The tally for the weekend? I shot around 135 frames of which around 30 were "keepers." Another 35 were OK but had imperfections, and the remainder were redundant or had other issues. (I recently read an article discussing how "keepers" is an amateur concept - I'm not sure what pros call them... money shots? uber images?)

link: Flowershow 2007 gallery *notes on mix of film at bottom

It was interesting to shoot the show. After shooting primarily black and white this winter and with the last big project being a wedding, this was about as far from highspeed B&W as you can get. This was long exposure, still life, high resolution, fine grain color. A lot of the black and white work helped with this shoot - the primary issues were exposure control and composition.

I asked Bill for insight into exposure compensation with macro photography and he gave me a Canon pamphlet to read. It was a brochure of Canon materials from the early 80's, but unlike modern brochures it contained a whole section of the formulas and mathematical basis for the correct exposure of macro subjects. I read it over, but decided that I didn't really have enough time to understand what I would need to do to use the information quickly in the field. I decided to go the easy route and replace the waist level finder with the meter head on the Hasselblad.

I was shooting with exposures ranging from 1/8 to 1 second (some longer), but primarily I was shooting around f8 @ 1 second. Focusing was problematic, but it wasn't just the darkness; there was slight movement being created by movement of the air and probably some degree of camera shake as I wasn't using a cable release. The best technique seemed to be pinching the shutter button applying equal pressure to both sides of the camera at once.

When I got the film back I was reminded just how good Velvia looks. I was really excited about the color that I would be getting from the Fortia, so much so that I didn't have high expectations for the Velvia. But, it came through. Even the Provia 400 looks pretty good. I used Provia to capture one set of frames that was requested by a designer because the landscape was in a dark corner of the building. It isn't as saturated, but because the original scene was so colorful, it really didn't need to be.

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Fuji Fortia

Fuji Fortia SP is a slide film that is available in Japan only. It is a limited run film, but it is fairly readily available at major camera stores. It is produced in 35mm (135 format) and 6x6cm (120 format). Marketed as a 50 ASA film, on the box it is recommended that the film be rated at ASA 64 for increased color saturation. Fuji markets Fortia as a film primarily for flowers photography, but it can be used for a lot of different scenarios. I think it is considered an "effect film," but this is caused by some interesting qualities of the color curves. What gives Fortia its distinct look is the width of its color rendition.

Overlaying the color curves of Fuji Velvia and Fortia SP, the peaks are the same, but the tonal range of each of the color layer is different. Fortia has the same peak color saturation, but the colors that it captures have a much narrower tonal width. That is what gives Fortia its distinct look - the colors that it captures are very distinct in tonality and there is not much overlap in the three colors. The colors render as being very distinct and separate.

When the film is overexposed it seems to shift yellow. The degree of yellow corresponds with the degree of over exposure. The Velvia I was shooting seemed to do the same thing, so this may be an affect of the light and not the film, but it seems to be related to the film.

The RMS of the film is 11, so it isn't as fine as Velvia, but it certainly didn't seem grainy. I shot both 120 and 35mm formats, with Zeiss and Nikon lenses. Both scanned very well and without any noticeable grain. Rated at 64 it exposed very well, and I'm not sure under what circumstances you would want to rate it ASA 50 (I think it may say on the box, but I don't remember off hand).

From what I've seen the shots of blue sky, the sky color tends toward purple. Also, when shooting red tulips the tulips would lose definition due to the extreme red saturation and limited tonal width. At the same time, it is really a great look and I think it will be a great film to have handy for select shots. There are probably some landscape scenes where this film would excel. I am very curious to see how this film would be in sunrise and sunset landscapes.

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*note: the film used was a mix of Fortia SP, Velvia 100F, and Provia 400. The majority is Fortia SP - go to the main gallery link in the navigation bar and click on the flowershow album to see the files. Files with "ve" in the name are Velvia, "fo" are fortia, and "pr" are Provia.
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exciting times; I have an abundance of Fortia film and more is on the way. I think I'll have to shoot some sunsets with it. Next up? I'm not sure, but it may be aerial photography - we'll see.

