Rock shelter

John Power
Posts: 94
Joined: 26 May 2021, 10:18

Rock shelter

Postby John Power » 23 Jun 2021, 22:38

This was about as good a test as I could think of for metering testing, and I don't mind its as an image either.

I took a spot off one of the darker streaks in the cave, set it as shadow and then a spot off the dead tree trunk as highlight and averaged them (with the average button :) ). Anyway, I dont mind it and I like that the trees in the background are moving a lot, while the tree and rocks are.. rock solid.

The tor itself is so big that I had no chance of framing the whole thing in a shot... its an amazing spot, and now I'm thinking that my first step from 135mm might actually be down to 90 or shorter, rather than longer.

ImageRock shelter by J P, on Flickr

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Rock shelter

Postby Walter Glover » 24 Jun 2021, 06:09

John,

If you feel you need a 90mm, you'd probably need a 75mm. I've got a carer posting off a Nikkor-SW 75mm 1:4.5 today which I sold on Ebay.

Do you have a WA angle bag bellows for the Horseman? I've got a left-over Sinar Wide Angle 1 version loitering in a drawer here. I invariably used a bag bellows with 180mm and shorter onn 4x5 to negate bellows flare.
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Rock shelter

Postby Walter Glover » 24 Jun 2021, 07:10

John,

Believe it or not, there was a time I read St. Ansel and Fred Picker and tried Zone (tone) Placement and spot-metering before tossing it all and reverting to the white invercone after the Phil Davis "BTZS" raised its head. I'd had decades of only shooting E-6 where a single incident reading with some intuitive give and take in the angle of holding sufficed to get the result, and certainty I needed for colour reversal.

Then, having more spare time, I got back into B&W with more purpose than 'just a couple of PR shots at the end of a shoot'. The tonal window of B&W required a rethink and, after the 'placement' experiment, I reverted and ever since adhered capturing tone where they fell in the prevailing light. Fffor a time I had alll the data of my testing but a computer crash put aan end to that (Zone data and BTZS data) but the essentials that mattered for the materials were clear enough and unchanging, and the two-reading metering method of fitting the SUBJECT BRIGHTNESS RANGE to the IMAGE BRIGHTNESS RANGE works a treat in all situations to the point that I never use the spare neg where I 'opened-up a stop'.
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant

John Power
Posts: 94
Joined: 26 May 2021, 10:18

Re: Rock shelter

Postby John Power » 29 Jun 2021, 22:47

Thanks Walter! Interesting to hear about your progress with technique there.

Here is the same image on ektar, same metering technique. Interested to hear anyone's thoughts on the comparative dynamic range in the two shots? The ektar seems to at least keep up with and possibly eclipse the foma?

ImageInside rockshelter by J P, on Flickr

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Rock shelter

Postby Walter Glover » 30 Jun 2021, 15:27

Something happening here, John, that gives me a sense of actually being under the overhang which was not what happened with the Foma version. That may well be aided by association of the overhang with the detail in the boulders at the base of the stump which seems a bit of an abyss with Foma by comparison.

I'm curious about Fomapan from some of the internet babble I've read and heard. do you choose it for its pictorial qualities or for cost?
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant

John Power
Posts: 94
Joined: 26 May 2021, 10:18

Re: Rock shelter

Postby John Power » 30 Jun 2021, 18:36

Walter Glover wrote:Something happening here, John, that gives me a sense of actually being under the overhang which was not what happened with the Foma version. That may well be aided by association of the overhang with the detail in the boulders at the base of the stump which seems a bit of an abyss with Foma by comparison.

I'm curious about Fomapan from some of the internet babble I've read and heard. do you choose it for its pictorial qualities or for cost?


Interesting! Yes, the rock is overhanging the place of the camera here, and I'm not really sure what is giving that stronger impression with the ektar either... I think there is more detail in the overhanging rock.

I bought the foma for cost reasons. I don't mind it, and kind of feel like the reciprocity ramping up so sharply is comforting if I don't close the shutter at bang on the exact tick of the second.

Walter Glover
Posts: 1270
Joined: 31 Jul 2012, 22:31
Location: Leichhardt, NSW

Re: Rock shelter

Postby Walter Glover » 30 Jun 2021, 23:28

Thanks John.
Walter Glover

"We see things not as they are. We see them as we are."
Emanuel Kant


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