Tag Archives: ektascan

Large Format, Medium Format, Pinhole, WPPD

WPPD 2016

April 26, 2016 lotophotos 1 Comment

World Pinhole Photography Day (WPPD) was held on April 25, 2016, more information here (http://pinholeday.org/).

Pinhole day used to be the only day that I shoot with these cameras, but this year, I actually prepared for it. When I was in Shanghai earlier this year, with the help of Kirk Lau, I 3D printed a 6×18 (actually I find it more 6×19) camera called terraPin Kaiju. I had a ton of issues with that camera and I will discuss this in a later blog. After sorting all the issues out, it’s actually a really fun camera to use.

I started WPPD this year with a few plates of 8×10. I used my Kodak 2D 8×10 camera with 0.5mm hole size and arranged it for 150mm and f/300.

Kodak 2D 8×10, 150mm f/300

I shot the following with Kodak Ektascan B/RA x-ray film. Here are a couple of developed plates, the details are just amazing and the exposure is also dead on.

Kodak 2D 8x10, 150mm, f300 with Kodak Ektascan B/RA film — Kodak 2D 8×10, 150mm, f300 with Kodak Ektascan B/RA film

To walk around town, I took the 6×18 panoramic pinhole, equipped with a 0.4mm pinhole, 86mm, f/215 with a view angle of roughly 116.5 deg. The film that I used was my favorite, Fuji Acros.

terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera — terraPin Kaiju 6×18 camera

First I hit South Beach Harbor and it was a beautiful day.

terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera in South Beach Harbor — terraPin Kaiju 6×18 camera in South Beach Harbor

The shots from that roll had a light leak when I was changing film. This is to remind myself to use the film clip and also change the film in darker places!

terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — South Bay Beach and terraPin Kaiju 6×18 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

As I walked towards AT&T Park, the Giants were playing.

AT&T Park with the terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm — AT&T Park with the terraPin Kaiju 6×18 camera, 86mm

I was trying to get a silhouette photo which came out like this. I would like it to be sharper but it was crazy windy that day. It was tough to have the whole thing stable, even for a few seconds.

Next are a couple of shots of the Bay Bridge from both portrait and landscape orientation.

Bay Bridge and terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — Bay Bridge and terraPin Kaiju 6×18 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

Behind the Ferry Building is the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal and a statue of Gandhi. In the high resolution copy, you can actually faintly read off Gandhi’s name under the statue. This is amazing detail, consider the lens is just air! No fancy optics at play here.

San Francisco Ferry Terminal and terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — San Francisco Ferry Terminal and terraPin Kaiju 6×19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

Next is Pier 7 and it was quite empty for a Sunday afternoon.

Pier 7 and terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — Pier 7 and terraPin Kaiju 6×19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

The San Francisco Belle was docked and check out the sharpness!

San Francisco Belle and terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — San Francisco Belle and terraPin Kaiju 6×19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

While walking on Broadway, there is an alley with a great view of the The Transamerica Pyramid. I always love the vertical panoramic but it is often quite hard to frame.

The Transamerica Pyramid and terraPin Kaiju 6x19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros — The Transamerica Pyramid and terraPin Kaiju 6×19 camera, 86mm, f/215 with Fuji Acros

I have to say it was a lot of fun this year on WPPD. This is the most I have shot compared to previous years. The final stop was at Liquid Gold with four limited edition Ballast Point beers on tap!

Liquid Gold SF with four limited edition Ballast Point beers on tap!

Large Format

Henry and Wendy Portrait Shoot

October 14, 2015 lotophotos Leave a comment

During a recent visit of Henry and Wendy in SF, I invited them to have their portraits done in large format. Setup of the day was my 91-year-old Kodak 2D 8×10 camera with Fujinon A 240mm f9 lens and Kodak Ektascan x-ray film. The strobes, I used two light sources, one direct light above the camera and a reflective light from the left of the subject. The dark background is a big piece of black cloth that is about 2.5 feet behind the subject.

Here is a collage of photo of me in action, courtesy of Henry and Wendy.

The film is developed with Kodak D76 1+1 for 10-12 minutes at 19C with rollers and scanned with Epson Perfection V700. Scanning this time I was faced with a lot of Newton ring issues. I have an AN glass but that only prevented newton rings from one side of the light. I have to scan the negatives with emulsion down on the scanner glass, then I put the AN glass on top of the negative. This way I was able to get rid of most of the newton rings. I guess I probably need another piece of AN glass and hopefully this issue will go away.

