A little tease for this week’s Thursday Door:
Okay, the steps probably are a give away! This mural is located on the side ow the WOW Museum for Children in Lafayette.
And some details from the wall:
Where is the Door?
Inner Monet and the #CameraChallenge
I am a frequent participant in the #CameraChallenge. The April offering included a motion challenge which fits My Inner Monet. My strategy for ‘Motion’ was slow shutter speeds and simple motion. I used the Diana F+ camera and Lomo 800 film, as I was photographing for the April Frugal Film Project.
Above: a walk in the wind, and Below: mountain drive by.
Frugal Film Project: May 2020
The Wise Old Owl speaks for the Alley Art Amazin’ mural project in my Hometown, Lafayette, Colorado. I started capturing these images for the Frugal Film Project and for my own interests in my Hometown’s support of the Arts.
Coming soon will be a discussion of the Wise Old Owl. Turns out I have photographed this mural with 4 different color films. And they all look different.
Below, sharing a few more murals. I may make a Murals Page on my blog…….
Second Floor Door Mystery
I never did figure out exactly how this Door was used. Found it in an alley during a night time Denver Workshop……
Any ideas how this door was used?
Velvia 50 vs. E100 Continues…..with Tulips
There was so much discussion after my first posting, that I’ve moved up the Film Test Series. You seen what the Owls had to say………Now we’ll move into My Garden for the next three comparisons, and end with a road trip.
For all image sets, E100 is the first image (here the top)………Velvia 50 the second image (here the bottom). I love these dark purple tulips…….
I’d say these are too close to call………
You may notice some fuzzy focus. We’ve had a lot of wind lately. Impossible to find a still day.
E100 on the Left……Velvia 50 on the right.
So theTulips didn’t prove to be much of a test. Only the red and yellow Tulips show a definite difference. Next we’ll see what the Irises have to say…….
Prelim Discussion of IR-Sensitive B&W Films Part II: Washi-Z ISO 400
Washi-Z 400, above with a dark red filter. I start with that statement because for some reason I didn’t shoot the first few images with dark red. Instead I had used an orange filter for some reason:
Washi-Films were never intended for use in still cameras. They were specialty films and most were developed for recording some type of motion, including a sound version.But nowadays these specialty films are creeping into the revitalized 35 mm film market.
And finally, two images from the Tonto Natural Bridge in Arizona. Representing some of the early orange filter exposures.
So now what? I’ve ordered more Washi-Z 400, and because the IR effect did not seem that strong, even with the red filter. I’m going to try it with the IR-695 filter. Watch for new results coming soon……
Juneteenth 2020
My husband was picking up packages at our PostNet shop. A women had these signes printed to pass out to friends, family, and whoever she might meet. He asked her for one and it it now in our front yard:
And a Flower to Honor all who have died recently at the hand’s of the Police……..RIP:
Learn More About Juneteenth Here.…….
Retrospective: Mission Santa Ines
And of course a Door because it is Thursday……The side entry photographed better than the Main Entrance. You may have noticed that this is Infrared.
Mission Santa Ines is located next to Solvang, California. It was founded in 1804. I was visiting a friend in Santa Barbara back in 2017 when I made this visit. I decided to use my Nikon-1, which was converted to full spectrum by KolariVision. I then used an IR filter to limit the exposure to Infrared.
Church was in session, so I wandered around outside and focussed my photography there. Obviously a full house with people standing in the doorway.
Views around the Courtyard, Above Left to Right: St Francis, Shrine to Santa Ines, Jesus.
Finally, below, the Cemetery:
I had the Nikon-1 converted after much frustration with IR-films. I do use IR-Sensitive Films and you’ll see some film tests coming soon.
Retrospectives are repostings of significant works from my old Photo Diary……….
And, some thought from yesterday’s Photo Diary on Windows and Walls……
Prelim Discussion of IR-Sensitive B&W Films Part I: SFX-200 and Retro 80S
I typically use Ilford SFX-200 as my IR-Sensitive film. When I started, I used it with my darkest red filter:
But now I use my IR-695 filter:
Recently I’ve had two IR-sensitive film come my way: Rollei Retro 80S and Washi-Z. Let’s start with the Rollei film. Because of my positive experience using the 695 filter, I tried this with the Retro 80S. It resulted in interesting but very high contrast images:
Compare this to T-MAX 400 with a Dark Red filter (sorry that’s the film I had in the other Mamiya-7 at the time):
Here a direct comparison of the same scene, SFX-200 and Retro 80S, both with the IR-695 filter:
Can you tell which is which? The Retro 80S is the upper image, the SFX-200 is the lower image. The SFX image preserves the fine high altitude clouds better…..
I have recently read an article on the Retro 80S, where the author only used the dark red filter. @EMULSIVEfilm also has another recent article comparing Retro 80S and Retro 400S, again both using the dark red filter. So now I’m going to embark on a set of side by side Retro and SFX images making, using only the dark red filter. Can’t wait to see what happens……
Washi-Z discussion coming in Part II.
What 4 Owls Have Told Me About 4 Color Films
Continuing with the Showdown that I started a few days ago. I’ve been using E100 over a year. I’m midway in a film showdown between Kodak E100 vs Fuji Velvia 50. I had always preferred Kodak in the past, however, after some 35 mm experiences last year I had doubts. I had always used E100GX, a warm toned film of the old generation. The new film was based on a colder version E100G. But to be fair, I decided to do some formal color test comparison. This is Part, I am comparing four images of the Owl Mural made with four different films: E100, Velvia 50, Portra 400 and Lomo 800. For the direct comparison of the E-6 films I used my Mamiya-7’s; the Portra was exposed using a Mamiya-6; and the Lomo 800 was exposed using a Diana F+, for the Frugal Film Project.
First I’ll show them in pairs, then break down my critique of each one. Naturally I have selected my personal favorite for the Header image above.
Lomo 800
Portra 400
Left: Lomo 800; Right: Portra 400. I made no adjustments for tone or contrast; only cropping to make them comparable in size. All of the image were exposed on overcast days. The first comment I can make is that both C-41 films are truer to the actual mural colors. The Portra 400 has a richer color tone which I would expect for the lower ISO film. But you have to admit that the Lomo 800 is very good, especially since it was exposed using a plastic camera. The winner here is Kodak Portra 400:
Now for the main event, E100 (left) vs Velvia 50 (right):
Kodak E100
Fuji Velvia 50
As one would expect, the E-6 films have a more saturated color. Not quite a natural representation. But in my lifetime experience with film (going back to childhood) I’ve mostly shot E-6. As a field scientist back in the pre-PowerPoint days, I needed to show my information in slide presentations. So that meant E-6 films. In my earlier professional days I used ECN films. When that was discontinued I switched to Kodak E100GX.
If you read my earlier experiences with E100, you’ll be able to decide which one I prefer. I simply find the E100 too cold. So the Winner here is, Fuji Velvia 50. I enjoy the richer and brighter blues and purples……
So these are my two favorites. I can accept either one depending on what I am trying to demonstrate. Which one do you prefer?
Portra 400
Fuji Velvia 50
Stay tuned, right now I am continuing the side-by-side testing of these films as my Mamiya 645’s take a tour of my flower and vegetable gardens. I’m going to give E100 every possible chance to show me something that I’ll like.
And I may do a follow-up Road-Trip landscape comparison. In that case, I’ll see if a warming filter makes me feel better about the new Kodak E100.
