Just for Fun No C&C will be given: Chimney

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi,

Currently, not a lot of time to participate to OPF but this is a little pic before we begin a new week :

Cedric Massoulier: Chimney​

Enjoy!

 

[Asher Kelman]

Overcoming the even-handed attribution of importance the camera gives to things.

Hi Cedric,

We walk past so many interesting assemblages. Finding and isolating interesting people, places, things and shapes is what we like to see and admire. The camera, however, is only the notes for such a picture, limited by how images are drawn, faithfully giving equal importance to all illuminated elements in focus. For a flower or another pretty sight, the camera jpg is often wonderful on delivery from the camera. Cameras are designed for these subjects. However, for more special work, like the subject here, the mind of the photographer can bring out differences the camera does not see.

In your picture of the "Tower", I like the stark and balanced conversations of branching and complementary geometry you have discovered. You are entirely correct in saying this is worth contemplating. Just the same, I have questions to you about the presentation of your find. What you share is what the camera recorded pretty much, except for the black border*. Is that true?

If one adds a levels layer, one can introduce a contribution of dead black space for own own imagination to explore. The contrast of the image and color saturation can be changed ever so slightly and bring out the major dominant skeletons of form that make the picture work well. Just blend say with soft light and the picture has enough punch to make one stop and want to linger with this interesting photograph.

Asher


*I don't believe the black border always helps the picture. It only rarely does (but I admit can occasionally be a really valuable element). Here, however, a white matte would, IMHO, be far more effective.

 

[Nigel Allan]

I really find this quite beautiful. Now explaining why I do is another matter and would take me ages to find the right words, so I'll keep it brief.

It is unexpected
It is balanced
It has hard lines but soft colours
It has beautiful tones and lines

I could go on, but words are failing me right now. There is something about this which just works.

It takes a special 'eye' to see this and frame it. Most people would walk right by, but you didn't. You stopped, contemplated, and realised you had stumbled upon a rare slice of the world and captured it and executed it perfectly.

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi Asher,

I didn't precise that it was an analog shot : black border is just film border
I see what you mean with levels layer : i could have reinforced strips on the left with more contrast, etc. I made a first natural version, maybe i will try a more sophisticated one later.

Nigel,

Thanks for your kind comment. I am like you : more time passes and less i have to say about pictures i see. I just fell them

Regards,

Cedric.

 

[Nigel Allan]

Hi Asher,

I didn't precise that it was an analog shot : black border is just film border
I see what you mean with levels layer : i could have reinforced strips on the left with more contrast, etc. I made a first natural version, maybe i will try a more sophisticated one later.

Nigel,

Thanks for your kind comment. I am like you : more time passes and less i have to say about pictures i see. I just fell them

Regards,

Cedric.

Is this shot with film and then scanned? Tell me how you took a film and converted it to digital for editing. I'd like to know which methods you recommend

The edge of the emulsion where it meets the black unexposed border looks slightly sharper than normally with film, but if this is film-based then I realise why I instinctively like the tones so much.

This is unexpected since I am viewing it on a digital monitor so we don't trust our senses anymore, but on a gut level I reacted to this shot and liked something about the tonal quality. That can only be the lack of pixelation registering with my subconscious.

There is something about the quality of film grain which digital still hasn't achieved in my opinion and probably won't unless the pixels are so fine that the eye cannot tell even when blown up. I believe this only happens over 24.5 million pixels for a full frame if my information is correct, although personally maybe there will always be a difference in how the two methods display life which is analogue.

Digital has made life simpler but not necessarily better.

PS I also wanted to add that this picture is doubly exciting for me that it uses the entire frame and was framed and composed within the viewfinder. In film I nearly always did that and I think it imposes a great discipline on the photographer which is lost on 'the digital generation' . Cartier-Bresson I recall always printed the whole frame and black borders too.

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi Nigel,

This is indeed an analog shot made with Kodak Portra 160 VC film and scanned with Nikon Coolscan V ED. I realised a 14 bits scan and i optimized it in Photoshop CS3, basically with curves layers and shadows/highlights tool.