The first photo is that of Henry. It was shot at f11, 1/30 sec and turned out quite nicely.

Wendy here featured in the second photo, also shot at f11, 1/30sec. I have asked her to look into the left (her right) reflective light.

The final shot is of them together, shot at f16 1/4 sec. I had cranked up the strobes to be the highest level. The init negative is dark and about a click off. I need to double up on the flash to get more light next time. I have focused on Wendy’s eyes and even at f16, the depth of field is so narrow that Henry’s eyes were very slightly off focus. I need to add more light sources and try at f22 or even f32 next time for group portraits.

Overall another fun shoot that yield some fantastic portraits.

Large Format

Rick Portrait Shoot

July 18, 2015 lotophotos 1 Comment

Finally took my umbrellas out of their boxes and setup some lights at home. Rick was visiting and took the chance for a portrait sitting. I tried several setups and ended up with two lights. One from the left back with diffuser at 45deg and one in the front with diffuser at about 45deg from the left. A reflector is also placed around waist level. Here is one from the shoot.

Shot with Burke & James Grover 8×10, Fujinon 400mm f8 lens, Kodak Ektascan B/RA film. Developed in Kodak d76. Scanned with Epson Perfection V700. Even though the Fujinon 400mm lens was meant to be used with 5×7, as seen here, at f8, the image circle is big enough for use with 8×10. The lights used are a pair of Yongnuo YN565EXII and a pair of YN622 and YN622TX triggers.

Large Format

First 8×10 Portraits

July 10, 2015 lotophotos Leave a comment

Six months ago, I did some test shots with my Burke & James Grover 8×10. I finally got them developed and scanned recently. With a couple of flashes and remote (without any diffusion), I shot a few portraits when my friends Norris and Fiona were visiting. Here is the result.

Burke & James Grover 8x10 Portrait — Burke & James Grover 8×10 Portrait

I used Kodak Ektascan B/RA x-ray film metered at ISO50. Burke & James Grover 8×10 with Fujinon 250mm f6.3 lens. Lighting setup with two Yongnuo YN560II flashes on two YN622C and a YN622C-TX. Developed with Kodak D76 1+1 20C for 10 minutes. Scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

Lighting is harsh, this is due to the lack of deflectors (they were still being shipped from Asia at the time). The harsh lighting reminded me a bit of a prom shoot would of looked like in the 1960-70s. Nevertheless a decent shot for first trials.

Large Format

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test II

July 9, 2015 lotophotos Leave a comment

The last test of 12x was slightly over-exposed so the new test was a 10x compensation for one minute exposure. It looks like a working combination. I was also testing out my Kodak 8×10 2d with a Goerz 12″ f6.3 lens. It’s amazing that a 91-year-old camera is still holding up and taking great photos just like it did when it was out of the factory. Film developed in Kodak d76 1+1 22C for 10 mins, scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

10x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure

I had some doubts with the Goerz lens as it was over 90 years old. Initial inspection showed a perfect lens (with only two tiny tiny air bubbles in the front element that won’t affect the photo). The shutter is snappy (seemed accurate) and both B and T modes work. The middle of the photo is pin sharp. The left side however, was slightly off focus. At first I thought it was corner sharpness of the lens but then I was shooting at f8, so this is not likely the issue. I inspect the camera again and found that the rear tilt adjustment was off. The left and right gear was somehow off by at least three clicks. I think it had been in this position for a very long time and I had to spend sometime forcing it back to right position (without breaking it). Now both left and right gears are matched, this focus issues should be fixed on the next shoot.

Large Format

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test

July 4, 2015 lotophotos Leave a comment

I never shot Kodak Ektascan B/RA xray film at night. There were also no information online regarding the reciprocity of this film. This film is normally used for health x-ray applications and there is no need to worry about long exposure. I decided to do a test shot. Shanghai and TriX has terrible reciprocity characteristics. For 1 minute exposure, I generally compensate it by 8x and it worked well. I know Ektascan is probably equivalent if not worse, so I decided to try a 12x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure.

Here is the result. Burke & James Grover 8×10, Fujinon 250mm f6.3 lens, developed in Kodak D76 1+1 10 mins and scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

12x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure

It looks like a working combination. I think it might be slightly over-exposed, perhaps I need to try one with 10x compensation.

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Tag Archives: ektascan

WPPD 2016

Henry and Wendy Portrait Shoot

Rick Portrait Shoot

First 8×10 Portraits

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test II

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test

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