Thanks again everybody for the kind words. Hopefully with 844 in town this weekend I should be able to come up with a couple more nice shots.
I don’t know Chris… but, I kinda like 'em…
Actually, to be honest, I like the tones of the RGS photo, and it really is well done, but, I like the second one better. The dents, and the weeds at the bottom of the photo, as well as the tone give it a “past it’s glory days” kind of feel. I like photography, and your photos “talk”, especially these. It’s not just using the equipment, or having the best, it’s having the “artist’s eye” understanding composition (even basically) lighting, and looking at your subject for the best possible angle, and then bringing all of that together to say something with the push of a shutter button. I co-administer a photo site, and we have some excellent photographers, and I would put you in that class.
Great job on both photos. Can’t wait to see more…
Rosewood for frames?? I was thinking barn board to complement the b&w…
Great shots, Chris.
Well,
A forum member from California sent me a block of California red wood, out of a tree harvested around 1915…it still has that “cedar” smell if you cut it.
I could get it re-sawed.
…Ed: You were mentioning Rosewood. We have a Melodeon, an instrument that stands on the floor, with pedals to work the bellows and it is played {like an organ}, with the keyboard.
My point is, it’s made of Rosewood…Prince Co. and has a date on it of 1846. You can pull up the Co. on the internet.
Sorry to digress here, just wanted to mention the Rosewood point.
As long as this doesn’t turn into an open access debate I think it’s OK. [;)][(-D]
[bow]
Chris,
I love both of these shots-they’re great.
One of the things I’ve consistently noticed in the times I’ve shot Efke 25 has been that it tends to be very contrasty. I’ve been trying to tame the contrast some by pulling, but the development time is short enough anyway that I haven’t really gotten that good of results.
I’ve noticed that your shots don’t seem to have the contrast which I’ve noted in my own negatives. Out of curiosity, what are you doing, if anything, to reduce the contrast?
Ben,
I read about the contrast problem on Efke on the internet. The solution seems to be dilution. I’m using Rodinal at 1:100 for 17.5 mins (at 68ºF) constant agitation in BTZS tubes. Of course, now that summer is here, it’s getting harder to keep the temps down. I think I’ve been going to about 14-15 mins with higher developer temps.
I don’t too much about agitation in smaller formats, so you might stop over to APUG and see what guys are doing there. The constant agitation works with the BTZS tubes, because it’s kind of a rotary thing. You can read about them here. I don’t think there’s anything equivalent in smaller formats, but I haven’t really looked too hard.
Chris… Those… Are… AMAZING!
I really need to get some tips from you sometime…
Thanks for sharing your pics!!!
My usual formula is right place, right time, with a bit of an eye for composition thrown in. In other words, more often than not, the perfect shot has a healthy amount of luck in it…
Still life is a little easier, but even then recognizing potential (maybe even having a finished product in mind) goes a long way.
RJ,
Thanks for the kind words. As far as tips…here’s a couple random thoughts (keep in mind this is after a long day of work, so they may or may not make sense![;)])
- Subject Matters: Some places will tell you that photography is all about the light. That’s true of course, but I think that a good subject is a lot more important than good lighting. Good lighting will add a lot to a picture, but it won’t save it if the shot is of something that isn’t going to interest your viewer.
- Watch Your Background: If you have a good subject, you’ll want to emphasize it in the picture. If you have a background that adds to the image, make use of it. If the background is cluttered, noisy, etc. try to figure out how to get rid of as much of it as possible. Using a telephoto lens for a tighter view or using shallow depth of field are two great ways to accomplish this.
- Think about Composition: What are you trying to say with your picture? Knowing what your subject is, and how to compose a shot to make your point about it is key. Classic rules like the rule of thirds are important, but don’t be afraid to experiment, either.
- Find the Symbol: This is a tip from a great National Geographic photographer (I want to say David Allen Harvey, but I could be wrong). Sometimes you can isolate a detail (like the RGS lettering and the window on the caboose shot) that does a great job of representing a whole. Since it’s simpler, though, it’s a lot easier to showcase in an appealing way in a photograph.
- Oh Yeah…Good Light Helps: Like I said, I think subject is by far the most important aspect of a good shot. However, nice lighting can turn a nice shot into a great one. The best hours of daylight are the hours after sunrise and before sunset for daylight images (the golden hour) and the hours before sunrise and after sunset for night images (th
Chris, your reply to RJ is detailed and right on the beam. I would make two comments: that making your images tell a story is what’s really going on (I still think Link’s N&W work was the best example of that at least after WW II) and that your comment number seven, “shoot, shoot, shoot” is by far the best advice anyone can give. You can get a lot from books and classes and reading the web, but there is no better path to improvement than getting out and actually doing.
(The problem with improvement, as you know already, is that it just makes you want more…but that’s a good thing, I think.)
Chris.
Thanks for the response.
I’ve been using Sprint developer, which is advertised and supposedly behaves as a D76 clone. The development time for Efke 25 in Sprint at the standard 1:9 dillution at 68 degrees is 5 minutes. Pulling the film to reduce contrast gives development tmes in the neighborhood of 3 minutes, which is of course way too short.
I might just have to pick up a bottle of Rodinal to try, since it seems as though your 1:100 dillution and 17 minute development time keeps things pretty well under control.
I’ve also seen good results with Efke 25 and HC-110, so I might also have to give that combination a try.
By the way, I’ve also heard of people using so-called semi-stand development with Rodinal and roll films. Basically, you pour it in and give one or two initial inversion, let it sit for half and hour, given another inversion, and then let it sit for another half an hour.
Anyway, thanks again for the information. I’m also glad to see that you’ve come back over from the “dark side” and are shooting a lot of film again :). By the way, I’m still loving the 20mm.
Ben,
Apart from Neofin Bleu (or whatever the stuff is called) and one of the Pyro formulas (Pyrocat HD, maybe?), Rodinal seems to be the favorite on my LF forum for Efke 25. Neofin is really expensive, and I don’t really want to get into the toxic problems associated with Pyro, so Rodinal works for me.
Apart from being a great developer, the stuff lasts forever, and even a small bottle goes a long way at 1:100. The only downside I could see for you is that there is ever so slightly more grain when using Rodinal. It’s not like developing classic Tri-X in it, but you may see a touch more grain in 35mm. I doubt that it’s really a problem, though, since this stuff is really close to being grainless.
There are some guys on the LF forum doing stand development in trays with some of the big formats (8x10+), but with my BTZS tubes, I’m happy processing normally. When I move up to the bigger stuff, I’ll either do the tray developing, or I may make my own BTZS tubes out of PVC.
BTW, film is only acceptable (at least in my realm) if it’s big enough to be made in sheets instead of rolls! I’m still a digital guy who happens to shoot film from time to time! In fact, my light meter is my Pentax DSLR. It gives perfect exposure information, and gives me a bonus digital file, too!