Please let me know what you all think....

jonathancortes1972 · Mar 24, 2017

i have recently stumbled upon a new found joy of B&W. But i am wanting some critics as it has been a very long time since ive taken film. Please let me know what you all think. even some suggestions would be nice. These were taken on my Minolta Maxxum, and cant wait to get my Pentax k1000 back from being CLA'd.

Designer · Mar 24, 2017

Railroad photo is not really terrible, even though the sky is washed out.

The boy shot is suffering from a lack of contrast. What film? How developed? How printed?

If you think the fault lies with your Minolta, just take it out and dump it in your garbage can right now.

Also; you got your own arm in the shot, which was not necessary, IMO.

jonathancortes1972 · Mar 24, 2017

Basically a fun shot with my son, but yeah, the arm was a def. mistake. both shots were taken with the minolta and ilford black and white film. (not sure ISO) . course i am seeing what you mean about the washout and also the lack of contrast...perhaps i should def study more on the subjects. These pics were taken in overcast, so i was thinking about an f8 i believe. I really need to write these down when i do take them. so that i remember more about them. Course, i am NOT looking into professional film taking as a full time status thing. See below of color shot that was taken recently from same camera using 400 ISO Fuji film. so i am realizing the use of different brands and ISO's. It has been a really long time since classes. (20 something years). i don't think it was the camera honestly, but then again, i am no professional. hobbyist only.

jonathancortes1972 · Mar 24, 2017

here is another B&W taken the same way

jonathancortes1972 · Mar 24, 2017

hopefully when i get my Pentax back from CLA'd, i can actually start fresh and get back to basics.

Derrel · Mar 24, 2017

Keep working at your craft, keep shooting photos, study some photo how-to web sites or books, and you will see improvement as you study more and think more about picture-making techniques and concepts. As springtime approaches, look for good lighting conditions that can show shape, and depth, and distances.

One of my absolute FAVORITE conditions is the sunny/rainy/showery type day, where large, low, gray clouds have gaps in them, through which the spring sun shines: this is perhaps the ideal weather for landscape shooting outdoors, and it is rare, but extremely beautiful in either B&W or in color.

limr · Mar 24, 2017

jonathancortes1972 said:
hopefully when i get my Pentax back from CLA'd, i can actually start fresh and get back to basics.

Yeah, it will take a bit of practice to not be so rusty and to re-acquaint yourself with film characteristics. You also might want to pay attention to who is scanning your film or what kind of post-processing you might do to adjust the image.

And the K1000 :586:

My first and life-long love. I've been shooting with mine for 25 years

It's still my default camera.

I really like the train tracks picture, though as said, the sky is a bit blown out.

I can tell the one of your son is a sort of in-the-moment shot, though to be perfectly honest, the adult arm, the look in his eyes, and his odd position almost looks like he's being kidnapped in a suitcase :eek-73:

Great colors, composition, and depth of field in the flower shot. Focus seems to be a bit more on the branch than on the flowers. And this is one that makes me wonder about the quality of the scan - or did you crop it down? There are some digital artifacts there.

jonathancortes1972 · Mar 24, 2017

It was cropped down some to detach it from the rest of the shot. I'm also getting familiar with editing as well. You know. Back in the day. There weren't all these crazy apps that we have now. Just a pair of scissors and maybe the way we used the darkroom. FYI. I about fell outta my chair with the suitcase remark. That's a good one liner. Hahah.