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Medium Format Images - Olympic Mountains
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:29 pm    Post subject: Medium Format Images - Olympic Mountains Reply with quote

I'm pretty much sitting here with my caregiving duties, and luckily I can use my computer between times of need.

I will scan some images today and put some of them up on the board just for giving some familiarity with what you can find in the Olympic Peninsula.

This particular image may not be as technically correct as I had hoped when looking on the light box at the slide; however, it does show some of the color that shows on the meadowed hillsides, particularly on the "drier" northeast corners of the national park.

This meadow pictured is actually out of sight of the nearby high road that traverses the ridge out of sight above the frame in the image. That road is in the Alpine Hemlock forest on the south side of the ridge, and you need to "know" that there is in fact extensive meadows on this north side of the ridge. The "north sides" are of course colder and more well-watered from lingering snow, simply because of the angle of the sun throughout the year.

So...this meadow just does not see many visitors, simply because most people are intent on the road with their automobile.

The meadow is only about 1/4 mile from the road, but efficiently out of sight! This would be one area that could be visited by a group and we would have many many acres of beautiful flowers, streams, meadow, and small waterfalls everywhere.

There are TONS of these "out of the way" and "hidden" glades throughout the park. I find it fun to just head down to these areas and take my lunch and a few lenses and spend the day; no hurry, no people!

Cloudy Day on North-Side Meadow with Alpine Geraniums, Alumroot, and Saxifrage

Yashica Mat 124
F:8, 1/60th (f:16 would have been better for the distant slope)
Velvia 50




Edit: You'll notice the huge possibilities in these areas. From macro shots of individual flower petals, to small dioramas of streamside greenery, to wide-open panoramas of soaring avenues of color. I could not think of a better place to use the high-end old manual lenses. I smile when I think about what something like a 50/3.5 Tessar could do, with its three dimensional rendering...and that's just one example of a possibility for all those lenses. Shocked


PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And here is the opposite valley to the south, from the road. What a difference! Shocked

This different aspect shows what happens on the "windward" side, with the trapping of mists and rain on most days. There is a dichotomous difference indeed between this deep forest and the oppositional open slopes on the northern aspect.

I have found that, by scrambling down into the abyss below, that I can be totally alone and "cut off" from human effects. There is a beautiful pristine forest down in that canyon, and the stream runs fast and clear. Last year I spent overnight in there, and it was simply wonderful.

Forest and Mist - Cox Creek Valley

Pentax 645
Pentax 55/2.8
Exposure Unrecorded



PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All enchanting!! Laurence, who knows, if the Destiny will want this we will meet there someday.


PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow I stay with open mouth in front of the velvia Shocked must be a delight on the slide


PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Outstanding beauty, I'd love to join you on your trip there, hey ho I can dream on, you never know. That road looks very loose rock and steep, do you use 4X4 to get up it or are you on foot?


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats, Laurence!
I sincerely admire your ability of catching so nice landscapes, one feels the need to go there to see by oneself...
And your Yashica Mat is doing a really good job.
Thanks for sharing!
Best regards,
Jes.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all of you! It's nice to be taking these older shots out of the binder and scanning them. The old Epson 2450 has a "sweet spot" in scanning medium format negs and transparencies. For 35mm it is almost crap.

I'm scanning only at 800dpi, to save file space. Anything that I review and really like, I'll re-scan at 2400dpi and put on CD and a backup hard drive.

This is working out nicely, as I can care for my father and father-in-law in this same room, yet keep in touch with the "outside world", including my work, from here. I am very lucky that my work is from home with a VPN connection.

Here is another that I remember the light changing to this sort of "muted sunshine" when a large cloud cover started edging over the area. The lights went out! But, the resultant light was rather strange and mesmerizing to me. Also, it brought out the colors nicely, as opposed to the harsh sunshine just minutes before. The dew started forming almost immediately as the temperature shot down; in fact, there was mist in the air.

I could have increased the contrast, but I wanted to present this in the light as I was seeing it.

Meadow Stream with Muted Light

Pentax 645
Flektogon 65/2.8
f:16, 1/2 second
Velvia 50




Here's another in the same light. I switched camera to the Yashica Mat, according to my notes. The revered Magenta Paintbrush (a relative of the red Indian Paintbrush) really popped out in the light.

Magenta Paintbrush and Lupine, Streamside in Muted Light

Yashica Mat 124
f:11, 1/30 second
Velvia 100F



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Love the last one. So real, so 3D. It feels like the river is flowing in front of me!


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a scan from a shot with the Vega 12B 90/2.8. For a very cheap and uncoated lens, this one does very well for me. Perhaps it's because it is on a larger negative, but I certainly can't fault it for lack of sharpness. I also think it has a "character" in that it treats the greens very well. I always use it with a hood, as it tends to flare badly.

Sylvan Rain Forest

Pentax 645
Vega 12B 90/2.8
Fuji Provia



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another from the lowlands near my home. This is a fine trail, and it always seems so manicured in the earliest Spring, by the understory of Oregon Oxalis that shoots up so densely. Like a green rug that delineates the edges of the trail nicely.

