Karmas 52 - 2010... On Film!

[karmagarda]

Just a quick crop on the flower shot to see how much detail I can get out of these negatives. I'm very impressed. Had to reduce the size of this one to a third to make it somewhat acceptable size wize

Anyway, a crop of "shoot":

 

[SarahLee]

Just a quick crop on the flower shot to see how much detail I can get out of these negatives. I'm very impressed. Had to reduce the size of this one to a third to make it somewhat acceptable size wize

Anyway, a crop of "shoot":

That works far better
Is that actually a physical crop (as in taking scissors to the negative) or is it done digitally on the scanned version?
(sorry - I'm completely clueless when it comes to film )

See you again in about a month, when you have your next batch

 

[jeangenie]

Hi Conor

It's great to see you're still persevering (or battling!) with film - good on ya!

There've already been loads of comments and you did a pretty good self-crit (although harsh, imo) so rather than repeat everything ... my favourites are 'Single' and 'Stair'. I alos like the crop of the flower shot.

Jean

 

[karmagarda]

That works far better
Is that actually a physical crop (as in taking scissors to the negative) or is it done digitally on the scanned version?
(sorry - I'm completely clueless when it comes to film )

See you again in about a month, when you have your next batch

Thanks Sarah. It's a rescan of a smaller part of the negative. So I basically told the scanner "go scan this little bit here at a higher dpi". So it did and still looked pretty usable! (God bless medium format ). Minor "composition crop" after that, but that's about it really.

Hi Conor

It's great to see you're still persevering (or battling!) with film - good on ya!

There've already been loads of comments and you did a pretty good self-crit (although harsh, imo) so rather than repeat everything ... my favourites are 'Single' and 'Stair'. I alos like the crop of the flower shot.

Jean

Thanks Jean! I think out of the batch my favourite is Single as well. Stair isn't bad, but I really was running out of options at that stage so it was a meagre effort at getting by a theme! Also, in regards to single, I have noticed a slight wierd tunnelling effect at the top of the scan, so I need to recheck if that's the lens or my terrible scanning ability (I'm guessing it's the latter!)

Thanks again!

 

[Ian_Wilson]

Well done for persevering with film! Some of the colours are a bit weird - I never developed colour, only B&W, but I always found that being careful and accurate with temperatures at all times really paid off. Even so you have some good images here which fit the themes quite well, particularly the last one.

I feel your exasperation here - I never choose the quiet coach as I get so irritated with all the noise there, whereas in an ordinary coach I am much more resigned....

Ha...I was about to post exactly the same thing - I no longer book the Quiet coach because it makes me so cross when the same noise in the normal coaches would not even register!

Anyway I like the picture of the carriage window with the story behind it and the slightly dark and muted tone adds to feeling of unhappiness!

 

[Ian_Wilson]

Blimey, taking shots on film - as if a 52 isn't difficult enough on its' own.

Really admire your efforts and the fact you are sticking with it. There are a couple of real crackers on here - the "single" one has a lovely feel and tone and clarity to it - and the composition is really good with the buildings at the top above the trees.

The Play (skis) is also brilliant - again i really like the composition and the way the people line up, even down to the skiier appearing between the 2 vertical lines.

I guess shooting film is a high risk strategy - more to go wrong and less that can be done to retrieve a shot.

 

[karmagarda]

Blimey, taking shots on film - as if a 52 isn't difficult enough on its' own.

Really admire your efforts and the fact you are sticking with it. There are a couple of real crackers on here - the "single" one has a lovely feel and tone and clarity to it - and the composition is really good with the buildings at the top above the trees.

The Play (skis) is also brilliant - again i really like the composition and the way the people line up, even down to the skiier appearing between the 2 vertical lines.

I guess shooting film is a high risk strategy - more to go wrong and less that can be done to retrieve a shot.

Thanks Ian! Sorry I missed your comment previously. These 52s fall so quickly down the list I sometimes miss a comment or 2!

 

[karmagarda]

Just thought I'd update you all. I haven't given in, I've just ran into a film disaster. A friend walked in and turn on the lights on me while I was loading a film into a light proof tank. So lost a roll which had a few 52 shots on it! So I'm in a bit of limbo where I have another film to dev, and then need to figure out which shots are missing.

 

[jgs001]

Ow... nasty Conor...

 

[karmagarda]

Indulgence... one of the benefits and curses of living in such a rich society...

 

[karmagarda]

Reshoot - Stare...

Watching ... something.... only he'll ever know...




