Too Much?

[Rob MacKillop]

I hesitated before shooting these, thinking the scenes too chaotic. What do you think? I used the Summar 50mm f/2 lens on the Leica IIIg, with Ilford XP2. I haven't adjusted the Shadows - the lens is very observant!

 

[Chris Bennett]

Isn't it just? Observant, I mean.
The first is a little too busy for my eyes to decipher but the second has me appreciating the full image, then diving in deeper for a closer look.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, Chris. Interesting you prefer the second, while for me it's the first. But that's what makes the world go round. However, I won't be doing a large print of either - I need more clarity in my brain...

 

[Chris Bennett]

It may just be the size it is rendered on my screen here. With the first, I want to go up close and untangle the confusion straight away without appreciating the whole composition, which I just don't, really. The second allows me to stay back and look around first!
That's rather clumsily put, but hopefully you follow my meaning.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I do. I think overall I'm impressed with the lens.

By the way, I made the mistake of getting the roll developed at Jessops, and they handed me prints that were VERY pink and grey. I complained, and they suggested I come back the next day (yesterday) for a fresh set. I returned, only to find that they hadn't printed them, arguing that as the negatives were pink the result would be the same. The manager said this "often happens with old cameras". Bollocks, says I, and we start arguing back and forth. Eventually she offers 5% discount on my NEXT roll, at which point I said they would never see any more rolls from me, and left. But that only leaves Boots for a quick turnaround. Normally I don't use XP2, and get my films developed by Ilford, but that can be expensive. Luckily I don't shoot film all the time.

 

[Dave Farnes]

At first they do look very busy, takes a while to make sense of all the elements.

I find the first the most interesting. As a sci-fi fan the curve looks like the curve of a planet against the black sky, as viewed from a heavily forested moon.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Dave. Now the first one is a LOT more interesting!

I like the more realistic sci-fi, such as Kim Stanley Robinson, and occasionally Arthur C. Clarke, but I really hate how bookshops lump sci-fi and Fantasy together. I know there are crossovers, but I just want to find the good sci-fi.

BTW, we are currently watching Quatermas and The Pit on BBC iPlayer - still scary after all these years!

 

[Dave Farnes]

I enjoy the works of the sadly departed Iain M. Banks also Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter and David Brin among others.

 

[Pete Askew]

The first impression is that it is too busy, but that semi-circle in the background draws the eye so much that the sheer mass of detail matters less I think. And I like Dave's interpretation of the image. On the whole, effective I think.

And as for Jessops, 'Bollocks' indeed. Presumable they didn't know it was a black and white film and so should be printed as such irrespective of the colour of the base. Morons!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, last time they get my custom.

Thanks for your comment on the images. I'm beginning to like them...

 

[Rhonda Smith]

#1 gave me a sense of the moon until I began to really look at the image as a whole.
#2 has me like the darker contrasts, it is immediately clear and more defined.

That being said, I am liking # 1 more. Go and figure.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, RJ. I'm preferring the first one myself now.