I took this photograph in July, 1999 at some sand dunes near the very end of Cape Cod. It was our first trip to the Cape, and we found some beautiful areas with the help of our friends and hosts, Peter and Tina Green. It was sundown, and I wanted to catch the purple flowers in the foreground, as well as similar colors in the clouds. Unfortunately, the sky was 3 stops or so brighter than the foreground, but I didn't want to wait and lose the last rays of light on the dunes. So... I metered off the foreground and used my two-stop Singh Ray graduated neutral density filter, figuring that would probably be enough to hold most of the sky detail. After swatting a dozen or so greenhead flies buzzing in and around my focusing cloth, I was ready to go. The exposure was made on Fuji Velvia transparency Quickload for one second at f/22. I chose not to bracket given that 4"x5" runs about $6 per shot!
After developing and scanning on my Scanmaker 4 flatbed, I really liked
the image, so I decided to have it drum scanned by the extremely helpful folks at
NancyScans - http://www.nancyscans.com
. Because I only had a two-stop graduated neutral density filter, I used
PhotoShop to bring the sky down another stop or so. My final print was made on the
new 13"x19" Epson Premium Glossy Photo paper on my (now dated) Epson 1200
printer. The print quality was fantastic; considerably better than it looks on the
screen. So good, in fact, that I plan to get a new Epson 1270 for its archival inks
and slightly better print quality. I would not have guessed four years ago that
inkjet prints would be winning competitions over Cibachrome / Ilfochrome and conventional
negative color prints!
Photographic Details:
Camera: Tachihara Cherry Wood 4"x5".
Slight front tilt used to increase depth of field.
Lens: Nikon 135mm f/5.6 at f/22 for one second.
Filter: Singh Ray 2-stop Graduated Neutral Density
Tripod: Bogen 3221 with 3261 ball head.
Film: Fuji Velvia 4"x5" Quickload transparency film in a Polaroid 545i
holder
Scan: Howtek Drum
Processing: Adobe PhotoShop 5.5 on a PC
Paper: 13"x19" Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper
Printer: Epson 1200 using ICM and "glossy film" setting
I took this photograph in April, 1999 in Saguaro National Monument near
Tucson, Arizona. I shot almost an entire roll of Fuji Velvia slide film as the sun
was rising. This shot had just the right light balance, and I thought the
composition and contrasts would make a nice black and white print. I scanned the
slide on my Nikon LS-2000 slide scanner, and then desaturated it to grayscale using
PhotoShop 5.5 without modifying color channel balances.
I rarely shoot black and white film any more. Color transparency film gives me the
best of both worlds -- I can make black and white prints from any color slide.
Sometimes it's tough to think in black and white while shooting color, but eventually you
get used to looking for both types of compositions. It seems strange shooting velvia
in harsh midday light, but if you find a good B&W composition, go for it! In
addition, traditional B&W filters like red, yellow, and green can be applied in
PhotoShop after the fact.
Interestingly, the print was made with my Epson 1200 on Canon High Gloss Photo Film
(HG-201) using only black ink. Generally, "black ink only" prints are too
grainy due to excessive dithering. However, this print had just the
right look and feel. My attempts at printing this shot in B&W using the color
cartridges all ended up in the trash can due to unacceptable color castes.
Photographic Details:
Camera: Nikon F100 35mm SLR
Lens: Tokina 20-35 f/2.8 ATX Pro at 24mm and f/11
Filter: none
Tripod: Bogen 3221 with 3261 ball head.
Film: Fuji Velvia 35mm slide film
Scan: Nikon LS-2000
Processing: Adobe PhotoShop 5.5 on a PC
Paper: 8"x10" Canon High Gloss Photo Film (HG-201)
Printer: Epson 1200 using black ink, ICM, and "glossy film" setting
Photo of the Day
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Fuji S1 / Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 + 2xTC
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Westport, CT.
Fuji S1 / Nikon 80-200 f/2.8
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Digitalphotocontest.com,
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Digitalphotocontest.com,
7/13/01
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(Used Smudge Tool in Photoshop for Watercolor Effect)