Film vs. Digital (Again)

To say that digital is superior to film is an opinion; it depends on what you value and you cannot really prove it. Last night I developed three rolls of film. I still shoot film and value the way film responds to light. A digital sensor will only respond to light one way. Digital cameras only have one personality. A camera raw file is merely a data dump of what is on the sensor and that is the response of the sensor to light and that is the only way that camera will respond to light. You can tweek the camera settings but you cannot tweek the sensor.

A film camera will respond to light many different ways depending on the film in the camera. The latent image on exposed film is like a data dump of the reaction of the material to light. All the rest is post processing whether you are talking photoshop or D76. Film cameras have multiple personalities because there are different films available. I can say film cameras are superior to digital if I wanted; again based on my values and opinions that could be true. In the last two years Kodak has introduced two fine new films.

So, if your vision is best expressed with a plastic Diana, or a Speed Graphic, or a Nikon F6, or a Nikon D3; then that is the superior tool for you. I am glad the choices exist for us all. The analogy to painting vs. photography is apt. In fact I would even say it is even more like water colors vs. oil paints. They are both painting after all. But, how can you say which is superior? Because, after all, it is all about vision and converting that vision into an image and we all see things a little differently. In that context it matters less how you get that image and more that the tools let you do it.

~Steve

Google introducing new photo format for Web

According to a post on Mashable by Jolie O'Dell, "Google is introducing a new format for images: WebP." O'Dell goes on to say:

Images on the web in this format will have smaller file sizes, load faster and relieve a lot of overclocked networks. They won’t necessarily look better — WebP images are as “glossy” as JPEGs — but the files might be around 40% smaller than JPEG files. [Read More]

If Google can convince browser manufacturers and Web designers to support this format this could be a big benefit to folks downloading graphics over cell connections, especially as carriers have been stepping away from unlimited service plans.

That's me

Click on image to enlarge.

This morning at 9 a.m. my friend and SJSU ace photographer Robert Bain was scheduled to do a photo shoot. So, I went over to see how it was going. He used me to check his lighting (that's Tower Hall in the background.)

It is wicked cold for August in California and I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt Susie and I bought in Quebec City, Canada last June.

I was not dressed for a photo shoot. I did not shave this morning and I had my own camera over my shoulder. But, that's me! It was really nice of Bob to share the photos with me.

Why I still like film

I like film because I like film, that is reason enough after all. Since I am not photographing for an employer anymore; I owe nobody any more explanation than that. So, I still shoot slide film and black and white when I shoot trains.

What do I like about film? I like that slides are tangible, I can scan them to a 16 BIT Tiff and do everything with it I can do with a camera RAW file and still have my slide. Slides have value, you can trade and even sell them. I like the discipline of shooting film. I like not having to worry about dust on my sensor if I change lenses in the field. I like that if I want higher resolution I can rescan my slide again. I am not locked into the resolution of the camera. I like that I can use my camera even if the battery dies. I like not having to worry about recharging my camera.

I like the way film sees light. I like that I can change the personality of my camera by changing the film I put in it. I like that bright red railroad signals stay red and do not turn white if I am shooting into them with film. I also like the smell of film and the sound of a Nikon motor drive.

I like that once the picture is on the wall it really does not matter if it was shot in digital or analog anyway. So, even though I have and use a sweet digital camera, I find a lot to like when I shoot film. So, I still do.

Rain at SJSU

I love the way on a rainy day, looking down is looking up.

Winter in San Jose

Winter came to San Jose yesterday. The days are getting longer once again.

About the photo: This photo is shot on film, with a Nikon 105mm 2.5 lens (Ken Compton's old lens) on a N90S on Fuji 400 film exposed at 200. Click on photo to see a larger version.

End of Fall at San Jose State

Fall is finished at SJSU. This photo was taken between Clark Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall on November 29, 2009. Two guys were tossing a football in the late afternoon that day. Just click on the photo to see a larger version of the image.

