First roll back from developing

roentarre · 03-02-2009, 03:29 AM

Ditto, the film look is just soooo special there.

vinzer · 03-02-2009, 04:15 AM

I love the look of film. Thanks for sharing Simon!

jgredline · 03-02-2009, 10:38 PM

Originally posted by ftpaddict

You just can't beat that film look...

Agreed!!! Film can also be very addicting...

Mechan1k · 03-03-2009, 02:53 AM

Mike ... I actually didn't think abot adding noise/grain ... I actually took it back out of that image ... and I did richen the contrast a bit as well .... it was a lot duller than what i posted.

southy · 03-03-2009, 09:02 PM

great pics. I fell in love with my spotmatics. theyre so cheap, I got one just to take apart and put back together, and it survived. It is amazing how expensive a "free" spotmatic can get though

good luck on your journey with film!

Mike Cash · 03-05-2009, 06:53 AM

Originally posted by Mechan1k

Mike ... I actually didn't think abot adding noise/grain ... I actually took it back out of that image ... and I did richen the contrast a bit as well .... it was a lot duller than what i posted.

The only thing I did was to adjust the white balance and the shadows side of the levels (there was a lot of blank space over there, meaning your blacks weren't coming out black). I run all my film scans through LR2 for at least those two adjustments.

Ira · 03-06-2009, 08:28 AM

If I were you, I would stay away TOTALLY from shooting indoor with a flash for a while, and here's the intro explanation on most intro level auto flashes:

There are no settings on many of the inexpensive ones, except for maybe 1/2 power, 1/4 power, etc. There MIGHT be an auto/manual setting, where the auto adjusts the amount of light output (see below) and the manual fires at full blast and you adjust the aperture based on doing math.

So for auto, there's a chart on the flash, you look up the ASA/ISO speed you're shooting, and match up the F stop it says for your film, and leave it at that stop. The flash has a little eye which reads the available light before firing and adjusts for proper exposure.

The problem with shooting with auto flashes as a beginner is you don't learn anything, and the results are usually disappointing. Not only is the light flat or too stark or whatever without proper techniques (bouncing, diffusion), but you also have no idea about what will happen with shadows.

You are much better off sticking with outdoor shooting for now, and maybe playing with a flash for fill. But for indoor, get yourself some inexpensive lights (not strobes), however they're balanced and use the matching film/ This is truly the fun part of photography, because here you are painting with light and can move those lights to different effect--plus using bounce and diffusion techniques and see your composition before pulling the trigger.

A flash is just a flash unless you really know how to use them properly, and it's not easy. You will have more fun, better results, and save money by sticking with continuous lighting for interior for now.

And yeah, you can use high speed films and available light (no extra lighting), but unless you really take your time and set up your shots for good effect, the results are never that great for beginners.

Mike Cash · 03-07-2009, 07:19 AM

Piggybacking on Ira's sage comments: Do your flash learning on digital. It will save you tons of money.

Steinback · 03-07-2009, 08:09 AM

I've been meaning to post this for a couple days, the results of about 30 seconds of playing around in photoshop 6.0. Auto contrast and a minor tweak to brightness.

Following along the lines of Mike and Ira's comments, the amount of information available online right now about flashes helped a lot but I learned more in a few weeks of playing around with flashes on digital than I did with years of shooting with flash on film. The ability to see your results immediately and then adjust your flash set up helps immensely.

artobest · 03-07-2009, 08:37 AM

Originally posted by Steinback

I've been meaning to post this for a couple days, the results of about 30 seconds of playing around in photoshop 6.0. Auto contrast and a minor tweak to brightness.

Nice shot, but I've just said this on another thread and I'll repeat it here at the risk of becoming boring: please stay away from contrast and brightness, especially in older (pre-CS3) versions of Photoshop. Levels and Curves give much better results, since you can manually set white and black points (ie, can avoid blowing out your highlights or squashing your shadows). And most importantly, make all your adjustments on adjustment layers until you're 110 percent sure you've got them right.

Mechan1k · 03-12-2009, 08:55 PM

I have CS3 here that I can play with ... but it comes down to my lack of skill with it .... but I d occasionally play with curves though as I find I do get better results.

Mechan1k · 03-12-2009, 08:59 PM

Originally posted by Ira

If I were you, I would stay away TOTALLY from shooting indoor with a flash for a while, and here's the intro explanation on most intro level auto flashes:

There are no settings on many of the inexpensive ones, except for maybe 1/2 power, 1/4 power, etc. There MIGHT be an auto/manual setting, where the auto adjusts the amount of light output (see below) and the manual fires at full blast and you adjust the aperture based on doing math.

