounds nothing like moonlight to me; apologies to Mr. Debussy).

Those of us without full-blown synesthesia may associate certain sights with certain sounds, but the associations generally seem triggered by memories and past experience. In this sense the associations are probably not hard-wired into our thinking but rather learned.

However, at a deeper level than mere 1-to-1 association, at the more abstract level of Stieglitz' Equivalents, there are many common threads that unite photographic and musical composition. At its core, both kinds of composition are a new product- an expression of new thought recorded with the desire of providing new experience to the viewer or listener. The composition may be motivated by something experienced, but it is itself an original act. Composition (unlike duplication) is at the very least an attempt (however futile it may be, particularly to the beginner) to set original thoughts into actions. How do we compose photographs, and how do we compose music? Are there similarities in these acts of originality, and can we learn about one from the other?

I have compiled a minimal list of three compositional 'tools' that I believe may be common to musical and photographic composition; namely:
  • key signature (tonality, colour);
  • time signature (the structure of the rhythm); and,
  • tempo - how quickly the piece is typically performed, on average.

I will assert that these are the three characteristics of a basic musical composition- the three things that a musical composer stipulates before the original ideas can begin to flow and be notated to form the score.

Might these three musical ideas have direct analogies in photography?

Feel free to comment/suggest/dissent and add your own thoughts.

~~~

The key signature of a composition implies its tone scale- the select set of all possible tone combinations that it uses. To the photographer or other visual artist, tone and colour are perhaps the elements easiest to translate into musical terms.

This is not to say that specific keys impart specific visual sensations (although some composers e.g. Scriabin believed that they did). The analogy that I propose is rather more abstract than that. Musical compositions that roam freely through many keys are sometimes said to be chromatic or atonal... in other words, colourful while not specifically coloured.

Now, personally, I do not have any clear visual impression of colour in most pre-romantic classical work. For me, colour really begins with Debussy. Bach and Mozart and are almost entirely black and white to my ear (eye?), though I do feel occasional flashes of colour from some of their direct heirs e.g. Mendelssohn and Beethoven. N.b this is not to say that I perceive colour to be missing from the works of Bach and Mozart- there isn't anything I miss in their work at all, and I appreciate it deeply. It is complete... yet it is not coloured, to my ear. I appreciate it in the same way that I appreciate a classic black and white photograph. I tentatively ascribe my 'black and white' impression of Bach and Mozart to their general adherence to consistent key signatures.

~~~

An especially colourful and dynamic Scriabin piece (to me, and apparently to Mr. Schweizer):
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcigKVyqsMM[/YOUTUBE]

~~~

I am a toe-tapper, a finger rapper... an avid player of pencils and such in the office. Musically un[res]trained though I may be, I nevertheless hear it most of the time, especially when it's quiet enough to hear it best. I assume that this inner, personal soundtrack is not uncommon, because I see a lot of other toe-tappers and finger rappers all of the time and I conclude that at the very least, we all have some sense of rhythm. Rhythm is the fundamental element of music... its single most basic and unifying element. From reggae to ragas to raps and classical symphony, it could be argued that our most basic expectation of a piece of music is that it have rhythm. To put it another way: a piece of music can have nothing more than rhythm and little else, and it's still considered to be music.

What is the rhythm of the photograph- its absolute most basic component? I think it is the frame, the aspect ratio, the border that contains the whole composition and gives it a place to be or a direction to go. I can propose a few illustrative examples:
  • 4/4 common time (and similar time signatures): a squarish aspect ratio; solemn, quite motionless. Centered. Perfectly Balanced.
  • 6/8: not square at all... rather more directional and rectangular. A wider scene rather than a single weighty subject. Motion implied due to imbalance in the frame. Rule of thirds and all that.

~~~

Tempo and timing are as essential to musical composition as they are to photography. Whether we imply motion by selecting a slow or fast exposure depends on the subject's motion and the rhythm against which the composition is set. For example, it is not enough to freeze a subject at 1/4000 sec to make the subject truly appear motionless; if imbalance of the subject is implied or perceived, then the subject will appear dynamic even in the shortest of exposures.

