Granny
Thiago Sigrist
Registered Users Posts: 336 Major grins
Hi again folks!
This year, at Mothers' Day, I took three or so pictures I really liked... it's a pity I couldn't post them before, since I had little time and had to wait for my film to be developed...
It's more of a pity that the scans I got from those pics were really terrible, despite my paying for higher quality, using a Nikon 9000 ED scanner... I'll head back to the lab today with my slides and ask for them to redo the scans, they're unacceptably dark, capturing only slightly more than the upper half of the tones... :cry
Still, there's this shot of granny that I could salvage somewhat, I think it got to look cool-ish after my processing:
I'm posting it here right now (instead of waiting for the better scans) 'cause I'm just eager to share, that's all!
I've been really enjoying the 'new' camera (the 1956 Rolleiflex), it allows me to get better people shots, IMHO, especially of those people who aren't too eager to pose (like granny here, she doesn't like to pose).
That's because the camera has a waist-level finder, so you shoot it from waist-level (d'oh!), instead of having it cover your face. This allows eye contact between you and the subject, which at least to me, is a great thing, because it allows me to communicate better and be more attentive to the subject's expression. It's amazing how much less intimidating it is, compared to cameras with traditional eye-level finders, like all DSLRs, because with the camera covering your face, all the subjects got to stare at is the camera, and that can make them feel less at ease. I believe Diane Arbus, among others, felt more or less the same about the Rolleiflex.
Also, there are other things to like about it: size and weight put it well into the handholdable realm, and this is especially enforced by the TLR design, which means the camera has a fixed mirror and the only moving part, during picture taking, is the small leaf shutter -- which leads to less camera shake, more handholdability. :thumb
Anyways... back on topic: this shot makes me especially happy because it must be about the third or fourth (I dunno) time I got granny to pose, and I think I've never captured such an expression from her, which I believe really matches how I feel about her. She looks (and is) somewhat proud, and somewhat happy, light-spirited too... I also like how the lighting was at the time I took the picture.
So... despite my being kinda sad when I saw the quality of the scans, I feel good now because I could take a few shots I liked, and I can share one of them with you all.
It's all about the people, right?
Thanks so much for viewing!
Take care!
-- thiago
This year, at Mothers' Day, I took three or so pictures I really liked... it's a pity I couldn't post them before, since I had little time and had to wait for my film to be developed...
It's more of a pity that the scans I got from those pics were really terrible, despite my paying for higher quality, using a Nikon 9000 ED scanner... I'll head back to the lab today with my slides and ask for them to redo the scans, they're unacceptably dark, capturing only slightly more than the upper half of the tones... :cry
Still, there's this shot of granny that I could salvage somewhat, I think it got to look cool-ish after my processing:
I'm posting it here right now (instead of waiting for the better scans) 'cause I'm just eager to share, that's all!
I've been really enjoying the 'new' camera (the 1956 Rolleiflex), it allows me to get better people shots, IMHO, especially of those people who aren't too eager to pose (like granny here, she doesn't like to pose).
That's because the camera has a waist-level finder, so you shoot it from waist-level (d'oh!), instead of having it cover your face. This allows eye contact between you and the subject, which at least to me, is a great thing, because it allows me to communicate better and be more attentive to the subject's expression. It's amazing how much less intimidating it is, compared to cameras with traditional eye-level finders, like all DSLRs, because with the camera covering your face, all the subjects got to stare at is the camera, and that can make them feel less at ease. I believe Diane Arbus, among others, felt more or less the same about the Rolleiflex.
Also, there are other things to like about it: size and weight put it well into the handholdable realm, and this is especially enforced by the TLR design, which means the camera has a fixed mirror and the only moving part, during picture taking, is the small leaf shutter -- which leads to less camera shake, more handholdability. :thumb
Anyways... back on topic: this shot makes me especially happy because it must be about the third or fourth (I dunno) time I got granny to pose, and I think I've never captured such an expression from her, which I believe really matches how I feel about her. She looks (and is) somewhat proud, and somewhat happy, light-spirited too... I also like how the lighting was at the time I took the picture.
So... despite my being kinda sad when I saw the quality of the scans, I feel good now because I could take a few shots I liked, and I can share one of them with you all.
It's all about the people, right?
Thanks so much for viewing!
Take care!
-- thiago
0
Comments
"...turtles are great speed enthusiasts, which is natural"
J.Cortazar
Ted Szukalski - Gallery of Digital Photography
Vote for me on Cool Photoblogs
I really like this shot, very nice perspective, a little unusual.
How does a waist-level finder work? Well, I know how it works, but how does it work in actually using it? how easy is it to focus for instance? I like the idea very much.
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
Thanks for your nice, encouraging comment! It is much appreciated!
Thanks Ted! It's always so nice to hear your kind comments... Regarding the little strip of wall on the left, I don't do this kinda thing, but not because I dislike it, just because it's not my usual stuff.
But I'll definitely try it on a finer editing session, for a print! It's a very sound suggestion, so thanks a lot!
Hi Ivar! Thanks as well, your opinion and kind words are really appreciated!
I think you're right about the perspective, I think it gives subjects a proud look, if you shoot them from around waist level, which only fits her personality IMHO.
The Rolleiflex waist-level finder is like a huge LCD right on the top of the camera. You open the top hood and it's there. Only it's not a LCD, it's a ground glass/focusing screen. The hood is nice, it helps shading the screen from light.
Focusing is, IMHO, easy, and very precise. The focusing screen is sharp and, more importantly, has a split-image circle in the middle, which is great for critical focusing. If you want to focus even more critically (which I usually do, being a focus nazi), you can use the pop-up loupe, which retracts from the hood, and gives you a sharper image of the split-image thingie and its surroundings. So it's cool. More precise than even modern AF if you learn it right!
Composing with the finder is way funny. You know, there's no prism, it's only mirror and ground glass, so the image you see on it is inverted, like a mirror image: left and right are flipped. This surely takes some getting used to, you turn the camera and the image goes the wrong way, but you can learn it with time!
Hope I could help you with a better picture of the camera's workings!
And thanks, everyone, for your viewing and support!
All best!
-- thiago