NY_Dan
Well-known
The story behind my latest Blurb book -- IF YOU SEE SOMETHING
Since Feb 2012 I've done 7 Blurb books. The first 6 were shot with Rolleiflexes -- 2.8f, 3.5f, Rolleiwide, a little Rollei Tele, lots of Rolleinars, lots of vintage #25 flashbulbs, 95 percent black and white Kodak film -- Tmax (which I prefer because it's on a thicker base & now costs less) and Trix. The small percentage of color was Kodak Portra 400.
From September 2013 to the first week of January 2014 I decided to change things up and shoot with my first camera a Kodak Instamatic -- given to me on my eighth birthday. I shot with out-dated Kodak Kodacolor Gold 126 cartridges -- the most current date being 2001. I also scored some old Fujicolor C-41, and 2 rolls of Solaris. By the way, it's possible to adapt an empty cartridge and use 35mm film -- see instructions on YouTube.
The Instamatic has one f/stop -- f/16 and one shutter speed -- about 1/125th sec. If you insert a used up flash cube the shutter speed is supposed to drop to 1/40th sec. Therefore, I tried to shoot in bright daylight. For lower light levels I was able to buy NOS GE or Sylvania Flashcubes. These work well from 5-9 feet range. (Make sure you get the correct base opening -- for me round -- but for some newer model Instamatics you need square).
You can see the results of my efforts on Blurb: http://www.blurb.com/books/4995346-if-you-see-something
I scanned the photos with my Nikon 9000 Super Coolscan, and used the 120 glass carrier which I masked off to fit a strip of 126 film. What I found appealing about this process was the ability to scan and include the area bordering the frames. Best of all was the ability to create diptychs and triptychs by scanning multiple adjoining frames.
Moving forward I'm going back to the Rolleiflexes for my next book -- which I have a few months of shooting stockpiled. It was great switching things up. I want to wrap up the next one quickly to switch again -- I'm thinking of shooting with an anamorphic lens or maybe my Nikon F / M3 or go infrared.
For those interested in Blurb books, here's my advice -- all files srgb (not grayscale) 8 bit jpegs. Make photos about 20 percent brighter than normal so they don't block up in printing. For color increase saturation. Print one small book as a test. I like the pro uncoated paper option -- it's thicker and has a nice tactile feel. Sometimes black and white will print with a green or magenta cast -- take a few iPhone photos and submit a support ticket to Blurb and they will reprint. Use the bad copy for purposes of registering copyright if you're so inclined. Before hitting the order button Google "Blurb coupon codes." They always have a coupon around, and often you get a big discount when you order a second copy on the same order form. For $9.99 or so you can order an eBook for your iPad and iPhone -- these are really nice.
For most books, and especially the larger sizes, it's too expensive to expect anyone to purchase -- Over $120 on the cheaper stock is a lot of money. But, an eBook is relatively cheap. And of course if you want people to see the photos, and that's gotta be the number one goal, just put the whole book on public preview. Some people only put the first 20 or so pages, but then many more people won't see it.
I view these books as an exercise, a way to see where you're at, where you want to go (with your photography) and an archive of your favorite photos. It's great to help hone editing skills too. Start with 250 or more of your favorite shots and whittle it down to 125, then put them in some sort of order, whittle some more...
Since Feb 2012 I've done 7 Blurb books. The first 6 were shot with Rolleiflexes -- 2.8f, 3.5f, Rolleiwide, a little Rollei Tele, lots of Rolleinars, lots of vintage #25 flashbulbs, 95 percent black and white Kodak film -- Tmax (which I prefer because it's on a thicker base & now costs less) and Trix. The small percentage of color was Kodak Portra 400.
From September 2013 to the first week of January 2014 I decided to change things up and shoot with my first camera a Kodak Instamatic -- given to me on my eighth birthday. I shot with out-dated Kodak Kodacolor Gold 126 cartridges -- the most current date being 2001. I also scored some old Fujicolor C-41, and 2 rolls of Solaris. By the way, it's possible to adapt an empty cartridge and use 35mm film -- see instructions on YouTube.
The Instamatic has one f/stop -- f/16 and one shutter speed -- about 1/125th sec. If you insert a used up flash cube the shutter speed is supposed to drop to 1/40th sec. Therefore, I tried to shoot in bright daylight. For lower light levels I was able to buy NOS GE or Sylvania Flashcubes. These work well from 5-9 feet range. (Make sure you get the correct base opening -- for me round -- but for some newer model Instamatics you need square).
