Large Format Photography Australia

Prompted by the recent discussion on the demise of Velvia 50 sheet film, two images from early this year.

Provia



Velvia RVP 50



Both taking using an Arca-Swiss 4x5 and Fujinon 240mm A.

I love the motif Mark,

Something somewhat reptilian lurking in the texture for me.

Evocative subject matter, very gnarly, makes eyesight worthwhile.

Here's a hard question: Since I have not made a colour picture in over forty years this pair of Pandani leaves and Lichen challenges me to pick one but I'm not sure how. Both look very good. What criteria does the colour photographer invoke to select the right film for this subject?

For this I would use the film with the higher contrast, which hopefully also has enough inherent contrast to give this subject the appropriate contrast kick.

As presented and I can assure you I'm only using the cheapest 40cm laptop computer I could find, nothing special but seems reasonably good with regard to onscreen colour rendition. My pick would be the second picture which seems to have a higher contrast and is tending towards blue in the shadows. The top picture seems to be slightly too yellow and has lower contrast.

The higher contrast image seems to have more detail, but that may just be a factor of the contrast, not a fact.

The best and most dramatic colour film I've had the pleasure of developing and printing from, was Kodak Ektar 25 professional. Mind blowing detail, fantastic contrast and the colour saturation was to die for. Colour version of Tech Pan I was led to believe.

When the film was released our lab had the honour (like hell) of printing life size images of people where Ektar 25 professional 135 format was used. I seem to remember 40 prints in all and these were all foam mounted, framed and covered with plexiglass or something like that. These were all mounted on a pedestrian bridge over the railway lines that the majority of the people going to the Australian Open tennis event in Melbourne used.

A Polaroid of each person was taken and that vital measurement, their height, was written. We used them to get the correct image size of the people. Quite a hard job, but very rewarding when one walked across the bridge and listened to the comments of the passers by. The subjects, if I remember correctly, were normal people, which made it all the more interesting. Late 80's I think.

Maris, forgot to mention, I like the subject matter and how you depicted it.

Mark, these are right up my alley, as usual. The image gives me a sense of protection, maybe because of its obvious proximity.

The Provia (on my monitor here) renders this exactly as I remember seeing them, especially the moss colour.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's a hard question: Since I have not made a colour picture in over forty years this pair of Pandani leaves and Lichen challenges me to pick one but I'm not sure how. Both look very good. What criteria does the colour photographer invoke to select the right film for this subject?

Don't go there Maris, (you know you don't want to)

As you well know 'black & white is the best colour you can get'.

I am from an era and a paradigm where Reversal ruled, but the range of reversal stocks is reduced as is the choice of labs. Colour neg materials are alien to me.

Back when you could I reached for the silver box of Agfa followed by 'Old Yella', which became de rigeur when I eascaped from live subject. Green boxes were selected for exaggerated impact — motif-driven. Mark's pic is very much in line with what I find enormously appealing ..... an essentially monochrome target with spots of colour as accent. That said, I'd be looking at how an emulsion deals with neutrals. Note that there is a warmth to the Pandanus in the Provia which (with full respect to Mark)I don't favour in the comparison offered. Then comes the matter of how you intend to display the fruits of your travails.

Right towards the end of film as a commercial staple Fuji blew me away with Astia which was SO accurate in its rendition that I used to call it "the best Kodak film that Kodak never produced.

Thank you all for your observations.

Walter, I often get that same feeling working amongst the Richeas, there is a real primordial quality about them. The dead leaves of the pandani come in such a variety of forms, when the edges fray some look distinctly like the feathers of an ancient bird.

Mick, looking at the original transparencies, there isn’t a great difference apart from the obvious colour rendition and contrast. According to the specs RVP 50 does resolve more but once you get to the choke point of reproduction in print I find the difference pretty negligible. The Velvia sheet was exposed at 1 sec, some of the detail in the deeper shadows is lost due to reciprocity failure already kicking in.

Film choice has always been an interesting choice for me (Yes it is a very deep rabbit hole, actually probably more like a black hole!). Provia is usually my first choice, my often using long exposures with my closeup work and nothing else comes close to its superior reciprocity characteristics (expect the old Acros for monochrome work). My supply of Velvia 50 is dwindling and it became far too expensive to buy even before Fuji’s decision to axe it so I use it pretty sparingly. I am impressed by the new Kodak Ektachrome too, it’s a pity Kodak seems to be intent on hiking the price 20% every year.

Back in the days when I used Fuj Quickloads more regularly for bushwalking trips the determining factor was often what was available and what I could afford. Having bought quite a bit of film from photographers going digital I ended up with a large supply of Velvia RVP 100 Quickloads, not my first choice but I’ve learned to work with it.

Colour neg is a whole other world

Colour neg is a whole other world

A world that I'm about to explore, Mark,

And you've given me a great lead in that Ektar sample in the other thread. Thanks.

I've just bought what I hope to be a wheelchair usable 5 x 4 and the most facile avenue open to me is C-41 either in sheets or 120 in a 6x12 back. I trust dip and dunk processing C-41 more than finding somebody to the hand process. I've already got a couple of rolls of XP2 Super that a mate gave me and I been greatly impressed by scanning transparencies and desaturating the colour. It's been a welcome surprise to see meaty tonality in skies without effort where with panchromatic film it's the dating game with filter. I know, I know, scanning doesn't pass muster in some quarters, but in a facility where Windex and fly spray are contraband I'm Making the most of what I can.