Some B and W from Saltaire

[Mr Bump]

I shot this months ago and forgot about it, Illford 100 on my Nikon FG.
Just a few I liked still learning

 

[Asha]

Some nice results there from the FG Paul.

Not c&c section I know so if you don't want the c&c I'm happy to remove my comments!

The weddiing shot ( although a little too central perhaps :shrug and the bench for me although I do like the last one...., if the alley way could be seen all the way to its end( ie not blocked by the wall to the left of the frame) then that would have made the shot more appealing imo.

The two "drinking friends....presumably shot shallow dof on the drinks purposely to make the faces slightly oof?? :shrug:

 

[Mr Bump]

Thanks Asha C and C all the way for me mate, I learn from what folk say, the drinking buddies are me and the wife, shallow DOF as 100ASA film indoor so F1.8 and 1/60 i think (no light) the wedding I would have loved to move closer but its was a pro togger and didn't want to intrude, I liked the bench thats my fave shot, and the alley yes I should have shot it head on as you say, I will go back to this place again soon, thank you.

 

[MartynK]

Hi Paul.

Good subjects, just a few points? The wedding shot: Might be have been better to move the group slightly to the right, to improve the composition and avoid the notorious tree growing out of head! I don't suppose you had much choice though, if it was set up by the pro. Drinking buddies: Tight shots, but as others have said, slightly out of focus. You both look happy, and you're obviously not self conscious in front of the camera. A surprising number of photographers are. The bench: Yip, like it. The musicians: Possibly my favourite. I'd try to straighten the shot to correct the verticals, and crop to get rid of the railings and empty space on the right. The Alley: Not sure if I'd shoot it head on, but move to the right sufficiently to open it up and prevent the wall from obstructing the main focus?

 

[excalibur2]

...and just to add 3mins in Photoshop using brightness, contrast and shadow\highlight and cropping can make a world of difference..and it's not cheating as in the old days of chemical printing we did the same things...h'mm well not using a computer

 

[Mr Bump]

Thanks guys some good pointers and keep them coming, a lot of what limited me that day was my slow 100 asa film, i should have popped a 400 in and that would have allowed me a bit more DOF and shutter and I do understand using photoshop a little. I use it for small dust and scratch corrections but as of yet I am trying not to go any further. Oddly enough I am more looking for honesty in my film shots and keeping them very real, enjoying it a lot as well.

 

[PMN]

I use it for small dust and scratch corrections but as of yet I am trying not to go any further. Oddly enough I am more looking for honesty in my film shots and keeping them very real, enjoying it a lot as well.

Do you mean that in the sense of you don't want to be making exposure adjustments when scanning or in post-processing?

 

[Mr Bump]

Do you mean that in the sense of you don't want to be making exposure adjustments when scanning or in post-processing?

Yes no adjustments at all at this time, for me its more learning what makes a good shot and getting my eye in. At the moment its more looking and less clicking if that makes sense.

 

[MartynK]

Thanks guys some good pointers and keep them coming, a lot of what limited me that day was my slow 100 asa film, i should have popped a 400 in and that would have allowed me a bit more DOF and shutter and I do understand using photoshop a little. I use it for small dust and scratch corrections but as of yet I am trying not to go any further. Oddly enough I am more looking for honesty in my film shots and keeping them very real, enjoying it a lot as well.

Hmm. 100 ASA isn't really slow, we used to regard it as medium speed, but I know what you mean. 100 - 400 ASA is two stops. If this was a new film, or didn't have anything else on it that mattered, you could have reset the metering to 400 and pushed the development. It's straightforward enough, and can you get you out of this sort of situation!

 

[robhooley167]

Yes no adjustments at all at this time, for me its more learning what makes a good shot and getting my eye in. At the moment its more looking and less clicking if that makes sense.

To be honest, you'll find that *some* exposure adjustments are necessary to compensate for scanning anyway

 

[PMN]

Yes no adjustments at all at this time, for me its more learning what makes a good shot and getting my eye in. At the moment its more looking and less clicking if that makes sense.

The thing with scanning is you're turning the film into a totally different type of image which has it's own set of technical limitations. Neg film has a massive exposure latitude, much much greater than the digital image you're turning it into and to get the best results manual adjustments really are a must. If you put a frame into the scanner and use the standard auto settings it doesn't mean you're getting the most 'natural' result, it just means the scanner is guessing at what adjustments are needed and it isn't necessarily going to make the right decisions.

For example if I scan negative film on the V500 using EpsonScan in auto I can guarantee that most of the time it will push things too much and my highlights and shadows will be clipped, once that information is lost it's impossible to recover. This isn't getting the best out of your images, it's actually binning information destructively. The best option by far is to learn how to adjust settings manually so you can extract all the detail and information possible from your film.