You can see the results of my efforts on Blurb: http://www.blurb.com/books/4995346-if-you-see-something
I scanned the photos with my Nikon 9000 Super Coolscan, and used the 120 glass carrier which I masked off to fit a strip of 126 film. What I found appealing about this process was the ability to scan and include the area bordering the frames. Best of all was the ability to create diptychs and triptychs by scanning multiple adjoining frames.
Moving forward I'm going back to the Rolleiflexes for my next book -- which I have a few months of shooting stockpiled. It was great switching things up. I want to wrap up the next one quickly to switch again -- I'm thinking of shooting with an anamorphic lens or maybe my Nikon F / M3 or go infrared.
For those interested in Blurb books, here's my advice -- all files srgb (not grayscale) 8 bit jpegs. Make photos about 20 percent brighter than normal so they don't block up in printing. For color increase saturation. Print one small book as a test. I like the pro uncoated paper option -- it's thicker and has a nice tactile feel. Sometimes black and white will print with a green or magenta cast -- take a few iPhone photos and submit a support ticket to Blurb and they will reprint. Use the bad copy for purposes of registering copyright if you're so inclined. Before hitting the order button Google "Blurb coupon codes." They always have a coupon around, and often you get a big discount when you order a second copy on the same order form. For $9.99 or so you can order an eBook for your iPad and iPhone -- these are really nice.
For most books, and especially the larger sizes, it's too expensive to expect anyone to purchase -- Over $120 on the cheaper stock is a lot of money. But, an eBook is relatively cheap. And of course if you want people to see the photos, and that's gotta be the number one goal, just put the whole book on public preview. Some people only put the first 20 or so pages, but then many more people won't see it.
I view these books as an exercise, a way to see where you're at, where you want to go (with your photography) and an archive of your favorite photos. It's great to help hone editing skills too. Start with 250 or more of your favorite shots and whittle it down to 125, then put them in some sort of order, whittle some more...
rwintle
Scientist by day
That is really nicely done! I really like how you've left the borders in, and the way you've mixed up the layouts (one-up, two, three, six, etc.).
Really vibrant colour from that old 126, too, and the mix of subjects is interesting and diverse without seeming all over the place, if you know what I mean.
Thanks for the tips on Blurbing as well... good to hear your experiences with brightness, colour casts, paper stock etc.
Really vibrant colour from that old 126, too, and the mix of subjects is interesting and diverse without seeming all over the place, if you know what I mean.
Thanks for the tips on Blurbing as well... good to hear your experiences with brightness, colour casts, paper stock etc.
Frank Petronio
Well-known
Dan's the man when it comes to Blurbing... really solid work across all his volumes.
farlymac
PF McFarland
Cool, Dan. I used to shoot with an X-45 and X-35 (after the 45 winder crapped out) a long time ago, when they were the only cameras I could afford (early seventies). Mostly Kodachrome, some Pan-X. Kind of miss those cameras, as they had the glass lenses. I've got a couple of Instamatic 500's in reserve just in case someone brings back 126, or I try that cartridge reloading.
PF
PF
NY_Dan
Well-known
Thanks for looking. I recently bought an Instamatic 500 on eBlay. I was curious to check it out. Very nice for what it is. Paid $20. It was owned by a dentist and came with this amazing close-up kit and ring flash that plugs into wall outlet.
jplomley
Established
Sharpening film scans for blurb
Sharpening film scans for blurb
Hey Dan, very nice work!
I'm about to do my first Blurb book, all scanned B&W film using a Coolscan 9000, and I'm curious about the final sharpening stage. Most people sharpening from digital capture tend to recommend PhotoKit Sharpener using a half-tone output of 150 lpi/300 ppi. But when this is applied to B&W film scans it looks horrific. Could really use your expert advice.
Cheers,
Jeff
Sharpening film scans for blurb
Hey Dan, very nice work!
I'm about to do my first Blurb book, all scanned B&W film using a Coolscan 9000, and I'm curious about the final sharpening stage. Most people sharpening from digital capture tend to recommend PhotoKit Sharpener using a half-tone output of 150 lpi/300 ppi. But when this is applied to B&W film scans it looks horrific. Could really use your expert advice.
Cheers,
Jeff
NY_Dan
Well-known
Hi Jeff,
You asked the right guy -- I think. Why? Because I use the same scanner. I don't know if you're doing 35mm or 2 1/4. I scan with 4 pass, tiff, and 300 dpi. Then I clean up and make adjustments in PhotoShop. So for a 6x6 I'm roughly 29" x 29" 16 bit 144 mb grayscale. The only sharpening I do is unsharp mask at about 35 percent 2 pixel radius. Then for Blurb I save a copy as a 12x12 300dpi 8 bit rgb jpeg. I don't do any further sharpening and it looks good. I also make the images about 10-15 percent lighter -- this takes a little experimenting. Often I print a book and then adjust a few images, re-upload and print another. If your black and whites print green/cyan/magenta tint Blurb will redo. They have a problem with black and white.