So for auto, there's a chart on the flash, you look up the ASA/ISO speed you're shooting, and match up the F stop it says for your film, and leave it at that stop. The flash has a little eye which reads the available light before firing and adjusts for proper exposure.

The problem with shooting with auto flashes as a beginner is you don't learn anything, and the results are usually disappointing. Not only is the light flat or too stark or whatever without proper techniques (bouncing, diffusion), but you also have no idea about what will happen with shadows.

You are much better off sticking with outdoor shooting for now, and maybe playing with a flash for fill. But for indoor, get yourself some inexpensive lights (not strobes), however they're balanced and use the matching film/ This is truly the fun part of photography, because here you are painting with light and can move those lights to different effect--plus using bounce and diffusion techniques and see your composition before pulling the trigger.

A flash is just a flash unless you really know how to use them properly, and it's not easy. You will have more fun, better results, and save money by sticking with continuous lighting for interior for now.

And yeah, you can use high speed films and available light (no extra lighting), but unless you really take your time and set up your shots for good effect, the results are never that great for beginners.

I do find flash confusing to say the least ... as with digital I ust use it in Auto really ... and learn nothing from it (although i do play with bounce/swivel though .... but that's about all)

When shooting indoors though I do try and increase the amount of ambient light as possible so that I don't need to use flash (I rarely do as it is with digital).
Thanks for the info.

Steinback · 03-12-2009, 09:58 PM

Actually, my regular workflow for scans is just setting levels manually in photoshop. I don't particulary like retouching (too lazy?) so the only other step I might take is clone stamping out particularly bad dust spots if they are somewhere distracting.

Mike Cash · 03-13-2009, 02:10 AM

Originally posted by Mechan1k

I have CS3 here that I can play with ... but it comes down to my lack of skill with it .... but I d occasionally play with curves though as I find I do get better results.

Pop open the Levels thingy as well. It should display a histogram, if it is like other programs (I don't have CS3). If you see a lot of blank space over to the left, adjust your black point to snug it up. You'll see a big improvement. Nice to do the white point to the right as well, but not if you have to move it a lot. You can end up overstretching and getting some posterization that way.

Mechan1k · 03-13-2009, 03:20 AM

Thanks for the tips Mike ... I'll have a play around with the histogram.

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03-02-2009, 03:29 AM	#16
roentarre Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783	Ditto, the film look is just soooo special there.

03-02-2009, 04:15 AM	#17
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	I love the look of film. Thanks for sharing Simon!

03-02-2009, 10:38 PM	#18
jgredline Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LosAngeles, Ca. Photos: Albums Posts: 10,628	Originally posted by ftpaddict You just can't beat that film look... Agreed!!! Film can also be very addicting...

03-03-2009, 02:53 AM	#19
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891 Original Poster	Mike ... I actually didn't think abot adding noise/grain ... I actually took it back out of that image ... and I did richen the contrast a bit as well .... it was a lot duller than what i posted.

03-03-2009, 09:02 PM	#20
southy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 178	great pics. I fell in love with my spotmatics. theyre so cheap, I got one just to take apart and put back together, and it survived. It is amazing how expensive a "free" spotmatic can get though good luck on your journey with film!

03-05-2009, 06:53 AM	#21
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by Mechan1k Mike ... I actually didn't think abot adding noise/grain ... I actually took it back out of that image ... and I did richen the contrast a bit as well .... it was a lot duller than what i posted. The only thing I did was to adjust the white balance and the shadows side of the levels (there was a lot of blank space over there, meaning your blacks weren't coming out black). I run all my film scans through LR2 for at least those two adjustments.

03-06-2009, 08:28 AM	#22
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	If I were you, I would stay away TOTALLY from shooting indoor with a flash for a while, and here's the intro explanation on most intro level auto flashes: There are no settings on many of the inexpensive ones, except for maybe 1/2 power, 1/4 power, etc. There MIGHT be an auto/manual setting, where the auto adjusts the amount of light output (see below) and the manual fires at full blast and you adjust the aperture based on doing math. So for auto, there's a chart on the flash, you look up the ASA/ISO speed you're shooting, and match up the F stop it says for your film, and leave it at that stop. The flash has a little eye which reads the available light before firing and adjusts for proper exposure. The problem with shooting with auto flashes as a beginner is you don't learn anything, and the results are usually disappointing. Not only is the light flat or too stark or whatever without proper techniques (bouncing, diffusion), but you also have no idea about what will happen with shadows. You are much better off sticking with outdoor shooting for now, and maybe playing with a flash for fill. But for indoor, get yourself some inexpensive lights (not strobes), however they're balanced and use the matching film/ This is truly the fun part of photography, because here you are painting with light and can move those lights to different effect--plus using bounce and diffusion techniques and see your composition before pulling the trigger. A flash is just a flash unless you really know how to use them properly, and it's not easy. You will have more fun, better results, and save money by sticking with continuous lighting for interior for now. And yeah, you can use high speed films and available light (no extra lighting), but unless you really take your time and set up your shots for good effect, the results are never that great for beginners.

