Velvia: On the threshold of another California summer

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon" series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Hi Ed,

Just to write short very short.

I do like the distracting box in an almost perfect image, as it's making the almost perfect image into a more perfect one.

And I think you know what I mean, it's just like the tire in the fine tree, shet, tire image, whiche is all about the tree but need some assistance of the shet and particulairly by the almost invisible tire.

Your brother in vision,

jacques

Ed,

This is a more conventionally gorgeous shot by your standards, but it has that sense of light and proportion that gives away your experience and way with a landscape. The shadows and shafts of light in this one are particularly lovely. You could have fooled me on the polarizer...guess the sky really is that color sometimes.

I would love to see these collected in an album...and of course, now I'm realizing that I missed a couple of your contributions over the weekend, and will have to catch up. Looking forward to viewing it all and reflecting on the series.

Regards,

Robert

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

great colors and shapes, Ed! Beautiful!

I like the manmade object - a reminder of man's influence in the most beautiful of natural places. I also enjoy the bit of cloud behind the right-middle hill, which looks a bit like a whiff of smoke rising. Can't believe there's no polarizing going on. Man, that velvia's got some range to it.

Ed,

After I saw your perfect California landscape shot, it reminded me of the dune in So,CA,nearby Mexican border. When I fist saw that dune from the distance it looked like a glittering gold. This summer I may go over there to take a shot. Thank you for sharing your shot.

Hide

Yes, Jacques, I do know what you mean.

Although some people would consider such an object a distraction, possibly a corruption of the purity of the landscape (and I might have liked this well enough even without the object), I too like this image much more because of it's presence. You might see that Greg also likes the object in the photograph.

And I am always glad when you like something of mine.

The world contains many possibilities. A person puts the frame where it suits them.

Regards from one who also has a lowland soul, no matter what terrain he sees,

Ed

jacques said:

Hi Ed,

Just to write short very short.

I do like the distracting box in an almost perfect image, as it's
making the almost perfect image into a more perfect one.

And I think you know what I mean, it's just like the tire in the
fine tree, shet, tire image, whiche is all about the tree but need
some assistance of the shet and particulairly by the almost
invisible tire.

Your brother in vision,

jacques

Click to expand...

Hello Ed,

Your velvia at 200 made me remember a shot I did many years ago with velvia rated at 200. How do you scan your slides?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1703097&a=13082732&p=49927067

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Hi Robert,

Have I said I always enjoy reading your comments? I do.

I felt that perhaps only I enjoyed our summertime brown hills (I better, this time of year, there's little other choice inland), but this photograph seemed to resonate with a few people. It's not always easy to find hills this clean, though. I certainly appreciate your compliments. they kinda make me feel like taking more photographs.

I mentioned the blue cause I thought people would think I used a polarizer. But there are other ways to do that. Velvia helps a lot (some people refer to it as "Disneycolor"), putting the prescan histogram endpoints on the ends of the brightness range pulled its overall brightness down a bit from that on the slide. And I did my usual trick of using PhotoShop to darken the sky a bit and increase its contrast. Though the brightness (-5) and contrast (+5) values I used for this were less than my more typical settings of (-10) and (+10), respectively. And there's a bit of altitude at this location (I suspect about 1500 feet, but I didn't GPS it) with clean morning air. Yep, the sky was pretty blue.

I just renewed my domain name with Network Solutions for five more years and I'm going to lease another 25 meg of domainspace when I renew the domain, itself, at the start of July. I don't have a clue at this time what albums might come, but I suspect there'll be a few more.

My very best,

Ed

Robert M said:

This is a more conventionally gorgeous shot by your standards, but
it has that sense of light and proportion that gives away your
experience and way with a landscape. The shadows and shafts of
light in this one are particularly lovely. You could have fooled
me on the polarizer...guess the sky really is that color sometimes.


I would love to see these collected in an album...and of course,
now I'm realizing that I missed a couple of your contributions over
the weekend, and will have to catch up. Looking forward to viewing
it all and reflecting on the series.

Regards,

Robert

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thanks Ali. I certainly appreciate your kind of comments!

My best,

Ed

Ali said:

great colors and shapes, Ed! Beautiful!

Click to expand...

Hi
Nice photos!

