How do I get close to this

[Maxx640]

Hi,
There is a photographic style that I very much like and I would like to reproduce the same effects. The only difference is that the guys I admire work with digital... but I'm sure I can get get close to their style with my good old film camera. Can you give me a little advice on choice of film, filters (eventually) and how I ask this to be processed in the darkroom (don't do printing yet)?

1 :http://bmercier.club.fr/mechoid.jpg: how do you get such texture and sky?

2 :http://www.stawiarz.com/kwadraty/005.php
http://www.stawiarz.com/kwadraty/007.php how do you get so much contrast, detail, textures?


My B&W photos tend to be more ranges of grey and not so perky. I use APX 100.

 

[ann]

since your not printing your own negatives it is not a simple answer in just a few words.

this work on my monitor has a great deal of contrast which comes from a combination of film type, exposure and development.

can you do this with film, yes, you will need to start checking into the use of some filters, i.e. various red's that increases the contrast with the sky and clouds.

learning to make the negative that gives you the necessary infomration takes practice . Printing in the darkroom using burning and dodging techniques enhance the image , along with various types of developers and/paper combinations that create specific looks.

the film your using is a very nice film and has great potential. try using it at an EI of 50 rather than 100 and se what h appens to the prints the lab is making for you. Don't tell them what you have done. Just run an experiment and see how you like the information that is produced on the negative.

you are adding more exposure to the film when you do this, which will give you more detail. changing the development time is connected with this as well, but with commerical developing is a bit more expensive /and or requires testing.

when you start doing your own printing, and developing it is a good thing to determine just what EI and development times for your negatives match the enlarger your using.

 

[JC1220]

Stawiarz work looks like photoshop and judging from the price he is asking for a print, I would say it is digital work, if not it is a heck of deal and without seeing an actual print he seems to be good photographer if it is not photoshoped. Although he is a bit heavy handed with the corner burn.

Why don't you email him and ask about his methods of work.

Without full control of your final product, i.e. the paper and chemicals it is printed on and developed with you are rarely likely to get those type of results.

 

[nealjpage]

It looks like infrared photography. Perhaps Terri could back me up on that...

 

[ann]

this is not infrared stuff.

on my monitor it looks over printed.

and as JC1220 indicated , if you want to have prints lilke this, you need to do one of two things.

learn to print your own work, including developing the negatives.,

or, find a custom printer who will work with you to print in the manner you wish.

This type of work is not going to come from the general photoshop.

 

[ksmattfish]

High contrast skies: with film use a red filter to darken cyan; in PS use the channel mixer with a heavy emphasis on the red channel.

Contrast control: with film expose and develop for a specific tonal range (check out the Zone System), and use contrast filters when printing; in PS use curves.

Emphasize detail: with either use unsharp masking. USM will also effect local contrast. Takes all day in the darkroom, takes about 10 sec in PS.

 

[ann]

it may only take 10 secs in PS, but it does not take all day in the darkroom, unless one doesn't know how to print.

 

[Maxx640]

Hey,

Thanks for the advice. I am dying to get to print myself. I already develop my film, and am very soon going to get myself a enlarger and everything that goes with it. At the same time I'll put my name down it the local lab club so I can get help to learn it all.

try using it at an EI of 50 rather than 100 and se what h appens to the prints the lab is making for you. Don't tell them what you have done. Just run an experiment and see how you like the information that is produced on the negative.

Won't my negative be burnt? It's like over exposing it, no?

Bit by bit I'll get to what I want, but sticking to film. Stawiars is 100% digital, so are the artists he links to that are same style as him. Digital gives me spots sorry, I'm just like that: old-school because it takes me like 15 min to open my picture and desaturate it.

 

[mandobear]

aren't those high dynamic range photographs?

 

[ann]

you are adding more exposure, but that is only 1 stop and will not "burnt" your negatives.

i think it will really be helpful for you to join a class or find a mentor that knows what they are doing to help you get your feet off the ground.

it is much more productive to be able to sit down with prints in hand and talk about what your doing and what you need to do, or have someone in the darkroom with you, to assist with all the questions your going to have.

I understand that there are many people here who are more than willing to assist as much as possisble, but there are some limitations with veiwing images on a wide variety of monitiors, with explaining things via a few sentences here and there and just in general teaching someone how to print via the internet.

Just remember the harder you work, the "luckier you get" . have fun and take lots of pictures, don't be afraid to make a mistake. We all have made them and every photographer that i know have the same one at least once.