Mar 24 2020

The Ethereal Nature of Long Exposures Part 1: The Daylight Exposure

A conversation on how to easily create amazing Long Exposures

What is needed to create these ethereal DAYLIGHT images!

Warning, this is going to be a 2 or 3 part tutorial and exceptionally long!

Jekyll Driftwood Beach, 400s

Ahh Peace… I love the ethereal nature of the process in ultra long exposures. Sitting there behind a good camera exploring a composition, light and movement while waiting in great anticipation of the outcome fills me with such inspiration that I can hardly contain myself!

While these types of images take a large degree of patience and dedication to the art, I have found very few photographers who having never tried them fell fast under their soulful control! I tell you now that with a bit of basic equipment and easily learned skills that ANYONE with a bit of patience will succeed in this artistic endeavor. Yes you need some extended functionality in your camera system (most modern DSLR and Mirrorless systems have it!). Yes you will have to buy a set of “sunglasses” for your camera lens called ND filters (this is where you will find the expense). But believe me this style of photography is SO worth it.

Roanoke Marshes Light, 3 seconds

But how easy is it to create these peaceful images that speak to your soul? For me the process is quite simple, but I tend to forget that 58 years of experience makes this all easy for me.

So with that in mind I am going to take you through my entire processes and share my equipment lists with the reasons why I chose them and when to use them.

Let’s start out with a quick discussion of what a long exposure actually is:

Any shutter speed longer than 1 second is considered a long exposure.
The upper limit is… well, UNLIMITED! Usually photographers start out at a 30 second exposure in order to get their base exposure locked in, then move up to 2 min or greater. I typically try to target 8 to 15 min for my final image but have several in the 60 min range also.
Typically shorter exposures are needed for falling water in the 10 to 15s range. If you desire to highlight the swirls in the pool under the falls then much longer times are necessary
There are several types of long exposure photography. Here are a few with a bit of discussion about what equipment you need to work them
- Daylight with the sun up: This style is most likely the easiest of the LE areas to explore. Most of your scenes along the beach will have brightness levels of the sky and foreground close enough to fit within the dynamic range of your camera and only need solid ND filters.
- Sunrise/Sunset: This style of LE work is more difficult as the sun nears the horizon during Sunset and as it gets close but not over at sunrise. Lighting conditions are way more difficult and still require solid ND filters but will additionally require 2 specialized filters, a 3 or 4 stop soft edge graduated square filter and a reverse graduated square filter. The light intensity around the horizon will make these image impossible without the graduated filters (more on this in the 2nd post)
- Night Long exposures: Milky Way, Star Trails and others. This is a specialized pursuit that requires different lenses and filters and will be saved for another day.

Camera Features and settings needed

Any DSLR or Mirrorless camera (I use a Fuji GFX 100 medium format digital). You will want the following features and settings:

Aperture mode to determine base exposure
Long exposure noise reduction set to automatic.
- Photographers new to long exposures might want to turn this setting off. Here is why: When you create a long exposure image, say 30 seconds long this is what happens with LE Noise reduction turned on or automatic.

1. 1. The camera fires and takes a 30 second exposure
  2. The shutter closes
  3. The camera keeps the shutter closed and takes a second 30 second exposure in the dark between the shutter and sensor. This is called a Dark Frame Exposure
  4. The camera then combines the 2 images and subtracts the noise

While 30+30=60 seconds does not sound like too much of a wait, if you are in the learning process and going thru the trial and error mode that 30 seconds turns into 1 min, a 2 min exposure turns into a 4 min, 4 to 8, 8 to 15 and so on it goes. This takes a lot of time especially at sunrise/sunset when the light is rapidly changing!

TIP: YES you want the LE noise reduction turned on to get the best and highest quality that the camera can provide, but when learning and making exposure mistakes while calculating ND filter offsets for the shutter these long times degrade your learning curve. So turn it off until you get used to all of this then when comfortable with LE work turn it on AUTOMATIC and leave it there. It will only affect exposures over a certain time which is dependent upon your camera. My GFX 100 turns on at 15 seconds, others at 30 and so on.

Pixel Remote for all cameras

RAW capture mode turned on
Color space set to Adobe RGB
Manual mode with a BULB or TIME setting
- Bulb is where the shutter is open as long as the remote shutter release is active
- Time mode is where you can set exposure times in full stops usually out to 30 or 60 min. With this mode you do not need a timer or a remote shutter release, you set the time fire the camera and sit back.
Remote shutter attachment with a timer display built into it with cable for your camera. This works wired or wireless. I suggest this one HERE
VERY sturdy tripod that you can spread the legs out wide and low. Good tripods are very expensive but can last for you entire life. Look to Really Right Stuff for the best.
A small 3 leg photography stool (Amazon) to sit on and BE STILL. See it HERE
A small red headband flashlight. Turn it OFF hen not needed!

Camera Lens

Lens, a wide zoom. 95% of the time I use a 32-64mm f/4 lens (35mm equivalent of 23-58mm) on my GFX 100 for my long exposures. On rare occasions I have a GF 100-200mm when I desire a detail shot of a waterfall, and a GF 17mm for those times that demand a very wide view.
Most of my students use a 24-105mm f/4 that will cover most all of the scenes you will run across.
You do NOT want a fast f/2.8 lens for long exposures. By adding the extra fast 2.8 setting you loose a more closed down setting like f/22 or larger which will be useful for getting the long shutter times with less ND.

Filters needed for long exposures:

Filters you say??? But WHY?

Well the simple answer is that in order to do long exposures you need to have long shutter times! The filters we use are called ND or Neutral Density filters. They come in several types and styles and they act as sunglasses cutting the light down going into your camera forcing it to longer shutter times to compensate!

Yes, I am afraid that they do cost a bit of money, but purchase the best you can afford, you will not be sorry!

Filters companies are a subject full of differing opinions, many good and many with issues so I will discuss my personal filter decisions and why I choose as I did!

I have been through several companies filters over the years and have used the following.

B+W. Good filters, a bit expensive and limited to round screw on only. They change the white balance of your camera to a brownish tint… They come in all of the standard values and even offer a rare graduated screw on that places the start in the middle of the frame.
Lee. Again, Good filters, very expensive and made of plastic that are very easy to scratch with one or two in glass. They change the white balance to a blue cast. Lee offers ALL of the filters you could possibly need for any type or style of long exposure work
Singh Ray filters. Intolerably expensive. They come as screw on and several sizes of square/rectangle styles.
Breakthrough Photography X4 filters. These are simply the best filters that I have ever used! They are all hardened optical schott glass, ZERO color cast and have an unconditional 25 year warranty! They come in all types and styles, (more on this later) and mount options:
- Screw on
- Magnetic
- 100mm and 150mm squares/rectangles

**BASIC DAYLIGHT ND Filter suggestions for after the sun is up higher in the sky or 1/2 to 1 hour before sunrise!**

3 stop solid ND, sized to your camera lens or a square/rectangle system
6 stop solid ND, sized to your camera lens or a square/rectangle system
10 stop solid ND, sized to your camera lens or a square/rectangle system
15 stop solid ND, sized to your camera lens or a square/rectangle system

TIP: I find that I use the 6 stop, 10 stop and 15 stop most of the time

Breakthrough 3 stop ND

For normal daytime exposures the sky and foreground (especially the ocean) usually have the same tonal range. For this type work just a solid ND set is needed. Solids are the same dark density across the entire glass. Take a look at the 2 images below. Notice how the sky and foreground are at the same basic brightness value?

The TOP post image is also another example that is right on the edge of needing another type of filter!

Pawleys Marsh, 30 seconds. B+W 10 (110) stop solid filter

Since the difference between the TOP and BOTTOM of the image falls within the dynamic range of my camera only a 10 stop SOLID ND filter was required! Exposures like this only need a solid ND filter! For this image I used a B+W 110 (10 stop solid) and fixed the white balance in the RAW conversion.

TIP: Do NOT worry about aperture diffraction on long exposures. Remember that we are AVERAGING and the diffraction errors go away. Use the complete range of your aperture to get the shutter speed you desire!

For color work the rule is the same, as long as the upper half and the bottom half of the image falls within the dynamic range of your camera a solid is all that you need! The Roanoke Marshes Light below is an example for you.

TIP: People moving on a dock you are shooting? DO NOT WORRY! On a long exposure with people walking in the scene they will disappear unless they stand still more than 1/4 of the exposure! The image below had 4 people walking down and back on the dock!

Roanoke Marshes Light, 40 second exposure single 10 stop solid Breakthrough X4 ND.

The MOST IMPORTANT Lesson!

Ok, here it is: The HARDEST part of a long exposure image is learning to calculate the exposure values necessary to get the softness/tearing that you desire. Actually this is very simple and below you will find the steps to easily do this! I am going to show you 2 ways to do this. The first and most important way requires to you multiply/divide a simple number by 2 which is ONE STOP either for the shutter speed or the aperture! But first, we need to understand what a full Stop means for shutter speed and aperture!

Understanding Full Stop Shutter and Aperture Relationships

Shutter Speed Example Full stop Changes:

Shutter Speed Values

1/60s to 1/30s
1/30s to 1/15s
1/15s to 1/8s
1/8s to 1/4s
1/4s to 1/2s
1/2s to 1s
1s to 2s
2s to 4s
4s to 8s and so on.

Full stop changes to your shutter speed is simple dividing or multiplying by 2

Being off by a small amount will make no difference as the shutter speed gets longer.

Aperture: aperture values cannot be calculated like shutter speeds. Aperture is logarithmic and the math is difficult to an extreme. Todays aperture values on almost all of the digital bodies are usually in 1/3 stop values! Below you will see the FULL stop values that we want to use for ease of calculation.

