Spotmatic and Kodak BW-400-CN film

adent · Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 304 Location: United States

Makinon 24-50/3.3 Macro

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The rest were taken with a Hanimex 135/2.8

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David · Expire: 2013-01-25

Dang those are great.

adent · Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 304 Location: United States

@David Thank you, this was the first time I had tried this film....kinda. I tried it once before in my other spotmatic. Turns out that the meter in that one is way off and all the shots were underexposed badly. It's a shame really because the camera is in beautiful shape otherwise.
I didn't really pick a good time of day to do the graveyard shots. It was mid-day and sunny out. I think I should like to go back and try it on an overcast day after a rain.

David · Expire: 2013-01-25

I may disagree with you on different timing. Overcast and after rain would make the monuments shinier, sure, but the shadows would be lost. This is solely a matter of personal taste, but I think high-contrast shots of monument statues are appropriate because graveyards represent a fairly stark subject.

I would suggest going back in the half-hour before and after sunrise or sunset. Then the shadows will be at shallow angles and will change, fundamentally, the subject character. If this is a remote enough place, you could have the best of both worlds by bringing a couple liter bottles of water. With that you could apply water as you deem appropriate to make certain parts of the statues reflective or not.

Another option would be a CPL filter. That could make the statues SEEM shinier if they have the right makeup. For instance, limestone, granite, or other materials with crystals or reflective components would respond nicely to CPL filtration. The filter would make the reflective components more reflective, by comparison, to the rest of the monument.