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Experimenting with Topaz B&W Photoshop plug-in

 

Black and White photography seems to be celebrating a come-back nowadays. The recent launch of the Leica M9 monochrome camera indicates that there is a strong interest in monochrome photography. However, to many photographers the color image is shoot first and then converted to bw using the image editor.  There are also many plug-ins for monochrome conversion available in the market. I tested several of them and found the Topaz B&W Effects very interesting. After installation the user is presented with a list of presets on the left side of the screen. For the following sample photos, I first selected one of the “Opalotype” presets and then fine tuned the resulting image with the settings on the right side of the screen. The settings can also be saved as a new preset.

 

 

 

 


Pinhole Panning mit dem Skink Pinhole Pancake

Pinhole Panning mit dem Skink Pinhole Pancake

Was ist Panning, oder auch das “Mitziehen” in der Fotografie? Mit dieser Technik folgen Sie dem bewegten Objekt mit der Kamera und einer relativ langsamen Belichtungszeit. Ziel ist es, das Objekt vor einem verwischten Hintergrund scharf herauszustellen. Idealerweise wird dabei die Bewegung der Kamera der Geschwindigkeit und Bewegungsrichtung des Objekts angepasst. Das Fokussieren erfolgt dabei entweder über die Kameraautomatik oder durch manuelle, geschätzte Voreinstellung. Beim Fotografieren von sich fortbewegenden Menschen, erfolgt die Belichtung mit Zeiten zwischen 1/10 und 1/60 Sekunde. Bei der Lochkamerafotografie denkt man automatisch an lange Belichtungszeiten. Und diese in Kombination mit “Panning”? Ja, die aktuellen lichtstarken Digitalkameras mit erweitertem ISO Bereich und kurzer Brennweite machen dies möglich. Einfach den Skink Pinhole Pancake auf das Bajonett Ihrer Kamera montieren und die ISO Einstellung so justieren, daß die resultierende Belichtungszeit in den obengenannten Zeitrahmen passt. Dank der unbegrenzten Schärfentiefe des Lochkameraobjektivs entfällt hier das Fokussieren auf die Entfernung zum Objekt, Fokussieren Sie Ihre Aufmerksamkeit ganz auf das sich bewegende Motiv. Viel Spass damit!

 

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Pinhole Panning with the Skink Pinhole Pancake

What is panning in photography? The idea is that you follow your moving subject with the camera using a relatively slow shutter speed. The aim is to render the subject sharp against a blurred background. Ideally the movement of the camera is matching the speed and direction of the subject. Focussing is done either by the auto focus tracking of your camera or by manual, estimated focus setting. When taking pictures of moving people, the typical exposure time ranges between 1/10 and 1/60 seconds. Pinhole photography is all about long exposure times. Now, how about pinhole panning? Yes, current light-sensitive digital camera models with a extended ISO range and a shorter focal length make it now possible. Just mount the Skink Pinhole Pancake on your camera and adjust the ISO value to allow exposure times in the above mentioned range. Thanks to the pancake’s unlimited depth of field, there is no need to focus the distance. You are free to focus your attention the the moving subject. Have fun!

 

 

rose – pinhole lightpainting (Ilford Pan F Pro 50)

You have tried light-painting, you have tried pinhole photography. Have you ever used pinhole to do light-painting? Yes, it can be done. Instead of a torch light try a normal flash. For this image of a rose, a flashlight (guide 18 strength) was fired 30 times from a 20 cm distance. Be aware of the direction of the light to emphasize contours and highlights as you would do in light-painting.

Camera: Chamaeleon Panorama 6×12 / 6×6 – Serial #122 with Skink Pinhole Pancake insert
Light source: pinhole flash light painting
Flash: guide 18
Film: Ilford PAN F Plus

Lotus Pond – Leica pinhole with Ilford SFX 200

The Ilford SFX 200 black and white film with extended red sensitivity up to 740nm is one of the most popular near infrared films. When used without filter it performs like a standard medium speed monochrome film.
If you want to be creative, you must try it with a dark red filter. Blue skies can be rendered black and, depending on the light intensity, vegetation appears almost white.
And yes, it also works with pinhole lenses ! This shot was taken at a lotus pond in bright sunshine.

Camera: Leica type Rangefinder
Lens: Wide Angle Skink Pinhole Pancake
Pinhole: 0.2mm
Film: Ilford SFX200
Filter: IR filter insert for Skink Pinhole Pancake (89B / R72)
Exposure time: approx. 3 seconds at noon
Manipulation: added sepia toning in Photoshop

“lost in time” – infrared photograph, Australia

we were driving south towards Frankston beach heading into a thunder storm. When the rain finally stopped, a few light rays made their way through the dark clouds. Viewed through a normal camera lens the typical outback type of landscape still appeared rather dull. Out of curiosity I mounted an IR filter to my Sony camera and switched to night-shot mode. What a difference ! The lighting was changing every second and I kept shooting until finally the strong Australian sunlight dispersed the remaining clouds.

This one turnaed out best. After removing the green cast and adding some sepia toning with Photoshop it was ready for printing.

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