Edit: I only realised after I posted this that the original theme was "Stair"... so I managed to fool myself with the original crowbar

Edit2: I realised I just confused myself twice... the original theme was "Stare"... ARGH! I'm gone mad...

 

[karmagarda]

Sometimes you gotta just stop, and relax...



(... why oh why didn't I get the near eye in focus... aw well...)

 

[karmagarda]

Sometimes all you need is just a little "me time"...

 

[karmagarda]

The quality of film regularly amazes me. Probably not an excellent example, but one great feature of film is the natural dynamic range.





... I won't lie... this is a bit of a crowbar

 

[karmagarda]

Odd one this... spotted a band marching down a street and playing music. It reminded me of "Post" in terms of the army...



Notes... I hate the car in this shot... but there was nothing I could do at the time as I raced to get to it. Darn you modern technology!!! I also hate the sign post... anyway

 

[karmagarda]

Joker here.... but I kinda like it! Metal rain...

 

[karmagarda]

Are we talking body parts or body carnage... or is there a difference...



I'll be honest, I cringed when I saw this theme . but all the same, I'm happier about my shot this year than I was last year. Even though it's more of a hidden meaning...

 

[karmagarda]

Ok, some of the above shots were a brave attempt to try rescue a lost 52. Shot most of it on 1 roll of HP5! (Apart from the joker, only one shot came from a semi rescued overexposed 35mm film)

Anyway, this one was exactly as I planned it. When you say beginnings what does it mean to you? Well, my first thought was my parents. Without them I wouldn't be here eh! Well, they came to visit me in London and when they came over I met them in the Bar at the hotel (typical Irish!). I walked in and there was a window right by my dad screaming out "PHOTO!". Donned the Bronica... "Say cheese!" *clunk*. What can I say. It's exactly what I wanted. Hope the photo does him justice as the wise intelligent man that he is.

I could ramble on, but I won't... here he is...

 

[jgs001]

well done Conor... overcame the film disaster and back on track dedication.

Stare, it looks like a little motion blur there, but you know what... as a kind of arty secret shot it works..

Stop... sounds good to me... nice take on it too.

Isolation, that sounds good to me too ... it's a bit wonky and could do with a straighten ...

Post, it's an odd interpretation, but it works for me... Mono really works well on this one too.

Metal... I don't see much a crowbar there, very good take on it.. I really like it, the effect is odd but it works so well.

Grunge... I get it. I don't get your comment... but I get the shot. it is a hidden grunge, and the "bin" looks very clean and shiny. Excellent use of DOF

Beginnings... very well done. That's a great portrait of your Dad there Conor, possibly could have done with a little more light on his left, but it works for me as it is. I think you've captured just what you wanted to as well.

 

[karmagarda]

well done Conor... overcame the film disaster and back on track dedication.

Stare, it looks like a little motion blur there, but you know what... as a kind of arty secret shot it works..

Stop... sounds good to me... nice take on it too.

Isolation, that sounds good to me too ... it's a bit wonky and could do with a straighten ...

Post, it's an odd interpretation, but it works for me... Mono really works well on this one too.

Metal... I don't see much a crowbar there, very good take on it.. I really like it, the effect is odd but it works so well.

Grunge... I get it. I don't get your comment... but I get the shot. it is a hidden grunge, and the "bin" looks very clean and shiny. Excellent use of DOF

Beginnings... very well done. That's a great portrait of your Dad there Conor, possibly could have done with a little more light on his left, but it works for me as it is. I think you've captured just what you wanted to as well.

Thanks John! Metal is a Joker because it was taken on Digital. I didn't have anything so decided when so far behind it was a good time to use one! In respect to grunge, the cigarette container says "Gums" and "Butts" so I was thinking jez, that could refer to body parts too! Anyway, you got the bit that mattered and that was how I percieved it for the theme - the "bin" effectively holds a lot of grunge

 

[Tracer]

Well done on catching up, Conor. Sorry about the disaster with the film development, though - you obviously need to lock yourself in when loading!

You have some good pics here - my favourites are Quality, Metal and Beginnings.

I love the shapes and colours in Quality - the slight orange in the lower right corner look like fogging, but whatever it is it complements the lovely blues of the rest.

Metal is great - composition and colours forming a near-abstract. Well spotted.

Finally what a lovely portrait of your father. If you could just lighten the deep shadow on the right (his left) it would be even better, but that may be just my monitor.

 

[SarahLee]

Great catch up Conor.

Indulgence really stands out for me. For some reason it reminds me of a 70's anti-drink driving campaign . . . don't ask me why
I really like it though. Good composition and contrast in it.