FULL STOP Aperture values

Exposure Calculation Version 1

Discussion on using FULL STOP Aperture and Shutter Values to calculate exposure offset for various ND filters

START: Set the camera ISO value to the lowest native value that the camera supports. This is usually 100 or 200. Some cameras will go down to 50 or 64. Also, most cameras have a LOW ISO setting, DO NOT USE THIS SETTING because the camera artificially gets it lower by decreasing the Dynamic Range of the camera which decreases the quality of your image!
Start by taking a picture in the Aperture priority mode with the aperture set to f/8 to get a base exposure that was good in camera with no ND and say that it metered at f/8 and 1/60s

If your lens goes up to f/22 then we could change 3 stops on the aperture with no ND installed from f/8 to f/11 to f/16 to f/22 which will cause an under exposure of 3 stops that we bring back into the perfect exposure by decreasing the shutter speed by 3 stops or 1/60 to 1/30 to 1/15 to 1/8 seconds. Still not long enough for the purpose of smoothing water so now we add a ND filter
Putting a 3 stop ND on your lens would again under expose by 3 full stops which we counter by decreasing the shutter speed 3 more stops from 1/8 to 1/4 to 1/2 to 1 second. Again really not long enough but we are getting there!
So how about replacing the 3 stop ND with a 6 stop ND? This will give us 3 more stops taking us from 1 second to 2 seconds to 4 seconds to 8 seconds! Now we are getting somewhere!
For a longer yet shutter speed we could replace the 6 stop ND with a 10 stop ND! This gives us 4 more stops of under exposure that we compensate by making the shutter speed longer by 4 stops! So 8 seconds go to 16 seconds to 32 seconds to 64 seconds to 2 min (now round to the whole min because 8 seconds difference from 128 seconds to 120 seconds will make no difference)
Not long enough? Let’s replace the 10 stop ND with a 15 stop ND! This gives us 5 more stops of under exposure from the 10 stop ND. We compensate by adding 5 more full stops of shutter speed going from 120 seconds or 2 min to 4 min to 8 min to 16 min to 32 min to 64 min.
If this is too long you can now open the aperture 2 stops which will allow you to shorten the shutter speed of 16 min or 3 stops to 8 min!

Do you see the relationship between full stop changes in aperture and shutter speed?

This is all you need to do!

Exposure Calculation Version 2

There is a FREE long exposure calculator for your smart phone called: LEE STOPPER. You will need to download and install this app to use this technique!

How to determine your exposure:

Set the camera ISO value to the lowest native value that the camera supports. This is usually 100 or 200. Some cameras will go down to 50 or 64. Also, most cameras have a LOW ISO setting, DO NOT USE THIS SETTING because the camera artificially gets it lower by decreasing the Dynamic Range of the camera which decreases the quality of your image!
Take a picture in the A (aperture priority) mode with the aperture set to f/8
Read the exposure data from the back of your camera and note the shutter speed the camera used!
Set the camera mode to M (manual) mode
Open the Lee Stopper app on your phone
Choose which of the 3 ND values you would like to use in the app, 6, 10 or 15 stops
Enter the shutter speed into the app by turning the white wheel (see below)
Read the new shutter speed from the blue wheel for the chosen ND filter
If the desired shutter speed is less than 30 seconds enter it into the camera with the shutter speed wheel on the camera
If the desired shutter speed is more than 30 seconds then move the shutter speed wheel on the camera to B or BULB
Connect the remote shutter release cable. If it has a timer on it like the suggested one above then put it into the BULB mode and press the button to fire the camera. Watch the timer on the shutter release and when you get to the correct time press the button again to stop the exposure.
Remember if you have the long exposure noise reduction on in the camera the camera will now take another exposure with the shutter closed for the same time as the step above. When this is finished you can view the results on the camera and if not to your liking adjust the shutter time up or down or change the aperture up or down to adjust to your liking and re-shoot.
If you do NOT have a remote shutter release with a built in timer you can select the stop watch button on the bottom of the Lee app (look at the pic below) and it will automatically move your shutter speed to a stop watch in the app. Press and lock the remote shutter release and press the start button on the stop watch screen of the app. When finished, the app will alarm you to stop the exposure.

TIP: for values between full stops (those shown in the app) you can partially move the wheel to the small ticks between the full stops to offset the exposure for partial stops.

Enter Base exposure and read new ND exposure

Stop watch timer in the Lee app

This is all there is to calculation version 2!

Subject considerations

Seascapes:

Clam Creek Pier Jekyll Island, 2 min exposure, 10 stop Breakthrough X4 ND

The ocean surf can give you some of the most amazing images! The waves are AVERAGED during the long exposure so that one builds on another each averaging the wave before it until you get a perfectly flat reflective surface! Notice the great reflections that you can get because of the averaging!

Shot Setup: To create this shot above I set the tripod on on some rocks along the waters edge. I looked for a composition where the pier came in from one side to the T where I could smooth out the water and get a good reflection. I also made sure that there were no ships passing by. Then did a base exposure test of 30s and used an aperture of f/8 . at 1/8s. I then added a 10 stop solid ND and adjusted my shutter speed from 1/8s to 1/4s to 1/2s to 1s to 2s to 4 then 8 then 16 then 32 then 64 then 120 (2 min)

photography stool

TIP: Sand is your enemy! It is full of water and when someone walks by (within 4 feet) the pressure of their feet pushes the water away from their shoes causing the sand to rise around your tripod legs! You might think that this is minor but it will ruin exposures from 2 min and longer! STAND STILL! ASK PEOPLE TO WALK FURTHER AWAY FROM YOUR SETUP! Take a small 3 leg photography stool and SIT DOWN and NOT MOVE! See HERE

Nags Head Pier in Fog/high surf/high wind, 15 min exposure, 15 stops Breakthrough X4 ND

Screw

For really large waves and/or fog you tend to get a more etherial look that is really pleasing! This image was a difficult one to capture due to the large surf, fog and high winds.

Shot Setup: For the above shot took serious thought. With gale force winds from right to left, the Surf was about 12 feet high filling the air with salt spray and since this was a workshop there were 14 people moving about on the sand. I took my tripod and splayed the legs way out to the sides and shortened them to put me almost on the ground. I then sat between the camera and the wind. I also took off the shoulder strap so that it would not catch the wind. Lastly I set up the remote shutter release in wireless mode so that even that wire would not catch the wind. The surf was so high that nothing less than 15 min would give me the look I wanted with pure white water and the fog. Even though there was heavy fog, please notice that the pier is angling down as it goes out. The white a the end is a combination of the fog and the ultra high waves hitting the under side of the pier! This shot was a 15 min exposure at f/32 using a 15 stop Breakthrough X4 solid ND.

TIP: Wind is your enemy and hard to overcome. Splay your tripod legs wide and drop the tripod as close to the ground as you can. Sit between the wind and the camera to block it as best you can. You can put weights under the center post and if on sand buy a dog chain screw that you turn into the sand. Attach a truck tie down strap from the tripod to the screw and tighten it down further reducing movement. Find it HERE

Nags Head Pier, 15 min exposure, 15 stops of Breakthrough X4 ND

Shot Setup: Another image (but different) of the Nags Head Pier. This scene had a 6 foot surf and hardly any real wind. As I studied the scene I realized that the faint clouds in the sky were moving away at an angle and I wanted them to be a major part of the composition along with totally smooth water surface. I setup the tripod with the legs splayed out wide and low to the ground for greater support and wind control. I did not have a lot of time to work this so I started with a 2 min base exposure and then calculated it for a 15 stop X4 ND and took one shot. Total time for this single shot was a 10 min setup with a 4 min base shot (with LE noise reduction on), then the 30 min shot, 15 exposure and 15 dark frame. There were a lot of people moving up and down the pier who simply were not captured in the averaged exposure. I am very pleased with the results.

TIP: Surf and sand is your enemy. With your tripod feet on the sand should a small wave washes over one the tripod will TILT or SINK! If this happens stop the exposure because it is ruined, move your setup higher up the sand and setup again and re-shoot!

For longer exposures in the 4 to 15 min range aside from the wave averaging you can also average the movement of the clouds! Do you see how the are streaming away from us?

TIP: Surf is your enemy. Keep your camera bag behind you higher in the sand!

Brunswick GA. Bridge, 15 seconds, 10 stops of Breakthrough X4 ND.

Shot Setup: For this shot above I was at the bridge leading into Brunswick GA. There was an old bridge this that had been cut off and turned into fishing pier. It was super stable and there was no wind. This was supposed to be a sunset shot but the bridge kept calling to me. So, listening to my inner voice I decided to shoot this in the vertical format and concentrate on color on the side of the bridge, its lights which I wanted to generate star bursts on. The color in the sky was amazing and with the clouds moving sideways I knew it would make a great image. I chose a 10 stop X4 ND. I took 2 or 3 images in this location and liked this the best!

Another advantage of the cloud tearing, water smoothing effect of the longer exposures is the starburst around any bright light in the scene caused by having a very small aperture f/11 to f/22. I think that it adds an amazing compositional image!

TIP: To capture a sharp star pattern on bright lights in your composition use a small aperture!

Duck Island NC Pier, 8 min exposure, 15 stop Breakthrough X4 ND

Shot Setup: This image above was on the boardwalk on Duck Island in the Outer Banks. The water here was green with white caps. Nothing remarkable. The pier on the other hand was stunning with its colors, textures and form! The sky was very overcast and with no form or structure but I thought that a long exposure would pull out a bit of shape. The boardwalk was very stable so I did not have to worry about vibrations. I setup carefully to directly center the pier in the frame. My focus point was 1/3 down the pier as I wanted detail in the rope. I set the aperture to f/32 for the greatest depth of field. I did one base exposure at 1 min and then calculated the exposure for 8 min. This is the single image I took here. I find it very pleasing and ethereal!

TIP: Birds flying through the scene on a long exposure will disappear from the scene due to the averaging of the exposure!

As I said above this introductory tutorial is set up to be presented in 2 or 3 separate posts. Look for Part 2 Sunrise/Sunset Long Exposures and the special filters needed in about 2 weeks!

This is the next type of long exposures we will learn about creating in post #2!

Nags Head Pier Right At Sunrise! 15 min exposure with 3 different ND filter types installed!

As always please let me know what you think of this!

Jan 14 2019

Using B&W To Grab Your Viewers By The Throat…

Yes, deep moody B&W can capture and hold your attention!

