Congratulations to Hiroaki Kobayashi for his win this week over at the How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies Photo Contest. Enter soon the deadline is coming up soon (September 30th)!
And if you missed this week’s Fabulous Film Fridays, Samantha is hosting the post this week, be sure to check it out.
Back in 1999 (doesn’t that seem so long ago?) I lived in the town of Jasper. I was a full-time stock photographer and of course was still shooting film. All the stock agencies in those days only wanted images captured on slide film. I loved slide film but it had a very narrow range of exposure latitude; it had to be perfectly exposed and even then it could only handle a small range of contrast (about 5 f-stops from pure black to pure white). Negative film, on the other hand could handle a whopping tonal range of 7 to 9 f-stops. If only I could shoot with negative film and enjoy the benefits of wider tonal capture!
Well, in 1999, I shot all year with negative film and then scanned my best ‘negs’ on a high end digital drum scanner and then ‘worked’ the scans in Photoshop and had the digital files output as 4×5 inch LVT transparencies (in other words, big honking slides!). The stock agencies loved these big slides, and I loved the wider tonal range I got with this process. I did not like the expenses of drum scans and LVT output costs and so only output a few select images per month.
Fast forward to today and in my basement sits a dusty binder full of 1999 negatives from Jasper that have never been scanned nor seen by anyone (even I barely remember what is in that binder. I plan to revisit this little treasure trove of lost memories from time to time to share a few negs from my ‘bad old days’ as a bachelor in Jasper. For now here are two images shot on negative film that turned out to sell well with the stock agencies.
©Darwin Wiggett - Mamiya 645 Pro TL, Mamiya 80mm lens, Fuji Reala Film
©Darwin Wiggett, Mamiya 645 Pro TL, Mamiya 35mm lens, Fuji Reala Film
Last week I took Linny, the Linhof 6×12 medium format film camera out for a morning shoot. I put a roll of 120 Fuji NPS 160 ISO film in the camera and was determined to shoot the entire roll of film that morning. But one roll of 120 in a 6×12 camera gives you only six shots! So I needed to be really selective about what I shot if I wanted each shot to be useable. Below are the six photos I came up with that morning. Click on any photo to see a larger version.
And for those of you that missed last week’s Film Friday, check out what Samantha did with the Fuji 645 Pro camera on a stroll in around Mitford Ponds in Cochrane.
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
Early in June I walked around my hometown of Cochrane, Alberta mid-afternoon for an hour and snapped these four photos using Gail my Fuji GA 645 medium format point-n-shoot camera. I used Fuij NPS160 film.
©Darwin Wiggett - Cochrane Main Street with approaching storm
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
This week’s Fabulous Film Friday is over at Sam’s blog – check it out to see what she came up with at a garage sale.
The three images below were all taken with Gail, my Fuji GA645 point-n-shoot medium format camera using Fujicolor NPS 160 negative film. All photos were handheld and were taken on a recent tour of the Brazeau Collieries in Nordegg.
Speaking of Nordegg, I am happy to announce a brand new tour based out of Aurum Lodge on August 19-22, 2011 where we will have special photographer’s access to the old mine at Nordegg and we’ll be going on a photographer’s ice walk on the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park. As well you’ll be accompanied by some really great photographers, Royce Howland, Mark and Leslie Degner, Alan Ernst and Samantha and me. To learn more about the unique photo tour in the Canadian Rockies see the PDF – click on this link.
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
©Darwin Wiggett
The last image above was converted to a tones black-n-white using Nik Silver Efex 2 which I use for all of my B+W conversion. If you are interested in any NIK software be sure to save 15% with the coupon code DARWIN
Sam and I were lucky enough to be invited to a cool photography podcast based out of Calgary called I am Aduro. This podcast is run by Al Del Degan of Aduro Phorography and Andrew Bolton of Zombie Darkroom. We had a great time chatting and laughing with Al and Andrew. Check it out (click on the Listen Now button on the bottom of the link page) and learn what Sam really thinks of Peter Lik’s photography and why I have little respect for most Leica photographers! As well you’ll learn what it really takes to make a living at photography and the underlying theme for the show is fine art nude photography plus there are lots of cool and interesting links.
Speaking of Fine Art Nude work, check out an interview just posted where Sam and I talk about our upcoming Gaia Nudes, Nudes in the Landscape photo workshop. Click here for more.
©Darwin Wiggett
Here is a strip of Ilford XP-2 black-n-white film shot in my Holga camera, Bop. This is the suspension bridge crossing the North Saskatchewan River at the Kootenay Plains along the Siffleur Falls trail. I coud not decide which image I like the best and so present the strip of three frames from the shoot. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
©Darwin Wiggett
© Graham Lowe
This model in question is a friend of mine of about 20 years’ standing, and she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, so was due to have an operation which would disfigure her, although not a full mastectomy. As you can see from the shot, she is very trim, albeit in her 50s, so wanted me to take shots that she could remember herself by, and there was hardly any time between biopsy and operation, so we had to move fast. They were shot in December, in an unheated building (!!) that was being converted from a bank to an art gallery, and which I am involved in. It was the only space available in a hurry, both for the atmosphere of the place and the privacy. It was shot on film, on an original 60s plastic Diana camera. ~ Graham Lowe
Samantha and I led a keen group of toy camera enthusiasts to the Holga Hustle in Lake Louise two weeks ago. We gathered with our plastic cameras, in all colours and shapes and went out to catch the dirty snow and grungy parking lots on a bright and mushy spring day. After we hustled with our cameras we headed to Baker Creek Bistro to look at the Vinyl and Aluminum prints that Sam and I have on display there (they’re still there in case anyone is interested). Below are a few group shots photographed by the Holga Hustlers and a couple of shots that Sam and I took at the event (she used her Keystone point-n-shoot, I used Gail my Fuji GA645 camera). Below the group images are the participant images and we want you the viewer to judge one of these film shots as your favorite. Leave a comment and tell us which one you like best! The winning shot gets a Holga Newbie kit (a Holga, an instructional DVD, and 5 rolls of film) and the respect of the LLTL blog!
The Hustlers in Action
The group - Photo by Andrew
Don't believe that guy! - Photo by John
Those are cool cameras! - Photo by John
Mini Hustlers - Photo by Sherri
Leading them astray - Photo by Samantha
a Keystone camera snap - By Samantha
The Keystone does verticals too! - Photo by Samantha
I stop for signs - Photo by Darwin
Spring melt - Photo by Darwin
Andrew - Photo 1
Andrew - Photo 2
Catherine - Photo 1
Catherine - Photo 2
Georgette - Photo 1
Georgette - Photo 2
Hendrik - Photo 1
Hiro - Photo 1
John - Photo 1
John - Photo 2
Kate - Photo 1
Kate - Photo 2
Sherri - Photo 1
Sherri - Photo 2
Tom - Photo 1
Tom - Photo 2
Photographer's Guide to the Canadian Rockies now available
Darwin Wiggett 