Shooting on film

[Ian Fleming]

I have been doing a bit of shooting on a Graflex Camera built in 1926, see the pic shot on Ilford hp4
and then neg was photographed on Olympus EM1, your thoughts.

 

[Designer]

Narrow tonal range.

Would the result have been better if you had scanned the negative or a print, rather than photographing the negative?

 

[480sparky]

If you're going to 'digitize' the negs with a DSLR, why not just shoot with the DSLR in the first place? It will have far less resolution than the original negative has, so you end up tossing out tons of data by doing so.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Great camera (the Graflex that is).

I do lumen prints which are on paper (no negs) and tried taking photos to make copies but it didn't work too well. I find scanning gets much better results.

I've scanned some of my darkroom prints and the only thing I've had to watch is that the scanner tends to give B&W a bluish cast. In Photoshop I have to notice if it shows RGB, that it added color, and then remove color or set it grayscale to get back to the original tone.

Nice photo, I imagine the copy may not show the quality of the original.

 

[terri]

If you're going to 'digitize' the negs with a DSLR, why not just shoot with the DSLR in the first place? It will have far less resolution than the original negative has, so you end up tossing out tons of data by doing so.

um...cause that's not near the fun of shooting with a great old camera from 1926?

But Sparky makes a good point: we can't really tell what the Graflex gave you, since you turned to the Olympus to get it online. I agree with Sharon: a dedicated film scanner would do this image proud. I bet there is lots of texture from the wooden boxes that is missing. A little more contrast could punch it up, too.

Welcome to the forum: I hope to see more from you and that Graflex!

 

[AlanKlein]

I like the tones. It's giving an old-time look, something I suppose you were shooting for. I would crop out the sky. It doesn't add anything to the picture. Also, the background is a little busy. Either shoot with a smaller aperture to blur it more, and/or try another perspective. Nice shot. I like film too.

 

[AlanKlein]

Oh, I forgot to mention the near subject seems a little cramped. It needs some breathing room so the full can on the right, or at least more of it, is shown. Also, more room on the left.

 

[Mike_E]

Oh, I forgot to mention the near subject seems a little cramped. It needs some breathing room so the full can on the right, or at least more of it, is shown. Also, more room on the left.

Try a micro lens and stitch the results together.

Check the large format photography forum for more info (pages and pages).

Limber up and Graflex on!!!