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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 10/3/2008
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Well Nick, got some T90 shots yesterday, will try to finish this weekend. Keep tuned, I'll let you know.
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/30/2008
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Thanks a lot, Stan!
Well, just capture something, everything can be interesting. Perhaps some more portraits of the people around? Or some landscapes with old houses? It can be anything, I don't have any certain preferences because any subject can deliver a good image.
Cheers!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/29/2008
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I have about 10 captures left in my T90 before I pulol roll for developing. Any subject that you would like me to shoot? Give me a project to focus on and I will see if I can catch your thought with an image. Could be fun. Remember I am in rural area so street shots are infrequent. It is a B/W roll of Ilford 100 I believe. Have a good week!
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/29/2008
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Wow, in honor of me, thanks a lot Stan! Now I am a respected person, ey? ;-)
No, seriously now, I thank you very much in advance for that. And I am looking forward to seeing the images. Interesting to know that you still have use T90. It is still my workhorse and for me one of the most underrated cameras even today. So I am rather glad to see that somebody uses it too.
I do exactly the same as you described. My best images are those that don't need all that overkill of "corrections" for looking good. But even if they have flaws, which they do most of the time, I want to know about the flaws and so I post them as they were shot - or I don't post them at all. In general about 90% of the images do find their way to the shredder without any mercy or digital "salvation". ;-) The remaining 10% is perhaps worth talking about. No rotten "explanations". It might sound hard but it is helpful for getting some steps ahead. A very good training for knowing what to look at and so to look carefully too. I don't like that "immediate enthousiasm" for each and every shot just because it shows something that is interesting to me. The thing is, photography is not about some cartain thing itself but about its *depiction*. So, anything "beautiful" can be captured in a really awful way. (I know because I do that so often! ;-)) If the image is good for itself, then of course it can be also some nice place or unusual object, and the like. But it doesn't work the other way around, which I see that still gets forgotten many too many times.
Have a nice week and spot on!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/27/2008
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Thanks Nick, I see that we are very much on the same page about much of the conversation. Yes, I try to capture the very best image out of camera I can. I like it when there is little to change other than a crop and the jpeg size for the presentation on UF. Many of my images are as shot. I check levels, contrast and brightness, saturation for a particular feel and very little sharpening. I feel my lenses are good enough to try and capture without sharpening unless the light requires it. I just saw some cool pictures of the Durga festival in India of the Bengal Indians. The clay images were fascinating. This is what I find so great about this site. I have almost finished a roll of B/W in my T90 and will scan and post some in honor of you when I get them developed. May be a few weeks out. Have a great weekend and thanks for your thoughts as well.
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/27/2008
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Thanks a lot for the nice detailed reply, Stan! You touched many different points which all integrate into a "whole".
First of all, exactly *because* cameras and in general equoment is purely technical, it follows that it can't know anything about ideas, feelings, whatever. And so we *have* to master them precisesly in order to turn them to the "obeying" machines that generate real images of what we carry in mind. In other words, ideas and feelings we have all. This is neither a problem nor it is something special. This is piece of cake, and pieces of cake are not what photography is about. It is the capability to use the "cold machines" for translating what we have in mind into real existing images. Or else the whole world would be "born photographers" which is of course absurd, since it implies that I could just take a camera and here your are the next "photographer". This is at least naive, ey?
Perfection is not something that one can reach. But still approaching it more and more is worth doing. Of course there can be nothing perfect on this world, but the sense of it is that we steadily try to approach it a bit closer and a bit closer. It is much like tryying ti get better in any other domain though of course we all know that we will never reach perfection.
I am quite ambivalent about the influence of the "digital age" on us, wannabes. On the one hand it opened the door into a quite powerful and at the same time easily accesible photographic "space", but then... Most people arounf thought that it is just point and click because after that the computer will take care. And so we see so many images that are really completely messed up being sold as "arts". Even with the very powerful digital means one *has* to know what this tweaking and what that adjustment is really doing, or else we sink in a tasteless, almost barbaric world, where for example sharpening beyond recognition afterwards is seen as "wonderful". It is the danger of trusting such things too much.