Spring Manicure

Pentax 645
Pentax 75/2.8
Fuji Reala



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
Love the last one. So real, so 3D. It feels like the river is flowing in front of me!


I'd like to see that one with your Zeiss 50/3.5, Orio.... Shocked


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Vega!!!!
Amazing image and quality!!!

In these two shots, it beats the Pentax 75 hands down.

I must get myself a Vega.

-


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
Yes, Vega!!!!
Amazing image and quality!!!
In these two shots, it beats the Pentax 75 hands down.
I must get myself a Vega.
-


The Vega turned out to be a real surprise for me, Orio. I bought it because well....it was so CHEAP ($12.00)...I expected the worst because people tell me it's a "crap" lens...

I'll find another image taken with the Vega 12B.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The above Vega shot... I think it would look great also in B&W


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some more gorgeous photos of your area, Larry! Especially like the first
of the last three, Magenta Paintbrush and Lupine by the stream. In the
Sylvan Rainforest, that appears to be ginger around the old stump, brings
back memories of northern Idaho. Thanks for posting these!

Bill


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All people in bed, gave father-in-law a bath, he's clean and feeling good! I'm about ready to hit the bed myself, but I'll put up this last shot with the Vega 90/2.8 for Orio and others who might be interested.

This is just a "grab shot" of a Madrona tree near the house. Very minimal processing, I did give it a VERY light shot of Unsharp Mask at 35/1.0/0 and cloned out some dust and scratches from my poor cleaning technique (a quick blast of air on the transparency didn't get it all).

BOKEH: Anyway, I think that not only is the Vega a good, sharp lens...I think the bokeh is NOT too bad at all. Those background highlights are some very strong circular highlights through the background stand of Western Red Alder trees. I think they are frankly tamed pretty damned nicely.

This was wide open and close to the minimum focus distance of 20 inches (another good attribute is this very close focus capability).

I see nothing wrong with this lens; I've kept it, and it will always have a place in my bag.

Western Madrona in Open Alder Forest

Pentax 645
Vega 90/2.8
f:2.8 @ 1/250th
Fuji Provia



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
The above Vega shot... I think it would look great also in B&W


Here's a very quick one, Orio. I need to get off this thing and hit that pillow! Shocked

Reverted to Monochrome in Channel Mixer, moved the sliders to a point where it looked pleasing...not too technical. Confused



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, here I'll throw in a B&W of the Madrona. It certainly emphasizes some things, don't know if that's good or bad! Laughing

I do like the detail in the lower part of the bark...the image could use more "punch", but I'm not awake enough to start any lengthy Photoshop crap! Hahaha! Good night!



PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laurence,
here's more or less what I saw in my mind when I thought of your shot as it could be in B&W:



I hope you don't mind - I put it on my server instead of public upload place, if you want it removed please let me know I'll remove it immediately.
-


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wonderful shots!

Hmmm I'm not sure I'm going to be able to resist giving medium format a proper go for much longer.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bill, Chris, Richard:

Thank you for the comments! Richard, you should CERTAINLY consider medium format! It's yet another whole new chance to use manual focus lenses in a different venue. And these days, it is cheaper than it has ever been to get nice equipment. People are casting off medium format gear in droves, to help finance their digital dreams....

Orio:

Oh YES, please post ANY TIME your interpretations of an image that I post. I LOVE to see what others might do to the image, and that is part of what a forum is about.

How did you get the blacks to be so RICH in your re-touch of the Vega 12B image? I like the contrast too - did you increase the contrast?


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laurence wrote:

How did you get the blacks to be so RICH in your re-touch of the Vega 12B image? I like the contrast too - did you increase the contrast?


Yes, I increased the contrast and densified the blacks.
And I will reveal to you (and to the others) the tool that I use for most of my (scarce) post-processing.
It is called Power Retouche Pro and it's a series of plugins that offer a lot of customization to the user. In particular, I find especially effective the B&W conversion plugin.
This is the link to the web site:
http://powerretouche.com/

They are commercial, but the price (125 USD) is affordable especially if compared to the number of tools you get. 26 plugins, means less than 5 USD per plugin.
They aren't all good, some are so-and-so, but the majority is useful and some of them are really excellent.

In the case of this image, I worked with the channel mixer (the one in the plugin), plus the multigrade "paper" control and the black density level.

-


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These are fantastic! Really great!
I don't know what to say, they are just overwhelming.
I really like them a lot!


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LucisPictor wrote:
These are fantastic! Really great!
I don't know what to say, they are just overwhelming.
I really like them a lot!


I am glad you enjoy the image. It's quite fun to finally be scanning some of these. It helps me keep a "sense of order", and allows me to store the transparencies out of the way, now that I have digitized them.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is one more from the Vega 12B 90/2.8. Again, not necessarily as a "good" image, but more to show the capability.

This is the last Vega image on this thread. I have found more Vega 12B 90/2.8, and Vega 26B 120/2.8 transparencies. So, I'll open up a separate thread for those, so that forum members can reference those lenses specifically. I think they are both GREAT Russian lenses.

Madrona Curls

Pentax 645
Vega 12B 90/2.8
26mm extension tube (medium)
f:4, 1/125th (approx.)
Fuji Provia