Some basic trends seem relatively clear to me: street and journalistic photography, which often attempts to highlight a 'decisive moment' quite often implies motion through the use of subtle motion blur and rectangular framing: in this genre, the subject is usually not fixed, static, at the center of a square frame. Of course, there are always exceptions, but when I think of dynamics and decisive moments, I think of composing to suggest that the subject might literally escape the frame! Landscape photography, on the other hand, tends to wish to highlight the timeless aspects of a scene, as if to confirm our faith that the scene will persist. Again, there are exceptions, but.... this is about broad generalization ;)

~~~

There you have it, just a few ideas concerning the common threads underlying photographic and musical composition. What else might musical and photographic composition have in common? Comments... even dissenting comments... are welcome :rolleyes: ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/158-photographic-musical-composition.html <![CDATA[What's So Special About Black and White?]]> http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/155-whats-so-special-about-black-white.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:39:04 GMT What's So Special About Black and White?

'Fine art' photography has historically been so dominated by black & white that some might conclude that artistic photography is black & white. Why is this so? After decades of technical refinements in colour photography leading to modern c41, E6, colour instant film processes and the digital technologies, why is black and white photography still perceived as the higher art?

~~~

Reasons abound, of course. One point of view that some may offer is that black and white photography is intrinsically more artistic, because it fundamentally departs [coloured] reality. Clyde Butcher, for example, asserts that "Color is a duplication; B&W is an interpretation." John Sexton has commented that "It's so bizarre to me that I can show you a picture that's black-and-white and you somehow think it represents reality. When's the last time you opened a window and it was black and white outdoors?"

Does the un-reality of black and white photography underlie the common view that it is more artistic? This blanket assertion seems somewhat less appealing once one considers that artistic painting ...in all its coloured glory... dates back much further than silver halide photography. Why in the paintings of Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh and so many others, do we find so much... colour? (this despite the expense associated with gathering the pigments, as opposed to the widespread availability of stable black, grey, and white media in every fireplace!) Why did da Vinci invent in black and white, but paint in colour? Did all those guys just not get it, that black and white is intrinsically more artistic?!

~~~

In answer to the question of why black and white photography has gained so much favour, some may cite the longer history of the black and white craft, which extends back ~200 years to Joseph Niépce in the 1820s (or perhaps further to Carl Scheele's discoveries many decades earlier). Cast against that long history, colour photography is still an infant, even if one assumes that it began with James Clerk Maxwell's demonstrations of colour separation (~1860). Colour media for realistic depictions have not been widely and inexpensively available for as long as black and white media. It could perhaps be argued that a convenient means for accurately representing colours under arbitrary lighting conditions (i.e. different colour temperatures) dates back only a decade or so to the advent of colour metering and digital processing. Regarding the colour films: are they successful because they are literal in their colour renditions, or because they lend an intriguing un-reality to a scene? Will the widespread availability of digital media lead to a fundamental change in how we perceive colour photography? Might colour photography soon be seen as even less artistic than ever before, because it is more literal and "correct" than ever before?

~~~

Whether black and white photographic media are and will continue to be preferred for artistic pursuits can be fairly debated. Perhaps we simply haven't been doing colour photography long enough to realize the artistic possibilities; historically, the worth of the arts tends to be established over many centuries and not mere decades. One simply cannot assume that past arts will be equally appreciated in the future, nor that future arts will be appreciated now.

In any case, we are left with one undeniable fact: black and white photography just works. Why? It is clear that it tends to underscore the more abstract features of a scene, e.g. geometry and texture, which might otherwise be overwhelmed by colour. It is also worth noting that our scotopic vision is almost entirely monochromatic (not really black and white per se, but at least dehued in a similar fashion). Scotopic vision provides generally much lower acuity than colour vision, and is activated in low-light scenes- hence the almost monochromatic appearance of moonlit landscapes and the like. One of the interesting features of visual perception is how well the brain can process the almost monochromatic, faint, low acuity scotopic image and form an interpretation. Thus on a faintly moonlit night, a face can be recognized in the dark, a deer discerned crossing a roadway... but so too a branch can become a snake, or a field of grain can become a lake. Scale cues are more difficult to reconcile... the mind conjures up many extraordinary interpretations where clear information is lacking!

Perhaps, then, the way we see and interpret black and white is inherently different, at the anatomical level. Perhaps the brain has actually been trained, over millions of years or more, to rely more on broader interpretative and contextual and extrapolative thinking when confronted with a black and white image.

So... black and white photography just works. Why does it work for you? Does it matter that you know why it works? And can colour photography work at the same level? ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/155-whats-so-special-about-black-white.html Ragnar Axelsson: Faces of the North http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/125-ragnar-axelsson-faces-north.html Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:28:15 GMT I didn't find a review on this gorgeous book on APUG, so here is mine!

I recently went to Iceland in mid-winter and was fortunate to meet Ragnar Axelsson and collect his signature on this book, which is filled with remarkably effective b&w images from his ventures in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faeroe islands.

