Now Free! Figital Revolution Manifesto PDF Download

In celebration the revolution’s ten year anniversary, I have decided to post the Figital Revolution Manifesto book as a free PDF download. (The print copy is no longer available for purchase online.) Written in 2007 and admittedly snarky and over the top, I am struck by the fact that, despite so many changes in the industry, the book is entirely still relevant today! I want to thank my wife, Eve Ogden Schaub as my co-author… she has moved onto bigger projects like her book Year of No Sugar which went viral… and her next book is due out in January 2017 so stay tuned.

Book Link:

TheFigitalRevolution

Viva la Revolution-

Stephen

 

Stephen Schaub – Artist Talk Rutland, VT. May 14, 2013

Leaping Outside The Box: Reimagining Photography by Stephen Schaub

Rutland, Chaffee Art Center – 7 p.m., Chaffee Downtown, 75 Merchants Row, (802) 775-0356

•••••••

Photography is dead… at least the photography that has existed since Joseph Necephore Niepce made his first exposure in 1826; the same photography that led so many into the darkroom of trays and chemistry; the same photography that our grandparents used to produce endless carousels of slide shows on Kodachrome.
So what is next? Photography has always been in the throes of change and evolution since its inception and this transformative, gut-wrenching period is no different. Photography- as our collective nostalgic memory remembers it-is dead. The future promises to expand our definition of what a photograph will be.
•••••••
Viva la Revolution– Stephen
For more information on the full text above please visit: www.ichoosefilm.com

New Kodak Professional Portra 160 Film Review

When Kodak released the Portra 400 a few months ago many of us speculated that a new Portra 160 would be just around the corner… and guess what? Kodak has announced today that Kodak Professional Portra 160 will be released starting in March 2011 in: 35mm, 120/ 220, 4×5 and 8×10… fantastic!!! Click on the audio-play button to listen to a 13 minute in-depth review of this new film (I tested 120) and be sure to look at the sample images provided below while listening to the audio… What a nice way to start the week!!!

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Please click on the images below to see larger versions of each.

Indian Hill Imageworks Interior Kodak Portra 160
Eve- Kodak Professional Portra 160- 50" x 71.65" Print!
16" x 20" Crop from a 50" x 71.65" File. WOW!!!
5" x 7" crop from a 50" x 71.65" file... amazing tonality and detail!

New Kodak Portra 400 Review Part 4: Conclusion.


New Kodak Portra 400

Click on the audio play button to listen to my final thoughts on this new film offering by Kodak.

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3a: 3200!

The last vote… each of these 400 speed films at 3200! The only light in the room is the 40 watt compact florescent in the lamp behind Eve… talk about crappy light!

All negatives were scanned on an Imacon Scanner as a 3F linear file with no sharpening… essentially a RAW scan.

All images were processed exactly the same in Photoshop. All images were captured with my Nikon FM3a and a 50mm f1.2 AI lens… in this case at F 1.2… bit slow on the shutter speed… hand held. Both files were made so the film edge would read black.

Tell every photographer you know to vote on this as the results will be very informative for our Figital community and will be covered in my fourth and final post on this review on Novemember 23, 2010… vote now!!

Vote Now!!!!

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3: Usable EI Range

How low can you go!

As promised here are example images of the new Kodak Portra 400 film with a bit of a twist… you get to vote… again! There are two different films shown, both films are a 400 speed color negative material… one of them is the new Kodak Portra 400. Which do you like? These scans represent the outer edge for a 400 speed film… EI 25 and 50 as well as 1600! In the last post here on FR you are voting on EI 100 and box speed 400- if you have not voted in that post yet please do now:

https://figitalrevolution.com/2010/11/17/kodak-new-portra-400-review-part-2-skin-tones/

I will use the information gathered from both of these posts and your votes along with additional testing I am running for my final thoughts in Part 4 which will be next week.

All negatives were scanned on an Imacon Scanner as a 3F linear file with no sharpening… essentially a RAW scan.

All images were processed exactly the same in Photoshop. All images were captured with my Nikon FM3a and a 50mm f1.2 AI lens.

Tell every photographer you know to vote on this as the results will be very informative for our Figital community and will be covered in my fourth and final post on this review on Novemember 23, 2010… vote now!!

Be sure to Vote now!!!!


Putting It All Together

Everything I post here on the Figital Revolution is- in one way or another- part of a test I am running for my own Artworks, or for a client at Indian Hill Imageworks. Over the last few months I have been testing the Olympus XA, the LOMO LCA, the Olympus XA 4, Kodak Ektar 100, alternative printing paper, perfecting my carry solution (BBB) and new methods for hanging artwork. Now it is time to put everything into action! I am leaving for Italy italianflagin a few days (note the Italian Flag) and all of the works and testing will finally get full use. Below is a new image I just made called Winter Leaves, Vermont. 2009. It is made using the Olympus XA 4 using an in-camera multi exposure, overlapping-negative technique I have been refining for the last few months. The film: Kodak Ektar 100…I am taking 40 rolls of it with me to Italy! The paper/ image: printed on an uncoated sheet of Arches Rough 22″ x 30″, 640 gsm as a d’Vinci Print (12 color).

