Wallace Koopmans Artlog

A reader Dave asked me how I created the high key look of a particular image so rather than going into a wordy explanation I thought I would do it visually, I am a photographer after all.

The image asked about was this one and how I modified it to get that particular look.

The first thing I did was to decrease the colour temperature of the image by 450 degrees to make the image cooler.

This is the result of that change.

The next thing to be done was to add a slight green tint also to modify the overall colour and feel of the image.

 I then increased the exposure about 1 stop.  This is could be done at the time of capture as well but in this case I had a properly exposed image to begin with.

The last step was to desaturate the image and add a small amount of fill light which opens up the shadow side of the tree giving a flatter yet more silvery final image.

Of course any one or more of these parameters could be treated differently and while I like presets for convenience I also believe it’s necessary to treat each image individually to get the best look.

In keeping with my current exploration of what I can get out of my Sony DSC-V3 I’ve been using it a lot more lately.  In combination with Lightroom 3’s new noise processing and shooting in RAW I am able to get good clean images that I am pleased with.  I can even get some depth of field separation when I use the camera in certain ways.  With the lens zoomed most of the way out and by forcing the smallest available aperture I can get a shallow enough depth of field and quite good bokeh.  Of course once I had my nice clean images I processed them in a way that defeated the whole purpose.

What to say about this camera, well it takes 24x36mm negatives like it’s name says.  It’s a camera like it appears to be.  Oh and if you point it at the sun you get the greatest lens flare, which may be reason enough to own it.  The lens quite frankly is poor the viewfinder is poorer and it’s usability is poorest.  It’s a zone focus camera and not a rangefinder. It’s greatest technological achievement is that it has a double exposure prevention mechanism but does require setting the shutter separately from winding the film.  Maybe someday in the future when I have forgotten all these flaws I’ll shoot another roll with it.

OK these are extreme examples of symmetry.  You can have balance in an image without such an obvious left right mirroring, which is commonly called formal balance.

It’s easy to recognize when there is imbalance

But sometimes can be more difficult to recognize when things are in balance even though we may intuitively recognize it. 

 In this image notice how the kite and the person are in different quadrants of the image and provide an up/down, left/right balance that makes the image more harmonious. 

Here is another image where there is a left right balance without being completely symmetrical

Using symmetry and balance can create images that are harmonious and visually quiet.  Understanding it’s effect helps also when you want to break from it and create some discord.

I shoot RAW with my DSLR and my compact camera, because it allows me to get the maximum out of the sensors with the most up to date processing.  Shooting jpeg sets the image processing with what is available at the time by the camera manufacturer and usually doesn’t allow for much improvement.  Here are some comparison images at 100% magnification both between RAW and Jpeg and comparing the Sony DSC-V3 to my Pentax K-7.  I did these tests for my self but thought I would share the results no matter how esoteric.

Sony DSC-V3 100ISO RAW vs jpeg   (File size 1.16 Mbyte)

Sony DSC-V3 800ISO jpeg vs RAW   (File size 1.4 Mbyte)  This is where the differences are most apparent

DSC-V3 vs Pentax K-7 at 100 ISO  Both RAW

If the best camera is the one you have with you then the best subject is the one that’s around you.  I went for a lunch time walk around where I was working and took some images as I went. 

"Wait it's not dead!"

My “advanced compact” camera is getting on in this digital age (six years old) and I’ve been looking at what I will replace it with.  Features wise it stands up well against current cameras but the sensor is noisy and the processing is slow.  So while comparing the features of the current cameras I started to think about what the equivalent costs would be if I just used film and some of my older cameras.  So lets say I choose Kodak Ektar at $7.50 per 36 exposures and pay $3.50 for developing (I do my own scanning) that’s $11.00/36 = 0.30 per image.  So if I were to shoot 15 images a week for 52 weeks that’s 780 images times $0.30 is…… drum-roll…… $240 per year.  With the current cameras I’ve been looking at costing twice that much I think that it’s actually economical in the short term to continue and even increase my film use.  The bonus for me is of  course the pleasure I get from using the older cameras.

Of course when I want to do something where getting the image is critical I will still use my DSLR which is gratifying as well.

Some more images created with the Sony DSC-V3 and an infrared filter.  The available light was very low so really I should have removed the neutral density filter that I use with this combination but I didn’t and so the image sharpness suffered for it as I ended up with shutter speeds in the 1/4 second range while handholding the camera.  There is no excuse for laziness, at least that’s how I think the saying goes but you can always claim that that was the look you wanted.

This could also be titled the camera that makes you ask “Did I advance the film?”  This is a medium format camera that you can actually put in a pocket, as I do.  It folds so compactly and flat that it can be easy placed in cargo pants pockets or a jacket.  The main drawback to the camera is that the film advance is not tied at all to the shutter, what this means is that you can easily double expose an image or forget that you have already advanced the film and leave one blank.  It forms an image on the negative that is 42mmx 55mm with the 55mm comprising the vertical.  So you get 16 exposures from a roll of 120 film, at least you would if you remember to advance the film at the right times.  The 75mm lens provides an angle of view of about 48 degrees that would be roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens with 35mm film.  The compur shutter reaches 1/300 second at it’s fastest and the cocking mechanism is at the lens.  The shutter is then tripped using the lever on the right front, this requires the use of the left hand to trip the shutter which is different from what you would expect from any modern camera.  And by modern I mean any camera made in the last 60 years.  The film advance does move the film forward one frame and then locks, the film is then advance-able again when you slide the film counter lever to the left.  The camera opens via a button on the bottom but then requires pressing against the bellows supports until they click into position.  The Bellows are folded back in by pressing against the supports in the opposite direction and then gently pushing the bellows back inside.

Camera dimensions   Width (128 mm),Height (89 mm), Depth at side (30 mm), Depth at lens (42 mm)  Weight (515 grams)

You may have noticed that the image dimensions I provided differ from 4×6 or even the 4.5×6 that you may have found elsewhere but they are the area of the negative each frame takes up and not the actual image size.

In my next post from this camera I will provide some sample images.

When I took this image this previous summer I had no idea that my Uncle had taken such a similar picture from so close a vantage point some 48 years earlier.  I have been scanning his slides for him and for the rest of my family and was taken aback by how little this scene had changed.  This is particularly true when I compare it to my own images where the world around me changes at such an incredible rate. These pictures also reminded me how photography can be a form of collecting where we try to recreate what we have seen before and want for our own,  sometimes I think it’s better not to dwell too much on other peoples images to avoid the pitfall of mimicry.