I won't attempt to try to put into words what is best expressed in the images, but I will just make a few observations. First of all, Ragnar's images are full of motion, leaving the viewer with the impression of being part of a dynamic scene. This is a rather different approach than one often finds in the landscape imagery of the north, which (IMHO) tends to have a museum-like, tripod-bound, static geometry. Ragnar uses a variety of techniques to build the feeling of transience into his compositions, thereby lending value to the specific moments he records. Supporting these effects are some fairly long exposures, unusual [albeit not contrived] tilts, beautiful small/medium-format film grain, and honest, contrasty renderings that let black be black, and white be white. There is a sense of available light doing what it does best: highlighting expressions.

I'll just note that, to me, the landscapes of Iceland are especially lyrical... and so too the language and the culture and the people. This sense of rhythm is found in each and every one of Ragnar's compositions.

What you should also know is that Ragnar really gets to know his subjects. He lives amongst them; he interacts with them on a sincere, human level. He experiences what they experience, and risks what they risk. The personal, story-like impact of his photographs reveal an investment in people and their condition. There is nothing remotely dry and aloof about what he is showing us.

Chatting with Ragnar, I learned that he has a new book coming out soon, roughly on the subject of how climate is changing in the far north. I gather that some of the the images are being picked up by Nat Geo, so let's keep our eyes open for the book and the surrounding articles. I asked Ragnar if he's coming over to the U.S. for a show and will report here if and when that happens.

In conclusion, Faces of the North is a must have. Five stars.

Here is another review with additional nformation on Ragnar's tools and techniques:

http://silfver.blogspot.com/2006/10/...-of-north.html

P.S. Here is a store in Iceland that is selling the book in various languages:

http://www.forlagid.is/?p=5958 ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/125-ragnar-axelsson-faces-north.html Grain, tonality, format size and all that http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/56-grain-tonality-format-size-all.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:29:27 GMT How much is grain per detail (and tonal smoothness) a function of format size? First, the film grain per area is a constant of format size. This... How much is grain per detail (and tonal smoothness) a function of format size?

First, the film grain per area is a constant of format size. This is important.

We can estimate grain increase per one stop increase in required film sensitivity as ~2x. In other words, if you shoot a film at ISO 200 then there will be ~2x more grain per detail than the same shot at ISO 100.

Obviously this is a very rough approximation and a rather pessimistic one at that. There are many different kinds of film grain, many different developers and developing procedures... and there is no reason to expect a linear relationship which will certainly fail at ISO extremes. Still, this ballpark estimate seems reasonable because detail per grain is ultimately nothing more than a signal to noise ratio, and if we shoot at ISO 200, we do so because the signal is 2x weaker than it would be if we could take the shot at ISO 100. The development process is basically an amplification process, so I think it's reasonable to say that 2x weaker signal corresponds to ~2x weaker overall signal to noise ratio. Again this is just a ballpark estimate! Of course it will fail at ISO extremes an for certain films and developers etc.

Alright... if you buy that a one stop increase in ISO means 2x as much grain per detail, then you see right away that a jump in format size which roughly quadruples the film area will give the same detail per grain as a one stop reduction in film sensitivity.

Let us list the format sizes and the approximate frame areas; I will define the letters A,B,C, etc. to denote roughly quadruple area format jumps:

35mm: 24x36 mm = 863 mm^2 = "A"
645: 56×41.5 mm = 2324 mm^2 = 2.7*A
67: 56×70 mm = 3920 mm^2 = 4.5*A = B
4x5: ~12903 mm^2 = 3.29*B = C
5x7: ~22580 mm^2
8x10: ~51612 mm^2 = 4*C

So here is my simple conclusion. The following exposures will yield roughly the same detail per grain:

Equivalent detail per grain:
35mm @ ISO 400
=6x7 @ ISO 800
=4x5 @ ISO 1600
=8x10 @ ISO 3200

35mm @ ISO 50
=6x7 @ ISO 100
=4x5 @ ISO 200
=8x10 @ ISO 400

Do you believe it? :) Obviously this is very rough approximation based on many assumptions. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/56-grain-tonality-format-size-all.html Converting RB-545i back for Fuji Quickloads http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/50-converting-rb-545i-back-fuji-quickloads.html Sun, 04 May 2008 03:59:19 GMT Disclaimer: this particular operation was on my rb67-545i back. A 545 holder which doesn't already fit on your rb won't fit any better after this operation! This operation is to make it easier to use Fuji quickloads with your545 back.

