I like film...(open thread)

[erl]

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The fact is Phil, I shot just 23 images with the M10. I shot two rolls of 36 with the M7.

\To be fair, I was challenging myself to 'get the pictures' with film because I knew it would be much harder technically. The reality is film does drive ones creative edge in a slightly different direction than digital. I enjoy and exploit both.

 

I actually enjoy scanning. I don't do contact sheets any more. I fully scan each frame. That allows me to soak up the image and decide if I want to progress with it. These days I do have the time.

 

Maybe tonight or tomorrow I will post some more.

 

P.S. I must say how impressed I am with how HP5+ pushes to 1600iso.

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[stray cat]

Thanks so much for the flashback to your time with Mary Ellen's workshop--inspiring. Perhaps you could give a rewind of your most memorable take-away? Personally or professionally. This sent me back to Ward 81 and what she was doing then.

 

The foreground and background framing in San Sebastian Abosolo, the play of dark against light, gives this composition such a play of depth and scale. Three dimensional with the dust swirling on the verge of over-exposure in the background, just right, like a Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men. Three musicians seated, one standing. The soundtrack, a photograph that begs for a sound track! Adam so keenly observes: "This one tells a fun story; the juxtaposition of the chaotic background with the chaotic (in a good way) musical band has my eating ringing!" And Corona rules. Your 28mm Elmarit pressed into justified service.

 

Thank you so much Ernest for your kind and generous thoughts about my picture from San Sebastian Abosolo. It does rekindle memories of a visceral feast of heat, swirling dust, fantastic music (LOUD!), visual stimulus and colour. And, yes OK, I may have had a Corona or three which will have coloured my memory of it too. I have so much respect for the musicians - they totally grasped the importance of their role in the proceedings and were never in any danger of letting the team down. A little like the dance band on the Titanic I suppose.

 

Thank you especially for mentioning “No Country for Old Men” - I am a great fan of the Coen brothers and in 2009 my son James and I travelled to parts of West Texas where some of it was filmed. As an aside, during filming there another production company was concurrently filming (another great film) Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” across the road. Apparently at one time the crew working on NCfOM had to suspend filming because the production of TWBB required a dense plume of Black Smoke to be generated for one of that great film’s iconic scenes, and it happened to be right in the line of sight of the other production’s cinematography.

 

If I had to nominate a most memorable take-away from meeting Mary Ellen - it would be that your heroes are really human, too. Also that the old adage that you should never meet your heroes is a load of codswallop (OK that’s two take-aways. Add Beef Vindaloo and that makes three (sorry, bad pun, but we're having take-away, or what you Americans might call "take out", for dinner tonight)).

 

It's a good thing I know where to go for everything from A to Z because skipped sideways and missed Sultan and Mandel's "Evidence" but quickly made up for clumsy footwork, thanks to your heads up. Listening to your very informative comments about Fereday's work with "repurposed" photographs snapped me back to Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip," although he juxtaposed news clippings contemporary to Charles Van Schaik's photographs from 1890 to 1910. Not the same thing, but when I scanned through "Evidence," I noticed a mention of Lesy's book. Adam Bartos's work has a kind of evidentiary perspective: "Yard Sale Photographs," "Kosmos," and "Adam Bartos: Darkroom," among others. Your argument that "photograph is, potentially, so much about mystery" is totally finger on the red button, or as you astutely allow, finger on the shutter release button! Without the mystery, we are lost. Intrigue. To have a subtle, curious voice in the photograph, perhaps almost an interrogation. Visual evidence that braids into a narrative somehow that connects in a meaningful way, if only to ask a question that is the meaning itself. Can the photograph move beyond the status of simple artifact, or is that enough? Or is that the endgame: Are we entitled to move beyond the perimeter of the photograph printed or projected, or is the photograph an allusion to extracurricular real estate, an invitation to add that which is missing, to imagine the whole from only its fragment? The invitation to a mystery as you put it. Click.

 

Right back at you Ernest. I didn't actually have a copy of "Evidence" until I thought about it in my response to you (I do now) and I’d overlooked "Wisconsin Death Trip" and will now try to scrounge a copy from somewhere. Same with Adam Bartos’ work - "Yard Sale Photographs" sounds particularly promising. We should also probably mention in the same breath the work of Ed Ruscha, for example his "Twentysix gasoline stations". And the New Topographics for that matter.

 

I really like the conundrum you have posed about the boundaries of a photograph. Is what’s seen in the photograph the end of it? Or should we be thinking of something that’s taking place outside the frame? Here is another photograph I took during the Oaxaca workshop. When I showed it elsewhere (not to do with the workshop or, I hope, this thread) the general consensus seemed to be that it would be quite a nice picture except that I’d managed to cut off the person on the right. Yet, to me, that’s the whole point. As Mary Ellen would often say: "Am I wrong?".