And this is exactly why I think that you just found a good balance. It is trying to do the best at shooting time and also having a good (and not exaggerated) support by the digital machinery. That machinery is then a good helper and not a "king".
As about seeing images of "other places"... well, what can I tell you, Stan? To me it doesn't matter the place. Even the most common empty bottle of beer can give us a great subject. It is *how*, not *what* we shoot.
Cheers!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/25/2008
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Nick, I find that few images are flawless if looked at hard and hyper critical. I find that if I concentrate on the composition and how the shot might have been perceived and conceived that one is drawn more into the image and less into the cold analytical side of the technical flaws. I see many images on UF that are flawed but have certain qualities of expression of the photographer. I love seeing images from around the world and the different variety of cultural and historical value. Living in rural Montana is so unlike urban life and life in so many parts of the world. I have only a few months into digital and only a couple of years into a computer. I am amazed at all of the possibilities to connect around the world in a matter of a few clicks and the typing of a few words, yet we all have so much in common. I am currently studying lighting for portraits. The world of lighting and all of the technology are mind boggling. Master and slave units, RF controls, infrared controls, strobes, soft boxes, overhead lighting, etc. I love the challenge to see what is there and how on can improvise a low tech solution to a high tech method. It is about the results and not how one got there. Thanks for your kind words and your feelings about this photo journey. I am still shooting some film as well. The digital just makes things so easy for the instant ability to work through the images and get instant feedback to ones mistakes and triumphs. When I did the Senior session the parent came to my house that evening and we viewed and processed some images together. I shot in raw and had to convert to jpeg to put on cd for their PC. We went through about 90 image and narrowed down to about 30.. We picked out six and worked on them and I printed 6 4x6 prints for them to take home and think about. They were amazed at the possibilities when we processed the prints. I took their input as we checked levels, saturation, contrast and brightness. They had so much fun with me working on them. That is where the advantage lies with digital. I built a bond with them as well because they got to use their eyes and what looked good to them. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and your great attitude.
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/25/2008
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Exactly Stan, that's it. A perhaps "slow" but really good and enjoyable evolution instead of the usual defending the own work by presenting "reasons" why this and why that. I notice a steady tendency by many too man to "explain" why something was not possible expecting then that this will raise the quality of the own images, instead of simply being interested and try some things out. Which also means, what a good luck for having also the more "down to earth" guys here, like you. I never understood that kind of wanting to always present some explanation instead of simply accepting some flaw of an image.
Cheers!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/23/2008
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Thanks Nick, I have found that by reading and talking to others has helped me a lot. I am open to any info that comes down the pipe. Also watching how others compose and present their work helps a lot as well. It is a continuing process of finding style and methods to present what you are saying with an image.
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/22/2008
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Well Stan, you are right, I couldn't say different. To me it seems that a good and systematic way to improvise can help a lot for adding some more "tricks" in one's rucksack. In all my sessions up to now I really never had all the necessary stuff with me because I simply couldn't predict everything that might be needed. So, knowing more and more about what I could use instead of the missing lamp or something is also a good part of it all. Something like a photographic MacGyver, making things work with chewing gum and a matchstick. This is why I am always happy to know about how you guys out there manage to do things.
Cheers!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/21/2008
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Thanks Nick, glad that the info was helpful. Fun to play with all the possibilities that life affords us. Have a great day and play with the light.
Be well, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/21/2008
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Thanks a lot for the info, Stan! Well, I find both the DoF and the copper pan exactly right. They fit perfectly!
Cheers!
Nick
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/19/2008
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Thanks so much Nick. I used a small desk lamp for lighting and shot this in my conference room facing a hallway to the entry. The copper sauce pan the lenses are in was accidental in the blending of the background. I noticed that after the capture but not really before. Was not sure how deep the DOF would be and how much would be in the capture.