Emulsion surface is entirely sharp due to Leica lens ! I used a recent Summicron 50, closed at f16. It is with this kind of detail that you can understand Leica quality... and price It's true that when i use a Konica Hexanon or non-Leica lens on my M6, i usually get soft extreme-borders. With Leica lenses, not !

I am not against reframing pictures during post-treatment, i practise like that sometimes, but i must admit it's a more exciting game to directly capture well-framed images.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Is this shot with film and then scanned? Tell me how you took a film and converted it to digital for editing. I'd like to know which methods you recommend

The edge of the emulsion where it meets the black unexposed border looks slightly sharper than normally with film, but if this is film-based then I realise why I instinctively like the tones so much.

This is unexpected since I am viewing it on a digital monitor so we don't trust our senses anymore, but on a gut level I reacted to this shot and liked something about the tonal quality. That can only be the lack of pixelation registering with my subconscious.

There is something about the quality of film grain which digital still hasn't achieved in my opinion and probably won't unless the pixels are so fine that the eye cannot tell even when blown up. I believe this only happens over 24.5 million pixels for a full frame if my information is correct, although personally maybe there will always be a difference in how the two methods display life which is analogue.

Digital has made life simpler but not necessarily better.

PS I also wanted to add that this picture is doubly exciting for me that it uses the entire frame and was framed and composed within the viewfinder. In film I nearly always did that and I think it imposes a great discipline on the photographer which is lost on 'the digital generation' . Cartier-Bresson I recall always printed the whole frame and black borders too.

Nigel

There are a few of us here who still practice with film alongside digital. Cedric, with his M6 and Nikon, me with my Zeiss Ikon and Canon, Ian Sitren with Mamiya mf equipment and various other and of course David Loubser who has reverted to using only film.

As you say the two approaches result in images which look different, and if you shoot colour film there are various approaches to colour rendering available that you might otherwise not think of when working digitally.

I scan with a Nikon 5000, which is similar to Cedric's Nikon, and have thoroughly enjoyed the return to film alongside digital.

Mike

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Cedric,

I keep coming back to this and have only just started to begin to have something to say about why I like it. I think the hard edged geometry is great, but works because of the contrasting in colour and shape vent in the upper left quadrant.

It looks very clean for film - you have resized down very well - and the tonality is excellent. I'm a big fan of Portra, in some ways preferring it to Ektar.

Mike

 

[Nigel Allan]

Nigel

There are a few of us here who still practice with film alongside digital. Cedric, with his M6 and Nikon, me with my Zeiss Ikon and Canon, Ian Sitren with Mamiya mf equipment and various other and of course David Loubser who has reverted to using only film.

As you say the two approaches result in images which look different, and if you shoot colour film there are various approaches to colour rendering available that you might otherwise not think of when working digitally.

I scan with a Nikon 5000, which is similar to Cedric's Nikon, and have thoroughly enjoyed the return to film alongside digital.

Mike

I have just posted another thread asking for scanner recommendations as Nikon have told me that all production of scanners has now ceased

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Yes, there's not any produced Coolscan 50 and 5000... Only 9000 model which gives you possiblity to scan MF films but it is quite expensive... But maybe you could still find a 5000 model in some shops ? 50 model (mine) has disappeared for a long time.

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Nigel

There are a few of us here who still practice with film alongside digital. Cedric, with his M6 and Nikon, me with my Zeiss Ikon and Canon, Ian Sitren with Mamiya mf equipment and various other and of course David Loubser who has reverted to using only film.

Hi Mike,

I have recently sold my Nikon F100 (very good stuff but i didn't really use it), and i bought a Zeiss Ikon ZM : do you own this one ? It's a damned good rangefinder camera, i like it very much !

Regards,

Cedric.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Asher,

I didn't precise that it was an analog shot : black border is just film border
I see what you mean with levels layer : i could have reinforced strips on the left with more contrast, etc. I made a first natural version, maybe i will try a more sophisticated one later.