Pawleys Island Marsh, North Causeway

I am always curious as to what people like and dislike about my images and make a point of posting them online to see what people think and how they respond. Sometimes the result of this practice really surprises me. The funny thing is that most of my personal favorites in B&W are not well received by the public! Yet those that I consider not as good get better reviews…

It does not matter what camera I choose to create with, Medium Format FIlm (Mamiya 645 AFDii) or digital (Fuji GFX 50r medium format), the output results are difficult to tell apart. I love working in film, its process from end to end defines art to me. But I also love working in medium format digital as well. It is a much shortened and simpler process and only takes a fraction of the time when compared to film. I think most of you will be hard pressed to pick the film/digital images that I am going to place in this post! So the source of the images make little difference to me.

Approaching Storm at Pawleys Island

Have you ever considered what it is about B&W photography that you are attracted to? What about it grabs you? For me, it is simple, the removal of color strips the scene to it soul allowing you to really become one with it. It removes the confusion and gives a pure view of the scene!

Consider the image of the approaching storm above. The clarity of the image draws me into the scene, the sharpness captures my interest and holds it. The dark moody tones make me feel like I am still standing right there!

Pawleys Island Beach Crossover in the fog.

I am not saying color work is bad, rather that I personally enjoy working in monochrome and enjoying the finished images processed in B&W much more that color work. I suppose that is why working in film is so addicting to me, everything about the process from working behind the camera, film processing, scanning and printing I find very enjoyable. But with the introduction of the Fuji GFX 50R camera system I am equally thrilled! You can shoot in both color and B&W on the fuji system. The real difference is that you can set it up with film emulation profiles in camera and generate and output true B&W RAW images! I find that I like using the Acros/red profile in camera because it matches my film work with actual Acros film! This gives me another entire workflow that matches my B&W film work 1:1! The fog image above in a good example of the ethereal nature that you can achieve when working in B&W.

Charlee Marie

The image above if Charlee Marie highlights this relationship between working with medium format Acros film and the medium format Fuji GFX 50r camera system. The amazing tonality of the boat and sky capture my attention and will not let it go. The subtle tonality of the wheel house is flawless. Overall this is one of my favorite images produced by the 50R, capturing the heart and soul of the shrimp boat in a non cluttered fashion usually associated with them on the easy to use medium format digital 50R! This particular image is one of my favorites from the 50R that has not been well received by the public, yet I cannot let it go…

Port Royal Shrimpers

The Port Royal Shrimpers is an example of everything coming together for a powerful image; Good Light, Clouds, Boats and reflective water plus being there! Of all the images captured with the 50R this one has the highest number of likes and comments online. Yes it is a powerful moody image but I am not sure if I personally like it more than the image above!

Daddys Girls, medium format Acros film

OK, on last image of Daddys Girls was taken last week on Acros Film on my 645 AFDII using a deep red contrast filter so the sky is a little darker. To me this is a powerful image and different from the digital work above it due to the deep red filter. Yet all other aspects of the image match equally to the work generated on the 50R system.

To me, this illustrates how well the film and digital systems can work together. There are times when working in film is just not possible or practical during travel where the 50R would work much better and easier.

I am happy that each camera system can complement each other so closely! It will make my life much easier and allow me to concentrate on creating art rather than on how I capture it!

As always please let me know what you think, I value your input!

Dec 16 2018

The ART of creating MOOD

What Makes Ethereal Moody Images?

Kathy Dean, medium format film

This post is going to be a bit different from my otherwise technical (Geeky) posts of the past. I am going to share my philosophy of creating MOOD in my art.

I spend a LOT of time studying the fine art photography of the past masters (Ansel and others) and current photographers. I visit galleries, web sites like 500px scouring for examples of the creative process that generates images that speak to me. This takes up a lot of my time but I feel that it is a worthwhile investment to further my understanding of what makes great art that reaches out and grabs my attention! I do NOT do this in order to copy others, (that is not my way) rather it is to understand what about an image makes it reach out and tweek my artistic desire! You would think that after 55 years of personal photography that this would not be necessary, but if you think about it you will realize that life is learning and we never stop that process. Sometimes it is re-learning forgotten lessons, other times it is about learning new lessons. We all change and our tastes also change as we age, so to me this is a natural progression in our path in artistic endeavor.

I personally tend to work mostly in B&W Film, but do not limit myself to it. I create as well in color both digitally and on film too, but my real passion is B&W. Here we are going to discuss only B&W and all of my examples are created on various 6×4.5 medium format camera systems because working with flim and the process of film motivates and enhances my creative process. I am going to leave out the technical details of the images because I want you to really study the images without considering the technical aspects of the creative process.

Let us consider the image above of Kathy Dean, a shrimp boat in Port Royal, SC. What about this image gives you pause, making you want to really study it? Sit back and consider the mood of the image and what you are drawn to as you study it. For me, it is the dark moody sky and reflections contrasted against the bright whites of the boats. My eyes continuously circle around these details and re-settle on the boats again and again. The dark sky and water create a moody ethereal frame that traps our attention on the boats themselves yet provides a scene free of the distractions of color.

If we were standing there today with camera and tripod wouldn’t we be thinking that we could have a much better image with fluffy clouds? Let me suggest that if indeed there were clouds the day I created this image that they too would have been a distraction from the mood of the image.

I will honestly tell you that as I stood before this scene that it was my primary thought that this could be an amazing moody image provided that I set it up as a longer exposure to smooth the water and darken the sky and reflections. In other words, I studied the scene, pondering what it was that drew me to it and how to use the camera (my tool) to create my vision!

These are my secrets to successful fine art photography:

Stop, Look and Think about the scene:

Why are you attracted to it?
How do you compose for a simple yet powerful image free of distractions?
How to super charge the image with mood?
How to use the camera to create this vision?

Lindale Denim Mill, a study of extreme dynamic range in a single image…

Let’s take a look at another image, this one digital (yet another tool), and the camera on hand when visiting the inside of the Lindale denim mill in Georgia. This is one of those location that will NEVER fail to deliver scenes full of wabi/sabi goodness full of amazing mood providing you approach it with the right motivation and mental tools!

Lindale Denim Dye Tank

I spent 7 hours here over the course of 2 days. It was a power parade of mood that swamped my senses and at every single turn. I was continually stunned at what lay before me as I moved through the factory! What more motivation could a fine art photography artist desire? I slowed down, WAY DOWN and studied each and every hint of mood before me.

For this scene, (Blue dye tank) I studied the dark moody ceiling and walls behind the pillars, the deep tank with its grungy details, but I particularly paid attention to the play of light coming through the windows and highlighting the entire scene! I realized that in order to capture this scene with mood that I would need to control the sunlight and keep the dark areas from loosing detail. I setup the camera to control both and average the entire composition. This happened quite fast (remember 55 years of experience) and it only took ONE SINGLE EXPOSURE…

To me, this scene has amazing flow that draws me in thru the lighted windows, walking around the exterior of the room and moving down the ladder. My attention never leaves the room. It has a wonderful dark mood and speaks to me of days long gone.

What more can a photographer ask for in such a creation?

My path in creating this image:

I walked around the entire room several times, studying the elements that the scene contained.
I constantly asked myself; “Mark, why do you like this?” and “What do you actually like?” I answered; “The dark mood broken into segments by the light coming thru the window and the LADDER!”
Can the camera I had capture the overall mood and range before me? “YES!”
What is the best vantage? “Closer to the ladder!”
How best can I control the contrast and range of this image? “Multiple spot meter readings to shift the scenes entire dynamic range into that of the camera!”

After this it was just a simple matter of setting the the composition, exposure and capturing the image!

Ok one last example… Daddy’s Girls…

Daddy’s Girls, medium format film

This is one of those scenes that I visit time and time again. It is only a few hours from home down in Bluffton, SC (a location where my oldest son lives). There is only one single boat at this commercial dock and processing plant. There is a boat launch and pier close to the left, but for for this shot I wanted a more head on view. I got my son to take me out on his boat so that I could get this angle on a terribly stormy day. Dark and Stormy it was. Heavy rain and wind, but these were the components that were in my vision so I suffered through it to get this image. I took several shots of the scene (waves, no tripod and a moving boat) so I invested an entire roll of 16 images knowing that a lot of them would be blurry and out of focus. Good thing too, I only got this one single sharp image but it was so worth the effort!

Do you see what I am getting at? I KNEW what I wanted with this image, I knew what tool (camera) I wanted to use so I returned dozens of times here, re-evaluating again and again till I got what my vision demanded! I have been here a hundred times over the past 4 years and was NEVER satisfied with the scene!

What my vision demanded:

Moody, Stormy Sky.
Bright light on the boat.
Cloud detail.
No other boats to clutter the scene at the launch.
Medium Format Film only.
No workmen on the boat.

So it took years of returning again and again until I got the scene that matched my vision! But to me it was well worth it! Will I stop returning? Heavens no, you NEVER know what nature will provide you with so keep returning!

As always, I hope that you enjoyed this post! Please consider leaving feedback and comments!

Sep 9 2018

Another Film Dynamic Range Adjustment Post!

A Quick Dynamic Range Followup and Example

Hurricane Florence is coming… Spent all day today starting to get ready. But yesterday I stopped by the causeway bridge to Litchfield beach and shot 1 roll of FP4+ film on my Fuji GA645zi changing between the red R24 and R25 filter. I was looking to the North from the bridge. It is a very beautiful spot and scene.

This is one of my go to spots when I am looking for inspiration and it did not fail to deliver for me. I was heading home but decided to stop at the studio and put the film into the processor, wait the 20 min then hang it in the dryer overnight.

But…

When standing there looking at the clouds I realized that the whites were going to be blown so I subtracted 30 seconds from the development time to compress them down towards Zone 8 so that I could capture the entire dynamic range, then in scanning moved them back up a bit to place them closer to my memory of them and bring the blacks up a bit! I love the effect the deep red filter gives to the blue sky.

How did I do this you ask? I am glad you asked!

