[Lance Lewin Participant Posts: 44]

Black & White

on: July 14, 2019 at 9:46 am

The past two years I have ventured back to shooting film: really miss the “edge” film offers as opposed to the antiseptic presentation in digital based photography.

Of course, there are techniques (in camera or from behind the viewfinder) to make digital photographs more grain-like, but honestly, revisiting film has resulted

in producing a few wide smiles  across my face.  In addition, instead of getting down and dirty, as it were, in working in a chemical (wet) dark room, I use a service

(that specializes in BW film developing) and then ask them to scan the negatives. Recently using the Frontier high resolution (or large) method is bringing terrific

results.  Boutique Film Labs really understands a lot about special films, including both UltraMax-400 and Eastman Double-X/5222, the only two BW

stocks I currently use. From this point, I use NIK software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 to add a custom copper-silver dip (or coloring) to selected images.  The only post production

I use are techniques that mimic some of the practices used in the wet darkroom. And I apply the same workflow for my digital captured photographs as well.

Tech: Salvation was captured at Taos Pueblo in 2018 – Minolta XD-11 film camera F/1.8 Rokkor-X 50mm glass, hand-held and cropped through the viewfinder.

Post-production included some dodging of the shadows.  Thank you, everyone.

Lance A. Lewin

[Rand Scott Adams]

Re: A step Backwards: 35mm UltraMax-400 film

Reply #1 on: July 26, 2019 at 9:09 am

Nice photo.  It has a very organic look.  Thanks for sharing.

I’ve often been tempted to purchase a nice clean Leica M4 (my first “real” camera back in the day and still have serious lust for them) and shoot with it in a similar mode as you’ve done.  But, ultimately the practicality of digital won’t let me.  I do reach into my images from the 60’s and onward and print them digitally.  The attached photo is from my Leica days, shot in the early 70’s of a crazy-man friend of mine.

Rand

 

Rand Scott Adams Rand47

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Rand Scott Adams.

[Lance Lewin Participant Posts: 44]

Re: A step Backwards: 35mm UltraMax-400 film

Reply #2 on: July 26, 2019 at 7:49 pm

Really appreciate your comment: actually, I shoot 75% digital and 25% with my film system, but frankly, I am finding new

series of work I want to shoot with film: seems my taste has been rekindled, as it were. Also, so I am clear, I have found two film labs that

process and scan my work – they specialize in these types of film stocks. I have absolutely no time to reengage building a darkroom or working in a

community darkroom studio – but that may change in a year or two.

I read into your 70’s BW photo as experimenting in those early years with depth of field, subject and lighting.  I like it a lot. The more I look,

the more I try to form a narrative.

visualizingart.com

Lance A. Lewin

[Author]

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