Hi Cedric,

An important feature of the mind is that 99.99% of what we actively think about is not really directly known to us. If it were otherwise, we could be overwhelmed by sensations! So, in this case, much of your decision making in building this picture carefully references your culture, experience, other images, preferences and more in the vast reference library your brain hides from you. So to find all the richness that the brain might have used in your choices with this picture, exploration is always helpful. That's how we find insight.

So looking at the picture in different ways might find resonance with your real motives behind this picture. So working more with this picture is a great venture. I'm looking forward to see what else you find.

Asher

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi Mike,

I have recently sold my Nikon F100 (very good stuff but i didn't really use it), and i bought a Zeiss Ikon ZM : do you own this one ? It's a damned good rangefinder camera, i like it very much !

Regards,

Cedric.

Hi Cedric

Yes, I have a Zeiss Ikon ZM and I too think that it is an excellent rangefinder camera. I also use a side grip on mine, which I find helps me hold it a bit better, but the real key is the view finder and the intuitive handling, whether using auto exposure or manual. The Zeiss lenses are good too, although I know you have some Leica glass that you would not be likely to change!

I actually just wrote a short piece on my blog as I had thought about an M9 (and I still may buy one one day), but I think at the moment it would just be a distraction from working with the Ikon and using the dslr's where they are more appropriate - strange that they have become second tier tools really!

Mike

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi Mike,

I am negociating to purchase a wonderful almost-new Leica M7 which has been used to shot two rolls only ! I will compare it with the ZI which has only one real flaw for me : shutter noise.

Cedric.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi Mike,

I am negociating to purchase a wonderful almost-new Leica M7 which has been used to shot two rolls only ! I will compare it with the ZI which has only one real flaw for me : shutter noise.

Cedric.

Yes, I was almost seduced by an M6 with its quiet shutter, but the viewfinder was a long way short of the ZI and I had a few thoughts about my ability to burn a hole in the curtain by pointing it at the sun and so acquired a second ZI. Still an M6 or 7 has its own appeal, even if it's not necessary for me.

My bigger concern is the ongoing ability to buy and scan film to a suitable quality. If Nikon really have given up then I am reliant on my one scanner as long as I want to scan film - an Imacon is out of reach really.

Mike

 

[Nigel Allan]

Yes, I was almost seduced by an M6 with its quiet shutter, but the viewfinder was a long way short of the ZI and I had a few thoughts about my ability to burn a hole in the curtain by pointing it at the sun and so acquired a second ZI. Still an M6 or 7 has its own appeal, even if it's not necessary for me.

My bigger concern is the ongoing ability to buy and scan film to a suitable quality. If Nikon really have given up then I am reliant on my one scanner as long as I want to scan film - an Imacon is out of reach really.

Mike

Trust me MIke, I got it from the horse's mouth. Nikon has ceased production of scanners

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Trust me MIke, I got it from the horse's mouth. Nikon has ceased production of scanners

Not meant to be disbelieving NIgel. It's not a surprise rally, bu does leave an even bigger questionmark over the viability of film

Mike

 

[fahim mohammed]

Cedric, I am surprised you associate shutter noise with the M7. It is even quieter than my mp and
a vertically mis-aligned zeiss ikon. Please have it checked thorughly. M7 is known for discreetness.

I wish the chimney was a little larger. Being a not very tall person I have to stand up to see it

best.

Hi Mike,

I am negociating to purchase a wonderful almost-new Leica M7 which has been used to shot two rolls only ! I will compare it with the ZI which has only one real flaw for me : shutter noise.

Cedric.