Click a photo to enlarge it. This is a selection of photos from Friday afternoon - many more will be posted in the next couple of days.
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Flower Show 2007 - learning to shoot big and small.

Today is the last day of the Flower Show at the RI Convention Center. I was at the show to take photos and to help out at the Rotary booth. Amie and my mother who is visiting from Japan accompanied me as we poked around here and there.

I shot Friday afternoon, evening, and again yesterday afternoon. The landscape designers did a fantastic job, it boggles the mind to think of all the preparation and time that had to go into the creation of each vista. The concept for the show is simple; landscape designers compete with small patches of land sculpted to their creative content while vendors sell their garden related wares in half of the convention space.

The viewing public is treated to myriad ideas for shaping their gardens and lawns while also being exposed to some very modern art. This year's theme is artistic visions, and local artists' work was included in the landscapes. For myself, as I am not an avid gardener nor close-up photographer, so I faced some challenges.

The primary challenge I anticipated was my ability to focus close to get big flower shots. In addition, when you start getting real close and using special devices like extension tubes or flash, there is a lot of math that becomes involved with computing exposure. Some people use macro-lenses and through the lens meters; probably the majority of people. I walked in using two more old-fashioned (I prefer 'traditional') methods that are tried and true. I used a handheld spot meter and some fine grain film.

I am told that flower shows are traditionally big photography events, and so I kept an eye out - curious to see how people would approach the show. Friday didn't have many photographers, mostly just people who came for the view and some snap-shooters with small digital cameras. But, Saturday people brought out the big guns and I saw many digital cameras with big lenses and lens hoods. I may have seen one film photographer (amazing), but mostly I just watched digital photogs click away.

There is a term for looking at your LCD screen a lot to check your digital shots; it's called "chimping" because of the faces you make while looking at your screen. I saw a lot of chimping - more than usual - which I think means that the lighting was challenging. (*this isn't a hit on the digital photographers - I do it when I shoot digital)

I didn't see any tripods, and for all I know they may have been banned. Because the show is held indoors, the whole scene is rather dark. On top of this, many of the landscapes portayed night scenes. This is great for drama - bad for handheld photos. I did see some very nice shots from the videographer of the show on a small sony digital camera, so I think most digital photographers probably did get some neat shots.

My setup for the day was decidedly not digital. On Friday I shot almost exclusively with the Hasselblad and 50 mm lens on a mix of Fuji Velvia and Fortia film. I was asked by the management of the show to come and take pictures, so I was trying to capture both the beautiful flowers and a bit of the atmosphere of the occasion. Knowing that these photos were to be used as stock for trades purposes, I avoided people in the shots as best I could.

I picked up some Hoya close-up filters to put on the lens if the situation required, but I found that by and large I shot without any attachment with the lens stopped down for increased depth of field. I had the advantage of having a tripod to use, but of course this can be a road hazard too, so I had to be very careful. I shot between f5.6-f11 for 1/8-1 second exposures. I rated the Fortia at ASA64 (it is officially a ASA50 film). The Velvia I shot at ASA 100.

I am going to do a more detailed review of the Fortia very soon, but here you can see some of the results. I was pleased with the film, and the Velvia didn't let me down either. If I were to walk in with either one or the other (despite the fact that it is a flower show and Fortia is designed for flower photography) I think I would choose the Velvia. But, if I were only intending to shoot flowers, I would probably carry the Fortia. The Fortia isn't more saturated as is the perception - I will explain what it is next time.

One device that I used for the first time that turned out to be very helpful was a focusing rail. The focusing rail allows for much more precise control of focus than the lens ring. It works by actually moving the camera backwards and forwards on a geared rail. The dim light made it fairly difficult to focus and between this and camera shake on the 1 second exposures my concern was with soft focus. But, in the end, depth of field was the real challenge. I kept wanting to get a shot of a flower close up and the whole vista in the background while in tack-sharp focus. This just wasn't an option sometimes as I had to move backwards to get the minimum focus length for the flower, and the shutter speed was very long for the right f-stop.

