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Re: [OM] The Kodachrome Project

Subject: Re: [OM] The Kodachrome Project
From: Nathan Wajsman <photo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:02:07 +0200
I found the images nice and interesting, but I too thought that some  
of them looked flat. I was a big user of Kodachrome during my film  
days too, especially when I lived in Switzerland between 2000 and 2003  
and could have it processed with a turnaround of a few days (the lab  
was in Lausanne). But I can understand why Kodak discontinued it. It  
is a bitch to scan, as you mention, not only with the Sprintscan but  
also with the Nikon scanner that I used. Kodachrome really comes into  
its own when viewed with a good quality loupe on a light table or on a  
good slide projector like the Leica Pradovit. But it does not fare  
well in the digital realm. For those who prefer to shoot film and scan  
it, there are several E6 options that work much better.

Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com

Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
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On Jul 28, 2009, at 6:39 PM, Joel Wilcox wrote:

> Thanks for looking, Ling.  Vuescan produces a scan that is quite low
> in contrast, which is better than the opposite, so I could probably
> still improve the images and work with several images to improve
> contrast.  The profile just gives me a limited starting point, so I
> don't follow it slavishly other than that.  Kodachrome is notoriously
> difficulty to scan with the Sprintscan, for some reason.  I'm just
> trying to get the scans into the ballpark, so to speak.
>
> I don't have a color histogram once leaving Vuescan, but I did notice
> that I have needed to pull back blue in a number of scans.  I have to
> do some increase of saturation to get the correct impression of light
> intensity in many cases, including 123.  I agree that one is not quite
> right.  I also did some perspective correction on that one as well.
>
> I work up the images in AdobeRGB and convert only for web images.
> Perhaps there is some issue with that as well.  Thanks for the
> feedback.
>
> Joel W.
>
> On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 11:13 AM, C.H.Ling<ch_photo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>  
> wrote:
>> Joel, there are some nice shots, I especially like 129, thanks for  
>> sharing.
>>
>> On a few of them I found the contrast a little low, they seem not
>> reproducing the actual scenes like 110 and 114. The shadow tone of  
>> some are
>> shifted like 123 (with blue clipping). I don't know if this is a  
>> profile
>> issue, I never trust one profile can suit all even on the same roll  
>> of film,
>> I just trust my eyes, histrogram and RGB values.
>>
>> C.H.Ling
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Joel Wilcox"
>>
>>> When Kodak announced the end of Kodachrome, I went to my film  
>>> freezer
>>> to find 15 remaining rolls, 11 of which was KM25.  This film has  
>>> been
>>> frozen, thawed, and refrozen several times.  Last summer when I  
>>> turned
>>> off the electricity before evacuating our home during the flood, I
>>> forgot about my film freezer.  Basically, the film sat in a  
>>> defrosted
>>> refrigerator for a month.  Fortunately, all the film was in ziplock
>>> bags within their plastic canisters.  Still.  This film doesn't  
>>> owe me
>>> anything at this point.
>>>
>>> I decided, mostly in light of Dwayne's announcement about
>>> discontinuing processing after 2010, to shoot the Kodachrome until  
>>> it
>>> is gone, concentrating on normal scenes around my home and environs.
>>> I am documenting places and things I pass everyday, or often, as a
>>> time capsule on film.  Within that stricture, I am also trying to
>>> follow the best light to get the best results for this magic-hour
>>> film.
>>>
>>> To my eyes, the film looks no worse for the wear.  I am pleased in
>>> that I think that I am the weak link in this project.  Judge for
>>> yourself.
>>>
>>> For this first roll, I shot every frame with my OM-4 using fast  
>>> Zuikos
>>> (28/2, 50/1.2, and 85/2) as all were handheld shots with KM25.  A  
>>> lot
>>> of f4 in the mix.  Multispot metering for each frame and no
>>> bracketing.  I metered very carefully with apparent success, if I  
>>> may
>>> say so.  The OM-4 is really made for shooting slide film  
>>> economically!
>>>
>>> Scanning via Polaroid Sprintscan 4000.  Vuescan software.  I boosted
>>> color brightness for red and decreased it for blue to get color
>>> balance matching the film, plus a basic curves adjustment that seems
>>> to work well for all scans, so these settings have been saved as a
>>> profile (.ini file) in Vuescan.  In Photoshop, the highlight-shadow
>>> tool has been invaluable, not so much to pull up shadows but to  
>>> match
>>> the dynamic range of the film more closely, particularly important  
>>> for
>>> the highlights.
>>>
>>> The scans are mostly full-frame renditions of the actual slide,
>>> without serious cropping or adjustments, but there are exceptions
>>> where, for example, persepctive adjustment at the moment of shooting
>>> may have left a large vacant area at the bottom of the frame, etc.
>>> Here and there I have done a bit of perspective correction in  
>>> software
>>> as well, particularly if my in-camera correction was not quite
>>> perfect.  Sharpening was done using two light passes to get the
>>> original scan into some kind of basic shape and once with a very  
>>> light
>>> pass of the web image through Intellisharpen.
>>>
>>> Warning:  Flickr link:
>>>
>>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/99378213@N00/sets/72157621744074263/
>>>
>>> I suggest finding the "slideshow" link on the page to view these.
>>> Once the slideshow is underway, click "Options" to make certain
>>> "embiggen" is NOT clicked.  Then you'll be able to see the film  
>>> scans
>>> at the size intended (around 800 pixels on the long side).
>>>
>>> Kodachrome forever ... (sniff)
>>>
>>> Joel W.
> -- 
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