 

 

Zaachila, Mexico 2011

M6TTL, 28mm Elmarit, Ilford XP2 Super

[Guest Nowhereman]

Storm gathering at Wiang Pa Pao in northern Thailand. In a recent post I wrote that I was thinking of shooting film only for B&W because digital with the M10 would give me pretty much anything that could be done with color film. However the Portra 400 image below gives me reason to think again. 

 

I shot the scene some 100 meters down the road with the M10 and the same lens. Very different results. The M10 shot has more resolution and detail and the colors are more saturated. I can reduce the saturation of the M10 image to approach the look of the Petra image, but the overall feeling is very different. 

 

M3 | Portra 400 | Summaron-M f/5.6 28mm | f/8 | 1/500 sec

Wiang Pa Pao

_________________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Instagram: @mitchalland

[stray cat]

The fact is Phil, I shot just 23 images with the M10. I shot two rolls of 36 with the M7.

\To be fair, I was challenging myself to 'get the pictures' with film because I knew it would be much harder technically. The reality is film does drive ones creative edge in a slightly different direction than digital. I enjoy and exploit both.

 

I actually enjoy scanning. I don't do contact sheets any more. I fully scan each frame. That allows me to soak up the image and decide if I want to progress with it. These days I do have the time.

 

Maybe tonight or tomorrow I will post some more.

 

P.S. I must say how impressed I am with how HP5+ pushes to 1600iso.

 

Well you made a good fist of it, John. Interesting that the medium does make you think slightly differently. I guess there are many reasons for that, but what it means is that, depending on whether you use film or digital, you'll end up with perhaps photographs that are slightly different to ones you'd have obtained using the other. It certainly can't hurt to enjoy and exploit both - the best of both worlds. I get too easily confused with too much choice so I tend to like to stick with one (sorry, digital, but that's film).

 

I now tend to scan everything as little 1000 dpi jpegs and then decide what I'll scan "properly" as a 4000 dpi TIFF from there. Don't know if that's a good way of doing it but I like to see everything but don't want to spend too much time at it. There's also an application that I use in Photoshop that will allow me to make proof sheets from my little jpegs, which I could print out (though I don't) and keep with the negatives. Actually I should probably do that.

 

Will be interested to see any others that take your eye. I really like the pictures you've already posted - The Hat and Children's Day Out are also keepers for sure.

[erl]

After visiting the NGV, I went for a much needed lunch. One of my favourite areas is Centre Way, following from Degraves Street. The following pics are there and deliberately working with narrow street scape and strong directional sunlight most of the time.

 

CENTRE WAY STREETSCAPE

 

As before, M7/50mm/2.0  with HP5+ @ 1600iso

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[erl]

PASSING BY MY LUNCH

 

 

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[stray cat]

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Storm gathering at Wiang Pa Pao in northern Thailand. In a recent post I wrote that I was thinking of shooting film only for B&W because digital with the M10 would give me pretty much anything that could be done with color film. However the Portra 400 image below gives me reason to think again. 

 

I shot the scene some 100 meters down the road with the M10 and the same lens. Very different results. The M10 shot has more resolution and detail and the colors are more saturated. I can reduce the saturation of the M10 image to approach the look of the Petra image, but the overall feeling is very different. 

 

M3 | Portra 400 | Summaron-M f/5.6 28mm | f/8 | 1/500 sec

Wiang Pa Pao

_________________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Instagram: @mitchalland

 

Interesting what you say there Mitch about colour film. A lot of people say just that - use digital for colour, film for black and white. Yet there are so many flavours of colour film to explore, each giving unique characteristics. Sure, digital can be made to emulate whatever you want it to but, as in my discussion with John (Erl) above - if you take the time and make the effort to get to know your films (same applies to black and white or colour) there is something that leads one to taking a picture in a particular way depending on what they've got loaded - and in any case, this will often (for better or worse) be different to what you'd have taken with digital. And that is a very nice, moody picture, by the way.

[erl]

DINERS INSIDE THE RESTAURANT

 

 

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[erl]

HEADING BACK ALONG DEGRAVES STREET

 

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[stray cat]

After visiting the NGV, I went for a much needed lunch. One of my favourite areas is Centre Way, following from Degraves Street. The following pics are there and deliberately working with narrow street scape and strong directional sunlight most of the time.

 

CENTRE WAY STREETSCAPE

 

As before, M7/50mm/2.0  with HP5+ @ 1600iso

 

These are really good, too, John. I find Melbourne a difficult place for street photos, but these work well. Nice place to eat by the way - I like Degreaves Street.

