rscheffler wrote:
Joe - nice set from Toronto. I really like #2 a lot with the harmonious balance of the five people
Ron, the second shot was a combination of luck and timing For those interested, I found this spot when I cleared immigration and was attracted by the light and also because it was an "intersection" with people walking down from upstairs and others crossing to the gates to provide me with "subjects". I think I shot over 10-15 frames to get this one shot. The person on the far left was doing maintenance work, so I knew he would be "static" enough to use as a subject. I didn't have to wait long for someone to sit on the disabled chair to give some balance to the right, and then waited until I got someone walking across plus someone else walking on the patch of light on the floor. The person coming down the escalator was somewhat of a bonus. Guess I'm quite happy with how this shot turned out
Joe, thank you My horse, Whizz Peppy came third, but overall, he is one of the highest earning horses in Australia
Ron, thanks Wow...superb airport set! Love the B&W shots, high contrast, the lines and diagonals just all working really well!!! Great set!
Ron, yes the lighting was very difficult, with mercury vapour lighting, WB variations. I think the M10 would be a great improvement. My main concern now, is the wake up time with the M9, as it can lead to missing the decisive moment for the shots, and the resolution of the LCD screen be able to see which shots are keepers particularly at high ISO's. That being said, I do love the light and unobtrusive form factor, and much prefer it over the 5DII even for horse events
lovinglife wrote:
Phil - very nice b/w conversions!
+1 and great subject matter too. The bench seems to be coming through from another dimension the way it pops from the background.
Thanks Charles. Yes, I can imagine WB was an issue, but under that type of lighting, as you probably know, a higher shutter speed would only worsen WB variation by better catching the lights at various points in their on-off cycle. Not sure what the cycle frequency is in Australia, but here it's 60 Hz, so I believe 1/30 is ideal and 1/125 is starting to push it. Agreed about the wakeup time. Way too long and I have missed a number of opportunities because I forgot to keep the camera awake.
Joe: Yup, south of Toronto. It's probably a good thing you didn't get off the highway because you can't get all that close to the factories, at least not the more interesting parts. But there are many interesting urban/industrial contrasts in the area that I need to get out and photograph. Being a Friday summer evening I can imagine that the traffic was probably pretty solid leaving Toronto...
BTW, here's a view looking over one of the steel mills towards Toronto. The bridge you crossed is somewhat visible on the left side:
Not done with the M9!
Thanks for describing the process for #2. I find when I'm in such situations I'm not often so consciously attuned to the compositional variables. Often it's after the fact that I notice something fortuitous. It's interesting to see how one location can be interpreted similarly and also differently by different photographers. For my shadow series, I also stood around in one spot for about 10-15 minutes as people walked by. It was kind of a 'funny' feeling because they all knew that as they walked by I would probably photograph them, but there really wasn't much they could do about it. Meanwhile behind me there was a gate with a couple Canada Customs agents for people with connecting flights. I was waiting for someone to come along and tell me to move along, but it never happened.
Some more from Lausanne for Luka to prove I don't always stage a human element in photos
I think it was ZM35C for all images but the second last one, which was ZM21, on the M9. My apology if any of these were previously posted. At this point it's difficult for me to remember exactly what hasn't yet been shown here.
rscheffler wrote:
Thanks Carsten, that's what I'm pondering because 98% of my film images are 135 film. Any suggestion for a decent dedicated film scanner? There doesn't seem to be much choice any more.
Unfortunately not. I find 135 too small for nice quality, and only use medium format and up. I have heard good things about the Coolscan V, but you would have to buy it used, I guess. Most of the good scanners have been discontinued. You can get flatbed scanners new, and Hasselblad scanners, but I don't know if there is anything else serious left.
Yeah, it seems the only brand that has film scanners available new, that I am aware of, is plustek. I haven't really looked into those yet, but seem to recall reading some not so great things about them a couple years ago. But I believe since then they've released newer models.
carstenw wrote:
Unfortunately not. I find 135 too small for nice quality, and only use medium format and up. I have heard good things about the Coolscan V, but you would have to buy it used, I guess. Most of the good scanners have been discontinued. You can get flatbed scanners new, and Hasselblad scanners, but I don't know if there is anything else serious left.
The Plustek Optic 7600 AI got some good reviews, rated at something like 95% of the Coolscan quality. It is still in retail, at least here.
Edit: OK, you already know of the plustek. Cross-post
Phil, very nice shots! Both of them, but the Nocti wins it for me, almost every time
Ron, another excellent set. All of them almost film like Yes, the frequency of lighting in Australia is 60hz too, so I had to use about 1/60 to 1/125s to try at least freeze some of the action, but this of course leads to WB issues. I had even more difficulties with the 5DII in this lighting.
rscheffler wrote:
Yeah, it seems the only brand that has film scanners available new, that I am aware of, is plustek. I haven't really looked into those yet, but seem to recall reading some not so great things about them a couple years ago. But I believe since then they've released newer models.
I've had a Reflecta Proscan 7200, which is a rebranded Pacific Images scanner and was very satisfied. It is dead cheap compared to the other options and the results are excellent. I only switched to the Minolta because of medium format. I would not buy a Plustek, but don't ask why
A direct comparison between the V750 with third-party ANR glass holders and the Plustek would be interesting. The Plustek sounds like a good deal for the money, but not necessarily a top performer on the overall scale.
carstenw wrote:
A direct comparison between the V750 with third-party ANR glass holders and the Plustek would be interesting. The Plustek sounds like a good deal for the money, but not necessarily a top performer on the overall scale.
I saw this comparison (actually V700) with the Plustek 7600 on Leica forums and the Plustek was ever so slightly better. VERY slightly. However, the thing that would steer me away is the lack of an automatic feeder. I just don't have time to waste sitting next to a scanner that only does a marginally better job than the V700/V750. I will search for the comparison.
Joe, Ron both excellent series in the airports! Really great job. Both of you made excellent use of shadows, lines, etc
Charles what a great job at night with the 75 1.4. Really like the one of the horse with the woman behind. What was your hit/miss ratio?
Phil those are two great shots making the most out of DOF. The bench shot is great how it is isolated from the background so well
Phil - nice shot with the Noct. You are getting a 50 ASPH too? No wonder why you don't need a preASPH They are sold out everywhere yet I feel like the only one withOUT one
Boris - excellent shots! Every one of them, WOW! What a beautiful rendering. #1 & #2 are excellent but that last portrait is amazing.
rsolti13 wrote:
Phil - nice shot with the Noct. You are getting a 50 ASPH too? No wonder why you don't need a preASPH They are sold out everywhere yet I feel like the only one withOUT one
Oops sorry Ryan I meant pre-Asph (I must have been dreaming)
For those interested, I found this spot when I cleared immigration and was attracted by the light and also because it was an "intersection" with people walking down from upstairs and others crossing to the gates to provide me with "subjects". I think I shot over 10-15 frames to get this one shot. The person on the far left was doing maintenance work, so I knew he would be "static" enough to use as a subject. I didn't have to wait long for someone to sit on the disabled chair to give some balance to the right, and then waited until I got someone walking across plus someone else walking on the patch of light on the floor. The person coming down the escalator was somewhat of a bonus. Guess I'm quite happy with how this shot turned out 
