M-A & Potra in Capri

[knopfler1976]

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Among the batch I sent in for development recently also included the 3 rolls I took in Capri during a long weekend break. I've shot the Mediterranean Sea a million times with digital bodies and got many photos I liked, but never had I been so deeply drawn into the photos. Portra really brought that magic of the serene Mediterranean alive. Will not go back to shoot color in digital anymore!

More on my personal website: https://jmyang.co/?portfolio=capri

 

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[28framelines]

What lens did you use? The rendering is beautiful 

[j.scooter]

Very nice set.  I'm a huge fan of the first shot.  Hope you print that large and display it prominently.

 

James

[LocalHero1953]

Which Portra?

[knopfler1976]

4 hours ago, 28framelines said:

What lens did you use? The rendering is beautiful 

Thanks! With film and M-A I only use Summilux 28mm f/1.4 ASPH. It's a wonderful lens. Highly recommended.

[knopfler1976]

2 hours ago, Al Brown said:

The images  seem mostly underexposed. Unless this was the look you were after.

Haha, I actually didn't think that much. I like how they came out, whether underexposed or not.

[Mute-on]

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2 hours ago, Al Brown said:

The images  seem mostly underexposed. Unless this was the look you were after.

Exposure looks spot on to me. I prefer to rate Portra 400 at box speed rather than overexpose. 

[knopfler1976]

2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Which Portra?

There was 1 roll of 160 that I underexposed and asked for a push+1 in dev. Then the others were 400.

[knopfler1976]

4 hours ago, j.scooter said:

Very nice set.  I'm a huge fan of the first shot.  Hope you print that large and display it prominently.

 

James

Yeh, that's also my favorite! There's almost nothing in the photo but it has so much. Definitely my all-time-favorite Mediterranean photo!

[knopfler1976]

1 minute ago, Mute-on said:

Exposure looks spot on to me. I prefer to rate Portra 400 at box speed rather than overexpose. 

Interesting. Actually for sunny shots I kept it mostly at 250 shutter speed with a 64x ND on my Summilux. That's slightly overexposure by Sunny 16 rule. On the other hand the twilight shots I did measure with iPhone app from time to time. The lab did auto-adjustment so many of the phots came out very grainy (due to underexposure), but I kind of like it. The best thing is I don't worry about "correct" or "wrong" exposure anymore. Feel so liberated.

[Mute-on]

Ah, I see. Well if the grain is an indication of underexposure, for which your lab compensated in dev, then @Al Brown is correct. 

[david strachan]

2 hours ago, knopfler1976 said:

The best thing is I don't worry about "correct" or "wrong" exposure anymore. Feel so liberated.

   

[250swb]

I wouldn't have thought that accepting pot luck for how things turns out is liberating but if you say you slightly over exposed the daylight shots (post #11) then your lab is at fault in how they processed the films, or scanned or printed them. Portra can take a lot of over exposure and come out perfect. You like the result and feel liberated but what happens if or when you try a lab that knows how to process and scan your negatives properly! There are some nice photos but I feel the lack of any blacks looks like you took them on a foggy day, the exact opposite of the intense light of the Mediterranean. 

[knopfler1976]

4 hours ago, 250swb said:

I wouldn't have thought that accepting pot luck for how things turns out is liberating but if you say you slightly over exposed the daylight shots (post #11) then your lab is at fault in how they processed the films, or scanned or printed them. Portra can take a lot of over exposure and come out perfect. You like the result and feel liberated but what happens if or when you try a lab that knows how to process and scan your negatives properly! There are some nice photos but I feel the lack of any blacks looks like you took them on a foggy day, the exact opposite of the intense light of the Mediterranean. 

hi, I agree with what you said but I'm past the days of wanting to do "correct" photos. Whether another lab would give me different results (this was actually my 2nd lab) it's also part of the fun. I'll leave the "correct" photos to people using M10-R or M11. My life is complete now with my long-beloved M9 and M-A.

[Rennrocky]

Minilab ? Wich scanner ?

[Huss]

$10,000 worth of gear to get the same results as a $30 fixed focus plastic camera and you feel liberated?

Here is a gallery of pics taken with the plastic Ilford Sprite fixed focus/exposure camera

 

https://www.lomography.com/cameras/3363261-ilford-sprite-35-2/photos

I’m sorry , and I mean this most respectfully but this is like having a Ferrari and pushing it down the street.  And feeling liberated because you’re not spending money on fuel.

[Matlock]

4 minutes ago, Huss said:

$10,000 worth of gear to get the same results as a $30 fixed focus plastic camera and you feel liberated?

Here is a gallery of pics taken with the plastic Ilford Sprite fixed focus/exposure camera

 

https://www.lomography.com/cameras/3363261-ilford-sprite-35-2/photos

I’m sorry , and I mean this most respectfully but this is like having a Ferrari and pushing it down the street.  And feeling liberated because you’re not spending money on fuel.

I have had several pictures published that were taken with my Father's old fixed focus Voigtlander that he brought back from the second world war. I have never had any published taken with my M-A (standard edition I might add). As to your last point, we will all be pushing out cars the way fuel prices are going (and again mine is not a Ferrari).

[Herr Barnack]

20 minutes ago, Huss said:

$10,000 worth of gear to get the same results as a $30 fixed focus plastic camera and you feel liberated?

Here is a gallery of pics taken with the plastic Ilford Sprite fixed focus/exposure camera

 

https://www.lomography.com/cameras/3363261-ilford-sprite-35-2/photos

I’m sorry , and I mean this most respectfully but this is like having a Ferrari and pushing it down the street.  And feeling liberated because you’re not spending money on fuel.

Wow.  That's harsh. Very harsh.

I would second @Al Brown's observations:  Grain and grey, washed out blacks. Typical for underexposed negs. But if the OP is happy there is no further debate. 

@250swb noted that "if you say you slightly over exposed the daylight shots (post #11) then your lab is at fault in how they processed the films, or scanned or printed them."  This is why I like to develop my own film, C-41 and E-6 included.  It's really not the nightmare that some imagine it to be.

JMHO but the grain works, even though it leaves the blacks and the dark greens (#7) looking anemic; rendering is very much a personal choice.  #1 is fantastic - and I'd much rather shoot with an M-A and a 28 Summilux than with a Holga. 

This is a really nice set of images, @knopfler1976 - congratulations!

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Herr Barnack

[Huss]

51 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

Wow.  That's harsh. Very harsh.

..

 

 

Agreed.  But I stand by it.

I did make a mistake though.  The Summilux is $7800, the M-A is $5500.  So the actual cost of  equipment used is $13,300.

While the Ilford Sprite is $37.  My apologies.

https://www.lomography.com/cameras/3363261-ilford-sprite-35-2/photos

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[BigBabyEarl]

1 hour ago, Huss said:

Agreed.  But I stand by it.

I did make a mistake though.  The Summilux is $7800, the M-A is $5500.  So the actual cost of  equipment used is $13,300.

While the Ilford Sprite is $37.  My apologies.

https://www.lomography.com/cameras/3363261-ilford-sprite-35-2/photos

No disrespect but I fully believe these were taken with a $37 camera. Also, you were trolling the other thread over money and gear. No one makes you buy equipment nor does anyone stop you from affording it. It’s a Leica forum. It’s an expensive brand. Attacking with money involved is childish and crashes threads over your own issues. I like his photos but more importantly he does and he shared them. Yours look basic and completely lacking anything resembling magic. Focus on that rather than budgets.