p.1 #1 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
Hey y’all,
One of the gear forum threads has me going back through drum scans of my film era photography and has stirred up amazing memories and those delicious bittersweet feelings of nostalgia. I love the productivity and immediate feedback of digital, but at the same time I realize there was some magic for me shooting Fuji Velvia on 4x5 sheet film - not just the end result, but the entire process. So now I feel compelled to share some of those film shots, and hope you will enjoy these scenes. The film era will always hold a special place in my heart, and I bet for many of you also!
Cheers,
Ross
Fiery sunset on clouds and rising mist, Mount Rainier N.P.
Wild rhododendrons in forest, Washington state
Stately tree in autumn, British Columbia, Canada
Springtime blossoms, Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle
Cascading creek on a misty day, Olympic National Park
Intense sunset color at Death Valley superbloom
Morning in the Central Oregon high country lava fields
Colorful sunrise at Mount Rainier
Late autumn in Utah high country
Foggy forest on the Olympic Peninsula, WA
Dusk brings the day to a close on the Oregon coastline
p.1 #6 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
All masterpieces of some of my favorite places. Thanks for sharing.
I shot a lot of 35mm Velvia and Provia on climbs. I always aspired to someday shoot 4x5 (when I was too old to climb hard) but never did. Now my A7rV gets me there with more creative options and lenses.
p.1 #8 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
Wow, great set of images Ross. I too like that shot of the central Oregon lava fields. It shows nature's stubborn will to exist no matter the circumstances. Well done.
p.1 #11 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
Dustin Gent wrote:
BEAUTIFUL set! very inspiring - i really like your Utah aspen shot - ive never captured anything i have been happy with
Appreciate your kind words, Dustin! I have many aspen shot attempts that will never see the light of day because they just didn’t capture the vibe of those amazing trees. I I especially love how bare aspens make for such a strong graphic element.
p.1 #14 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
Jim Dockery wrote:
All masterpieces of some of my favorite places. Thanks for sharing.
I shot a lot of 35mm Velvia and Provia on climbs. I always aspired to someday shoot 4x5 (when I was too old to climb hard) but never did. Now my A7rV gets me there with more creative options and lenses.
Thank you Jim! I’m always reminded of my home state when I see your posts. That’s cool you were also a Velvia and Provia shooter (I used a bit of Astia too). Regardless of the nostalgia and great memories, I could never go back to that slower, more expensive, and often frustrating workflow. I’m with you on the A7RV 😎
p.1 #15 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
gregfountain wrote:
Wow, great set of images Ross. I too like that shot of the central Oregon lava fields. It shows nature's stubborn will to exist no matter the circumstances. Well done.
Greg
Grateful for your kind comments Greg! I agree about your thoughts on nature's will, she's pretty amazing.
p.1 #20 · Looking Back at the Film Era: A Landscape Collection
phil hawkins wrote:
Great shots, good compositions on all, but many are way oversaturated... especially that first one.
Hi Phil, thank you for your comment! I appreciate your feedback on the saturation levels. I just went back into Lightroom and pulled up each drum scan file. The first image had zero added contrast, saturation, and vibrance - it was truly one of the most intensely colorful endings of sunset light I’ve witnessed in my 45 years of shooting. My dear friend and FM member @slavd2020 shot next to me on this particular evening, it was phenomenal!
The legendary colorful and contrasty rendition of Fuji’s Velvia transparency film is readily seen in this set. But I went back through each image just now in Lightroom and made sure saturation was set to zero (it already was zero on more than half these images), and in some cases I reduced the exposure because they were too bright, and on some I lowered the contrast a bit (these files had been prepped for watercolor prints), and am reposting the slightly revised set here in this comment [FM will no longer let me edit the original post]. For the first image, I have actually moved saturation below zero to minus 10 on this revised version.
Thanks again @phil hawkins for engaging me on this topic, and let me know what you think about the 2nd set colors.
