Photoclubalpha

Although the sky today was a hazy blue - it can be much deeper when humidity is lower - I got what I have tried for for a couple of days. To the A7R is fitted a Kipon Shift adaptor, Canon FD mountl; then a 20mm f/2.8 Canon FDn lens; then an 8X Red Minolta AC filter; finally, a Camdiox 10000 (10 stop neutral density, sometimes called a big stopper though this is actually a trade name of Lee Filters). 30 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100. Quite amazing posting from the two couples on the right, who appear not have moved an inch during the whole exposure, unlike the guy on the left. Several people walked across the shot of course.

In-camera JPEG with some contrast added in Photoshop, as even the highest contrast setting didn't produce the punch I wanted. The shift adaptor is at 8mm shift.
David

Love the movement in the sky and the change in the deep 'blue' to light. Great detail in the buildings as well. I also like the ghosting on the people.

What is the idea of the red filter? To increase the contrast and darken the blue? By doing this in camera are you able to get a bigger effect than playing with the red channel in i s/w?

Using the red filter is not especially easy. In theory, you should ignore the factor, but in practice it does also cut light from other channels. Straight auto exposure nearly always results in burned out highlights. The results are better than using raw with a conversion (especially in terms of noise) but the downside is that the process is not recoverable - you can't use the raw for any other purpose. I have found that JPEG Xtra Fine is probably the way to go, b/w in camera, as the histogram can then be examined. You must have 'setting effect on' to get the b/w preview... but for long time exposures, this can also mean a real mess.

David

Thanks David - useful food for thought. I had thought that coloured filters were all relics now, but I suppose anything that alters the light captured on the sensor allow you to push the boundaries somewhere within the process.

Some of the best photographers are using bw contrast filters, especially red. Tim Wallace is an example. All his 'Darwin' ghost town pictures just going on show now (Death Valley road trip stuff) were taken with a red filter.

David

Thanks for the recommendation, David. Just looked through Tim Wallace's Personal Portfolio http://www.carstockphotography.co.uk/personalwork/

Some inspirational stuff there for B&W.