My First 120 B&W Photos

[sparrow6224]

I love that grain processing structure or whatever it is - a fine image.

1. When you learn a bit about Photoshop many problems will be solved.

2. I saw 16/30 and thought, eh? The camera is large and while it's a rangefinder it's still a big piece of equipment and you might be getting some camera shake at slow shutter speeds. If so, use 400 film and high shutter speeds or -- drumroll -- a tripod. Or monopod.

3. I have a V600 and got some pretty bad scans from it (also using vuescan) and so bought an aftermarket heavy duty holder and glass -- I can't remember the outfit that sells them but they / he have been discussed on this site so a broad internet search (search function here isn't easy to nail) should find the info. Vast improvement. The advice to buy a piece of glass accomplishes half this solution if it's high enough quality glass. The stuff this guy sells is very well made. If you really can't find it PM me here and I'll search my records for it.

5. Our member Chris Crawford has a fabulously good website in which he offers all kinds of tried and true advice about developing, scanning, and post-processing. Definitely turn off ICE. -- It doesn't work with b/w and in fact is probably blurring edges and elements in the photo since small white looks like dust. Anyway Chris has taught me much. If you find the site helpful consider making a donation as he's a struggling pro out in Indiana where Conde Nast is definitely not calling. One thing, modest or even low contrast negs are better than too contrasty ones, because post processing is very good at adding contrast but not as good at taking it away. Check out Chris' site.

Carry on. Great work.

 

[Kenj8246]

kuzano gives good advice vis-a-vis the camera itself. To get nice, sharp images, the focus has to be 'on' with the rangefinder and the shutterspeeds need to be pretty darn close to what you're asking for. I scan my own images on a V600 using BetterScanning's template and ANR glass. Works a treat for me. These Fujis can make very nice images when all is as it's supposed to be with the camera. From my GW690III:


GW690 III, TMax 400 film by kenj8246, on Flickr


Dick's Classic Garage, San Marcos TX by kenj8246, on Flickr

Kenny

 

[KenR]

Nice images - they appear to be in focus to me. Photo #1 of the surfboard has limited depth of field due to the close focus - what were you focusing on? If you were focusing on the near edge of the board it would seem to be ok, but if not you may need to have the rangefinder adjusted, as others have suggested. I love this camera and can say that since I bought it a couple of years ago, I have not used my 4x5 viewcamera as the negatives that I get from the Fuji are just about as good.

 

[GaryLH]

A quick and dirty way to check for shutter speed issues take a series of shots running the spectrum of shutter speeds and f-stops and compare the frames for correct exposure.

For example if u start at f4 @ 500, then next shot would be f5.6 @ 250, next f8 @ 125.. Etc.

All shutters are slightly off the nominal at any specific shutter speed anyway, but if u have something that is way off it is not hard to spot this way.

Ken Ruth has sent me back a shutter calibration chart sometimes after he had done some work on one my folders. U can c the deviations from nominal.. (But they are a liberated w/in spec. Too bad he is having a hard time finding reliable well made bellows replacement these days.. I got a perkeo that needs bellows work soon.

The older the camera, in general it is a good idea to send it in for cla anyway.

Gary

 

[the.ronin]

Everyone thanks so much for very very informative responses. I was in the process of writing a response to everyone individually but then decided, figuratively and literally, pictures are worth a thousand more words.

Based on the great advice I'd received, I made sure to flatten the negatives as much as possible (sandwiched between some college textbooks for some time). I also turned off ICE for scanning. I used a bit of dodging and burning and couldn't resist some sharpen unmask as well. They are not mind blowing compared to some of the photos others shared in this thread but personally I think they are already leaps and bounds beyond what I posted initially.

Now I had tried jury rigging some glass adapters to less than stellar results. So I bit the bullet on some Better Scanning gear. Based on advice here, I closely examined my negatives and now feel that the crispness / focusing was a scanner issue and not my GSW 690II.

Anyway without further adieu ...

 

[the.ronin]

Nice images - they appear to be in focus to me. Photo #1 of the surfboard has limited depth of field due to the close focus - what were you focusing on?

Thanks Ken, yes, I wanted to have the fins of the surfboards sharp with bokeh in the background.

 

[emjo]

Scanning film with a flatbed is sometimes not worth it, if you really want good results. For me it is a way to view what I have photographed. It is simple but I have not made any stellar results with it. I have a Canoscan 9000f. When I rigged a darkroom in the cellar even with that simple setup the prints were fascinating. I really must get a more permanent darkroom situation. The Fujis are great, keep it!