 

(edit) Ha! I just saw that last one along the lane - reminded me of one from a wet day a couple of years ago:

 

Degreaves Street, 2015

M6TTL, 28mm Elmarit, Tri-X

Edited January 20, 2018 by stray cat

[erl]

YOU MAY WELL ASK

 

Another from the gallery exhibition.

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[christoph_d]

Two days ago we got a few flurries in the morning... 

 

NYC

Portra 400

M7, 28mm elmarit pre-asph

reflection.jpg

Love it, colour photos such as these kindled my interest in photography many moons ago. The red of the umbrella set in a subdued background reminds me a bit of Franco Fontana's picture of Prag from 1967 (showing a red car from above at a road crossing).

 

Very nice,

 

Rgds

 

Christoph

[Tmx]

HEADING BACK ALONG DEGRAVES STREET

Excellent photo Phil! One can feel and smell the humidity of the scene.

 

And a great idea to scan small jpgs as a digital contact sheet. May I ask you more about the Photoshop app that you use?

 

Best regards

Jakob

 

Edit: I am sorry I meant the 2015 picture of Phil, but I can’t edit my post

Edited January 20, 2018 by Tmx

[christoph_d]

...

 

Zaachila, Mexico 2011

M6TTL, 28mm Elmarit, Ilford XP2 Super

Phil,

 

I totally agree with your point of view, meaning the cutting off the person at the right does the picture good. I think that photography needs to have, to some degree this reference to the external world (outside the frame), to be meaningful. Of course this can be achieved in different ways. The forceful cut of yours in any case adds drama, raises questions and greatly increases the story-value of the picture, at least to me.

 

Best regards

 

Christoph

[christoph_d]

Storm gathering at Wiang Pa Pao in northern Thailand. In a recent post I wrote that I was thinking of shooting film only for B&W because digital with the M10 would give me pretty much anything that could be done with color film. However the Portra 400 image below gives me reason to think again. 

 

I shot the scene some 100 meters down the road with the M10 and the same lens. Very different results. The M10 shot has more resolution and detail and the colors are more saturated. I can reduce the saturation of the M10 image to approach the look of the Petra image, but the overall feeling is very different. 

 

M3 | Portra 400 | Summaron-M f/5.6 28mm | f/8 | 1/500 sec

Wiang Pa Pao

_________________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Instagram: @mitchalland

Well captured colours and mood!

 

Rgds

 

C.

[monsieur nobs]

MP, Elmar M 2,8/50, Silvermax

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[edwardkaraa]

The Martian.

 

M7 ZM 50/2 Provia 100F by edward karaa, on Flickr

[stray cat]

YOU MAY WELL ASK

 

Another from the gallery exhibition.

 

 

This is so great. Is that the same man with the inscrutable expression in "One Way Conversation"? Seems like he must have carried a bemused look on his face the whole day! I'd probably be the same if confronted by sculpture like this!

 

Excellent photo Phil! One can feel and smell the humidity of the scene.

 

And a great idea to scan small jpgs as a digital contact sheet. May I ask you more about the Photoshop app that you use?

 

Best regards

Jakob

 

Edit: I am sorry I meant the 2015 picture of Phil, but I can’t edit my post

 

Thank you so much Jakob. There's a funny memory associated with this picture as about five photographers had somehow gathered in this spot at the same time - so there'll probably be multiple copies of this scene floating around. We all had a good laugh about it at the time.

 

Phil,

 

I totally agree with your point of view, meaning the cutting off the person at the right does the picture good. I think that photography needs to have, to some degree this reference to the external world (outside the frame), to be meaningful. Of course this can be achieved in different ways. The forceful cut of yours in any case adds drama, raises questions and greatly increases the story-value of the picture, at least to me.

 

Best regards

 

Christoph

 

Thanks sincerely Christoph. I like that exact same thing especially about your book "Via Francigena" - the certainty that we are being invited to share a journey that you're travelling, and the snippets that you offer us are just well observed fragments of a wider reality. I think it comes through strongly there. So, come to think of it, that "extracurricular real estate" as Ernest puts it can be a portal to a world outside the frame in a single picture, or through a lengthier narrative involving multiple pictures, which is an interesting discovery in itself.

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Hallo,

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[stray cat]

Excellent photo Phil! One can feel and smell the humidity of the scene.

 

And a great idea to scan small jpgs as a digital contact sheet. May I ask you more about the Photoshop app that you use?

 

Best regards

Jakob

 

Edit: I am sorry I meant the 2015 picture of Phil, but I can’t edit my post

 

Sorry Jakob - I forgot to say - the application I used for proof sheets via Photoshop is Contact Sheet II - https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/contact-sheet-pdf-presentation-cs6.html

[Steve Ricoh]

So much to learn about photography in this marvellous thread, mainly about film, but relevant to the general interest of improvement.