Note: I am about to test a similar style paper with some different sizing properties made by Fabriano… since my new  artworks will be from Italy it only seemed right to look at Italian paper. Hey, they’ve been making paper for over 700 years… they have to be doing something right!

Winter Leaves, Pawlet, Vermont. 2009

Winter Leaves, Vermont. 2009
Edition size: One
Image Size: 25″ x 9″
Paper Size: 22″ x 30″
Copyright Stephen M. Schaub 2009

Install View

Installation View

Finally, I will be working on additional articles while traveling so get ready for new and exciting things here on FR once I return.

schaub-web09

 

 

 

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Thought for the Day.

Abe“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”

                                –  Abraham Lincoln

This is a key underlying concept of the Figital Revolution…if we as photogrpahers band together and speak out about what we want in our industry, the industry will be compelled to listen! So over the next few months I will be conducting brief surveys (3 yes or no questions each) on what the photographic community really wants. So click on the survey link and and make your voice heard! I will post the results on The Figital Revolution and also use this information in meetings with industry (aka The Photo Industrial Complex) to illustrate what Real Photographers- that’s you- want! Please note you must enter your email address at the end of the survey to keep voting honest… please only VOTE once… it’s how Lincoln would have wanted it.

Link To Survey!

 Via La Revolution – Stephen Schaub

Please note that by completing this survey your email address will NOT be shared and you will NOT be added to any email mailing list. If you would to receive our online newsletter just click here to subscribe as it is FREE!

The New Kodak TMAX 400 (TMY-2) – Pushed to 1600, Processed in XTOL!

New Tmax 400 Box

As promised here is a sample image (my wife Eve Ogden Schaub of Life=Art) in Puerto Rico pushing the new TMY-2 (Tmax 400) to an E.I. of 1600 and processed in Xtol Straight using Kodak’s suggested time/ temp . The light was very, very low as even at an E.I. of 1600 my exposure was still 1/8 at F1.4 (hand-held.) The image was made with a Leica M7 with a 50mm Summilux.

So what are my thoughts????

EveFull_1600EveDetail_1_1600EveDetail_2_1600

Please note: click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

1. Of course there is more grain than the 400 speed test I posted a few days ago (click here) but not a lot considering this is a 2 stop push! It is not as crisp and lacks some fine image detail as the other test image had due to the increased grain and I am sure the slow shutter speed and the f1.4 working f stop ( I do the best I can, but on 10 shots of espresso a day what do you expect?)

2. Good shadow detail and the highlights still have nice separation especially considering the light source.

3. Easy to scan- no problems with excessive contrast or anything…the scan was as easy as my last test scan. (Scanned on an Imacon Scanner at 3200 dpi, 16 Bit, wet mount, no sharpening.)

So what does this mean??? Where do we (I) go from here?

Well I for one will shoot this film as my NEW primary film at box speed (400) – but it is nice to know that in a pinch I can push this film to meet my needs no matter what they are… I am going to continue my exploration of different developers (stay tuned!!) for this film, but for now- Xtol works fine. Once again in my opinion – Kudos to Kodak! (It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to say that twice in one week!)

Image Copyright Stephen M. Schaub 2008

The New Kodak TMAX 400 Film – GET EXCITED KODAK IS BACK!!

New Tmax 400 Box

Kodak IMHO hit a home run with the new TMAX 400. I’ve been testing the 35mm version- (the box says world’s sharpest 400… and it is!) and having now shot around 30 rolls of this film in Puerto Rico and tested a few more here in Vermont here are some initial thoughts (note- please be sure to click on the images to get a larger view):

1. I tried 3 different developers (D-76, XTOL and PMK… XTOL Straight wins hands down.)

2. True 400 speed in XTOL.

3. Extremely fine grain with a very, very nice tonality…MY NEW FAVORITE FILM!!!

4. I feel that the times posted by Kodak for this new film are pretty darn good- at least the Xtol processing time/ temp produces negs that scan perfectly.

Eve Full Frame

I have posted an example snapshot I took of my wife Eve Ogden Schaub of LIFE=ART while at lunch in Puerto Rico (my Pina Colada is just out of the frame). The image was shot on a Leica M7 with a Summilux 50mm F1.4 at F/2.8 (060 filter on lens). Be sure to check out the detail images as well as they really illustrate why I feel this film is a real winner (remember…this is 35mm 400 speed film!)

Eve EyesEve Right Eye Close UpOOF

The scan was done on our Imacon at 6300dpi, 16 Bit, Wet Mount. Printed at 16″ x 24″ on our d’Vinci Fine Art Printer it blows me away that this is 35mm. Go get this film NOW! This is a film we as photographers should support as it is fantastic (and how often can you say that these days?)

Please note that there is quite a bit of old stock TMAX 400 out there (I don’t like the old film at all)…the new version has only been out since Oct/ Nov 2007 and can be a bit hard to find. The box should have a red rectangle that says “World’s Sharpest !” The Catalog Number is: 894 7947…I purchased mine from a Calumet Store.

SanJuanCopyrightStephenMSchaub2008Here is a sample preview of my new artworks from Puerto Rico (These are from my Fragment Series). The image is 36″ x36″!

Viva La Revolution!!

Please note all images Copyright Stephen M. Schaub 2008