You asked the right guy -- I think. Why? Because I use the same scanner. I don't know if you're doing 35mm or 2 1/4. I scan with 4 pass, tiff, and 300 dpi. Then I clean up and make adjustments in PhotoShop. So for a 6x6 I'm roughly 29" x 29" 16 bit 144 mb grayscale. The only sharpening I do is unsharp mask at about 35 percent 2 pixel radius. Then for Blurb I save a copy as a 12x12 300dpi 8 bit rgb jpeg. I don't do any further sharpening and it looks good. I also make the images about 10-15 percent lighter -- this takes a little experimenting. Often I print a book and then adjust a few images, re-upload and print another. If your black and whites print green/cyan/magenta tint Blurb will redo. They have a problem with black and white.
bsdunek
Old Guy with a Corgi
What a wonderful collection of photos. Just shows what you can do if you use your God given talents as opposed to lots of high tech. Really enjoyed this!
I like to use 110 cameras for the same reason.
I like to use 110 cameras for the same reason.
FalseDigital
BKK -> Tokyo
Great stuff! I think you really captured the essence of NYC. Making me a bit nostalgic actually...
jplomley
Established
Cheers Dan. Sounds like I'm on the right path. All 35mm work over the years with M6, MP, M7. I'm experiencing some down time right now due to a foot issue, so it's a good opportunity to get at some projects I've always wanted to do but never seemed to have the time.
NY_Dan
Well-known
jplomley, I'm not a big fan of scanning 35mm negatives with the Coolscan 9000. The plastic holders are awful. Even the thumbnails are too small and the sequencing / order is not to my liking. It's just about impossible to line up the black spacers between frames, and forget about trying to duplicate the filed framed edges let alone see past the frame all around. And worst of all the film is not held flat. I tried buying the special anti-newton glass -- these are two 35mm x 6 exposure sized pieces of glass -- you remove the top piece of Nikon plastic frame holder and the weight of the glass flattens the negs -- but I still need to use tape to hold the glass flat. So instead I used a 120 Nikon holder with the glass and masked off an area for about 5 35mm exposures -- this works best and permits me to show the area around frame. Sadly Nikon doesn't have a scan whole area option, so I set to 6x9 and then use the custom strip offset to center the frame I wish to scan. Far from ideal, and begs the question -- did anyone at Nikon actually try using the scanner? 
Nikon for it's part decided to wash their hands of the scanner -- and has not provided a software update for people wishing to use the current Mac operating system -- and they won't service -- trotting out the age old excuse of not stocking parts -- but they sold these to my knowledge within the time frame that mandates repairing. Oh well. Good luck with your projects -- yeah, it takes a lot of time to scan, and adjust. At least with color negs you can use Digital Ice and save the dust removal step. I think you should get almost 20 inch wide at 300 dpi with the Coolscan.
Nikon for it's part decided to wash their hands of the scanner -- and has not provided a software update for people wishing to use the current Mac operating system -- and they won't service -- trotting out the age old excuse of not stocking parts -- but they sold these to my knowledge within the time frame that mandates repairing. Oh well. Good luck with your projects -- yeah, it takes a lot of time to scan, and adjust. At least with color negs you can use Digital Ice and save the dust removal step. I think you should get almost 20 inch wide at 300 dpi with the Coolscan.
charjohncarter
Veteran
Nice Dan, very nostalgic for me. I shot plenty of 126 in the 60s. Like you I used an AG-1 in lower light; indoors or outdoors. Thanks for sharing, it was fun.
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
Nostalgia, or fresh eyes?
Nostalgia, or fresh eyes?
A ten dollar Imperial 126 camera got me hooked on photography in elementary school.
In junior high it gave me the first roll of film I developed myself, Verichrome Pan IIRC.
Some photos made with that plastic camera were better than much of what I have done since.
Chris
Nostalgia, or fresh eyes?
A ten dollar Imperial 126 camera got me hooked on photography in elementary school.
In junior high it gave me the first roll of film I developed myself, Verichrome Pan IIRC.
Some photos made with that plastic camera were better than much of what I have done since.
Chris
charjohncarter
Veteran
In my case, I know what you mean.
FalseDigital
BKK -> Tokyo
It could also have to do with over-thinking. When we're children we tend not to think too much about certain things and in this regard I think makes it easier to produce unique and interesting images. Sometimes I find myself worrying too much about composition, when I've had a drink or two I let go and just shoot more freely. So actually, when I shoot concerts (or other things for that matter) my work is usually better when I'm not sober!
...but maybe that's just me. hahahah