Fall light, leaves and shadows

Behind Dwight Bentel Hall at SJSU, Fall 2009.

(Taken on Fuji 400 film, Nikon F3 camera. Click on photo to enlarge)

SJSU Color

Window Washer

How I remove hot spots on shiny skin in Photoshop

This works very well. One of the best and easiest ways to fix hot spots, like flash reflections on shiny skin, on a photograph is this:

1. Make a duplicate layer, choose that layer and work from that layer.
2. Choose the healing brush tool and in the options bar, for mode choose "DARKEN" and check the option "SAMPLE ALL LAYERS".
3. Set your healing brush tool hardness to 0% (this is a soft brush) and size of the brush (use a brush size slightly bigger than the hot spot) and with OPTION+click (MAC) or ALT+click (PC) choose a skin tone you like. Then, paint on the shiny areas with the healing brush tool. Painting, as used here, means clicking and dragging on, or over, the areas where you want to cover the hot spot(s).
4. Apply slight a slight Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur) and lower the opacity of the layer.

What is great about this technique is you have cloned pixels on a separate layer and you can apply the slight Gaussian Blur filter and lower the opacity of the layer to blend your adjustments in and achieve a great end result.

Here is where I learned this technique.

Bikes out of control at SJSU

Many of the people who ride bicycles on the sidewalks at SJSU do so in ways that risk serious injury to themselves and others. Cyclists riding with no hands are unable to take evasive action if a pedestrian, cart or disabled person steps into their path. Usually cyclists who ride like this way are not wearing helmets.

This bike position is especially prone to falling. These cyclists, as well as endangering others, risk head injuries that could kill them or leave them permanently disabled.

[My blog about human powered vehicles at SJSU]

[More photos of human powered vehicles on and around SJSU]

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Good Organic Food or 26 cents

I am still in love with film

I love shooting digital and the digital work flow. A digital camera is like a good friend that lets me make some great pictures, but I am still in love with film.

Film sees light in a totally different way. Film reacts to light organically. The light changes film, it is not like a digital sensor that responds to light as a result of programming. A film emulsion feels light and is unalterably chemically changed by light and that makes film different. Once it sees light the film is never the same again. The film holds that latent image and awaits its interpretation in development.

Once processed, those qualities can be scanned and brought into the digital world but that first reaction to light is unique. The tonal scale is not the same as digital. I love it and that is why I am still in love with and still shoot and still process film.

Everything else is a side show, to me. Film is the real deal; to me.

Since I only take pictures for myself, that is what matters to me.

Lovely SJSU Morning

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My Dad's Old Speed Graphic

Pictures with my dad's Speed Graphic

Two years ago our house was burglarized and I lost all the cameras my dad had left me except for one, my dad's old Speed Graphic. It is a lovely camera with a sharp old Kodak (made in USA) Color Ektar lens. I have not used this old press camera in decades, but I remember it being as sharp as a tack. Lately I have started doing business with a local camera repair store, Kamera Korner, and the owner is an old camera repairman named Bob. Repair of old film cameras is becoming a dying art, literally. So I decided to get this camera made usable again. It took awhile, I heard stories from the other people in the shop about the work Bob was putting into the camera. After a month or so, it was ready.

The photo above is from the first roll with this camera.

I have found an added bonus with using this camera. It is so unique, so retro looking, people love talking about it. That leads to conversations which leads to photo opportunities. When I look through the viewfinder, when I click the shutter, I am looking through the same viewfinder, clicking the same shutter my dad did fifty years ago. I think that is pretty cool! Plus it takes amazing photos. The picture here does not do it justice, it is so sharp, so true to color. It's amazing, we are talking around 60 mega pixels in digital equivalent, I have been told. It is knock your socks off sharp. Sometimes; older is better.

Blue Skies and Blossoms

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God is a Spartan

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Blossoms Like Fireworks at SJSU

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No walks in the rain

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