Why do you push Velivia to 200 asa? In such bright conditions it ought to be possible to use it at recommended asa. Just curious ;-) (or do you perhaps think that Velia goes way over colorsaturation at 50 asa and bright sun?! I think so sometimes)
Best regards
Johan

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Thanks Greg. It's often the less than perfect elements that end up helping a photograph out. And, with luck, give it a bit greater depth.

Well, Velvia (AKA "Disneycolor") DOES turn the color knob up to 11 on everything you put in front of it. And pushing it two full stops is bound to increase the color contrast. (It was Fuji Provia 100F that was going to be pushed ONE stop, until I discovered what I had actually put in the camera. In all my history, I've never done THAT before. But I use a good, professional, strictly transparency lab. I didn't mention any of this in the original post cause I was certain the adamantly pro-digital folks would say I deserved what I got.)

Also, as I mentioned to Robert, putting my prescan histogram endpoints on the endpoints of the brightness range decreased the brightness with respect to the slide a bit. And I slightly darkened and increased the contrast of the sky with PhotoShop. I just about always do that, but for this I used my more modest values of brightness (-5), contrast (+5). I use brightness (-10), contrast (+10) much more often. Hmmm, now that I think of it, I might have used (-3) (+3) for this. Other things that contributed to the sky were very clean morning air, and a slight bit of altitude.

It's not that Velvia has great range, it probably has even less than most slide films. But it sure helps when the sky is clear blue with a dried grass foreground to begin with.

All my best,

Ed

Greg Durrett said:

I like the manmade object - a reminder of man's influence in the
most beautiful of natural places. I also enjoy the bit of cloud
behind the right-middle hill, which looks a bit like a whiff of
smoke rising. Can't believe there's no polarizing going on. Man,
that velvia's got some range to it.

Click to expand...

Whoa, "perfect California landscape shot"! You flatter me, Hide, but I sure eat it up. Thank you.

And good luck on your photograph, you should go for it. And make sure you share it with us when you do.

All my best,

Ed

Hide Takahash said:

Ed,

After I saw your perfect California landscape shot, it reminded me
of the dune in So,CA,nearby Mexican border. When I fist saw that
dune from the distance it looked like a glittering gold. This
summer I may go over there to take a shot. Thank you for sharing
your shot.

Hide

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing it, David. That's some pretty vibrant stuff! My film was SUPPOSED to be Provia 100F pushed one stop. And that's what it was. Until I opened my camera and discovered exactly what I had put in it. (Dark, predawn, about four and one half hour's sleep, ... I'm sure no one understands.)

I have a Microtek ArtixScan 4000t, 4000 dpi, filmscanner. Same engine as the 4000 dpi Polaroid, but different box and different software. I like it an awful lot.

Regards,

Ed

David Nicolay said:

Your velvia at 200 made me remember a shot I did many years ago
with velvia rated at 200. How do you scan your slides?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1703097&a=13082732&p=49927067

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Great shot, Ed. It reminds me of the spots that I shoot during summer months. Like right now. I live in Silicon Valley, and will be going out this weekend to shoot some of the hills just south of San Jose, just before the turnoff to Castroville. I will be borrowing a friend's D30, along with my large format 4x5". Yes, I will be shooting Velvia, but not at ASA 200. I will have my Gitzo carbon fiber in tow.

Thanks for sharing some great photos.

Andy

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Hi Johan,

Thanks for the compliment.

Okay, full story on the ASA 200 Velvia...

I bought some professional packs of Velvia and Provia 100F from B & H a while back. Within the larger box of each, the individual rolls are only in their translucent white canisters. And it's only the canisters that I store in the refrigerator. I grabbed a roll (that I clearly didn't pay enough attention to) of what I thought was Provia 100F, which I always have pushed one stop to ASA 200. That works out well, and when I go out with two film bodies, plus my point and shoot digital, it gives me some variety in color and exposure conditions compared to the normally exposed Velvia that I keep in the other body. It was pre dawn, and the lights were dim, though on, when I loaded the camera. And I was way tired after not being in bed long enough. The cameras I favor (Nikon FA, Nikin F3) do not autoset the ASA by reading the cannister information)

Until I opened the camera after shooting, I was certain it was Provia. It wasn't, and my first impulse was not to even have the film processed. But I use a good lab that ONLY processes transparency film (The New Lab, in San Francisco), and serendipty is a large part of photography. They did a nice job on the roll (push/pull processing in, I think, eighth stop increments is just part of their normal business), but the slides turned out QUITE grainy. I'll try to avoid that in the future.