Be well Nick, Stan
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 9/19/2008
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Quick and dirty but the result is rather clean and good, Stan, especially on the left lens. A very good definition of all its details and textures on a good strong black. The light/shadow games kept also the plasticity of the objects while also there seems to be a very consequent color palette on the image. I guess because the brown of the foreground "agrees" with that of the background. Did you intentionally arranged that this way?
Cheers!
Nick
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Martin .
{K:24957} 9/19/2008
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Stan,
No!
Marty
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/19/2008
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Marty, I will do you one better, how about I use my OM2, that is an all manual camera and I have a 50mm f1.8 on it. I do not want to hear you whining about me working you over. I may be a newbie with digital but I have time in with film. It is about having fun. Read up and let me know what you want to shoot. This was your idea so you pick what you want. I know Harry a little more than you but I do not want to have you think any thing is tilted my way. I just made that suggestion because he works us both over. We can send the prints to one of your pro buddies and they can decide the outcome. I want it to be simple and easy. I can shoot a 24 exposure roll and stop at 15 shots. I will mail you the roll sight unseen, you develop them and figure who you want to judge them. Use your buddy that has the studio. Just give him the prints and let him decide what he likes. You can tell him whose prints are whose after the judging is over.
That should be simple enough.
Be well, Stan
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/19/2008
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Thanks Dave, glad you liked the image. Just a return shot for Marty. He was showing off his Bronica and 4 lenses, and I was showing him my arsenal.
Be well, Stan
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Dave Stacey
{K:150877} 9/18/2008
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Nice still life, Stan!
Dave.
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Martin .
{K:24957} 9/18/2008
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Stan,
You got me there. 1 shot is all it will take, but it has to be the right shot. Regarding the format I do not have an advantage on the usefilm site because of the very small file sizes posted on the site.
I think film vs. film is a good idea, because of the grain factor, but unless we were doing prints we will be head to head regarding film!
But I think you should use the Rebel, since your a newbie and you need every advantage you can get... hehehe
My Best,
Marty
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/18/2008
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Marty, I will only need one shot so use your 15 wisely. If you use fifteen for the project then I will do the same. Fair is fair and I will not need any advantage over you if I get up for this,I can be a hard a.. competitor when I want to. I will even use My Canon T90 film if you want film vs film. I have some good FD glass on that one too!
The only disadvantage on that is the size of original image. Let me know when we are on.
Be well, Stan
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Martin .
{K:24957} 9/18/2008
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Stan,
One more thing Big Boy!
Down from Cherry Creek came Stan Hill, never beat me and never will... ROTFLMAO!
Marty
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Martin .
{K:24957} 9/18/2008
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Stan,
I choose both, since you will need all of the help you can get... hehehe
Remember I have only used the Bronica a couple of times, so I will read up on how to load the film this weekend... :(
Also I can only get 15 frames per roll, so you have the advantage of shooting many more frames than me... So be kind?
All of My best to You and Yours ol' friend,
Marty
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/18/2008
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Thanks Wolf, I think Marty's was better composed but this was a quick impromptu effort to try the same lighting. Turned off lights and used a small desk lamp that is seen as catch light in the Canon lens. Looks like I need to give them a cleaning, the dust shows. Hope the day is a good one for you. My best to you and be well, stan
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Wolf Zorrito
{K:78768} 9/18/2008
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Hahahaah , a well deserved reply for Martin ;-)
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Stan Hill
{K:35352} 9/18/2008
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Thanks Paul, I posted this for Marty. We are going to put my Rebel up against his Bronica Medium format. I love some friendly push to keep me trying new things and learning the basics that are essential to go forward. I have a high school senior that is going to be a portrait session for me this weekend. We are going to use some of the old equipment and buildings as our backdrops and sets. He has a lot of freckles and will be a challenging shoot. Really a great kid and so polite and respectful. Should be a lot of fun.
Be well, Stan
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Paul Lara
{K:88111} 9/18/2008
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It's ok, Stan. The most important tool is the one between your eyes, man. Keep piercing reality to find that next shot.
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