I have a Polaroid 545i back for my rb67, with which I have been shooting type 55. Now that 55 is leaving us :( and I have only a few boxes left, I'll just use my remaining 665 for the rb and run Fuji quickloads through the Polaroid back. Seems like it might get some use that way because I really like the compactness and one-at-a-time shooting convenience of the quickloads... in spite of their expense. Moreover, quickloads are very easy to travel with and process individually.

[Yes I realize that only a 7x7cm area on the 4x5 film will be exposed, and no I don't care ;) There's plenty of great information in that 7x7 cm square, I like squares, and if I want to shoot full 4x5 then I'll just use a 4x5... ]

Now, various sites indicate that running quickloads through a polaroid back should work, although the back allegedly doesn't hold the film as flat as it could. This hasn't been an issue for me; perhaps if I were using f/2 lenses with the rb then I might see it! :rolleyes:

Anyway, to test the back, I inserted a Fuji quickload sheet and found that it was indeed deploying, releasing and re-clipping correctly.

But, unfortunately.... the quickload end-clip was hanging up in the holder each time I tried to withdraw it. At that point, the only way to get the film out intact is to disassamble the whole back. :o Not good!

The solution is a very simple operation as follows:

First disassemble the 545i holder. Next remove the offending clip (it is held into the holder front in a very obvious way). With that gone, the holder looks like the first photo attachment.

Next it is important to file or dremel down the screw ends that protrude up through the front, because these can grab the quickload clip as you pull it out. (N.b. these may have been my culprit in the first place- you can diagnose the issue yourself by looking at any bend marks on your quickload clips). With the metal spring parts bent down and the screw tips dremeled smooth, the front look like the second attached photo.

That's all there is to it. Shoot quickloads and be happy. When you pull out the darkslide cover, just be sure not to pull too far! But it will grab the quickload clip correctly and withdraw as smoothly (with the R button down) as in a proper Fuji holder.

Another tip: if you really don't plan to use the back for polaroid processing again, why not remove the processing rollers etc to decrease the weight of the back.

P.S. If you have a general 545 back and want to shoot quickloads with it, just try it first, and if it doesn't work (clips hang or whatever), consider the simple operation above, which only takes a few minutes.
Attached Thumbnails
]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/50-converting-rb-545i-back-fuji-quickloads.html <![CDATA[Christopher Beane's "Flower"]]> http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/48-christopher-beanes-flower.html Fri, 02 May 2008 17:02:34 GMT This blog is a review of Christopher Beane's new book, Flower.



Flower, is a floral autobiography.

Beginning with traditional, abstract, black & white compositions in the 1990s, Beane's early works make reference to a number of noted photographers but also reveal how he developed his own eye for presenting unusual floral shapes and textures.

In the late 1990s, Beane left the b&w world behind and dove head-first into vibrant colour. In the words of Anthony Janson, who narrates the book: "Fortunately, in 1997 Beane began to experiment with color photography."

Fortunately is an understatement: right from the first few photographs in Beane's aptly titled "orgy" series, we see a whole new world of color within his macro subjects, and Beane's explorations quickly depart from whatever preconceptions you may have of floral macro photography. Beane's colour work is truly his own: creative and evocative in a manner unlike what one typically finds in the sensual photography of pistils and stamens and pretty petals. In his representations you find more abstract emotion, perhaps evoking flames and mysterious sea creatures... as well as gasp-worthy ultramacro depictions of familiar subjects.

The cover of the Flower is itself a flamelike depiction of tulips; fortunately, an unadorned version can be found inside (plate 40). The book continues through the evolution of his macro photography, with each subject a new step forward for Beane. After mastering a particular motif, Beane deconstructs and reinvents his approach and summons up entirely new perspectives, new ways to infuse form with colour.

While it is impossible not to marvel at the intricacies of his macro subjects, from the Coral Charm Peony (plate 51) to the sensual Bearded Iris Blue (plate 42), his latter work moves forward ever more progressively and ultimately departs the ultramacro realm in the direction of abstract art. Particularly striking to my eye are the Fritillaria (plates 127 and 128) which play with a reduced colour palette in an entirely new way, departing from the natural colours of the flowers themselves but somehow remaining true to them in abstract impression.

In addition to plate after plate of masterful 4x5 colour photography, the reader will find details of Beane's battle with stage-4 lymphoma, how this affected his mood and vision, and how he returned, triumphantly, to his craft. Beane's adventure is inspiring and not only in the visual sense.

I very highly recommend this book. It is truly inspirational and provocative. ]]> keithwms http://www.apug.org/forums/blogs/keithwms/48-christopher-beanes-flower.html