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Re: [OM] 5 images, and some technical observations regarding ye olde te

Subject: Re: [OM] 5 images, and some technical observations regarding ye olde technologies
From: "Carlos J. Santisteban" <zuiko21@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:47:01 +0200
Hi Dawid and all,


From: Dawid Loubser <dawidl@xxxxxxxxxxx>

>"Proud Truck Driver"

>At a long delay caused by road works in the middle of the Karoo (Cape

>Province, South Africa) this truck driver noticed me with my camera

>and wanted me to take his photograph.

><
http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs51/f/2009/260/6/c/Proud_Truck_Driver_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>


Superb work. So life-like... I can nearly feel the smell of the tyres :-)


>Capture: OM-1n, 24/2.0 at f/5.6, PanF at ISO32, hand-held


Do you think is there a big difference between the response of PanF @ 32 vs.
the rated 50? Love that PanF, but I always expose it @ 50 -- or 100, as I do
with most cameras' meters.


>Print: 8x10 split-grade wet print, partially toned in Thiocarbamide


I never tried split-grade... seems interesting.


>"Grainy Decay"

>This is one of the first ever images I made through the OM system. The

>angelic serenity of the gracefully decaying leaves caught my eye.

><
http://fc09.deviantart.com/fs51/f/2009/260/f/4/Grainy_Decay_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>


This one seems to lack some contrast, at least for my taste.


>Capture: OM-1n, 90/2.0 Macro at f/16, Ilford Delta3200, hand-held

>Print: 5x7in "straight" print (grade 3 or so) in the darkroom through

>a busted 50-year-old Agfa condenser enlarger, extremely emphasising

>the grain (I have later come to prefer the softer look of my current

>diffuser enlarger, it makes a HUGE difference)


My enlarger is of the condenser type, never tried a diffuser... the usual
advice is that the higher contrast of the condenser (with "silver" B&W film)
may be the payoff for the emphasized grain, dust and scratches. Do you
agree?


>"Apparition of Evil"

>Alone in the dark I saw this evil creature sitting on the wall. For

>the first time in ages, I felt fear of the dark. I know it's just a

>bunch of dead leaves, but it stirred something inside of me. I felt

>it... watching... me.

><
http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs51/f/2009/260/6/5/Apparition_of_Evil_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>


Scary! ;^)


>Capture: OM-1n, 90/2.0 Macro at f/2.0 (45s exposure, it was PITCH

>dark), Ilford HP5 @ ISO400, tripod

>Digitisation: Directly scanned from film (evil!!) on V700


Not a bad result, though.


>"Montecasino Rearranged"


It's funny... I usually take some coffee at the 'Central - Montecassino' --
a restaurant in the past, now full of slot machines... with the busty
Ecuadorian waitress, etc. ;^)


>A scene outside of Montecasino, Fourways.

><
http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs50/f/2009/261/5/4/Montecasino_Rearranged_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>

>Capture: OM-1n, 24/2.0 at f/2.0, Kodak TMZ P3200 @ ISO3200, around

>1/8s shutter speed, hand-held


Excellent work. It shows what the 24/2 can do -- in the hands of an expert,
of course.


>Comments: I know ISO3200 film has low resolution, but even so, there

>cannot be many 24mm lenses in the world that look this good at f/2.0.

>Also, see the amazing depth of field even at f/2.0 if you focus on a

>subject 5m+ away from the camera. Yet, focus close and the 24mm can

>render extremely shallow DOF. Such a versatile lens.


Couldn't agree more.


>"Playing Field"

>A very fast-running and vividly-coloured beetle on the beach. It was

>quite a task to sneak up on the little guy without him darting off. In

>this photograph, I wanted to emphasize the empty space available to

>this creature, which surely must be something amazing at this scale.

><
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs50/f/2009/261/7/c/Playing_Field_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>


I'm not a fan of beetles, but impressive picture however.


>Capture: OM-1n, 90/2.0 Macro at f/11, FP4 at ISO125, hand-held

>Print: 8x10in "straight" print (grade 1.5) in the darkroom through a

>busted 50-year-old Agfa condenser enlarger

<snip>

> I wish I captured this

>image on PanF.


Surely. I'm not a fan of FP4, either.


>"Starry Eyed"

>Just a snapshot of my wife in one of our favourite restaurants, and

>extremely dark restaurant lit only by candlelight (to hide the bad

>decor, I imagine :-) The diagonal was an experiment, it makes the shot

>feel a bit "uneasy" yes, but I felt I wanted to capture "more" than

>what was in a level frame.

><
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs51/f/2009/261/3/3/Starry_Eyed_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>


>Capture: OM-1n, 24/2.0 at f/2.0, Ilford HP5+ at ISO400, hand-held,

>around 1/4s


Great composition and tonal range. It doesn't look like a 24mm shot.

And steady hands, BTW ;^)


>Comments: Why does anybody need ISO 25,600 again?


Never say never...


>GRAIN

>Wow, scanning 35mm film directly sucks (compared to making a darkroom

>print and scanning the print).


Interesting observation, especially Re: grain.


>Bottom-line: If you are into doing film (in

>this day and age) don't ever bother with scanning film directly, it's

>exceptionally poor compared to making analogue prints.


The problem is when you have a colour slide :-(


>The second grain-related observation, is the massive difference

>between a diffusion and a condenser enlarger.


Another interesting conclusion. Is there an 'universal' way to make a
condenser enlarger behave like a diffuser one? I mean, putting some kind of
diffuser in the filter drawer or so...


>RESOLUTION

>With higher-ISO film, who cares about resolution? It's all about the

>look.


It's my hands what usually put the resolution limit on my pics...


Very nice work and comments, thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
-- 
Carlos J. Santisteban Salinas
IES Turaniana (Roquetas de Mar, Almeria)
<http://cjss.sytes.net/>
-- 
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