A miller Posted November 25, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted November 25, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello all - This is my first post. And it's pretty rough. This shot is taken with my Leica M3 w/ 35mm summilux asph, with Tri-X 400. I developed the film myself at home (one of my first rolls to develop, so I have a lot of practice to do before I come up with something satisfactory!). I scanned the negative using EPSON V700, which I'm also new at and am struggling with the learning curve! Â Any tips on how to improve any of the steps in the process would be most welcome!! Â A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 25, 2012 Posted November 25, 2012 Hi A miller, Take a look here Various couples in NYC. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pauledell Posted November 26, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted November 26, 2012 Adam, Â Welcome to the forum. It looks like you are off to a good start. The shooting techniques look fine (composition, exposure), the development looks like what I would expect from Tri-X with the tones and contrast,and the scanning is also good from what we can see from the post. All I can say is to keep working at taking pictures, developing film until you are satisfied. Â Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted November 26, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted November 26, 2012 Welcome aboard. A fine first image. Keep up the good work. It only gets better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted November 26, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted November 26, 2012 Welcome to the world of Leica and film! Lots of info on film and scanning in this thread:- http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/showthread.php?t=261830 Â Also have a look in the Post Processing section for development advice. Have fun! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
A miller Posted November 26, 2012 Author Share #5 Â Posted November 26, 2012 Many thanks to each of you for responding so sensitively. I am a big fan of the pics that each of you have posted, and am grateful that you have taken the time to peek at my utterly novice rendition. Â -A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
likalar Posted November 28, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted November 28, 2012 I really like the photograph, especially the lowered seating level and that second couple. Nice framing; Good eye! The tones, as shown here, are quite nice. By "pretty rough" are you talking about the photo, the grain, the scanning experience? It's good to be critical of one's work, but I see nothing wrong here. I love that retro grainy Tri-x look, (from a dense negative, maybe overexposed and over developed?). Anyway, keep shooting, souping, scanning and posting. Welcome! Â Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
A miller Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share #7 Â Posted November 28, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Larry. Very kind of you to comment. One of the things that I am stuck on is the amount of grain and the lack of clarity in the picture. Grain can be good when it is deliberate. And a stranger may not know my intent. I could easily be happy with the effect of this pic if I used 3200 ISO film. But I used 400 ISO film, which I wouldn't have thought could come this grainy. Perhaps it's the combination of the film and my use of "on the fly" zone focusing. Whatever, there are probably a large number of variables at play (e.g., how the sunlight hit the window of the pizza joint), and I have a lot of controlled experiments to conduct to figure out how to better execute on my intended results! Â Thanks again for your feedback. Â -A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
likalar Posted November 28, 2012 Share #8 Â Posted November 28, 2012 [quote=A miller;2246454... One of the things that I am stuck on is the amount of grain and the lack of clarity in the picture. Grain can be good when it is deliberate. And a stranger may not know my intent.... Â Funny you should say that. Many years ago I was intentionally seeking that grain from Tri-X. Early grain worship! I often shot Tri-X at ASA 100 or less, used warm Edwal FG7 with longer times...In hindsight, I wish I hadn't, but life goes on. Â About your comments: I can only suggest you run some test Tri-X rolls of carefully focused full tonal-range images, experimenting with exposure, accurate temperature, developers, times, agitation methods, scanner settings, etc. Best wishes! Â Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
A miller Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share #9 Â Posted November 28, 2012 Just as an FYI, I am attaching a picture with which that I am satisfied. Not just because it is my 5-yr old daughter but also because the grain was deliberate because I used Delta 3200 film. Probably my proudest moment so far as far as my own development goes (not to boast by any means, everything is relative). Oh, and I used a lovely 50 year-old Leica 90mm Elmar f4 lens that I picked up on eBay for under $300. Not sharp by any means, but it has a dreaminess to it that I like, and also there's a faint triangular spot of light on her left cheekbone that I understand may have some technical merits to it from a portraiture standpoint. If this was a pic from my M9 I wouldn't be nearly as satisfied. That's what I like about film..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messsucherkamera Posted November 29, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted November 29, 2012 One thing I would recommend in regard to developing is this: When you prepare your chemicals, mix them with distilled water. The chemicals and impurities in tap water can cause problems with your negatives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 5, 2012 Share #11 Â Posted December 5, 2012 AM - Â Welcome to the Forum. Based on these images, especially the delightful one of your daughter, I look forward to seeing many more photos from you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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