I shot a handful of rolls Friday afternoon which I ran out and got developed to see how I was doing. These photos are from that first batch. I had one complete failure of a roll - for some reason one of the film backs for the Hasselblad is allowing me to shoot with the dark-slide in. Thankfully I knew what I missed so i just went back and got these shots again and a whole lot more. Then yesterday I returned with the decidedly less impressive looking Nikon-F with 24mm lens and got a bunch more shots. Friday I looked like camera-overkill, Saturday I looked meek next to the enormous cameras people were carrying. We'll see tomorrow how the second and third round went. I think the Nikon shots could be really neat - less pressure to perform and no one paid me any mind.
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I suppose this is more narrative and not particularly technical, so next time I will write about what really worked and didn't work when I get all my results back from the lab.

During the show I got asked a half dozen times if I worked for the "Journal" which is flattering (the Providence Journal - the big RI daily), and I suppose carrying around the Hasselblad on a close-up focus rail looks impressive. If you like the photos or are one of people that asked me for photos please drop me a line - click contact under the banner at the top of the page.

Shooting Wide - moving from 50mm to 24mm

I've been on the lookout for a wide-angle, manual focus, Nikkor lens; I've been waiting for the right deal on the right lens. It is a little bit of voodoo; the right lens to me would be an extremely high quality lens, that shoots better than it looks, and is a bargain at the price that it is bought. To keep it fun, it should be a bit of a learning experience to find and use the lens.

Up until now I've shot primarily with an F2 50mm lens. This lens is the "normal" focal length lens for the 35mm format, and as an amateur photographer it has made me move around. Moving, and getting closer to your subject, is something other photographers have instructed me to do and I must say there is an intimacy that exists when you move closer. For the past year I have had 2 main lenses - the 50 mm which I use 95% of the time, and a 135mm.

I have loved using the 50mm and I haven't felt I missing something by not using a zoom or having something wider to shoot with. At first I felt that I needed a whole outfit of lenses, but the reality is that when I started to take photos - the 50mm did just fine. Most of the shots I wanted to take could be done with the 50; to shoot wider I just moved backwards. Most of the time this worked, but when it didn't work I had to rethink my composition. I think the goal and the reason why most photo students are required to use a 50mm almost exclusively is precisely because it makes you forget the gadgetry and worry more about the subject.

So, the 50mm f2 which is fast and super-sharp was a great lens for all occasions. But, I do like the look of wide-angle lenses, and so I've kept an ear to the ground for a 28mm Nikkor. I ran across some non-Nikkor lenses and even a 28mm f3.5, but nothing that was the right combination of quality, speed, and price, until now.

I just got a Nikon 24mm f2.8. It is a lens that stands out in the Nikon lens line because it was the first lens to incorporate CRC (close range correction) - a lens design that incorporates a floating lens element and is still in production (as an AF lens) today. It is very sharp, reasonably fast, and the price was very good.

What makes it even a little more interesting is that it has been factory cleaned and refurbished in Japan. When I looked at the lens for the first time I was wow'ed. The glass simmers - it looks brand new. Considering it is from around 1970, it has been well taken care of. I really appreciate that used gear in Japan is sometimes sent back to the manufacturer to go over. It doesn't make it take better pictures necessarily, but it sure looks pretty and moves very smoothly.

With this new lens in hand on my now somewhat beat up Nikon F, I went out after work one day with Mark. The sun was setting and by the time we got out of the car the light was just after-glow. I hadn't anticipated shooting in such low light when we went out so I had brought mostly color 100 ASA Fujichrome. But, luckily Amie's brother happened to have given me a roll of Tri-X that I had stuck in a pocket in this bag. I still haven't replenished my supply since the wedding, so it was pure luck that I had this roll on me.

