Fun with Medium Format FILM Images!

[darr]

Redland Farm Life School

Pentax 67II + 55-100/4.5 + EPL 400
Epson V700
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From when we lived in Redland, FL

This school has an interesting place in history, as it "opened in 1916, it consolidated seven one-room schoolhouses in the area and was at the time the second largest rural consolidated school in the country." wikipedia

The structure was in bad shape after Hurricane Andrew hit, and in 2006 when I photographed it. It was funded for restoration, but the sad thing about that area of Florida is the hurricanes! Mother Nature takes it all away down there. I have lived in and out of the area since the early 80s and have seen the landscape change every few years. The last hits we took from H. Wilma than a few weeks later, H. Katrina, made me decide once and for all to never live there again.

 

[Shashin]

Shinjuku, Tokyo. Horseman SW612 with 55mm Rodenstock Grandagon

 

[tsjanik]

Taken about 15 years ago with a Pentax 645 and Provia. I suspect this beach looks as beautiful today as it has for thousands of years, except for a brief span 76 years ago. Omaha Beach, France. Eternally grateful.

 

[darr]

Looking Up

Cambo Wide 650 + Rollex 6x12 + HP5 + Pyrocat HD
Fuji X-Pro3 + Zeiss Touit 50M/2.8

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During the time I have been holed-up in my nest, I have been running tests on my 6x12 pano setup. I acquired a well used Cambo Wide months back for pano shooting when traveling. The tests I have been running involve film & digital backs, viewfinders, and hyperfocal distance. I think I know my kit well enough now, so things are "looking up" for me in this regard. A camping trip is scheduled for the very near future and I am looking forward to the travel and hope the weather is cooperative.

My goal was to fit the kit in a Domke J-2 bag, and this is what it will carry: Cambo 650 (Schneider 65/5.6 Super Angulon), Linhof Techno Rollex 612 magazine, Linhof Super Rollex 6x9 magazine, Linhof Multifocus Optical Viewfinder, Fotoman Dmax Ground Glass 6x12 viewfinder, and my waist pack. Film, light meter, cables and scratch pad fits in the front pockets.

My tests taught me a few things I did not know before I started with the gear. First, a lot of the gear I already owned and used with my Linhof 4x5 over the years. The Cambo Wide came with an optical viewfinder, but I prefer using my Linhof, so the Cambo VF will be sold. The film magazines work well on the Cambo, but the Cambo's graflock is easier to move than what I am use to and so extra care when using the magazines. I learned over the years that hyperfocal distance is not always as predictable as what the lens markings say. I run tests starting at 15 feet to infinity, and the particular lens I have performs best at f/22. Some photographers may have a lens that does best at f/32, but mine does a beautiful job at f/22.

I hope things are beginning to get better for you and yours.

Kind regards,
Darr

 

[ggibson]

Bay Bridge on Film by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

I dance back and forth between medium format and instant with my film photography these days. Both are satisfying.

Rose - Santa Clara 2020
Polaroid SLR670a, latest Polaroid 600 Color film
Scanned with Hasselblad 907x + Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8​

The latest Polaroid 600 color can create some terrific colors in print now.

enjoy,
G

 

[ggibson]

Adventure Days by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

That's a great shot.

G

 

[darr]

Adventure Days by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

Lovely portrait!

 

[darr]

Sunset on State Street

Mamiya 7II + 65/4 + Ektachrome 400
Santa Barbara, CA


​

 

[dave.gt]

Darr,

You must get up quite early like I do because it is a joy to see your images upon arising to face yet another day.

This image on State Street greets me with wondrous color and palm trees, which I need. Images in my mind over the years from vacations in Florida are re-energized with this morning's surprise Ektachrome.

Hmmm... my film backs are loaded with expired Ektachrome and Velvia. Sadly though, there are no palm trees. Or Spanish Moss here, or in my near future. Certainly no possibility of going to California... This will fill the void nicely and that is enough.:thumbup:

Now about that Mamiya...

 

[darr]

Darr,

You must get up quite early like I do because it is a joy to see your images upon arising to face yet another day.

This image on State Street greets me with wondrous color and palm trees, which I need. Images in my mind over the years from vacations in Florida are re-energized with this morning's surprise Ektachrome.

