The Digital "Master-Print-File"
In the previous part of this installment we have discussed how we get a flat scan from black and white film in Silverfast 8.8. In the second part of this series we concentrate on the creative process of taking a flat and lifeless scan to a wonderful black & white master print. While we should normally never constrain our creative freedom, I still suggest we try to maintain a believable plausibility, which means we want to maintain the characteristic of the medium. A photograph should be identified as one and as we have already made the effort of shooting film, we want to maintain the beauty of this medium in the final master file. The easiest way of doing this is by replicating the tools a darkroom printer uses when creating a print. Of course we use these techniques digitally. Good care needs to be taken to avoid digital artifacts and a digital look. This is not as easy as it sounds, as digital tools can easily make their marks. We do our best to avoid these marks.
Read MoreFrom a negative to a black & white "Master-Print-File"
Black and White printing has always been a mastery that requires many years of learning, knowledge and dedication. Nothing will ever compete with a carefully printed black and white print. However acquiring these skills, maintaining a darkroom and finding the time to print regularly exceeds the possibilities of most people. Digital made things easier, but still it can be regarded a mastery to skillfully make a digital master print file from an analog negative. This tutorial will show you in detail how to scan black and white medium format negatives and than process them in Adobe Lightroom like the old masters did it in the darkroom.
Read MoreHappy Valley - 快活谷馬場
Wednesday night, "Happy Valley Racecourse" - Hong Kong. A crowded place, full of locals and tourists, eager to win and loose money, to enjoy themselves and to have fun. Since 1846 this racecourse gathers people from the whole city.
Read MoreHow big can you print from 6 Mega-pixel files
I was never happy with how my Epson V700 scanned 35mm film. Don´t get me wrong, it is not bad, but in the end it is a massive pain to mount and scan a whole roll of 35mm film. On my search for a new scanner, I came across many suitable solutions from dedicated film scanners to small minilab scanners like a Noritsu LS-600 or the Kodak Pakon F135+. Chatting on Twitter about the benefits of each scanner I decided to go for a Pakon F135. Mike Poulit was kind enough to answer all my Pakon related questions. Finally I could not resist any longer and I ordered a Pakon F135 non-plus version from AAA image solutions in the US.
Read MoreI have not done this for a while, but it felt really good to do some black and white long exposure work again. This image and another one were just about right to be added to my series "Bayside Impressions".
Read MoreStories from an analog adventure
First time in Hong Kong, first time with my new camera and nothing but several rolls of Kodak TriX in my pocket. I was excited and thrilled to explore the city.
Before I went on my flight to Hong Kong I really thought long about what camera to take on this trip. The decision just to take my new Yashica Electro 35 GSN was not easy. I expected many shooting possibilities and day and night. Nevertheless the city has been captured million times on photographs so I thought committing to black and white film was a good idea. I did not expect to come back home with something exciting or new, I just wanted to explore the city and capturing photographs on film. Well that is what I did.
Read MoreA talk about modern analog photography
I am very proud to share this very interesting conversation with you. Joerg Bergs is the owner and founder of the "Mein Film Lab" (MFL) in Germany. My personal enjoyment of film photography elevated to a whole new level after I decided to send my film to a professional labs. The results have always been mind blowing. Having such a lab now in Germany is very convenient. Shipping is more simple and therefore turnaround times are way faster. I also enjoy the conversation on a very personal level. At MFL they seem to take note of every input you give them. During one of the conversations I had with Joerg Bergs, he agreed to answer some questions which I am thrilled to share here with you. If you are interested in the original German version of this interview, I will publish it in a separate blog post.
For now, enjoy the Interview.
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Interview über das "Mein Film Lab" und die moderne analoge Fotografie
Ich freue mich darüber diese spannende Konversation mit Euch allen zu teilen. Jörg Bergs ist der Inhaber und Gründer des "Mein Film Labs" hier in Deutschland. Meine persönliche Freude an der Filmfotografie wurde durch die Entscheidung meine Filme in ein gutes Filmlabor zu schicken noch deutlich verstärkt. Die Ergebnisse welche ich von allen von mir bisher getesteten Labors erhalten habe, haben mich schlichtweg umgehauen. Das Mein Film Lab steht dieser Erfahrung in nichts nach. Das es jetzt ein Filmlabor in Deutschland gibt, welches auf diesem hohen Niveau arbeitet ist darüber hinaus auch noch sehr angenehm. Die Bearbeitungszeiten verkürzen sich allein schon auf Grund der schnelleren Postlaufzeiten. Darüber hinaus freue ich mich über die unkomplizierte und sehr angenehme Kommunikation mit dem Lab. Es scheint, als würde über jeden kleinen Input Buch geführt und versucht dem Kundenwunsch so exakt wie möglich zu entsprechen. Während einer dieser Gespräche hat sich Jörg Bergs dazu Bereit erklärt, mir ein Interview zu geben und ich freue mich es heute hier vorstellen zu dürfen.
