Shutterbug Strasse

Posted by Bold Eagle on January 12, 2003 at 17:14:44

In Reply to: points well taken...But I read that Ansel Adams was not his best at printmaking,John Sexton among posted by Joe M on January 12, 2003 at 15:14:54:

I've never sold anything, so I'm definitely not a professional. I belonged to a camera club for a while, but I found it boring. I entered one competition, won first place (with a 5 x 7 print and ISO 400 film, yet)and decided I wasn't going to learn a lot more with that group.

I live in a condo so a darkroom is not even possible. So the advent of image processing software and film and slide scanners was really a leg up for me. Darkroom on a desktop. For my needs, I'm in for well under $2000 including a suitable computer. Not a pro setup, but it gets me 8" x 10" prints, suitable for framing. I've found that a well processed 2 megapixel print is "suitable for framing". I have several sitting around in frames, and most people think they are enlargements. Wonderful, I can work in daylight and actually be sociable while working. As opposed to a troglodyte existance in my darkroom.

Ansel may not have been the best at printing, but in the Moon Over Half Dome story, he talked as if he had done the darkroom work. At least I read that into it. I'll have to re-read. He took a shot every two minutes for a couple of hours on glass plates, took them all back to the darkroom, and from them picked two to work with. Two weeks later he had the print. Photoshop would have cut that time dramatically, and a digital camera like the 11 mega pixel Canon or the 14 mP Kodak would have cut a lot of time also. He could have brought a lap top with him, and previewed the shots. In his era it took two trips a month apart.

As to eyesight, that's why I dropped the FE-2 and picked up an N-80. Great lenses and body, but often they weren't as sharply focused as they could be. Besides, I really wanted auto fill flash, flash comp, a built in flash, and a spot meter.

Off camera flash? As in a flash bracket, or on an extension cord, or studio lights, or my two Sunpak 444D's with SU-4 units, or...? I love using the SU-4. No wires and TTL. I can't forget I'm connected and pull things over anymore. Also, the SU-4 will even work with my point and shoots, the ones that control flash power; or any brand of camera, so long as the trigger flash has some sort of power control and sensor.

Bore anyone? With this snappy dialog?

Jerry