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Victar lens B&W
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:32 am    Post subject: Victar lens B&W Reply with quote
I've reprocessed this in line with Nesster's suggestion since the first version really didn't do justice to the corner-to-corner sharpness of the Victar lens in this 1930s Beirax camera.



PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I personally like this one much better than the artificially aged version.

This is a beautiful shot by the way!


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oh, it wasn't artificially aged - it was just my cr*p processing Smile

This one has had the contrast improved with the soft-light blend filter and some USM applied, instead of messing about in curves and contrast/brightness.


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
this is super, you really are getting an amazing amount of detail and depth from the Victar. I see the 3d thing too...


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks, I really have been lucky with this camera. It must count as one of the best fivers I've ever spent. Here is the one with the family, with the traditional dress giving a real old feel, that I have remade from scratch, scanning and all. The funny thing is that the little girl is wearing a dress in a pattern and style that could also be 1960s or earlier.



It's not quite as sharp as the other one - maybe badly focused or just the merest hint of shake, I'm not sure.


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
In this version that lovely light bloom is in evidence on the sun lit wall. There's a glow to it that to me is magical and one of the main reasons for shooting with old lenses.


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Love both of these and agree with Nesster about the 3D. Do you remember what film was used?


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Glad you like them. It was Fuji Neopan Acros 100 and the exposures were according to the sunny f16 rule.

I guess the next stop is to try it with colour.


PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
These are one of the few B&W what I like really, congrats!


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
These are one of the few B&W what I like really, congrats!


Is that because of the composition, the lighting or the subject? I've come to realise that the camera (contrary to the old saying) always lies because in composing our photos we exclude whatever detracts from the impact of our subject and, in doing so, we remove the subject from its true context.

Here, I've taken a subject that is already fake - a souk that was built two years ago to glorify an Arab past that was a lot less grand and glamorous than this area depicts - and added to the illusion of age by removing the colour and using optics that are less "perfect" than today's. So the medium matches the subject in the sense that it fits in with how we expect to see this sort of thing in old books or postcards.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
PaulC wrote:

Is that because of the composition, the lighting or the subject? I've come to realise that the camera (contrary to the old saying) always lies because in composing our photos we exclude whatever detracts from the impact of our subject and, in doing so, we remove the subject from its true context.


There is truth in what you write, however it depends really on the photographer's intentions more than on the photography per se.
For instance, when I shoot historical reconstruction events, I sometimes play like you say and exclude contemporary things for the sake of illusion, but most of the time, I like better to show things as they are and don't hide or fake any modern element (like architecture, audience, other photographers...)
I am conscious that a part of viewers will not like that and would prefer the illusion game, but I always hope that the other part of viewers will appreciate my different approach.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
PaulC wrote:

Is that because of the composition, the lighting or the subject? I've come to realise that the camera (contrary to the old saying) always lies because in composing our photos we exclude whatever detracts from the impact of our subject and, in doing so, we remove the subject from its true context.


There is truth in what you write, however it depends really on the photographer's intentions more than on the photography per se.
For instance, when I shoot historical reconstruction events, I sometimes play like you say and exclude contemporary things for the sake of illusion, but most of the time, I like better to show things as they are and don't hide or fake any modern element (like architecture, audience, other photographers...)
I am conscious that a part of viewers will not like that and would prefer the illusion game, but I always hope that the other part of viewers will appreciate my different approach.


But even then, you are selecting and excluding to a considerable degree. I suspect it's really only snapshots that tell the truth in all its tedium. Somebody posted this on another forum for a critique (which nobody has been unkind enough to provide, yet) and I think it does capture reality - but it isn't a photo anyone here would be proud of taking:


Historical enactments themselves represent a carnival spirit that you are selecting which isn't a true reflection of everyday life in the places you find them. It's a momentarry aberration selected to delight your audience.

But as well as selecting particular events and including or excluding things in the field of view, there is also the clone stamp and the dodge/burn tool
which might darken an inappropriate T-shirt, for example Wink
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