Making lemonade

[Struan Gray]

An update. Still using LF, but not really enough to put together coherent sets of images. I'm starting to feel at home with DSLR colour, although every now and then I'll try to take an image that needs LF portrait film to work, and then I remember what I'm missing. My gout treatment is working, if not perfectly, but this summer hiking with the kids took precedence over lugging camera gear.

New galleries on the website: http://struangray.com/photo.htm

Thinking out loud, flirting with mainstream nature work: http://struangray.com/lovelypictures

[Ed Richards]

Might be interesting to try a Foveon sensor camera, if you could borrow or rent one. Still additive RGB, but with actual layers for each color like slide film. It could have a more realistic gamut.

[Two23]

I've recently discovered the X-Rite Color Checker Passport. Using this form of color management for digital has allowed me to nail colors even in very tricky light.
"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."


Kent in SD

[Struan Gray]

Ed, the Foveon sensors are intriguing, but any digital camera I invest in also needs to be able to photograph my kids sporting activities, and there a DSLR has distinct advantages. The Sigma cameras (and Fujis) seem less extreme in their pursuit of 'punch' and contrast, but they're still channelling a slide film legacy rather than my favourite portrait neg films.

Kent. I've played with various forms of colour calibration. You are still limited by the choice of colour filters for the Bayer array (or the progressive absorbances in Foveon sensors), and they are chosen with a given aesthetic in mind. The saving grace is high signal-to-noise, which is why my preferred digicams would be the high end Nikon DSLRs and digital medium format, none of which are affordable.

I'm not complaining (much :-). I'm a tinkerer at heart, and will find a way to make any tool work for me, if I have to. I've been enjoying looking at different things and working in different ways. I miss movements from LF more than the wealth of detail, or even the colour, but it's more important to be active than perfect.