With a hand held spot meter I measure the brightest white I desire texture in, then measured the darkest black for texture. Pushed the average button on the meter and got the zone 5 reading along with a chart showing max and min. This tells me that the whites will be blown out on the negative. SO I adjusted my exposure to give texture (Zone 3) in the blacks I wanted and let the whites fall where they will. In the processing knowing how far over exposed the whites are I can now adjust the developing time (-1N in this case) to compress the whites down to zone 8 (-30 seconds). Easy!

In the scanning software (VueScan) you have the opportunity in the extended menus to again shift the black and white points up or down. I simply adjusted both to expand the dynamic range back out to the range of the Gicle’e (RIP) printing system I use in my studio yet keep the whites from being blown out!

Measure the range of the scene and determine if the film can capture it all
Expose to move the blacks with texture to zone 3.
Pick a -N developing time according to where the whites fell in the negative (1 stop for this one)
Scan to keep the textured blacks at zone 3 and move the compressed whites back up where they belong in VueScan)

The Results:

The Causeway going to Litchfield Beach, SC

It was a pleasant and very satisfying endeavor and made me very happy today when I scanned this image on my way home from preparations.

Data: GW645zi – 55mm – Roll 95 – Fr 8 – Red 25 +3 Filter – f8 – 1_60 – FP4+ – Xtol Stock -30s – Wet Scan – T CI 50 – Litchfield Marsh- 2018-09-09

I know, this was a really short post, but I was really pleased with the image results and the entire process was one of those “By the seat of the pants” type of evolution. I wanted to share again, now simple the process is for adjusting the range on film in development and scanning. There will be yet another one of these in the future but it will be VERY detailed and perhaps even with a video!

As always please let me know what you think!

Sep 4 2018

Controlling your Dynamic Range in B&W Film photography

Stormy Seas in a approaching storm!

Stormy Seas a the dock… 6×12 medium format Tmax 100 film

Dayi 6×12 showing the ground glass and shade and my custom dark cloth attached.

This Super Pano was taken on my Dayi 6×12 medium format view camera. Lens is a Rodenstock 90mm f/6.8 Super Grangdagon N and while it is a bit slow it is VERY sharp and quite beautiful! This is a very different style of camera and will take 5 images per roll of 120 film.

Dayi 6×12 Grand Glass Back

This is an amazing combination of a ground glass focus and calibrated distance focus system.

Dayi 6×12 with the Rodinstock 90mm f/8.6 installed showing the alternative, calibrated focusing system

Shrimp boats are one of several subjects that I will drive hundreds of miles away to photograph! I am very lucky to live so close to a lot of them locally! Because of the continuing loss of our shrimp fleets here I am both driven and inspired to document them every chance I have. You have to admit that they are very beautiful when done in B&W and what better way to document them if not film?

This was a very difficult shot to achieve! To get it I had to overcome the super bright sun coming over my shoulder highting the boat and buildings to the point that they were totally burned out. The storm in the background was dark and foreboding…

The lesson here is to learn and realize that you can control all aspects of your image’s exposure along with taming the dynamic range of the scene through use of thoughtful developing and scanning.

I used a Sekonic 758 to get these results by using a combination of exposure averaging with 6 one degree spot metered measurements, saving each reading in the meters memory then telling the meter to give me the zone 5 average which then became my base exposure. The 758 then showed me the the exposure with a chart of any data over or under exposed thus out of the film’s dynamic range.

Knowing this, I then used a technique where you can either compress the the dynamic range of the image into a smaller space thus allowing the film to compensate for a wider dynamic range that it was designed for! This is called +/-1N developing. You can change developing time down to compress the dynamic range of the image by squeezing the image down from the whites towards the blacks which compresses the highlights into range! The opposite is also true by going +N. But for this image the -1N was enough. I then then used another creative process during the wet mount film scanning by expanding the dynamic range to fit into the wider print profile by +1 to the highlights in Viewscan to put them where I desired for a powerful and moody print. There are a lot of books out there that will teach this technique, but my favorite is Creative Exposure Control by Les Meehan which will teach you the development side of the process. The scanning side is easily done in Viewscan and there is a good book on that on Amazon.

I will also expand upon this in future posts as well!

Rodenstock 90mm f/6.9 Grandagon N, while a slow lens it is super sharp and beautiful!

The wet mount scanning technique will be taught in a future post here along with a video on Youtube! But to do it you will need an Epson 700, 750, 800 or 850 scanner as those are the only ones that the wet mount kit will fit!

Data: Dayi 6×12 – f32 .4s – Roll 4 F3- Avg Metering 6 measurements – Yellow Filter – Stormy Seas- Tmax 100 – Perceptol 1:1 at -1n – 2018

As always please let me know what you think!

Sep 3 2018

Beach Day For Lilly!

Exploring new things can be fun!

Let’s Get To It, Fuji GA645zi with FP4+ processed in Xtol Stock and Wet Mount Scanned

Well, we went last week (Ellen and I, Megan and the 2 grandkids Lilly and Jordan) for a beach day here in Pawleys Island South Carolina. Meg asked for some images of Lilly’s reaction to the ocean! I am really not one for hours on the beach but who can turn down a 17 month old babies reaction on B&W film?

I grabbed my Fuji GA645zi camera (auto focus, 4 position zoom, great meter and built in flash) with a roll of Ilford FP4+ film and we headed out! Not a long trip since we live in Pawleys so soon we were there.

Data: Fuji GA645zi using a yellow/green filter to bring out the skin tones and a bit of the sky and clouds with Ilford FP4+ film processed in Xtol stock and wet mount scanned today.

Lilly did not know what to think of it all but went into the water and quickly backed up. Meg sat down with her and helped ease her into the concept of big water. Pretty soon she was running around having great fun. Normally I do not do a lot of posts of people or family but hey, you know film? You got to honor the challenge!

Meg easing Lilly into the water! Fuji GA645zi with FP4+ processed in Xtol Stock and Wet Mount Scanned

Of course Jordan, my 9yo film photographer grandson is an old hand at this and just looked good at anything he did there!

Jordan my 9yo grandson film photographer!

I took only the one roll but saved one shot for the local beach landscape! Hey your there so you gotta do it right!

Dunes behind us!

As always, comments are welcome! Let me know what you think.

Aug 28 2018

The Accidental Photograph!

Sometimes even the best of us get surprised!

The Carson Elizabeth

Fuji GF670

Now, here is one image that I REALLY like! This is a 6×7 negative from my Fuji GF670, a folding rangefinder camera with a really bright rangefinder and a fixed 80mm Voigtlander lens shot on Rollei IR400 film and processed yesterday in Xtol stock and wet mount scanned today…

Sounds normal right? Well this was a VERY OLD roll of film, and has been sitting in my shop for over a year marked “Stand Develop” ( a special developing process where you use Rodinal 1:100 in the tank for an hour with no agitation that works on all B&W films of different ISO values) because I forgot what ISO I shot it at! I actually got tired of seeing it in my to do can in the fridge and yesterday threw it onto a 2 film reel with a roll of Ilford FP4+ film and set up my Filmomat for the FP4! The FP4+ turned out as expected, but the IR400 was a complete surprise.

Carson Elizabeth, Shrimper in Georgetown, SC on 120 film

There was only one good image from the IR400 but OMG was it ever good! Just looking at it gives me the hot sweats!! As I looked at the processed roll of IR400 I realize that I had changed ISO mid roll and that is why I marked it stand. The other images on the IR400 were not worthy of scanning but this single image still made it a big win for me!

Oh, for the curious, my FIlmomat is a computerized film developing machine that is the tabletop sized and will do 35mm, 120, 4×5 and 5×7 films. For the 120 it will do 2 rolls at a time. Here is a video that shows it in action…

Data: GF670 with 80mm lens and Rollei IR400 with no filter processed as FP4+ yesterday and wet mount scanned today.

Goodness, I had forgotten how difficult the film is to handle with its very thin film base!

For those of you who are interested in the fine art of FILM PHOTOGRAPHY AND SELF PROCESSING, join me on my new G+ page HERE and learn and share!

Oct 27 2017

Testing the new Fuji GA645zi Medium Format Camera

A Light Weight 120 Autofocus Travel Camera with a Zoom Lens!

Fuji GA645zi

Well…. I have been waiting to test out my new Fuji GA645zi camera for about a week now but due to family issues I have been unable to do so.

I finally made it out to visit the shrimp boats just west of Tybee Island and the light house there! The sky was very plain with no clouds but I really needed to test this camera out. I put on a yellow filter to slightly darken the sky and used Fuji Acros 100 film.

This is the shrimper Agnes Marie.

Shrimp Boat Agnes Marie

Data:

Fuji GA645zi – Acros 100 – f19 1-30 Plus 1 EV, Yellow Filter 9-18-17 – Wet Mount scanned – Agnes Marie – 2017-10-27. Processed in Xtol 1:1.

Fuji GA645zi

Please note that along the bottom of the frame ALL of the exposure data is recorded! This is a feature that I really like.

The auto focus system is very robust, fast and dead on! It is not as loud as people claimed and I really enjoyed using it! I had an issue with my first roll in that it did not clear the take up reel and bulged out fogging most of the roll. Bad me, I used the one that came with the camera, so I then used the reel that the Acros came on and all is well there now.

I know that the sky is plain but I am still happy with the results!

I am looking at this camera as a small light 120 travel camera. I know that the 6×4.5 negative is smaller than my 6x7and 6×9 systems but it still gives a large enough negative for sizable prints. An other nice feature is that the camera has a 7 position zoom quasi zoom lens which again makes it attractive for travel!

I only had time to wet mount scan 1 image today but I put 4 rolls of film thru it so there will be more on the way including the Tybee Lighthouse!

Aug 22 2017

Full Eclipse at Pawleys Island, SC

Never 2nd guess yourself on the worthiness of an image…

Full Eclipse, Pawleys Island, SC . 2017

Honestly, I was NOT inspired to photograph this event in the least…

Jordan, my 8 year old grandson

There were going to be MILLIONS of photographers out there shooting the same thing or at least trying. So I asked myself why bother to get the same shot everyone else would have? But my 8 year old photographer grandson came over with viewing glasses so we sat out in chairs in the front of our house (100% eclipse) and watched it happen

The longer it went on the more excited I got, then when the light started fading I decided to fire off a few shots when it reached 100%.

