May 1990Still scanning select negatives this week, and realizing that even though these days I profess to not missing film in the least, I find there are particular characteristics that the digital process cannot duplicate.
It's wonderful that when I need to, I can increase the speed of the sensor with the twist of a dial. To do that in the 1980's meant using Kodak Recording film for a speed of 1000, or underexposing a 400 speed film and pushing the development. Either would bestow your image with varying amounts of irregular pebbling, especially if it were Recording film being pushed.
Digital gives you 'noise' at higher ISO's; and each new generation of imaging sensor tries to suppress it more. While a great technological achievement, it tears the heart out of most atmospheric photography.
This shot from Jones Beach was made on Ilford HP5, a 400 speed black and white film. The contact sheet doesn't indicate any push-processing, but I tended to find Ilford films to be a bit grainier than Tri-X. Scanning on a flatbed with an improvised glass negative carrier probably doesn't help, either.
February 23, 2008
It's wonderful that when I need to, I can increase the speed of the sensor with the twist of a dial. To do that in the 1980's meant using Kodak Recording film for a speed of 1000, or underexposing a 400 speed film and pushing the development. Either would bestow your image with varying amounts of irregular pebbling, especially if it were Recording film being pushed.
Digital gives you 'noise' at higher ISO's; and each new generation of imaging sensor tries to suppress it more. While a great technological achievement, it tears the heart out of most atmospheric photography.
This shot from Jones Beach was made on Ilford HP5, a 400 speed black and white film. The contact sheet doesn't indicate any push-processing, but I tended to find Ilford films to be a bit grainier than Tri-X. Scanning on a flatbed with an improvised glass negative carrier probably doesn't help, either.
Addendum:
(Latin for 'The Following Week')
February 23, 2008For comparison's sake, I took a ride to the beach this afternoon, seeing as the weather was just as murky today as it was on that spring afternoon, just not as foggy. The perspective is a bit off, and that smaller building in the center seems to have drifted into the frame over the years, but considering I re-shot this from memory (meaning I didn't carry a print of the original scene with me), I think I did pretty good.
1 comment:
That's a beautiful print; you can see it's film the way you can hear it's vinyl.
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