Film v digital

Is there a difference in the final result between shooting digitally and on film? Well, here are two photographs I took recently near Southwold one with my Olympus Pen-E1 1/1000sec f5.6 ISO 100 at 40mm which is 35mm equivilent of 80mm and one with my medium format Bronica using Fuji Velvia film ISO 50 1/125 f16 using a 150mm lens which is the 35mm equivalent of 100mm The faster shutter speed on the Pen was because I was handholding it. The Bronica was tripod mounted.

Both images are straight out of the camera with no post producion work at all.

A definite difference I think. Does anyone have a comment?

Fairweather photographers

Typical British summer weather her in the UK at the moment. I suppose it is correct as we are certainly having plenty of April showers but dont let that make you put your camera away there are plenty of opportunities to take interesting photographs in the rain. Given the dull conditions you may need to push your ISO rating up a bit but a grainy/noisy result, especially if you convert the shot to black and white, can be very effective.

This one was shot in Bungay on my Zorki 35mm camera with a B & W film which was rated at only ISO100.

Studio style portraiture without expensive equipment

Do you need expensive flashes and modifiers and backdrops to make studio style photos? No, is the short answer. It makes life easier of course but so does having all the latest technology in any field but it can be twice as much fun working round the issues without forking out the ££££'s.

Take this self portrait for example. The model came free (!!) and the lighting was from an LED hand torch balanced on  a book shelf 1/25 at f2.8 ISO400 The camera was on a tripod but even that could be dispensed with if you placed it on a table in which case it would be best to shoot using the mirror lock up devise which most DSLR's have (assuming you are using a DSLR)

The background is black purely because no light is falling on it but its best to avoid having anything too close to the subject in case you are getting any light spill.

Obviously low key photographs like this are ideal for some subjects (grizzly old men for example) but may not suit everyone so I'll come back and show how to do some high key portraits with simple equipment in another post.

First colour film from my Zorki 35mm camera

I was really delighted with the results from this camera. The colour depth is different from digital and although perhaps not quite so sharp the images do have a definite feel to "them"

All these photos are straight out of the camera apart from a slight crop on one or two - no photoshopping at all!

A quick update

It was Friday 13th yesterday and whilst I'm not superstitious it certainly lived up to its reputation. I wont bore you with the details suffice to say the satellite dish we bought for the boat came with the wrong type of plug so I couldn't set that up so that we could watch the Grand National and my new electric drill ceased to work and I cant recharge it and 2 fixings I was trying to put up both screws sheered off in the holes. At that point I gave up and took some photos instead!

This one of the venetian blind was shot in daylight but with the white balance set to Tungsten and the ISO rating was up at 1600 to give me a grainy effect,

Walking from the marina I took the dogs to the top of Crack Hill which is a "mound" which gives a great view over the surrounding Northampton countryside all be it one of radio aerials, large warehouses and industrial sites so I thought this was more rural.

Away on the Cut

We picked up our new narrowboat last Saturday and are getting to grips with her. If you would like to follow that story you can here: http://thehodmadod.blogspot.co.uk/

I'm hoping to have some great photos to show over the coming weeks but here's a couple that I've shot over the last week, all on my digital Olympus Pen -E1

As good a place to start I suppose is with my new camera. Having lugged around a full frame DSLR x 2 with large heavy lens I decided that retirement should bring some benefits and that I would reduce my load by changing systems. After much research I eventually decided on the four thirds style of camera and bought an old Olympus Pen -E1 on e-bay for £120 to test the waters. I really enjoy the camera but hate the fact that it doesn't have a viewfinder as in sunny conditions its virtually impossible to frame the image. So I started to think about upgrading it and was very taken with the new Olympus OM-D. However whilst thinking about that and trying to decide if I really wanted to spend £1000 on a camera that was going to be old technology in 6 months I a) bought myself a loupe so I could view the screen on my Pen in daylight and b) bought myself an old Russian 35mm camera called a Zorki which is basically a copy of a prewar Leica for the crippling price of £23.

I've also got my Bronica camera which is medium format and takes 120 film and think as I'm now doing this for pleasure I might stick to those and see where it takes me. Mind you the initial idea of reducing the weight I was going to be carrying around has gone out of the window as neither the Zorki or the Bronica are exactly light weights.

I've only just finished putting through the first film in the Zorki, a black and white Ilford and its interested to see how the rendering of the tones does differ from those taken digitally. Here's a few for you to have a look at. Let me know if you agree. They are not masterpieces but just taken to assess the camera was working.

Welcome

Hi

Life in the slow lane - a few hints tips and comments from a retired professional photographer who is about to set sail on a life on a narrowboat along the canals and rivers of England and Wales.

I'm starting over again with blogging as I did have one running whilst I had my studio but rather neglected it so hopefully I will be more diligent now that I supposedly have more time