Create A Pass-Partout
21 October 2008 Filed in: Presentation
When creating or choosing a pass-partout consider the
following guidelines or tips:
- The pass-partout provides a placeholder or border for your photo’s. Wrong dimensions create instability and unrest
- Make the 3 sides of the pass-partout (top, left and right) the same width and the last (bottom) side broader
- Equal width for all the borders gives the impression the top is broader
- The width of the pass-partout borders should larger than the thickness (width) of the actual frame of the fixture
- Present multiple related photo’s in the same frames with the same pass-partouts
- Use square frames with rectangle photo’s
- Put relative small photo’s in large frames e.g. the frames are oversized
- Black pass-partout often too dark and somber, ivory white pass-partout suites most photo’s e.g. B&W and color
- Real white paper enhanced available color traces in white parts of the photo
- Color pass-partout should enhance the photo e.g. possible usage of complementary color
- The colors in the room are important e.g. wallpaper or paint
- Use double pass-partout to create depth e.g. 2x pass-partout in different colors and different sizes
- Use thick pass-partout paper
- Use acid free paper and adhesive tape
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Digital Photography - Have A Backup
10 October 2008 Filed in: Backup
With the digital photography the need for storage
increases. In particular as you need multiple volumes
to keep copies of the images.
Personally I am in favor of maintaining 3 copies of both the original and processed images:
With todays prices you can buy enough storage cheap e.g. € 150.- will buy you a decent LaCie hard disk with 1TB capacity.
Personally I am in favor of maintaining 3 copies of both the original and processed images:
- A working copy for the day-to-day editing, updating the MobileMe galleries and printing
- A copy of the images at home.
- A copy of the images at another location (suppose you got a big fire at your home or theft)
With todays prices you can buy enough storage cheap e.g. € 150.- will buy you a decent LaCie hard disk with 1TB capacity.
Snow Photography Part 2
04 October 2008 Filed in: Equipment
With snow photography you are confronted with more
extreme outdoor circumstances. Although you may enjoy
the warm winter sun some times, often you will have to
deal with less agreeable temperatures and cold wind.
Your photographic equipment will have to deal with these conditions too.
Some things to consider or take into account:
Your photographic equipment will have to deal with these conditions too.
Some things to consider or take into account:
- Be aware of condense forming inside the camera. Moisture on the lens occurs with changing temperatures
- Your battery will perform considerably less in colder circumstances. They will drain quickly, keep them as warm as possible between shoots (outside the camera) and take additional batteries
- Keep the camera strapped around your neck as you operate in more slippery environment. Have protective cover to protect the camera in case you loose your balance on the icy path
Kodak Tri-X 400 Film Processing
29 September 2008 Filed in: Film
Processing
We are going to discuss processing the Kodak Tri-X 400
negative film. You will find basic instructions on the
package of each B/W film, but you can play with the
processing fluids and development times to get
different results.
The objective of the instruction is establishing a procedure which can be reproduced and gives predictable results. Afterwards you can play with the time to achieve different effects e.g. more or less grainy negatives.
Each step should be executed immediately.
We will be using the following processing fluids:
Prepare the fluids. Take 125 ml of the fluid and add 125 ml of water. The water should be 20 degrees Celsius.
Go into the darkroom with the lights completely off. Next take the film from the container and put the film into the Paterson development tank. Close the tank and pour the fluid into the container.
Immediately turn the container in a smooth and controlled manner. Remember no violent shaking. Next you should follow the schedule during the 11 minutes:
After 11 minutes empty the container.
Next take 250 ml of the Amaloco S10 prepared fluid and pour the fluid into the container. Don’t take too much time as the remainder of the developing fluid will continue it’s work.
Turn the container every 15 seconds. Stopping the development is achieved after 1 minute.
Pour the fluid from the container.
Take 100 ml of the fluid, add 400 ml water. The 500 ml is sufficient for the fixation of approximately 6 negative films.
Add 250 ml of the fluid and process the film during 5 minutes. Turn the container every 15 seconds.
Get the remainder of the processing fluids of the film by rinsing the film. Use water of 20 degrees Celsius during 8 minutes.
Finally use Amaloco finishing fluid to complete the processing.
The objective of the instruction is establishing a procedure which can be reproduced and gives predictable results. Afterwards you can play with the time to achieve different effects e.g. more or less grainy negatives.
Each step should be executed immediately.
Fluids
We will be using the following processing fluids:
- For film development use Kodak D76
- For stopping the processing use Amaloco s10
- For fixating the result use Amaloco X88
Developing
Prepare the fluids. Take 125 ml of the fluid and add 125 ml of water. The water should be 20 degrees Celsius.
Go into the darkroom with the lights completely off. Next take the film from the container and put the film into the Paterson development tank. Close the tank and pour the fluid into the container.
Immediately turn the container in a smooth and controlled manner. Remember no violent shaking. Next you should follow the schedule during the 11 minutes:
- During the first minute you need to turn the container every 15 seconds
- During the next 10 minutes you should turn the container every 30 seconds
After 11 minutes empty the container.
Stopping
Next take 250 ml of the Amaloco S10 prepared fluid and pour the fluid into the container. Don’t take too much time as the remainder of the developing fluid will continue it’s work.
Turn the container every 15 seconds. Stopping the development is achieved after 1 minute.
Pour the fluid from the container.
Fixation
Take 100 ml of the fluid, add 400 ml water. The 500 ml is sufficient for the fixation of approximately 6 negative films.
Add 250 ml of the fluid and process the film during 5 minutes. Turn the container every 15 seconds.
Rinsing
Get the remainder of the processing fluids of the film by rinsing the film. Use water of 20 degrees Celsius during 8 minutes.
Finally use Amaloco finishing fluid to complete the processing.
Snow Photography Part 1
29 September 2008 Filed in: Exposure
Photography of landscapes covered with snow is
difficult. However you have some tricks to your
disposal.
The problem is you can’t use the same trick in every situation. The best solution for making a proper photo depends on the circumstances e.g. bright sun versus overcast skies, a lot of other details with important texture, large patches of smooth snow reflecting the light (additional light source).
In general you are in trouble because of the light metering of your camera. The light meter assumes average light conditions. In addition the white balance setting can have a significant impact on the result.
The camera meter compares the light values it receives with average grey. The most dominant light value will be average grey, the other light values will be relative to the average grey. As a result a large white snow patch in the photo will be shown grey.
The first solution is overexposure of the photo. Set the camera to over exposure with one or two stops. This works sometimes, but the risk is overexposure. You get loss of detail and blown-out snow.
You could use auto-bracketing to take multiple pictures with different exposures.
The second decent option is to find an average “grey” subject and use it for spot metering e.g. use the road. Keep this metering result and take your picture.
The problem is you can’t use the same trick in every situation. The best solution for making a proper photo depends on the circumstances e.g. bright sun versus overcast skies, a lot of other details with important texture, large patches of smooth snow reflecting the light (additional light source).
In general you are in trouble because of the light metering of your camera. The light meter assumes average light conditions. In addition the white balance setting can have a significant impact on the result.
The camera meter compares the light values it receives with average grey. The most dominant light value will be average grey, the other light values will be relative to the average grey. As a result a large white snow patch in the photo will be shown grey.
Over Exposure
The first solution is overexposure of the photo. Set the camera to over exposure with one or two stops. This works sometimes, but the risk is overexposure. You get loss of detail and blown-out snow.
You could use auto-bracketing to take multiple pictures with different exposures.
Spot Metering
The second decent option is to find an average “grey” subject and use it for spot metering e.g. use the road. Keep this metering result and take your picture.