Read MoreI am presently starting to collect images of different night photographs for Set III. Those photographs have been taken in the side streets of the city and show less known places. This set concentrates on the well kept secrets of the city.
Read MoreIn my last post I talked about how to prepare Silverfast for negative scanning. Today I aill show you how I mount my medium format film into an Epson V700 film holder. Therefore I have prepared a short video showing how I do the mounting. Let me just tell you real quick why I use the conventional Epson holders and not any kind of third party holders which get good critiques. Well, I have used them, literally every mounting solution availbale for the Epson V-series, and I must say in the end they are not worth the effort. I find the conventional standrad Epson film holder do their job very well. Maybe I am lucky and my scanner is manufactured the way it should be, but I was able to get better sharpness and grain from the Epson holders than from any other holder I was using.
Read MoreIntroduction
When I started scanning film, I thought it would be an easy process. I severely underestimated the learning curve required to become a good scanner operator. I intentionally use this term, as it precisely describes what you do when scanning film. Beyond the basic operation of the scanner and software, you need to make basic artistic decision when scanning, similar to those made by master printers in the traditional darkroom.
Read More“Street Photographer“ Thomas Leuthard from Switzerland
Thomas is a passionate „Street Photographer“ from Switzerland who has gained quite some popularity in the „Street Photography“ community. You can find more of his work here on flickr. He beliefs in giving back to the community and this is why he has published several ebooks, which are available for free on his website. Now, without further ado, lets get things started.
Read MoreThe era of the great Point Reyes dairies opened in 1857. Here are images from the Pierce Point Ranch which is under National Park Service management, which is dedicated to the preservation of the Park´s cultural heritage.
Read MoreThe way we expose film has a tremendous amount on the quality and mood of the final photograph. Of course exposure affects image brightness and contrast, but also quality and color.
Carmencita Film Lab and photographer Johnny Patience both did a wonderful exposure series to demonstrate the effect of under and overexposure to film. Please follow this link to check their series and read their recommendations. You can also find a good film guide from "Mein Film Lab" which explains a lot about the different characters of film. Unfortunately it is only available in German so far.
Read MoreImpressions from a early morning at McClures Beach.
Read MoreImperfection
In the hunt for the best images we normally sort out all accidents and only keep the technically perfect images. Despite the slight blur, I liked the whole image so much, that I decided to keep this photograph.
I enjoy the mood, the location, the flying birds and the old sunken ship. I even enjoy the slight but lovely blur from an unsteady hand. This has become an iconic shot in the Point Reyes area. A different take...
Read MoreLearn the most important facts about color negative film
The art of getting a good color print from a negtaive seems to be a dying craft. The modern photographer who still shoots color film normally uses a scanner to get to the desired print. The scanning process is much cheaper, less labor-some and more flexible. In order to learn what is required to get descent scans from color negs, you need to be aware of some important facts.
Read MoreEnjoy The Elegance and Tradition of one of the leading Italian Grand Hotels
Photo essay by Sebastian Schlueter
The glamorous days of Grand Hotels seem forever gone in days where one Hotel looks like the other. This is why I was so fascinated walking through the entry gate of the "Grand Hotel des îles Borromess" in Stresa at the west coast of the "Lake Maggiore" in Northern Italy. It is like traveling back in time, back to those days where individuality was common and Hotel chains have not yet been invented. Elegant mirrors and marvelous chandeliers decorate the lobby of the Grand Hotel. All the small details bag for attention [...]
Read MoreExploring Muir Woods California.
A photo essay by Sebastian Schlüter
Read MoreKPH - Marconi Station
Point Reyes National Seashore
In those days before GPS navigation and satellite communication vessels around the globe relied on the services of "Marconi Wireless Corporation
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