It may be a joker, but I love the metal shot too.
You're spot on with your caption of metal rain. Lovely feel to this one and very effective.

Finally, beginnings also jumps out.
It's a lovely portrait to start with, but after reading the narrative with it, it has even more poignancy. Like this a lot. In fact, I even like the uneven lighting and shadows on his face. IMO it adds to the natural, candid feel of the shot.

p.s. I got your body parts reference in grunge even if John didn't

 

[karmagarda]

Well done on catching up, Conor. Sorry about the disaster with the film development, though - you obviously need to lock yourself in when loading!

You have some good pics here - my favourites are Quality, Metal and Beginnings.

I love the shapes and colours in Quality - the slight orange in the lower right corner look like fogging, but whatever it is it complements the lovely blues of the rest.

Metal is great - composition and colours forming a near-abstract. Well spotted.

Finally what a lovely portrait of your father. If you could just lighten the deep shadow on the right (his left) it would be even better, but that may be just my monitor.

Thanks! In regards to Quality it was actually light leak in the camera. I agree on the portrait shot about the dark bit on the right of the shot, needs just a tad more light to lift some shadows. But I've always been adamant not to touch my film shots in something like photoshop apart from getting rid of hairs and dust I think ruin the photo. I'll just have to get the lighting right next time!

Great catch up Conor.

Indulgence really stands out for me. For some reason it reminds me of a 70's anti-drink driving campaign . . . don't ask me why
I really like it though. Good composition and contrast in it.

It may be a joker, but I love the metal shot too.
You're spot on with your caption of metal rain. Lovely feel to this one and very effective.

Finally, beginnings also jumps out.
It's a lovely portrait to start with, but after reading the narrative with it, it has even more poignancy. Like this a lot. In fact, I even like the uneven lighting and shadows on his face. IMO it adds to the natural, candid feel of the shot.

p.s. I got your body parts reference in grunge even if John didn't

Thanks Sarah! Glad you like the portrait! I think probably a tad more light to the right of his face would have really made it, but I do like it as well and it can stay as is!

S'pose I'll see you lot after another month or so

 

[jennyb]

Well done on catching up, Conor, and what a disaster with the roll of film.

I really like most of these catch up shots but favourites for me are metal (love the lines and the angle) and beginnings (love the lighting).

Hope you can stay back on track with the 52 now.

Jenny

 

[karmagarda]

Well done on catching up, Conor, and what a disaster with the roll of film.

I really like most of these catch up shots but favourites for me are metal (love the lines and the angle) and beginnings (love the lighting).

Hope you can stay back on track with the 52 now.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny! I'll do my best

 

[Bruja]

Metal: It might not be on film but it's a great shot nonetheless

Grunge: , what a fantastic spot KG

Beginnings: What a fantastic picture and a great tribute to your dad and I love the lighting on this. My favourite for this theme

 

[karmagarda]

Metal: It might not be on film but it's a great shot nonetheless

Grunge: , what a fantastic spot KG

Beginnings: What a fantastic picture and a great tribute to your dad and I love the lighting on this. My favourite for this theme

Thanks Jill! Glad you enjoyed grunge as much as me! I did find it quite comical. And thanks for the nice comments on beginnings

 

[Tracer]

I agree on the portrait shot about the dark bit on the right of the shot, needs just a tad more light to lift some shadows. But I've always been adamant not to touch my film shots in something like photoshop apart from getting rid of hairs and dust I think ruin the photo.

Fair enough, though in fact I don't think you need to be so purist about it. In a traditional wet darkroom you it would have been the easiest thing to dodge the shadowed area a little, and I would have done it as a matter of course. The film shows plenty of shadow detail in the face - you just need to adjust the printing to compensate for paper not having as great a dynamic range as film.

IMO bringing out all the detail that you have caught on the film doesn't count as manipulation in the way that, e.g. replacing skies is (which I used to do too )

 

[karmagarda]

Fair enough, though in fact I don't think you need to be so purist about it. In a traditional wet darkroom you it would have been the easiest thing to dodge the shadowed area a little, and I would have done it as a matter of course. The film shows plenty of shadow detail in the face - you just need to adjust the printing to compensate for paper not having as great a dynamic range as film.

IMO bringing out all the detail that you have caught on the film doesn't count as manipulation in the way that, e.g. replacing skies is (which I used to do too )

Actually, you're probably right, I'm being a bit purist! I've been reading up a bit on film recently and can't believe how much they could alter and adjust film, so I think I need to be a bit more lenient on myself . So I may return with an edit of that shot when I have time!