Canon 70-300L

I had a Sony A6500 with a Canon 70-300L nearby so I got up and got the camera from my truck and shot handheld at ISO 4000, f/8 and 1/1000s to keep a sharp handheld shot. There was no time to setup a tripod! I Put the camera in high speed mode and fired off about 30 images then put the camera down and forgot about it till last night. On viewing the images is was stunned by the sharpness of them all and while I had several of the diamond ring I decided upon this one for one reason:

Look closely on the right side of the sun/moon and you can see a solar flare jetting out to the right. It has an orange color…

So, there is a lesson to be learned here (or re-learned in my case…), do not take the desire/inspiration or lack there of for granted, take the time and get the shot and later on decide upon whether or not it was worth your time. It is always best to have it in the can rather than not.

I am glad that I even took the minimal effort to do this. Imagine what I could have done had I setup properly with a 600mm lens ahead of time?

How many of you have made this same mistake? Take my example to heart and always have a camera nearby when you are viewing something that might be worth capturing whether or not you have a desire to do so… One day you might be grateful for doing so!

Jan 29 2017

Become the Master of your craft….

Pelican Dock - Type 55 4x5 Film, Wet Scan

Pelican Dock – Type 55 4×5 Film, Wet Scan

This is the Pelican Dock on Pawleys Island, SC. It is a 4″ x 5″ FILM image taken on Polaroid Type 55 film from one of my film workshops.

Polaroid 900 w/ 150mm Fujinon lens converted to 4x5 by Steven Icanberry.

Polaroid 900 w/ 150mm Fujinon lens converted to 4×5 by Steven Icanberry.

I did this with a Polaroid 900 converted to 4×5 format camera and the film was expired (16 years) Type 55 instant 4×5 film that also creates a fragile negative which was scanned Wet Mount on an Epson 850 . This single image costs about $35 to create and process!

But look closely at the image, notice the calm peace of the scene, the amazing clarity and sharpness that is a gift when working with large format film, but more importantly, the edge process markings created when working with this amazing film!

But of greater importance than how I created this image is the why…

We all see amazing scenes as we travel through life, but how many of us actually take the time to really experience and feel on an emotional level what we are actually experiencing as we create our art? I watch so many great photographers skitter from scene to scene like a bee to pollen that it leaves me feeling sad.

Let me ask you, “How can you create art that will appeal to your viewers on an emotional level if you yourself refuse to slow down long enough to feel the emotional impact yourself as you create it?

The key here is to stand before the scene and take it all I. Get a feel for what you desire to share with your viewers before you even pick up your camera! SLOW DOWN, take your time, investigate it from many angles and exposures. Yes this is a single image, in fact the only one I took due to the cost, but I spent a half hour studying the scene, moving around looking for the best impact and knowing that I would get the edge markings and using them to increase overall impact!

This is a hard lesson to learn and harder still to practice. This is one of the the lessons forced upon us who still shoot film as I do. After all, Film = $. We have to slow down and make every shot count so the next logical step is to connect on an emotional level with your subject and thus create art that is charged with mood that will draw your viewer in.

Just because I use FILM as an example here for you do not think that it does not apply to digital! Yes, once you pay back the investment of your digital equipment with image sales (you do sell your work don’t you?) the cost per image is basically paid only in terms of your time. But time also has a value and if by slowing down and imparting emotional impact in your image then you will be on the true path of photographic nirvana!

Take your time, explore your scene, feel it’s emotional impact, SLOW Down!

Do not copy the Bee, rather strive to be a master of photography…

Dec 12 2016

B&W Camera Systems: Functionality/Creative Power/Affordability/Film/Digital ??

**Getting your BEST B&W image!**

Outer Banks Pier, Monochrom Camera System

I wish to share some images and thoughts from the Leica M Monochrom B&W ONLY camera system. I know that it is NOT FILM and a very expensive camera system, but it comes as close as you can get in a wonderfully usable B&W only system!

Most people will take a color image then convert it to B&W in post processing but it will never be the same as actually shooting in B&W with a digital or film system! Yes you can get close but you loose the amazing gradations and tonality that is part and parcel to world class B&W images.

Dugger Creek Falls, Linville, NC M Monochrom

Duggers Creek Falls, Linville, NC M Monochrom

The Pier on the top, is in the Outer Banks and is a 4 min exposure using a Leica Elmerit 28mm lens and the creek below is is in the New River Gorge in West Virginia. It is Dunloupe Creek and a 8 second exposure using the AMAZING 50mm Summilux lens. As you can see, the graduations and clarity are simply amazing. The water takes on a distinct Platinum tonality!

Why am I showing you these? Well at the end of the post I will give you a link for 2 videos where a Fuji X100T and a Leica M are compared for street photography and for a discussion on the Leica M B&W. The videos are quite entertaining and shows why sometimes a more expensive camera can be worth the money…

Sometimes!

Dunloupe Creek, New River Gorge WV, M Monochrome

It can be very hard balancing the desire between camera systems and affordability, but sometimes, with SPECIAL cameras the money takes a back seat. I own 3 Leica camera systems, and 1 of them I could have done without (Leica M240), another is an amazing film system (Leica M7) and then there is the M Monochrom. The Monochrom is scary amazing with crazy good B&W output to even consider shooting color then converting. I have NEVER considered the money spent on it to be wasted! In fact, I am considering selling/trading the M 240 but will keep the Monochrom and M7 film body along with most of my Leica and Voigtlander glass.

Glade Creek Grist Mill, Babcock State Park, WV, M Monochrome

For me shooting in B&W is a soul centering event. I take it very seriously and slow. When you consider how working in Monochrome strips away the confusion of color leaving the soul of the image then you can understand why I am looking for the very best way to capture the best possible image.

Shooting in color then converting to B&W works but is a compromise and will only give you a compromise image.
Shooting in film generates a purest form of B&W image and by far is the best way to do it but requires extensive time for setup, capture, development, wet scanning then printing! One roll of 120 film in the 6×7 format will generate 10 images. Processing takes about 45 min then it has to go into a film dryer overnight. Lastly, comes wet mount scanning which can take 1/2 hour per exposure. Now, I do not scan every image, I choose the very best images from the roll (usually 3 or 4) and only scan those. All in all there is about 8 hours of work involved with that single roll! It is a slow process to be sure but very fulfilling and leaves me with a great sense of inner peace.
Now, along came the M Monochrom camera from Leica, a full frame 19 mega pixel sensor with NO COLOR FILTERS over the image wells. This means that there is no anti-aliasing filter, and no brayer array. So effectively you get a 19 x 3 megapixel image (no brayer layer means every pixel well generate a true monochrome data value different from its neighbors!) which is crisp and has film like gradations that are difficult to differentiate from a film negative!

Roanoke Marsh Light, Outer Banks, M Monochrom

Aside from doing all of this in film (which I still work in all of the time) the M Monochrome (or its sisters) is the ONLY GAME IN TOWN! Hence, the cost of the system takes on new meaning since it is such a specialized digital system!

Sometimes I will put the film away and take out the Monochrom system. It is not quite the same as film in the overall process but it certainly is when the finished products are compared!

This is something to consider…

Here are the video links:

Jun 12 2016

Testing The Sony A6300

Smaller, Faster and able to leap over tall buildings!

Yes, you are correct, I shoot with the Sony A7rii 42 mega pixel full frame mirrorless camera! What you cry am I doing with the A6300 which is only 24 mega pixel and an APS-C sensor? Well friends, the answer to that is simple, well perhaps not… I envision the A6300 as a 720nm Infrared camera.

Pawleys Island Marsh, Sony A6300 with the Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 and a polarizer. B&W conversion Look at the detail in the gate and grass. This has a 3 dimensional effect!

But it has several very interesting and powerful functions that have engaged my curiosity. Those are:

11 fps shooting speed.
Faster and more accurate focus than the A7rii
More focus and metering points.
Half the weight of the A7rii
Much brighter and accurate focus peaking system.
Ability to work macro at 1:1 with live view and not have an over pixelated display.
The ability to turn my 600mm lens into a 900mm lens!

Sony A6300 Front View

The 4 test images I took today were shot hand held at 1/250s and in RAW with Zone Focusing. I also had the LIVE VEIW DISPLAY: Setting Effect: ON. This enabled the camera to simulate the exposure effects during composition to give me an idea of what I am actually seeing.

The A6300 is a TINY camera system. It is so light (even with a L Bracket installed) that I had to be very careful when carrying it around. I worried over dropping it and not knowing!

Sony A6300 Back View

The camera does NOT have a built in Stabilizing system, rather it relies on the fact that most Sony lenses have that built in. I has 3 custom WB memories for those of you who are considering the camera for Infrared and it also has 2 custom setup memories that I have found to be very helpful with my A7rii camera!

I found the camera very easy to use and control. I setup all of the custom functions and buttons to make my life easier when shooting it.

As I said, this camera was meant to be converted by http://www.kolarivision.com into a 720nm infrared system and it may actually meet that end, but I really like the ability of the APS system to give me 900mm from a 600mm lens!

Pawleys Island Marsh, Sony A6300 with the Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 and a polarizer.

Here is the color version (with polarizer) of the image above. The colors are nicely saturated and the overall image is sharp and offers enough detail and sharpness to draw the viewer into the image!

Pawleys Island Marsh, Sony A6300 with the Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 and a polarizer.

Here is another view of the salt marsh. I have to say that the camera with the 24-70 Zeiss lens is easy to hold and control. The camera control buttons are easy to reach and control without using them by accident.

Pawleys Island Marsh, Sony A6300 with the Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 and a polarizer. B&W conversion.

Lastly, a B&W conversion of the same image.

I am really excited with the functionality of this little system. I am pleased with the results and will use it for a few months as a color system for my long lens. Ultimately it will be converted to IR but for now I will play with it.

