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Fun with the Leica M Monochrom

D&A

Well-known member
On processing I found that a couple of the film looks in Silver EFX Pro were quite good. I shot Tmax film with and without filters and compared it to Tmax processed MM and found the Silver EFX was in the ballpark - really not bad. (Tmax is what I had in the drawer - I actually prefer Ilford Delta 100.)

So I experimented with Silver EFX Delta 100 settings and found that I could get something close to it in LR by using a curve with some toe and fairly exaggerated shoulder, and adding some grain (20% or so using the default settings). I increase the grain a bit as my ISO goes up. Ironically adding a little grain increases the appearance of accutance.

I use the exposure slider to find the right mid tones. I avoid the shadows and whites sliders because they really kill the film look.

Finally I use local adjustments to unblock shadows and save high values (which the aggressive shoulder on the curve tends to burn out). I've found that applying shadow adjustment in layers of +30 or so each works best.

Note that the process is very similar to making a print in a wet darkroom.

In the Red Rooster I used local adjustments on the parked cars and the white cone.

In processing in general I use 50/.7/50 as import sharpening; 12 as my typical clarity setting (depends on the lens - 0 in the case of the 28mm elmarit!) and a slight warming bias on split toning. I use a very small amount of post crop vignetting (6 or less) as "edge darkening" - another wet darkroom technique. A lot of posters on this forum abuse this setting. I use the LR default lens corrections when shooting at base ISO and good light - they cause problems with marginal exposures. I use the perspective controls aggressively and shoot assuming that I'll do so - this is often the most time consuming aspect of post. The other adjustments are quite quick.

Thats it on post for now. This is very much an evolutionary work in process - I learn something every day. The MM for me has been very much worth the investment of time.
Woody, thanks for the very informative explanation on processing your B&W files from the MM. It's greatly appreciated! Clearly each camera require it's own workflow and the MM is no exception but in many respects, the more I have an opportunity to work with provided RAW files from it, I realize on on a number of levels, I have to often go back to thinking as I did when shooting with B&W film (especially with regards to darkroom printing).

I also get the feeling (as you previously alluded to) that some lenses that were noted to be bordering on excessively high contrast with their use on the M8/M9, now seem to often have an advantage when used on the MM with regards to it's output. Nice work!

Dave (D&A)
 

D&A

Well-known member
Petster, lovely images! # 2 and #3 are my favorites but there are many elements to the others that I am also drawn to.

Dave (D&A)
 

Petster

Member
Thanks Dave. :)

Ashwin, really like the way you processed the images.

Here is another one from Istanbul, Topkapi Palace. My favourite living room. ;)



Pete
 

Double Negative

Not Available
This thread is... Insane. Well done, all!

Woody, the autumnal shots are amazing.

William Shatner. Ha! Pere Ubu... Blast from the past!
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
;) Thanks Dave, Mike.

Great stuff, Pete. Love the geometry and intricacy of the Istanbul room shot!

Woody, that bridge shot is mindbending and very well done, especially how you centered the shadows and highlights from the light play. Fantastic
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
Woody,

Where is this bridge? It looks very familiar to me but I can't place it.

thanks!
Central Park just north of the reservoir - it connects the jogging path to the tennis courts. Right about here:



MM + 18mm super elmar. Very aggressive use of perspective controls. The high sky makes this look like it was shot on an old orthochromatic film.
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
So I've been experimenting with HDR. I went back to a spot on Second Avenue and reshot a very high contrast scene that I had done earlier, this time with 3 exposures bracketed 2 stops, and processed with HDR pro in Photoshop. Very nice software - the best HDR that I've worked with yet. So here it is, taken with the MM and 18mm super elmar. No blown highlights and nicely transparent shadows:

 
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