Film To Digital

Rob MacKillop

Rob MacKillop

Edinburgh Correspondent
I returned to the Dean Cemetery to try the Mamiya RB67 Pro SD at the memorial for the Edinburgh-born Confederate soldier. I used Fuji Provia 400H film.

Here is the original, untouched...


ConfedScot by RobMacKillop, on Flickr​

I was pleased that I got the exposure fairly close - f.5.6 and 60, but maybe a higher f stop would have been a wiser choice, as the edges are oof, especially lower left. The colour is a bit dull, don't you think?

I tried a B&W version with editing in Nik Silver Effects and some darkening in Levels...


ConfedScotbwl by RobMacKillop, on Flickr​

For me there is too much in there, too busy. I made the mistake, maybe of removing noise with Nik Dfine. It could do with some grain now, but that seems a bit perverse to add grain to what was originally a film image. I might be getting confused between noise and grain...

And here is a colour version boosted in Nik Colour with Tonal Contrast, darkening in Levels - the whole image really shone, but I reduced that a little in Nik Viveza...


ConfedScotTCLv by RobMacKillop, on Flickr​

It's still a bit "in your face"...

So, overall, the original is too flat in some respects, and I don't think my edits have been wholly successful. But, it's all about refinement. With better light and exposure, the original could have been better, and not require any editing.
 
I like the last color one and the mega grain a lot. I really wish I knew how to do film, it's so much nicer than digital. That's really fascinating. Here you see Confederate Flags with US flags. I'm not sure how that's supposed to work... Maybe it's weird Jungian Duality thing.

Private Joker: I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.
Pogue Colonel: The what?
Private Joker: The duality of man. The Jungian thing, sir.
Pogue Colonel: Whose side are you on, son?
Pogue Colonel: Don't you love your country?
Private Joker: Yes, sir.
Pogue Colonel: Then how about getting with the program? Why don't you jump on the team and come on in for the big win?
Private Joker: Yes, sir.
Pogue Colonel: Son, all I've ever asked of my marines is that they obey my orders as they would the word of God. We are here to help the Vietnamese, because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out. It's a hardball world, son. We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over.
 
Rob MacKillop said:
Funny. Yes, I do like the combination of film and digital processing. Grittier. I'll keep exploring it.
Click to expand...

Do you develop your film then scan it. I'm just trying to figure out how much it would cost. We actually have a really nice darkroom set up at the college I work at it. But I don't think it has a scanner.
 
Well, so far I have had to send it off to get developed and scanned to a CD. I don't ask for prints. If the scan shows something worth printing, I'll ask for that alone. However, it is all a bit expensive. So, I've started a course in film printing, and hope to be doing that before long. Should work out a lot cheaper. And they have great scanning equipment too, so I'll be using that as well.
 
Rodinal is the developer I use and it has saved me a lot of money. Its inexpensive (in USA at least), can be used in highly-diluted concentrations, and has a long shelf life.

I use it to develop all my black and white. Sometimes I've used it to develop color rolls, both print as well as slide film.
 
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