Back In The Day...

Before our 35mm SLR film cameras evolved into the digital wonders they are today, a photographer who wanted a different "look" to his/her images was, for the most part, left the option of using different films. Negatives. Transparencies. B&W. Color. Kodachrome. Ektachrome. Velvia. Provia. Kodacolor. Fujicolor. Agfa. Ilford...

Depending on the results you desired--more contrast, less contrast, warmer tones, cooler tones--you needed to decide before hand which film or films you'd bring along. For instance, Velvia with its deep, rich blacks and vivid colors and strong contrast looks amazing on an overcast day in Autumn when the trees are peaking. But might not work quite as well for a nice soft portrait of the family. Several rolls of film designed for portraits and another designed for landscapes at the very least would be in the bag.

Today, all those emulsions are in the camera! Well, more accurately, they're in the computer. But the RAW information gathered on the CCD of your camera and written onto the CF or SD card therein provides the information needed for the computer program to make the best image, to realize the final photograph you envisioned.

When I saw this fellow walking along the rocks, in my mind's eye I saw a silhouette with dramatic clouds as backdrop. But as you can see in the first photo the tone is rather soft, and the silhouette weak.

It took a little fiddling in Nikon Capture NX to get the image I really wanted. (below)

It went from being a somewhat low-contrast Kodacolor print to a strong contrast Velvia slide. At least for me it did. What do you think?

Are You Experiencing Your Camera?

Thought I'd present a little comparison between relying on your camera's default, auto everything modes and taking some control yourself over the final image.

Today's cameras, no doubt, are sophisticated and advanced enough to almost always provide you with a good image. No matter what the lighting situation. Whether it be a bright sunny day at the beach or a candle lit dining room at home. The metering systems and the default settings in most dSLRs today are up to the task.

But there is so much more these cameras can do when you dig down deep inside the menus and start personalizing some of those settings!

Now...we've already blown the modeling budget for the year, so for today's comparison we had to rely on some flunky on the Kircher's Conceit staff.

First up...Nikon D200 at default settings. Auto white balance. Pop-up flash. Flunky.

This is a fine picture. Well exposed. The camera did a good job of metering, handling three different light sources (daylight, incandescent light, and flash.) But for my taste, I'd prefer a little less flash, and a little more saturation and contrast.

So...same camera and lighting situation but this time I dialed down the flash 3/4 of a stop, added a 1/2 CTO gel to it, pumped up the saturation--just a bit, don't want to look cartoonish--and added some contrast. And yes, all this can be done in the camera! (Who needs Photoshop?)

Anyway, here's the second shot.

I like the skin tone in this one more. I also like that it's hard to tell that a flash was even used. Just popped a little bit in there for the shadows.

Of course, people's tastes are different. You might be perfectly happy with what you are working with right now. You might like something altogether different. But know your camera's limits, its capabilities.

Much fun to be had! Cheers.

Velvia 100 and a light table.

Shot some film the other day. Yes...film! Slides. Chromes, if you will.

I have to say, I sometimes really do miss film. There's nothing like that tactile reality. A sensation that's painfully absent from digital. Throwing a roll of 36 slides onto a light table and watching them come to life. Slowly scanning each one with that 8X loup. The colors! The sharpness! (if you have a steady hand and a good lens!)...there's nothing like it.

But time (and technology) moves on. Digital has done wonders for my photography. No denying it. And if it weren't for my digital camera (Nikon D200, thank you very much!) it'd be next to impossible to maintain a web presence without going completely broke!

So, no real complaints...just a mild lament. There's no going back. I will, however, continue to on occasion pull out the old Nikon F3 or F100 and have myself a blast shooting away without the crutch of looking at the LCD on the back of the camera (I actually still do that with the film cameras, but nothing's there!). Oh and did I mention that killer sound of the mechanical whirr of the motordrive. Ah...what a joy!

Yep, I really do miss it.