 

[Asher Kelman]

M7 quiet? Try the new Bessa/Fuji or the Mamiya 7II

The only really silent camera I know of is not in the class of the Leica or Ikon, it's the modest Canon G10. That really cannot be heard. The next best are two film cameras: The Fuji/BessaIII 667 or the Mamiya 7II. The Bessa III 667 is a "NEW 120 film classic style rangefinder folder with switchable 6x6 or 6x7 format" and is almost silent! Unfortunately, the rewind for the next frame is abrasive sounding and annoying. I'd rewind it in a large cloth bag, LOL to muffle the sound. The Mamiya 7II is not as quiet for the shutter, but very acceptable film winder.

Asher

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Cedric, I am surprised you associate shutter noise with the M7. It is even quieter than my mp and
a vertically mis-aligned zeiss ikon. Please have it checked thorughly. M7 is known for discreetness.

I wish the chimney was a little larger. Being a not very tall person I have to stand up to see it

best.

Hi Fahim,

I was evoking shutter noise of ZI body ;o)
I use a quite silent M6 and, then, ZI is really too disturbing for my ears : it's not so loud but shutter sound is much more metallic and banging than a Leica one, it looks like an analog SLR and it disturbs me.
It's a pity because Zeiss Ikon ZM is a real excellent rangefinder camera for everything else.
That's the reason why i finally choose the M7.

Cedric.

PS : Asher, one another silent camera is Lumix LX3

 

[Nigel Allan]

I have just managed to buy a Coolscan 5000 ED off ebay from the USA and I am thrilled...now I have to dig out my film bodies and get them serviced

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi,

So this is my brand new toy

Quiet and beautiful...

M6 is sold and Zeiss Ikon is going to be sold soon.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi,

So this is my brand new toy

Quiet and beautiful...

M6 is sold and Zeiss Ikon is going to be sold soon.

Hi Cedric,

Congratulations. It is indeed lovely and will be quiet too.

I wish you well with the sale of the Ikon - it is a fabulous camera - and hope that theM7 is all you wish for. Of course, I don't think it will impact on your photography as you are already making good and interesting pictures with whatever you happen to pick up in the morning

Mike

 

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Hi,

So this is my brand new toy

Hi Cedric,

Congratulations! That's a fine piece of equipment, the best model from probably the end of the film line for Leica. What are some specific differences between the M6 and M7?

Cheers,
Bart

 

[Nigel Allan]

it looks gorgeous. I have never owned one but played with an M2 in the early 1980s as I had a couple of friends who swore by them. It's amazing how much they hold their value

 

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi,

Basically, M7 is an M6 with auto mode (aperture priority). It allows photographer to concentrate on composition and focusing. Of course, manual setting of speed is still possible (manual mode). But differences are also in the box : M7 has now an electronic controlled shutter, while shutter of M6 is entirely mechanical. M7 is able to calculate continuous speeds and not only fixed speeds as 1/250, 1/500... For purists, it is a fondamuntal difference : M7 needs electricity to work while M6 and former M were independent from batteries except for the light measurement. However, M7 keeps two mechanicals speeds (1/60 and 1/125) which can be used without battery.

Mike, you're true : Zeiss Ikon is a very good camera, but it is too different from my former M6. It is another thing, with its own feeling and i prefer to keep my benchmarks with Leica

Regards,

Cedric.

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Hi,

Basically, M7 is an M6 with auto mode (aperture priority). It allows photographer to concentrate on composition and focusing. Of course, manual setting of speed is still possible (manual mode). But differences are also in the box : M7 has now an electronic controlled shutter, while shutter of M6 is entirely mechanical. M7 is able to calculate continuous speeds and not only fixed speeds as 1/250, 1/500... For purists, it is a fondamuntal difference : M7 needs electricity to work while M6 and former M were independent from batteries except for the light measurement. However, M7 keeps two mechanicals speeds (1/60 and 1/125) which can be used without battery.

Mike, you're true : Zeiss Ikon is a very good camera, but it is too different from my former M6. It is another thing, with its own feeling and i prefer to keep my benchmarks with Leica

Regards,

Cedric.

Let us not go to war then Cedric The Zeiss and Leica are different. My familiarity with the Ikon kept me from buying an M6! we will have none of that warfare that exists in the digital world here!

Mike