 Aleksandra Miesak |
Trying out Velvia 100 Happy Wednesday Everyone, So, my Nikon D80 is getting a tune-up this week and I decided to pick up a roll of Velvia 100 and play around with it. In the past I only shot BW film and that was over 5 years ago. Now all the articles I read about shooting slide made it clear that I had a challange on my hands and my first roll will not turn out too well. Does anyone have any tips or ideas on how to make this work as far as good exposure and keeping detail in my shadows/highlights? I plan on mostly shooting "the magic hours" and some night neon lights scenes in NYC. For the "magic hour" I have a 2-stop soft step graduated ND filter. Thanks for any help. Aleks
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Mark Feldstein |
You get better color saturation with transparency stock, when you under-expose it by 1/3 or 1/2 of an f-stop. You picked a somewhat finicky film to initially experiment with because Velvia has very high color saturation to begin with and without proper exposure, I mean dead-on exposure, you probably won't be thrilled with your results. For starting out, you might consider one of the Kodak Ektachrome 100 speeds. It's a bit more forgiving in terms of saturation. I've been shooting with regular Ektachrome 100 Pro for years. I can filter it, exposure it, and practically process it in my sleep. It's great stuff, especially with a bit of warming filter like an 81B or even an 81C, depending on the time of day. I prefer it over the other Ektachromes meant to duplicate the color saturations of Kodachrome or Fujichrome. And when you really want to get into transparency work, try some Kodachrome 200 pro, available at B&H. BTW, the new Velvia is somewhat easier to expose than the older version, but IMHO, it's still somewhat tricky and prone to blocking up details in shadow areas and clumping up highlights when it's too far underexposed. Also, as you probably know, at the "magic hours" the light changes very quickly. So you may find it difficult to keep track of your exposures to be able to produce repeatable results later on. I'd recommend starting your slide film experiences in late afternoon rather than early evning, take a notebook, record your roll numbers on the film leader with a Sharpie and keep exposure records written down. Speaking of ND filters, remember to nail down your exposure BEFORE you add the ND filter or your shots may be significantly underexposed. In any event, whichever you use, bracket your exposures based on that underexposure rule of thumb and if you keep track of them (your exposures not your thumbs) you'll likely get some nice shots. Also for nite scenes, use some kind of a camera support, a tripod, a block wall, a lamp post will do. Anything to steady up your camera. Take it light ;>)
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Aleksandra Miesak |
Thanks Mark. I know to expect a pretty big learning curve so I'm not expecting 36 winners here... But all of your advice is on point. I was thinking of bringing my digital camera (P&S) as well just to see what each exposure looks like on an LCD display. And I'm thinking of using it as my "note taking device". Meaning taking a picture of my exposures as they appear on my SLR's top display. Might speed up the process a little. And I know to definitely bracket and to bring my tripod. I did however realize that I probably would have been measuring exposures through the ND filter so that was a good pointer and I will make sure to remember that. I don't have a DOF Preview button so I don't even know how that is going to work. Might have to guess a little with the gradation. But thanks for your help. Kind Regards, Aleks
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Bob Cammarata |
Here's a few more tips for shooting slide film during "magic light" times: With the sun at your back, a distant (blue) sky is a good point from which to meter. The sky and illuminated landscape will have similar exposure values and you won't need that split ND filter. If at all possible, try to compose your outdoor scenics to completely exclude a very light blue or gray/white sky and concentrate only on foreground elements. Bob
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Mark Feldstein |
Our pleasure Aleks. have fun. M.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Velvia 50 is back this summer.
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