Hmmm... my film backs are loaded with expired Ektachrome and Velvia. Sadly though, there are no palm trees. Or Spanish Moss here, or in my near future. Certainly no possibility of going to California... This will fill the void nicely and that is enough.:thumbup:

Now about that Mamiya...

Good Morning Dave!

Yes, I am the early riser for sure.
Got use to it when I was a mom + college student + business owner.
The only time of the day I could do my homework was at 4am!
Love hearing the birdies singing at daybreak; absolutely my favorite time of the day.

I just ordered the new Ektachrome 100 and look forward to shooting it.
Glad you like the photo and hope it inspires you to shoot wherever you are.

I sold off the Mamiya 7II a few years ago and kind of regret it, but the Mamiya 6 came along and made me feel better.
Take care my friend.

Kind regards,
Darr

 

[B L]

Lovely portrait!

Yes lovely portrait. My take: Graham is handsome but his son is cute as well as handsome so more points to his son. I am afraid.

 

[ggibson]

Lucky to have him as my (mostly) willing model


Waching over the city by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

 

[B L]

Lucky to have him as my (mostly) willing model


Waching over the city by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

Lovely boy, Graham, did you use a scanner,got it scanned or a different method? Thanks. There is a thread about film scanning where you can duplicate your reply if you wish. Thanks.
PS: Many years ago I did the same with my son. Very easy model !

 

[ggibson]

Thanks! I've been doing scanning with my A7rII. I'm still experimenting as I go. This is basically what it look like:


More film scanning by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

I since picked up the Hasselblad 120/4 for my kit, so I use that now for scanning with a 32mm extension tube. For now, I'm only using one shot to capture the 6x6 frame, so the reproduction ratio is about 1:2.3 (56mm reproduced at 24mm high). Output is about 27MP on my A7rII (42MP).

I could improve a bit with more effort. This lens combination could go to about 1:2, so I could stitch two shots per frame to capture around 38MP.

I've also used the Smooth Reflection app to average 4 shots and see if the output is better. It does improve noise levels, but the difference is very minor. Standard RAWs from the A7rII already capture excellent dynamic range, so I just use a single frame now. I've tried my DP3 Merrill for capturing shots, but those files get quite noisy with only minor adjustments.

I used to use an iPad as a backlight source, but I picked up a tracing table to simplify things. I never did an A/B test against color though, and I wonder whether a high CRI light would help reproduce colors more accurately. I actually also had this roll scanned by the developer at their highest DPI, so it was interesting to compare the results. Resolution was similar, but the color results were a bit different. I felt like mine were closer to the actual scans once I received them in the mail.

 

[ggibson]

More SF Bay Area bridges

Golden Gate Red by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

 

[B L]

This is called 6X6 Full Frame PLUS.
I have a book by very famous British photographer David Bailey often showing Full Frame Plus. And those famous Hasselblad "V" knocks.

 

[Godfrey]

More SF Bay Area bridges

Golden Gate Red by Graham Gibson, on Flickr

Lovely shot, but something is odd to me ... The South Tower looks slightly twisted, and has a curve to it, relative to the North Tower. But it doesn't seem the 'distortion' follows what I expect about being around the lens axis. Optical illusion?

G

 

[ggibson]

Lovely shot, but something is odd to me ... The South Tower looks slightly twisted, and has a curve to it, relative to the North Tower. But it doesn't seem the 'distortion' follows what I expect about being around the lens axis. Optical illusion?

G

I see what you're saying Godfrey, but I think it is an illusion from the curved support cable and camera angle resulting in converging lines. I brought it into photoshop and measured the vertical suspension cables--they are all straight. I like having the film borders in my scans, but perhaps keystone correction is more important in this image

Actually, I meant to amend my last post about scanning after I compared this image to the lab scan. The lab version captured more detail in this particular shot; it had a nice sharpness to it that is not unlike the way my DP3 Merrill files look at 100% (very sharp pixel-level detail), even though the output size was basically the same (23MP but cropped without the frames). The lab uses a Noritsu scanner. My A7rII file here is not as good for pixel peeping, but downsized for web resolutions the two are probably similar. I'll post a "finished" image with the lab scan for comparison.