Wow, sounds like you haven't exactly been having the time of your life. I would love to hear more details about Mongolia, the Magnum course and what happened in the Japanese health system, if you have the time and feel like writing about it.
Sorry to hear about your terrible hospital/healthcare experience. When I lived in France, if something similar were to happen, doctors/firemen/bystanders would all gladly helped. I actually paid for healthcare as an expat, but I would bet they wouldn't have chased me down if I didn't pay. Different worlds, I guess.
Re: Provia 400: I have never shot it in 35mm. $12/roll is a little steep. However I love it in 120, where it's only another $1 more per roll more than Portra 400. Portra 400 may be more technologically current, but I really love Provia's color palette straight outta the tank.
Francis, welcome back, and welcome to the Mamiya 7 club. Are you shooting with the 80mm? I have been using mine here and there. The 43mm is just so hard to find excuses NOT to use.
corposant wrote:
Francis, welcome back, and welcome to the Mamiya 7 club. Are you shooting with the 80mm? I have been using mine here and there. The 43mm is just so hard to find excuses NOT to use.
Thank you, Sir! It is the 80mm, though, I've got my sights set on the 65mm soon. I don't think I'm ready to use an eyepiece yet . Sure would have been nice to shoot nyc with a wider lens. I'll have to get the 65mm before returning there in June.
phillip ino wrote:
Thank you, Sir! It is the 80mm, though, I've got my sights set on the 65mm soon. I don't think I'm ready to use an eyepiece yet . Sure would have been nice to shoot nyc with a wider lens. I'll have to get the 65mm before returning there in June.
I like how there is more color and detail on the bridge, water, and ice for Portra but the Kowa 210mm doesn't handle flare well. Moving down the shore should get rid of the sun from right behind the steam/smoke. I want to try using a 24" lens and get in really tight. I do like how the length of the exposure in the Velvia version made the smoke on the right look a bit like fire.
Nate, fucking hell man!
Good to know you're alive, geez...
dont worry, you'll be out and about soon!
I've been out of flickr and everywhere since, dunno, months... maybe a year. Two babies + full time jobs for me and my wife means I'm lucky if I get 5 hours of sleep let alone time or even mood for shooting. Developing or travelling 1hr to the nearest remaining decent lab is out of the question.
Now that some personal time is (very slowly) coming back I need to make some serious decisions about all the film gear I have accumulated over the years and then trimmed down to my personal favourites: a P6 + 3 Zeiss lenses, a Hexar AF, a Minolta CLE and a Zeiss Ikon + 4 M lenses, and a very sweet Minolta scanner. Keep shooting film and run the risk of getting back in my rut because of never having time to actually scanvelop it... or fully revert to digital and accept the fact that my life will be all half baked modern gear and washed out digital photos that I'm struggling to revive in photoshop?
So I came back in this thread to have a look and remember what film actually means to me.
And damn you guys are making my decision difficult
Zach - nice scene and an interesting comparison between the two. The Portra is warmer and has more DR - the Velvia is so much more dramatic. This makes me nostalgic for the times I used my tripod and waited around...
TWoK wrote:
Zaitz, wow, what a scene.
Thanks Nate and good to have you back! This thread has been drifting back several pages on occasion.
corposant wrote:
Zach - nice scene and an interesting comparison between the two. The Portra is warmer and has more DR - the Velvia is so much more dramatic. This makes me nostalgic for the times I used my tripod and waited around...
I actually edited the Portra a bit to look more like the Velvia. I gave up quickly since I wasn't fond of the flare. It definitely has more dynamic range but both were exposed to pretty much silhouette the refinery and maintain highlights and saturation. The Portra benefited from the sun being up higher and hitting more of the bridge. The sun just wasn't high enough 10min earlier when I exposed the Velvia. I really love Velvia's colors. It is amazing the difference. I love editing photos but I really do very little to the Velvia. Editing Portra (or digital) is tough, it just does not end up looking as pure in my cases.
I think what I liked about the Portra version is that it wasn't so dramatic. The Velvia is definitely bolder. I think I'm getting burned out on dramatic, bold, saturated photos since so many digital shots have it dialed to 11. But... it's probably the better choice for that kind of shot.
Zaitz wrote:
I love editing photos but I really do very little to the Velvia. Editing Portra (or digital) is tough, it just does not end up looking as pure in my cases.
I agree - slide film is nice in a way that when you expose it properly (or to your taste), you don't have to do a whole lot of editing.
Portra is nice in that at times it can feel like editing a digital image in that it just has such a huge amount of latitude. Portra + Curves = really cool if not done over the top.
. Sure would have been nice to shoot nyc with a wider lens. I'll have to get the 65mm before returning there in June. 
