Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Light, film, exposure..
alexn
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Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby alexn » 04 Aug 2012, 13:59

I think its pretty obvious that I'm a Velvia 50 nut. I really don't have much experience with anything else. I dont know how to develop BW films, but I process my own E6 slides at home once a month.. I just havent bothered to learn other films really.

Colour is the main thing I shoot for. Obviously composition is key and intereting details help, but for me if a photograph is vividly coloured and has a good set of colours throughout the image its a good image, as such, I have always shot Velvia 50 and on occasion, velvia 100..

I would like to learn about colour negative films for the times where I need a few extra stops of latitude, but as yet have not heard of a film that is colourful enough for me whilst giving more than 5 or 6 stops of range appart from velvia which when exposed carefully can give around 6 stops.

So the question is: What film do you shoot most and why.
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jars121
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby jars121 » 04 Aug 2012, 21:33

I've pretty much only shot Velvia 100F on my 617, I love the saturated colour, and I don't have to worry so much about the reciprocity issues that come with Velvia 50. Having said that, I think the next step would be to start using and master Velvia 50.

I haven't ventured into colour negative as of yet, because I love being able to 'see' the image on a slide, and it makes life much easier when it comes to scanning. Having said that, I'm about to order a whole bunch of the new Portra 160, as it seems to be a great all-round colour neg. I'm going to start processing C-41 at home as well, I just can't live with paying $10+ for each roll of E-6 I need developed.

In terms of black and white, I've shot most of the Ilford range, the last couple of rolls having been Delta 400. I quite like the Ilford bunch, but I've got a pro-pack of T-Max sitting here on my desk just begging to be shot!

Walter Glover
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby Walter Glover » 04 Aug 2012, 22:32

Is there a name for a person who has little or no interest in shooting colour? I think it might be Ag NO3 (silver nitrate).

When I did shoot colour film (commercially) I did use specific emulsions for specific subjects — all THREE back then: Kodak, Fuji and Agfa.

My LF exploits are dedicated to B&W. This morning I shot my first few sheets on the recently acquired Linhof Technika and the medium of choice was T-Max 100. I'll be shooting more tomorrow and will process when that is done.

My 8x10 turned up in the mail on Friday and so I am getting all the pieces in place for a studio shoot pretty soon. A mate who no longer shoots film gave me a starter pack of 5 boxes of T-Max 400 (new emulsion). I don't mind it al all but I might also get some HP5+ off Vanbar ...... well, that is actually a definite maybe, if you get my drift.

So, yeah - B&W here and home processed. I am actually cracking my neck to tray process some 8x10 sheets in Diafine.

Aren't we all so blessed to pursue a craft that is an ongoing adventure?
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
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alexn
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby alexn » 05 Aug 2012, 08:11

Jars121, home developing e-6 is so simple and im now paying around 3 bucks a roll... The processor has paid for itself already and so has te 5l chems kit. So now i have 3.5 litres of chems that owe me nothing.. Its so nice to do it yourself. Oh, and velvia 100f Ian actually pretty muted compared to velvia 100 (not f) or velvia 50. 100f and 100 both have practically no reciprocity but the non f variety is almost as colorful as 50.

Walter. I love b/w images i just don't know how to develop it so i shoot velvia and convert it to bw in photoshop. I have some fp4+ exposed here but don't know how to develop them..
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smbooth
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby smbooth » 05 Aug 2012, 09:18

While i'm not a big colour user I do favour Velvia50 and Provia100 when shooting in the 6x17. Although lately I have been using all sorts of crap which has been given to me just to get rid of it out of the fridge, as most of it was never stored correctly.

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Maris
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby Maris » 05 Aug 2012, 11:40

Film use? Fomapan 400 and Efke IR820 in recent times. When exposing 8x10 film for contact work the differences in tone, gradation, and sharpness, for various film stocks are negligible. I use the cheapest available.

Pardon the question, but why do people shoot large format colour transparency film? Back in my commercial days colour trannie film was a way of getting an image out of the back of a camera, passing it under the eyes of an art director who couldn't read negatives, and sending it to the print shop for separations so industrial quantities of colour illustration could be run off. The colour trannie was never intended as the final product to be looked at.

alexn
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby alexn » 05 Aug 2012, 13:06

I shoot large format colour transparency film for its vivid colour, strong contrast, exceptional sharpness, fine grain and then the killer, how easy it is to shoot, process, evaluate, scan, post process and have printed in ridiculous sizes..

I've printed one of my trannies 30x60" on Fujiflex amd mounted it to a 6mm thick piece of polished acrylic... This print is now framed in a customers home, but for me, the whole process was exceptionally straight forward.. I shot it, developed it, scanned it, post processed it (dust spotting and minor contrast and sharpness adjustments) then took it to my local print lab to be printed onto Flex and mount it. The finished product was astounding. Literally like standing on the beach looking at the scene where I was standing when I exposed the slide..

I can not process C41 myself (Im sure I could, but I do not now know how)
I can not look at a colour neg on the light table and tell if the image is any good or not.
I can not simply and easily scan a colour neg and then get the correct colour balance straight out of the gate. it takes time and hard work.

Slides are just so much easier for me..

I do wish I could process C41, read a neg on the light table and easily scan and balance.. because I would shoot a hell of a lot more Ektar 100 if I could... A few extra stops of dynamic range would not go astray at times.
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Alastair Moore
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby Alastair Moore » 05 Aug 2012, 13:44

I pretty much shoot only HP5+ on 4x5 as it was what I started with and I guess I'm just used to it now. I bought a box of TMax100 as I got a deal on it and I'm beginning to like it. I suspect I need to try a different developer with both as I've been using LC-29 continuously since I started shooting film and I find the HP5+ and LC-29 combination a bit too contrasty for my liking. I want something a little softer.

As for colour, I've got a whole mix in my freezer. All out of date film - it was a freebie so I'll probably shoot a few of those in the near future but my colour film of choice is Provia. I just love the colour from it, simply!

mark l
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Re: Choice of Film. What do you shoot?

Postby mark l » 06 Aug 2012, 14:09

Can't stand colour, allergic really.
Tri-x for 32 years, in rodinal or ID-11.
Have some Fomapan 200 8x10, but every second sheet has a coating mark, so it was a false economy.
I can pretty well make tri-x do anything I want, so no need to change.


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