Saturday, September 10, 2011

SPEED LIMIT 35

Morris, Connecticut

I can't stand doing flat-out film test shots. I simply must make attempted 'real pictures' when I'm testing. In this case I'm about to head out on an expedition to continue my American Drive-in Theater project, and I had to check the condition of some 7x17-inch film that's been in the freezer since 2002. So I only drove a little way, to a nearby place with a nice nature reserve (those shots soon) and tried to make actual pictures. I discovered I was a little rusty on my technique, which was a good thing because now I've practiced a lot and won't be rusty on the expedition. I also found I was rusty on scanning. A very different thing from working with Raw files digitally captured. If you make a good large format negative—expose and develop it properly—making a lovely platinum print from it is the easiest thing in the world. Once you know how. Scanning that negative to make a file for web posting or digital printing is, however, a whole different thing. Much more difficult if you're a bit out of practice.

2 comments:

lyle said...

Carl, this one is a bit curious for me. It has the feel of a cross between the your 'normal' 7x17 work and your digital work. Can't quite put me finger on it (that said, I do LIKE the image). Is the light border around the print from the scan?

Carl Weese said...

Lyle, the white frame/border is just part of the Blogger template I use for the blog: it's there on all the digital capture shots as well.