There are several issues with its firmware (same as when the A7rii came out). Overheating during hight speed continuous shots is the big one but Sony assures me that a fix is in work as it was when the A7rii camera came out!

I will be experimenting with the system for a few months and see what it can offer me in terms of images and use. Later this week it is going to the beach for some ultra long exposures to see if it has any body light leaks!

What do your think?

Jun 7 2016

Learning To See The SOUL Of Your Image: Black & White

Removing The DISTRACTION of COLOR!

Do you enjoy the purity of a finely crafted B&W image?

Look closely at the image below of the neither regions of the Folley Beach Pier. This was taken with a B&W only DEEP CONTRAST Infrared camera converted by KolariVision.com with their new AR coating. Look at the detail and depth captured here. Do you think that if the sand was actually in color that you would even notice the pier going off into the distance past the initial structure? This is what the power and purity of B&W gives to us!

Fuji X100s 850nm Deep Contrast B&W Infrared: Under The Folley Beach Pier

Fuji X100s 850nm Deep Contrast B&W Infrared by KolariVision.com with their new AR coating: Under The Folley Beach Pier

I love working in B&W, so that I would only create them if the market would support such endeavor. There is something about a well crafted monochrome image, having the distraction of color removed leaves you with the soul of the image.

I find that it is so powerful for me that I look at EVERY scene I approach with B&W in mind. Yes, I can visualize in B&W. So can you! It only takes a little practice… OK, a LOT of practice really, but it is well worth the investment in time and energy!

I am so into fine art B&W that I even have a Leica Monochrom digital camera that is dedicated to it in that it only takes B&W images! Not to mention digital B&W infrared cameras!

But DON’T forget film…. Which really is a post for another day.

The baby blue is a Olympus 35RC rangefinder that I had rebuilt, cleaned and given a nice new set of baby blue clothes! The second is a Polaroid 900 that my daughter found at a garage sale and sent to me. I kept it in a display case for a year or 2 then sent it off to WWW.Alpenhause.com where Steven Icanberry took it apart, cleaned, re-gasket, replaced the lens with a Fujicon 150mm lens and added a 4×5 film back. He also calibrated the internal rangefinder to the new 150mm lens and gave it an adult blue suite! It is a dream camera come true!

My Custom Olympus 35 RC Film Camera, one of dozens of film systems I shoot.

My Custom Antique Olympus 35 RC Film Camera, one of dozens of film systems I shoot.

Polaroid 900 converted to 4x5 with a Fujicon 150mm lens.

Polaroid 900 converted to 4×5 with a Fujicon 150mm lens converted by Steven Icanberry

I shoot 35mm, 120mm and 4×5 film systems. Usually, I will expose about a dozen rolls a week in 120, Develop, Dry and Scan then treat them as I would a digital image except for the fact that I will never be starting with a color image!

Rollei IR400 Film – M7 28mm Elmarit – Rodinal 1-50 processing, scanned and printed

I mainly shoot with my Sony A7rii camera and a selection of 4 lenses in my normal day to day work. I shoot in COLOR but always process both color and B&W in post processing. I can just hear you say “why not just shoot in B&W in camera?” Well the easy answer is while you can do so, you will get much better B&W images by shooting in color then post processing to get the best possible color image, THEN convert to B&W. I use The NIK filter Silver EFX Pro for my B&W conversions, and by feeding it a finished color image it will have enough data to generate a wonderful B&W image!

Here is an example of just what I mean:

Sony A7rii w/ Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 lens. Daddy’s Girls, Bluffton, SC

First an image of Daddys Girls, a shrimp boat out of Bluffton, SC. The image is a great one, full of colors and textures with an interesting sky! I feel that in color this makes a wonderful image and think that there is a market out there for it. I spent the time with the image during post processing to bring out the colors, textures and contrasts to make the image pleasing.

Sony A7rii w/ Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 lens. Daddy’s Girls, Bluffton, SC

Then, and ONLY THEN I ran the image through Nik’s Silver EFX Pro B&W converter. I Chose a deeply sepia tinted output with a slightly scratched texture and a minor border. This to me is a pure image with which you can witness and feel the soul of the scene!

Sony A7rii w/ Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 lens. Stormy Seas, Head On with the clouds of tropical storm Colin.

Another example from the Sony that I took and post processed today is this image of the shrimper Stormy Seas, likely the MOST PHOTOGRAPHED shrimp boat in South Carolina, IN COLOR.

Again, I shot in COLOR in order to have as much data as possible for the B&W conversion. Again I found myself in a sepia mood and processed it as the examples above! As you can see, it has a totally different look, feel and emotional impact from its color version above!

Sony A7rii w/ Sony/Zeiss 24-70 f/4 lens. Stormy Seas, Head On with the clouds of tropical storm Colin.

B&W images can be really powerful in their emotional impact. There was a time when B&W was all you could have, then color became popular because of the fact that it was different! But guess what? B&W is again VERY POPULAR to the point of actually out selling color in fine art shows and to collectors! This should give you pause if you are concentrating in color only. You are missing have of the scene, the most important half!

Roanoke River Lighthouse, Leica M Monochrome Camera system, B&W only!

Apr 21 2016

Amazing New AR Coated IR Filters from KolariVision.com

Kolari Vision introduces a NEW Anti Reflective IR coating for their conversion filters!

Fuji X100s, 850nm Kolari AR conversion – Under Foley Pier

I LOVE shooting IR and have a long history with it in both Film and Digital. I have had over 25 conversions from ALL of the big conversion companies around the country! But, once in a while I would get a camera that no mater how hard I tried, I will get a hot spot with it or the lenses I used. You learn how to deal with this by selective use of the aperture but once in a while you would just not be able to get around the problem and loose the shot….

Fuji X100s, 850nm Kolari AR conversion – Shrimp Boat

Well about 3 weeks ago Ilija from Kolari (http://www.kolarivision.com ) sent me a note telling me about a new coating process for his conversion filters. I have a long history with Kolari, LDP and Lifepixel but I have never heard of this till now. Ilija offered to do a free conversion with this newl IR AR coating for me in return for evaluating it in the real shooting world! So I told him that I would send the X100s off as a test camera and that I needed it back fast in order to allow others to play with the camera also! Off it went on Tuesday. Imagine my surprise when I got it back in hand the following Wednesday!

Here is what Kolari says about this new AR IR coating:

Uncoated glass has a reflection of around 4-5% at all wavelengths, and we found that this reflection off the sensor filter was bouncing off the glass and reflecting back from the lens housing and aperture blades to cause the hotspots. We developed this anti-reflective coating that is centered around the IR wavelengths that cause hotspots, and reduced the 5% reflection down to <0.5% (see the attached graph for reflection % by wavelength scan, and the picture of the IR filters for the visual difference of IR reflection).

The coating does not reduce visible light reflections as much, and does not reduce blue reflections at all. This gives the glass we use a blue shine, since that is the only range that is fully reflected still (see picture of black filters).

AR coating test on Visible Light

AR coating tests on BLUE light

I am getting ready with a new website which I hope to launch in 1-2 weeks, so I have not put the coated version of the conversions online yet, but they will be offered on our Full spectrum, two spectrum, 590, 665, 720, 850, and Blue IR/NDVI conversions. There will be a $50 optional upgrade on all of our conversions at this point.

I plan on offering only the coated version eventually, but the batch runs are expensive and I cannot coat our full inventory at once. I’m not sure if you are aware, but we stock custom made custom thickness filters for all our camera/filter combinations so that each conversion gets a piece of glass that maintains the original optical distance (refractive index x physical thickness) as closely as possible, which changes for each filter material. Other companies use a few general size pieces of glass, glue them directly to each sensor, and calibrate the focus for an arbitrary lens, which reduces what they have in inventory. Our design choice means that we have around 200 unique pieces of glass in inventory for DSLR and mirrorless cameras, and another 200 for point and shoot models, so you can imagine the challenge in getting them all coated. – Ilija

Fuji X100s, 850nm Kolari AR conversion – Thru The Door

So as you can see they are up and almost ready to start filling orders for these new filters.

Fuji X100s, 850nm Kolari AR conversion – McClellanville Fleet

I have to tell you that with my test conversion on the Fuji X100s to AR 850nm that ALL of my hot spot issues simply went away. This camera has always had a tendency for IR hot spots. I have converted, tried and sold so many IR systems in the past that I have lost count. I could not, would not sell this one as it is one of my most prized IR systems. To say that I am pleased with the results of the Kolari IR AR Coating is the understatement of the year!

Remember, if you decide to order from Kolari, give them my name for a $15 discount!

Apr 16 2016

Advanced Work With The Sony A7rii

Using the Sony A7rii for advanced photographic work….

Long Exposure In Charleston, SC, 30 seconds with a 6 stop B+W ND

I was in Charleston, SC last weekend with the a7rii camera system to see how far I could push it! I find the Sony system to be refreshingly powerful and very capable of any style of photography I desire to shoot. The Image above of the boat house (Sunrise) was just another example of the power of this system. I was looking for some long exposure and the water of Charleston Harbor was very smooth to start, with only 6 to 12 inch waves. The sunrise was blocked by a tremendous super cell thunderstorm system so I just concentrated on the boathouse and smoothing out the water. I was using the Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS lens at 150mm with a 6 stop B+W ND filter attached which was giving a 30 second exposure. I was sure that 30 seconds would give me a very smooth water (which it did). I also desired to capture detail in the stormy clouds but keep the white water. I metered the waters surface and placed it in Zone 7.5 (what! You do not know the zone system? Shame…. We will have to fix this!). This at ISO 50 and f/16 gave me a 30 second exposure and allowed the 14 stop dynamic range of the camera to capture both the withe of the water as well as cloud details!

Granted, the Sony has a LARGE menu system but the provide you so many programmable custom buttons AND several system setup memories that you can with the turn of a control knob chance the camera functions over to the specific style of shooting you desire! In my case, I have the M2 memory setup for long exposures, and by simply turning the command dial to M2 the camera is ready for long exposures!