At first I lemented lacking that extra stop of speed (f2.8 compared to f2), but after a moment I realized that with this lens being so wide, 1/30th is no big deal. The rule of thumb is that you should shoot, hand-held, no slower than the reciprical of your focal length. So, with a 50mm lens you would want to shoot at 1/50th or faster. With this 24mm lens I could shoot at a 30th - no problem.

But, I've been pretty good down to 1/30th with a 50mm lens, so figured I could go to 1/15th and see what happens. I took a couple of shots and called it a day. I had no idea if the film was going to come out, but my light meter told me I had a fighting chance. I didn't push the film because I wanted to see what I could get with this lens for sharpness.

I've been using T-Max liquid developer for all my recent B&W film and I just haven't been too excited about the results. I picked up some Xtol powder, but it is a pain in the ass ratio of 5 liters (which is a gallon and a quart) which won't fit in any container I have handy. So, I'll save the Xtol for another day and I went back to my tried and true Microdol-X at 1:3 dillution. I had to mix up a fresh batch because I haven't used it in months. I measured out grams of the powder and mixed water and developed the film. I wasn't sure how it would be, but I've got to say it delivers every time.

So, it appears that holding steady to 1/15th is do-able (I need to drink less caffeine and I can probably get rid of the softness). I wasn't bracing myself as I normally would, just to see how I would do standing straight. I'm not quite there without bracing. The lens performed very well, though the compositions aren't all what I would want them to be. If I go back I think I will go wild shooting different angles to capture the beauty and drama of the scene. But, this was a field test and as far as it goes - the results were positive.

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next time: fuji fortia

If you follow this blog, you will notice I allowed the front page to go un-updated this week. Also, as a general trend I have not been updating as much (a trend that will not continue much longer - I'm scheduling myself out for this blog). Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your outlook, this isn't because there hasn't been a lot going on. I have been layed out in bed with some virus, and although I would claim that this is the root problem, in fact it has only had me down for a couple of days.

A number of different things played into the lack of fast updates (between once every 2 and 4 days). I have been very lucky in that my article on first time wedding photography brought in hundreds of new visitors to the site. I appreciate all your input and time. So, given how long the article is, I figured I had best leave it on the front page for a bit.

Now that it is dying off a bit, I'm a bit back-loaded. I have shot film, but I haven't developed or scanned it. So, tomorrow that is part of the goal.

on going notes:

- Contacted Nikon Historical Society Japan - no word back yet
- Contacted Bill Atkinson about color management - no word back yet (not expecting it really, but it would be nice)
- After noticing the B&W reversal kit at Hunts a few weeks ago I remembered that I have a vague interest in making B&W slides. The basic idea is that you shoot TMAX 100 and then convert this image to a positive through the use of the kit. Interesting stuff - but maybe not so practical.
- I may be delving into E6 color slide development. There are 3 major sources of chemicals - Kodak, Tenetal, and Arista. Tenetal and Arista used a modified, simplified, process - but it may not produce "pro" results. Kodak is still kodak. I'm looking into everything from Jobo CPP and CPE-2 processors to the old tried and true water bath with hand agitation methods. Lots of theory about Fuji requiring more development time than Kodak, but who knows. - I'm only going to do it if the results are going to be good and the price will be worth the hassle. It will have to provide a significant per-roll cost savings which may be hard to achieve. *already I have found that the machines, while interesting, are not cost effective for what I'm looking for.
- I put in a vague request with my uncle Bill before he went to Japan to keep an eye out for a good deal on a lens - something good - perhaps a Nikkor 28mm f2.8 or a really cheap Voightlander 15mm - Bill is back from Japan and he brought me back a lens - a 24mm f2.8 factory-refurbished Nikkor Manual focus lens. It looks stunning. First roll shot with it will be developed/scanned and hopefully posted tomorrow. It is said to be one of the best/sharpest wide prime lenses they have made.
- Bill also brought back a very unexpected "omiage" - translation: souvenir - some Fuji Fortia SP slide film. This is a very special short run slide film only available in Japan, and primarily designed for flower photography. I will post about this soon after I have had a chance to use it.

more to come very soon. - with pictures.