hybrid arts

Buying Used Photographic Equipment

by EveNSteve

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Buying used photographic gear can be a great way to save a few bucks and get that lens or camera body you’ve been dreaming of now. In this audioblog I outline a few suggestions to consider when buying used gear online or at a photographic store.

The artwork below was just made with my “used” Leica M7 and my “used” Leica 90mm Elmarit Lens.

leafearringsvermont2009springm7

Last Year’s Leaves, Vermont. 2009
From A New Eden
Leica M7 with 90mm Elmarit Lens
In Camera Overlapping Frame Panoramic Technique, 3X
Kodak Ektar Film
Printed 9.5″ x 25″ on Fabriano 640 gsm Rough, Hand Coated.
Copyright Stephen Schaub 2009

detailvermont09

Print surface detail, hand-coated Fabriano.

The Corrupted M7 Meets Kodak Ektar

by EveNSteve

Ah yes I had a bit too much time on my hands Friday… I just figured out a method for slipping film in my Leica  M7 using a similar technique I’ve outlined here for the XA and LCA camera systems… somewhere there is a German engineer grinding his teeth!

Early Spring, Vermont. 2009

Early Spring, Vermont. 2009
Leica M7 with 50mm Summilux F 1.4 Lens
In Camera Overlapping Frame Panoramic Technique, 3X
Kodak Ektar Film
Printed 10″ x 25″ on Fabriano 640 gsm Rough, Hand Coated.
Copyright Stephen Schaub 2009

Publishing Your Own Photography Book- Part 2

by EveNSteve

I decided to have Blurb print and bind a second copy of A New Eden Volume 1 for two reasons…

  • 1. To see how the printing consistency would be.
  • 2. To see how the Image Wrap cover option compared to the dust jacket option.

Some More Thoughts:

THIS JUST IN- I like the Image Wrap cover with the premium paper as the best-of-all option- the dust jacket keeps falling off the book and drives me nuts. The dust jacket does have a better range of color than the image wrap, and is glossy but there is something nice to the look and feel of the image wrap, and on a small book with only 38 pages- like mine- as the extra material of the image wrap makes the spine look and feel nicer…the book just feels more complete. The premium paper is way nicer than the standard (I tried both) and really worth the few extra dollars. With regards to printing consistency… seems OK to me so far but I will continue to monitor and keep you posted if my thoughts change.

Biggest question: does this process make sense if you are selling your books? Services like Blurb are much less expensive than some other online publishing companies… that being said, the per book cost for my Eden project is now at almost $40. When I compare this to my similarly-priced second book Through A Glass Darkly -which is in a league all it’s own and beyond compare to anything Blurb or any online service can print or bind- it does give one pause. Once again, I think you need to think of a book like this as a very nice promotional piece, that you will at best maybe make a few bucks on… but ultimately with the ulterior motive of greater visibility for your works which will hopefully translate into print sales and other good things. I’d suggest a markup from Blurb’s cost at around 10%, it’s a fair percentage and at the same time keeps your per book cost at a point that is still marketable.

LINK: Publishing Your Own Photography Book, Part One.

Viva la Revolution – Stephen

Part 2 – Is Cross Processing or XPRO Dead?

by EveNSteve

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This is Part 2 to the post I made yesterday…more thoughts. A good sub-title for this would be: Process Does Matter!

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Is Cross Processing or XPRO Dead?

by EveNSteve

I’ve just started a film test in preparation for my trip to Italy next month– the two films in consideration are Kodak Ektar 100 and Agfa Precia CT cross processed. Thus far, most of the artworks from my current series A New Eden are either XPRO (cross processed- E6 film in C41 chem) or expired film. However- after much testing here on FR I have recently  fallen in love with the new Kodak Ektar  …SO I decided to do a quick comparison test and find out: does the XPRO effect really have to be actual cross-processed film?

So what do YOU think? Look at the snapshots below and see if you can pick out the one that is the Agfa Precia CT XPRO…only one is true XPRO…the others are all Kodak Ektar  in Photoshop using Alien Skin Exposure 2! 

