Sep 5
New slides
I got back my roll of Velvia 100 this week. I was very excited to see that the greens were still as intense as I remembered them, the colours really pop. Unfortunately I was not able to reproduce the pop when I scanned them, but I’ll always have my light table!
The roll goes back to late June, so there are some nice summer memories in it. Like this forget-me-not I found in the forest on Hamrafjället, which I visited on the morning of my trip to Röros. I only took this one picture and I’m well chuffed to see that I nailed the focus – there was some wind so I had to wait for an opportunity to press the shutter. With digital, I’d probably have snapped 5-10 frames under the same circumstances. But it’s nice to see that I have the patience to wait for the right moment!
One thing I was curious about was to see how I can work with the 15mm fisheye on full frame – I can barely work with it on a crop sensor. But I reckon in a way it’s easier because the fisheye effect really comes to life when all 15mm can be used effectively. I like the fisheye illusion how the curved horizon imitates the curvature of the earth. The planet in miniature!
The light was really fleeting, the kind that disappears by the time you’ve picked up the camera from the bag. But in this case I was lucky to get it back for two seconds so I could take the picture.
This is from the same day and same marsh as the previous slide. It had just rained quite heavily but then suddenly the sun burst out. The colours were amazing, the mosses were glowing with reds and yellows and I was all excited about capturing it all. In the picture it seems like there is a lot of blue sky, but there were clouds all around and just seconds after taking this picture the clouds moved in front of the sun we heard the rumble of thunder. It started raining again and I lost the opportunity, but at least I have this frame. The Sigma 15mm fisheye handles flare really well – I haven’t cloned any flare from this picture, but I did straighten the horizon a little bit (the fisheye effect made it curve a little bit because the horizon is not in the middle of the frame).
I have totally failed with reproducing the greens here, but I like the scene; there’s something about dead trees that always draw my eye. It was just a matter of trying to compose to bring some order in the chaos.
The last time I mentioned that I have a slight tendency to under-expose. I think I found the reason for it – it only happens with particular scenes, those with a lot of blue sky or running water. I seem worry about overexposing the sky or the water, so I don’t compensate as much for the shadows as I should. But now that I’m aware of exactly what is throwing me off, I know to watch out for it. Looking at the pictures, I’m not at risk of burning out the sky or the water even if dial in another 2/3 stops. I’ve loaded Velvia 50 in the camera and the plan is to find running water today and blue skies tomorrow…
4 comments
I am quite a bit disappointed I never had the time to come and see the real ones
But still, even after scanning, nice saturation.
Did you use some other than CPL filter in the starburts picture? If not, then the dynamic range is quite impressive.
The Sigma fisheye doesn’t allow any filters – the front element bulges too much.
I struggled long with digitising the starburst picture. A bit ironically, I had to do a semi-HDR out of it with digital in order to create something that matched the slide. I wish there was a bit more blue in the sky around the sun so the starburst effect would be more prominent, but having said that, you’re right that the DR is pretty good. I got the detail and colours in the foreground and some definition in the clouds, I’ve gotta be happy with the exposure.
Maybe I should take the slides to work some day. These digital versions really don’t make justice to the originals, I’d have to get them professionally scanned for that!
Whoaaa, now that is then way better than I could do with my Nikon FX chip. Hmmm, any Mamiya’s for sale in Blocket?
Nice slides Minna, I’m not sure if I like the slide-look anymore as I’m spoiled off by the easiness of the digital darkroom.. I shot a lot with Mamiya RB67 when I was younger, it was awesome piece of gear! If you can get that kind of camera cheap, go for it Miika.