Notes From The Top Left Corner

[Chris Bennett]

I think I have finally admitted to myself that, sometimes I really like to make images that are darker than most. By this, I mean in the "Oh dear, I think you'll find that's under-exposed, old chap" sense, rather than "Whoopee, I've just been promoted to head photographer at the coroner's office".

More importantly, I suppose, I have realised that, actually:
It's OK to do that, because I'm in charge!

So, I have spent a few days embracing that idea somewhat.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Chris, you are talking rubbish. These are perfectly exposed shots. I love dark shadows, darker than these even. The second is perfect.

Check out David English: https://davidenglish.com/category/leica-blog/ for deep blacks.

 

[Chris Bennett]

Well...I was trying to convey the sense of someone else talking rubbish, Rob!
Thanks for the comment and tip - I shall take a look.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Sean Tucker is another shadows inspiration for me:

 

[Dave Farnes]

Those are fine images. I do like the guitar picture and the last one could inspire a story. Turn off the brightly lit main street into a shady underworld...

 

[Chris Bennett]

Thanks Dave.
Gosh, I am rather pleased that one of them can set your imagination off like that.

 

[Chris Bennett]

My lens purchasing habit has slowed somewhat recently. My wife tells me that this is because I have nearly bought them all. However, one recently landed here - it's a Tamron Adaptall 2 SP 35-210mm f/3.5 - 4.2 (26A).
It's in beautiful condition and was extremely cheap (like the price of a couple of pints). I stuck it on my NEX 5 and took it with me to work yesterday morning. I got there early, so spent a short while mooching around the grounds of Lancaster cathedral, which is just a 100m or so from the office I work from a couple of days a week.

I have done nothing to the images. Apart from copying them at a lower file size to add here, they're just as they came off the camera.

 

[Chris Bennett]

All in all, I'm very pleased with it. I like the natural colours that it seems to produce. Well worth a tenner!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

The images are clear and on the soft side, which I like. Money well spent.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

The images are clear and on the soft side, which I like. Money well spent.

 

[Dave Farnes]

That was a real bargain. Fine set of detail studies.

 

[Chris Bennett]

Thanks Dave.
I had a couple of rolls of film developed today , one of which was taken with that lens.

Again, apart from the odd crop, they are unadulterated...











I'll be dropping some more onto the 'Car Parts' thread later too.
http://realphotographersforum.com/forum/posts/188173/

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I love the quality of these film shots, Chris.

 

[Chris Bennett]

Thanks Rob.
I am somewhat flabbergasted at the fact that they came from my hand, actually. The roll that these images came from is perhaps the best and most consistent one I have ever taken.

 

[Dave Farnes]

Those are fine shots. I like the way everything matches, the clothes and cars in the first are from the same era, as are the bus and art deco building in the second.

 

[Chris Bennett]

I have a day off work today and the weather is a bit grim, so I've spent the morning sorting through a few images. Following on from my post above, I've hooked out a few from my shadowy recent past.

 

[Chris Bennett]

The first two were shot this Saturday with an Industar 26M 50mm f/2.8 rangefinder lens.
I have no memory of what the others were taken with - possibly a Takumar 35mm

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I like them a lot, but then I am a fan of deep shadows. It's great that we can't see the woman's face in the colour shot - nice colour too. A success, I'd say.

 

[Chris Bennett]

Thanks Rob.
I watched the Sean Tucker video that you linked to. It's great, thanks for that. Turns out I was already doing what he recommends - it's very easy to set things up for this when you can see a histogram as you frame the shot.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Indeed. I use the histogram when I have one available - not so on my film cameras, but somehow life goes on. Amazing