03-07-2009, 07:19 AM	#23
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Piggybacking on Ira's sage comments: Do your flash learning on digital. It will save you tons of money.

03-07-2009, 08:09 AM	#24
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	I've been meaning to post this for a couple days, the results of about 30 seconds of playing around in photoshop 6.0. Auto contrast and a minor tweak to brightness. Following along the lines of Mike and Ira's comments, the amount of information available online right now about flashes helped a lot but I learned more in a few weeks of playing around with flashes on digital than I did with years of shooting with flash on film. The ability to see your results immediately and then adjust your flash set up helps immensely.

03-07-2009, 08:37 AM	#25
artobest Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Swansea, Wales Posts: 455	Originally posted by Steinback I've been meaning to post this for a couple days, the results of about 30 seconds of playing around in photoshop 6.0. Auto contrast and a minor tweak to brightness. Nice shot, but I've just said this on another thread and I'll repeat it here at the risk of becoming boring: please stay away from contrast and brightness, especially in older (pre-CS3) versions of Photoshop. Levels and Curves give much better results, since you can manually set white and black points (ie, can avoid blowing out your highlights or squashing your shadows). And most importantly, make all your adjustments on adjustment layers until you're 110 percent sure you've got them right.

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03-12-2009, 08:55 PM	#26
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891 Original Poster	I have CS3 here that I can play with ... but it comes down to my lack of skill with it .... but I d occasionally play with curves though as I find I do get better results.

03-12-2009, 08:59 PM	#27
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ira If I were you, I would stay away TOTALLY from shooting indoor with a flash for a while, and here's the intro explanation on most intro level auto flashes: There are no settings on many of the inexpensive ones, except for maybe 1/2 power, 1/4 power, etc. There MIGHT be an auto/manual setting, where the auto adjusts the amount of light output (see below) and the manual fires at full blast and you adjust the aperture based on doing math. So for auto, there's a chart on the flash, you look up the ASA/ISO speed you're shooting, and match up the F stop it says for your film, and leave it at that stop. The flash has a little eye which reads the available light before firing and adjusts for proper exposure. The problem with shooting with auto flashes as a beginner is you don't learn anything, and the results are usually disappointing. Not only is the light flat or too stark or whatever without proper techniques (bouncing, diffusion), but you also have no idea about what will happen with shadows. You are much better off sticking with outdoor shooting for now, and maybe playing with a flash for fill. But for indoor, get yourself some inexpensive lights (not strobes), however they're balanced and use the matching film/ This is truly the fun part of photography, because here you are painting with light and can move those lights to different effect--plus using bounce and diffusion techniques and see your composition before pulling the trigger. A flash is just a flash unless you really know how to use them properly, and it's not easy. You will have more fun, better results, and save money by sticking with continuous lighting for interior for now. And yeah, you can use high speed films and available light (no extra lighting), but unless you really take your time and set up your shots for good effect, the results are never that great for beginners. I do find flash confusing to say the least ... as with digital I ust use it in Auto really ... and learn nothing from it (although i do play with bounce/swivel though .... but that's about all) When shooting indoors though I do try and increase the amount of ambient light as possible so that I don't need to use flash (I rarely do as it is with digital). Thanks for the info.

03-12-2009, 09:58 PM	#28
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	Actually, my regular workflow for scans is just setting levels manually in photoshop. I don't particulary like retouching (too lazy?) so the only other step I might take is clone stamping out particularly bad dust spots if they are somewhere distracting.

03-13-2009, 02:10 AM	#29
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by Mechan1k I have CS3 here that I can play with ... but it comes down to my lack of skill with it .... but I d occasionally play with curves though as I find I do get better results. Pop open the Levels thingy as well. It should display a histogram, if it is like other programs (I don't have CS3). If you see a lot of blank space over to the left, adjust your black point to snug it up. You'll see a big improvement. Nice to do the white point to the right as well, but not if you have to move it a lot. You can end up overstretching and getting some posterization that way.

03-13-2009, 03:20 AM	#30
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891 Original Poster	Thanks for the tips Mike ... I'll have a play around with the histogram.