Miss Lulu, Georgetown, SC

Here is another example of the amazing capture ability of the Sony. This is the shrimper Miss Lulu on the dock in Georgetown, SC last Monday morning. The water of the bay was at slack tide, super high and mirror smooth. I decided that for this image I wanted B&W but still captured it in color since a color starting image gives the best B&W conversion. I was using the Sony/Zeiss FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS lens at ISO 100 at f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/320 second. I waited till a Pelican flew into the scene from behind the boat for the capture. The clouds were slight but still stunning but the boat and its reflection really made the image.

As I said, During my pre-visualitlation of this image I decides upon monochrom with a flying bird. I setup the boa further into the image space to allow for a bird to fly into the scene and balancing the overall image with the boat centered with the trees on the right. This is not a simple snap shot, a lot of thought went into its setup!

Shrimp Boats are one of my favorite subjects and each and every time I happen by them they always present something new and different!

Mar 16 2015

The Purity Of B&W

Going Home To Momma…

Don’t you have the feeling sometimes of not reaching that creative high so that when you return home you are almost like an empty husk?

Well me too, and sometimes I really need to stretch my artistic legs. Going out with a Color Camera will just not get the job done and leaves me feeling empty. Working in Film is a lot better and scratches an itch that I just cannot reach otherwise… But when I am really feeling creatively down and mentally cramped I usually turn to my Leica M Monochrom system.

Duggars Creek Falls, Boone, NC. Leica M Monochrome

Working directly in B&W is a soul expanding exercise that will re-inflate my creative side quickly and effectively. I am the type of photographer who can actually think and see in B&W. Actually generating those images in the field with a capable B&W rangefinder system really is like going home to Momma. It leaves me with that ohhhh feeling, or is it OHHHHH… Yep, that is the feeling that I am talking about!

First, I LOVE shooting with a rangefinder camera system. ALL of my cameras are rangefinders except for one little Fuji XT1 that sits in my camera bag rarely used unless I take it out for lightning shots. I just love the feeling of using a rangefinder! I am not kidding about the feeling of going home to momma! They take me back to my early days of photography when a rangefinder was all that I had and used. They were and still are a nitch camera system. You generally will not find someone out shooting birds in flight images with one, but that is OK with me because after 50 years of shooting, I am soooo TIRED OF BIRDS (well except for hummingbirds but I can do those just fine with a rangefinder).

Outer Banks Fishing Pier, 250 second Exposure Leica M Monochrom

So what makes me smile about the M Monochrom? The ease of use, the CRISP release of the shutter, the incredible functionality of the camera and its wide dynamic range! I love the way it feels in my hands and responds to my control! I even love the sound of it. It is almost sensual in nature! Now, couple that with the amazing images that a pure B&W 18 mega pixel sensor with NO Brayer filter and no anti-aliasing filter can create you will be left breathless with the results.

So for this simple and short post about achieving emotional nirvana, I will keep it to just 2 images that make me feel good. Now that I am creatively re-inspired I can go out again with my color camera (rangefinder of course) and while looking at my scenes in B&W create color images again!

Thank you for stopping by for a visit to the blog…

Feb 10 2015

Van Dyke Brown Paper Experiments…

Fixing Paper Problems For Van Dyke Brown Printing

Van Dyke Brown, Dinghys, Rising Stonehenge Paper

VDB, Revere Platinum Paper & Spots

In my recent printing of the 1840 Van Dyke Brown prints, I have experienced a lot of dark spots on my prints. I ordered several types of papers to try to see if it was a paper problem… I have been using Revere Platinum paper which is easy to coat (provided you use Tween 20 in the emulsion) and gives great tonality but seems to ALWAYS have dark spots all through the print!

Look closely at the image to the right. You will notice dark spots (look above the light) that go completely through the paper! This has been driving me nuts and nothing that I did to try and fix the issue ever helped.

I ordered several new papers plus tried several others that I had on hand:

Arches Platine (on hand) I have issues coating this paper even with Tween added to the mixture. It tends to sit on the surface with no absorption into the fibers which causes it to wash off instantly in in the first water bath in long stringy tendrils of emulsion. Very little is left on the paper so it has a light chalky appearance. This paper just does not work for me in Van Dyke Brown. I keep hearing online about how much other Van Dyke Brown printers like this paper but I just do not see it…
Cot 320 (on hand) This paper is a little better than the Arches paper in that it holds the emulsion a little better but is still washes off the surface in the 1st water bath! It is usable for Van Dyke Brown printing though… It has been recently suggested to me that I soak this paper in a 10% citric acid bath, wash it and dry it in order to get better surface adhesion and a higher Dmax. I will try this in a week or two.
Heavy Kozo 90 gsm (on hand) Bostick & Sullivan states that this paper will work great with Van Dyke Brown. The paper is made from 50% kozo and 50% abaca. Kozo is the inner bark of mulberry tree seedlings, producing a naturally white paper fiber which is very strong and long lasting. The paper looks very promising and fun to work with especially the ultra thin version that I chose to NOT work with due to it being extremely thin and the requirement of special tools to handle it. I have seen videos of artists using it which is why I decided to purchase a few sheets to experiment with. But I have not had time to work with it yet. So look for a post specific to this wonderous paper in the future!
Revere Platinum (on hand). This paper coats wonderfully with the addition of Tween and the emulsion does NOT wash off in the first water bath! It gives wonderful deep tones and color. The only (MAJOR ISSUE) problem with it is that it gets white and brown spots all over the paper that goes completely through the paper from front to back. These spots can totally ruin the print… I have tried everything that I can think of to fix this issue as I really like the paper but I am at a total loss.
Rising Stonehenge (new) This paper coats great with Tween and does not wash off. There are no spots and the adjustment curve matches the one for Revere! It is a thinner paper and seems easy to damage during coating. It takes less emulsion to coat the same size as the other papers. I did find that the emulsion migrates from the coated areas to the white around the edges. I have no idea as to why but I think that if I lower the number of drops that I use for coating that it might take care of the problem. It generates a fantastic deep brown warm tone across the image and I love the final prints on it. This paper is readily available on Amazon as well as many other locations.
Lana Aquarelle (new) All that I can say about this paper is WOW! It coats and prints the Van Dyke Brown images with amazing density and tone. It coats easily with Tween and is a heavy paper with not spotting or migration issues. This is going to be my main paper as long as I can get it. So far the only place that I have found it is at Bostic & Sullivan. The curves for the Revere paper work perfectly with the Lana!

Lana Aquarelle Paper Notes

Lets first talk about the Lana Aquarelle paper. This paper is simply amazing! It coats very well with both the brush and a glass rod as long as you add a little Tween at 25%

For a 8×12 print:

Using a glass coating rod for a 8×12 print it takes 36 drops of VDB and 2 drops of Tween 25%.
Using a Synthetic Sable brush it takes 72 doors of VDB and 2 drops of Tween 25%.

Once coated, I let it AIR DRY for 30 min then expose in a 12 bulb UV box in a vacuum frame for 2 to 4 min depending on the paper and negative. Usually the base exposure time is 3 min.

Van Dyke Brown, Berry Mill, Lana Aquarelle Paper brush coated

As I said the results from this paper is a nice warm print with great density in the black areas and the edges.

I coated four pieces of paper yesterday, two with a glass coating rod and two with a synthetic Sable brush. Both methods worked very well and gave nice even coatings. The image above was a applied with the Sable brush and the one below was coated with a glass rod.

Van Dyke Brown, Lana Aquarelle Paper Glass coated

Notice in the image above if the lone dinghy that there are NO spots at all. The paper was clean on the front and back and gave a nice density in the dark areas! This paper is very heavy and after coating it will want to curl a little but will flatten in about 5 min. Let it dry for the full 30 min in the air and do not use a hair drier.

Rising Stonehenge Paper

For a 8×12 print:

Using a glass coating rod for a 8×12 print it takes 26 drops of VDB and 2 drops of Tween 25%.
Using a Synthetic Sable brush it takes 65 doors of VDB and 2 drops of Tween 25%.

Rising Stonehenge Paper is another good paper for the Van Dyke Brown process. It is a MUCH lighter weight paper than the Lana paper but it really does not cost any less! You can find it on Amazon which means free shipping. The shipping charges from B&S are going to kill me, with the average cost for paper being around $20 per order! This is what makes Amazon so great, but they just don’t carry all of the papers that I like to keep on hand…

Van Dyke Brown, The Old Truck, Rising Stonehenge Paper

So far, my work with Rising Stonehenge has been very good. It coats evenly and the emulsion soaks into the paper fibers nicely. The print is very dense and nice dark areas. The paper is quite thin and I discovered that the surface is easily damaged during coating. Since the surface requires much less VDB emulsion I will reduce it the next time I coat (I used 36 drops of VDB and 2 drops of Tween for this test coating) and the surface damage will likely go away due to the glass rod not going across the paper surface more than 4 times ( for 36 drops the coating rod required 8 trips across the paper surface) thus reducing working the papers surface too much and causing damage.

One small problem with the paper that I discovered was that the emulsion has a tendency to migrate from the coated areas to the uncoated areas giving a grey shadow around the image. If you look closely you can see actual small spots of it surrounding the coating. This is really no big deal but I am unsure as to why this is happening.

I will continue to use this paper because it generates VERY WARM BROWN in the print and I just love the look of it!

Now, it has been suggested that I soak or pre coat the paper with an acid bath of 10% citric acid for a 1 or 2 min, then wash the paper and allow it to dry before coating. I am told that this will vastly increase the papers Dmax! I am going to test this next time I print!

The image at the top of this post was also printed on Rising Stonehenge paper!

Bergger Cot 320 Paper

The Cot 320 paper is a very nice, smooth paper. I love the look and feel of it. BUT, for Van Dyke Brown it has a problem in that it will not readily absorb the VDB emulsion into the paper fibers. Even with Tween added to the emulsion, it is not enough. What happens is that in the first water bath after exposure the majority of the emulsion washes off in thick tendrils of brown goo. Unlike the Arches paper, enough is left on the paper to still make for a good (not great) image.