Think you have the right answer? Then give a listen to the Audio portion of this post for additional thoughts on cross processing / Xpro… as well as the answer!

AudioBlog LogoPlease click on the logo to listen to the audio.

 

 

When you finish with part one, click here to listen to part 2!

Visiting Canson

by EveNSteve

This audioblog is a quick list of observations I made on my recent visit to Canson Distribution Facilities here in the US. In the coming weeks I will be reviewing their new offerings, 17 papers and canvases in all! Give a listen and stay tuned!

Below find a sample of images I made at their US facility…its over 140,000 square feet!!

Link to Canson

First paper I am testing…Rives BFK!

New Kodak Ektar 100 Film – Part 1

by EveNSteve

I was lucky enough to get a brick plus (35mm) of the new Kodak Ektar film at Photo Expo Plus in NYC… so when I returned to my studio in Vermont I quickly loaded my Leica M7 with a roll and decided to make a few “test” shots around my yard.

Image Results:

The Full Size image is a 20″ x 30″ print- the crop represents a 4″ x 4″ section of the full size.

Testing Specs:

  • Leica M7 with Leica Summilux 50mm 1.4 Lens
  • F 5.6 at 1/125, Hand-held
  • Film was rated at Box Speed (more on this later…)
  • Scan was done on an Imacon with NO sharpening applied, scanned at 6300 dpi.
  • Photoshop work was limited to white point and black point, no color correction, no noise reduction, no sharpening, no curves…

Image Size/ File Size Info:

  • 309 MB file at 300 Optical DPI, 16 Bit
  • 20″ x 30″ Print Size

Initial Thoughts:

This new offering by Kodak has very tight grain (this is 35mm folks!!) with good, bold color but still “neutral/ natural” in feel. My initial feeling is that it is a bit slower than box speed (normal for most negative material). On my next test roll I will rate it around 50-64 which should be perfect (with color negative material its better to be safe than sorry with regards to your exposure!). Box Speed (ASA 100) is usable, but under difficult lighting situations underexposure is just too great a risk. So far… I am very impressed…stay tuned for Part 2 in a few days.

Viva la Revolution!

The LOMO LCA – Part 1

by EveNSteve

Over the next few months I’ll be writing several articles on the LOMO LCA and LCA+. I’ve decided to use these small and very opinionated cameras for my new artwork series, entitled Vanishing Vermont. Articles will focus on working with these cameras, how to carry them, films to use and why… XPros, where to buy and differences in current and older models.

I know there are a lot of opinions out there (both pro and con) about the LOMO (LOMOGRAPHY) and I look forward to an open discussion, so first lets agree on two things: 1. Its the print that counts! 2. See number 1.

Here are a few helpful links to get things started…check them out and stay tuned!

Me and My 1991 LCA!

Viva la Revolution!

Me and My 1991 LCA!

28mm Zone Plate meets the M7 and Diafine Developer

by EveNSteve

Some years ago I did extensive work with pinholes, Zone plates and Holga camera systems, specifically for my Through A Glass Darkly artworks and book. Recently I decided to give a Zone Plate a try on my Leica M7 (it is a 28mm f/32 Zone Plate I purchased from Pinhole Resources) and TX processed as I have already outlined here on the Figital Revolution using Diafine Developer. It seems to me that this combo of TX/ Diafine/ Zone Plate and Leica M are a perfect combo. The TX and Diafine Developer really help control the Zone Plate with regards to contrast and it also gives me a high enough EI to make hand held shots very possible (my usable range for TX in Diafine is 400-1600). The M7, or really any rangefinder camera system is nice as the image view is not reduced (illumination) by looking through the Zone Plate as would be the case with an SLR (of course this means that you will have to visualize your final image as none of the Zone Plate qualities will be visible until you process your film assuming you’re using a film rangefinder). Of course digital capture would give you instant feed back (did this a few years ago in the American Southwest) but I just love the look of this combo. Scans were done in house at Indian Hill Imageworks on our Imacon Scanner, wet mount at 3200 optical dpi- a few resulting images are below from my first roll…

 

For more information on using a Zone Plate or for that matter what is a Zone Plate check out the links below.

Viva la Revolution!