My best,

Ed

Johan said:

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thank you very much, Andy.

I knew you were Bay Area, but for some unknown reason, perhaps mid-peninsula, or maybe a bit closer to San Francisco. If you saw my "S. Main Snapshots" posting and album from about a month back, you know that I'm in Milpitas.

A D30 AND a 4 x 5, most cool. Given good air this weekend, the location you're going to should be great. This particular photograph was taken on Highway 130 after its right turn, into the canyon, on the far side down route from Mount Hamilton. Maybe it's about two-thirds of the way from the turn until 130 intersects Highway 5.

The ASA 200 is what I had The New Lab process this mistake at - full story in Johan's response - in order to save it. Turned out okay, but just a trifle grainy (grain as big as ping-pong balls). 4 x 5 might actually stand it, for contact prints, but it's a bit of a stretch for 35mm.

My carbon fiber's a Manfrotto with a magnesium 3D head. First tripod I ever actually liked. And I like it a lot.

And thank you also, for sharing some fine photographs.

My very best,

Ed

Andy Biggs said:

Thanks for sharing some great photos.

Andy

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, Ed. And you post wonderful images, too!

When pusing Velvia, I have only pushed it one stop, as I have been too afraid of what would happen. For Provia F (RDP III), I have also pushed only one stop. I tried the new Provia ASA 400, and it is way too grainy and blah color for my taste. If I really really need that kind of speed, it will probably be for wildlife, and I would probably shoot digital anyway. That way I won't waste rolls upon rolls of film. And have instant feedback.

Shooting 4x5 is a very humbling experience. My wife and I went over to Pescadero and Bean Hollow beach last Sunday night, for our weekly dose of beach sunsets, and could not work in the high winds. A 4x5 really acts like a sail in the wind. Neither my Gitzo 1288 nor my Bogen 3021 could help out. Oh well.

If you are looking for a great photograph, especially tonight, go up to the city at the top of Russian Hill (Hyde Street and Fibert). The full moon will be rising tonight at about 9:15, and the view of Coit Tower from that location is wonderful with a full moon. Especially when the full moon comes out after the sun has set. Voila. There is my secret. Hope to see you there.

I think I have also missed some contributions, but enjoyed this one quite a lot. Another wonderful image. I like the colors and the little building that provides some sense of scale. Is there a way to view a gallery online? The website has no obvious doorways.
best regards,
Jim

Robert M said:

This is a more conventionally gorgeous shot by your standards, but
it has that sense of light and proportion that gives away your
experience and way with a landscape. The shadows and shafts of
light in this one are particularly lovely. You could have fooled
me on the polarizer...guess the sky really is that color sometimes.


I would love to see these collected in an album...and of course,
now I'm realizing that I missed a couple of your contributions over
the weekend, and will have to catch up. Looking forward to viewing
it all and reflecting on the series.

Regards,

Robert

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Hey Ed,

So, Velvia is Velvia even if pushed to 200!
I wish I could... No, never mind, don't show me the original. ))

This image is good as anyone could expect from you. A first glance reminded me of the starting scenes of "The Cell".

Since I'm an "out there" kind of guy, born in Africa and all, this pic fits me like a glove. Simple, in your face blue, in your face hills, hidden details to explore.
Parfait!

Alex.

Ed Leys said:

On the threshold of another California summer



No, no polarizer was used. I have one, but in general I use no
filters. (Yes, on the tree and tire photograph, I used a medium
yellow but that was black and white. Black and white needs to be
filtered. That's the law.)

It's just morning daylight and some Northern California hills. And
Velvia. Northern California hills taken during the Memorial Day
weekend shoots.

Let's see, what have I shown you from that weekend so far:

Blue foggy dawn at Lexington Reservoir,
Backlit trees on the far side of Mount Hamilton,
Coastal tree and tire,
Northern California hills.

All California icons. Think of this as my "California Icon"
series. It was never intended to be that, it just kind of happened
that way.

There's at least one more coming. Another icon...

Nikon FA, Nikon 28 ~ 85mm zoom, Velvia exposed at ASA 200

Click to expand...