Van Dyke Brown, Das Boots, Cot 320 Paper

There is enough promise from this paper that I am going to experiment further with this paper by washing the paper with an acidic solution of citric acid and distilled water, brushing it on and letting it soak in for a few seconds then washing the paper again with distilled water. Once it dries and I will flatten it in a low temp heat press and coat the VDB on it. I think that this will break down the surface coatings enough for it to accept the emulsion better and increase the papers Dmax.

Van Dyke Brown, Stormy Sky, Cot 320 Paper

I will report on this more in the future.

OK that is all for this post. I am not going to report on the Arches and Revere papers as I have discussed them in the previous two posts.

I hope that you got something out of the info here! Let me know…

Jan 25 2015

Continued Work In Van Dyke Brown Alternative Print Process!

Perfection in Brown…

Glade Creek Mill, Van Dyke Brown, Revere Platinum Paper exposed for 5 Min

Oak Reflections in Infrared, Van Dyke Brown, Revere Platinum Paper, 3 Min Exposure

After another 2 weeks working on the negative density, I have finally gotten to the point of good negatives, not great yet but I will get there. I have to master the use of UV blocking color in the negative for them to be perfect and that is a project for the future. To date though I have reached perfection using normal B&W negatives.

My CORRECTED Digital Negative for the Van Dyke Process

Here is the corrected negative that I used in the image of the Oak trees above. It is much dense and has been corrected for the mid tones as printed in the Van Dyke Brown Process! It has much greater contrast and required only a 3 min exposure in my UV unit.

One thing that you have to remember when making your UV exposures is to place the ink side of your negative down on the paper surface. If you reverse this the picture will be backwards, but more importantly, the UV light will burn the ink surface and ruin both the negative and the print.

B&W Negative for Van Dyke Brown Print exposure calculated for 3 Min.

Compare it to the negative on the right. This negative was used in the previous post here where the image printed much darker and with less mid tone data. Take a close look at the difference between the two negatives, the first has much brighter areas for increased black contrast and more detail in the trees. The difference is amazing and was easily achieved by the process discussed below…

Here is a small copy of the print generated by the 2nd negative from the previous post. Notice how much darker it is and that there is no detail in the mid tones of the image! It only took me a short while to create the Gradient Map from the process that I learned in Peter Mrhar’s book below.

Van Dyke Brown Print, Over Exposed by 2 stops due to the uncorrected negative

Easy Digital Negatives is another remarkable book by Peter Mrhar

Easy Digital Negatives is another remarkable book by Peter Mrhar that I use in the creation of my negatives. It enables you to easily create Gradient Maps to adjust the mid tone values of your negative tailored to the alternative process that you are printing with! I highly recommend this text over all of the others!

There are several good books on Digital Negatives out there but As I said the is the easiest that I have read and used plus the results of using a Gradient Map over a Custom Curve. I suggest that you purchase several texts and try them in your workflow to see what works best for you!

I hope that you enjoyed this short post on the Van Dyke Brown Process. You can look for more about it in the future!

Jan 19 2015

One Image, One Paragraph…

My favorite image from my visit to Georgetown today…

Stormy Seas… Calm Dock…

I had to sit in the Georgetown gallery today. On my way there I stopped at Stormy Seas, my favorite shrimp boat in the area. I had the Leica M Monochrom with me and the Tri-Elmar 16-18-21 mm lens on it as well as the FRANKEN-VIEWER which enables me to compose the image with ultra-wide lenses on the Monochrom. Did I mention that the Leica M Monochrome is a B&W ONLY camera system? The sky had this amazing gradient across it going from dark gray to bright silvery light on the horizon and the water that you could slide across… Oh My, the water was so perfectly smooth and mirror-like that I stood there stunned with camera in hand just hypnotized at the magic and taking it all in. But alas, I only had a minute to spare so I took 3 differently composed images at -1ev, f/11 and 1/1500s. This is the result: a simple, well balanced image, so full of tonality that it is dripping from the bottom all over my feet….

Enjoy while I clean my shoes…

Jan 6 2015

More Leica M Monochrome Magic!

Creating World Class B&W Images With Leica Monochrome

Bodie Island Light, M Monochrome

In my continuing love affair with the Leica M Monochrome camera system I have learned more each day towards creating amazing etherial B&W art… Keep in mind that I have been shooting B&W film (35mm, 6×7 and 4×5) for several decades and know and understand the process very well. But using the Monochrome is such an easy progression that it seams as though the camera is leading me down this path on its own. Yes there is some small post processing to be done using Nik Filters Silver EFX and once in a while I will add some Viveza as well, but for the most part it is almost perfect out of the camera as long as you get the exposure correct in the shooting!

Leica Tri-Elmar 16 – 18 – 21 mm Lens

In the image below of the shrimper Stormy Seas, I used the Leica Tri-Elmar set in 16mm. There is no image distortion from such a wide angle and it is sharp with good depth of field. When using this lens on the Monochrome you are forced to use the frankenstein viewfinder that you purchase with the lens but that is a small price to pay for such a useful lens. I also have a Voigtlander Hellar 12mm lens in the camera bag and it works very well on the Monochrome and uses an external 12mm viewfinder, but it does distort the image slightly due it its wideness but you can correct for that in Photoshop. The thing about the Tri-Elmar is that it replaced 3 separate lenses that were stolen with one small lens!

Stormy Seas Shrimper, M Monochrome with Tri-Elmar at 16mm

Using a fast lens like the 50mm Summilux ASPH for the image below of the Roanoke River Lighthouse allows you to hand hold on dark or stormy days and still get crisp images that jump out at you! For this image I also had a yellow filter attached to bring out the structure of the clouds. This is one of the HUGE pluses of the Monochrome in that it reacts to the standard B&W filters the same way as film does!

Roanoke River Lighthouse, M Monochrom

But as always my main use for the camera is long exposures which is where my true love lives! Being able to take ocean shots and smooth out the waves is exciting beyond words and the Monochrome does a great job of it with its 4 min bulb limit. Look at the image below of the (another version) Roanoke Marshes Light House. I was there when the light was on and each time it circled it created another slightly offset star effect. It allows me to create images full of wonder and depth!

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse with operating Light, 16 second exposure, M Monochrome

The implied stillness of the water with the graduated reflections create an image full of mood and depth. This is one of my favorite images of this Light House and the fact that during the 16 second exposure the light revolved around 3 times to generate 3 slightly offset star patterns just add more mood to it. This particular shot was done with a B+W 103 3 stop ND filter to allow the longer shutter speed at f/8 for sharpness with the 50mm Summilux ASPH lens!

Now let me share a detail shot of a fishing boat just up the island from the Light House. It is simple yet tells a complex story of the boat and job.

Fishing Float, M Monochrome

I love the textures of the image and the sharpness. The texture on the surface of the individual floats are great and perhaps would have been better served by a closer shot. It was taken with the Macro Elmar 90mm lens (a great lens to invest in) and was done on the tripod!

Mushroom, Macro, M Monochrome with Macro Elmar 90mm plus macro adapter

Really Right Stuff TF-01 and Ball Head

Continuing with the 90mm Macro Elmar I give you a closeup image taken just as I left the Outer Banks. This mushroom is only about 2 inches tall and I had to lay down under a log to get it. Yes a tripod was used but it was the Really Right Stuff table pod which is an amazing tool to have in your kit for just this sort of work Look at the textures on the bottom and stalk of the mushroom. This 90mm lens is the only 90 that I will ever buy for my Leica cameras!

Really Right Stuff TF-01

I hope that you enjoyed this last dedicated post on the Leica M Monochrome camera. I will have many more images to share from it in the future but I think that you are likely getting tired of dedicated posts!

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A conversation on how to easily create amazing Long Exposures

BASIC DAYLIGHT ND Filter suggestions for after the sun is up higher in the sky or 1/2 to 1 hour before sunrise!

The MOST IMPORTANT Lesson!

Exposure Calculation Version 1

Exposure Calculation Version 2

Subject considerations

Seascapes:

As I said above this introductory tutorial is set up to be presented in 2 or 3 separate posts. Look for Part 2 Sunrise/Sunset Long Exposures and the special filters needed in about 2 weeks!

This is the next type of long exposures we will learn about creating in post #2!

As always please let me know what you think of this!

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Yes, deep moody B&W can capture and hold your attention!

As always please let me know what you think, I value your input!

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What Makes Ethereal Moody Images?

These are my secrets to successful fine art photography:

Stop, Look and Think about the scene:

Lindale Denim Mill, a study of extreme dynamic range in a single image…

What more can a photographer ask for in such a creation?

Ok one last example… Daddy’s Girls…

What my vision demanded:

As always, I hope that you enjoyed this post! Please consider leaving feedback and comments!

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A Quick Dynamic Range Followup and Example

But…

How did I do this you ask? I am glad you asked!

The Results:

As always please let me know what you think!

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Stormy Seas in a approaching storm!

As always please let me know what you think!

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Exploring new things can be fun!

As always, comments are welcome! Let me know what you think.

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Sometimes even the best of us get surprised!

The Carson Elizabeth

For those of you who are interested in the fine art of FILM PHOTOGRAPHY AND SELF PROCESSING, join me on my new G+ page HERE and learn and share!

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A Light Weight 120 Autofocus Travel Camera with a Zoom Lens!

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Never 2nd guess yourself on the worthiness of an image…

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Getting your BEST B&W image!

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Smaller, Faster and able to leap over tall buildings!

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Removing The DISTRACTION of COLOR!

Do you enjoy the purity of a finely crafted B&W image?

But DON’T forget film…. Which really is a post for another day.

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Kolari Vision introduces a NEW Anti Reflective IR coating for their conversion filters!

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Using the Sony A7rii for advanced photographic work….

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Going Home To Momma…

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Fixing Paper Problems For Van Dyke Brown Printing

Lana Aquarelle Paper Notes

Rising Stonehenge Paper

Bergger Cot 320 Paper

I hope that you got something out of the info here! Let me know…

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**BASIC DAYLIGHT ND Filter suggestions for after the sun is up higher in the sky or 1/2 to 1 hour before sunrise!**

**Getting your BEST B&W image!**