but does any one out there have such equally low 'pass' rates over what actually makes it to the enlarger?
Yes.......... As a matter of fact, I feel all my keepers are good, but I have yet to make that one exceptional image......
but does any one out there have such equally low 'pass' rates over what actually makes it to the enlarger?
Yes.......... As a matter of fact, I feel all my keepers are good, but I have yet to make that one exceptional image......
Richard, your success rate actually sounds quite good to me. Although my success rate is much better with 4x5 than 35mm, it is still not as good as I thought it would be when I took up LF. I think that my eagerness to use the 4x5 has caused me to take more pictures at times than my surroundings warranted. But as Paul said, sometimes the experience of just being in a beautiful place and working with the 4x5 is rewarding enough. For me, by far the best thing about 4x5 (as opposed to 35mm) is that when I do get a "keeper," the resulting print is absolutely stunning.
Richard, editing needs to be done in a "heartless" moment, so as to avoid a lot of mediocre images. The things that I do that I still enjoy, but aren`t quite what I`d like to hang, go into a book labeled "Work Prints" , that hopefully I will learn from. As others have said, some days are better than others.
I only have a year of experience with 4x5, but it's been a busy year. I just ordered my second set of 100 film sleeves, four sheets to a sleeve. Not all were filled, but I figure it's somewhere around 320 shots or so. Early on I was taking three or four shots of a scene (I shoot landscapes and nature stuff mostly) but as my processing and metering has improved I've got that down to two sheets per image. Not sure if your sheets include dupes of the same scene or not.
Anyhow, I've got maybe 20 images that I really like. I've managed to print most of those by now. Another ten or fifteen that I really like but can't seem to print correctly. Just yesterday I "salvaged" one of these negatives with my first try at flashing paper. Brought out a sky that couldn't be burned in smoothly no matter how hard I tried. A few weeks back I started using split grade printing. Helped me print a couple shots that were never quite right before...no doubt due to poor darkroom technique. Now that I'm burning and dodging with different contrast grades, I'll be able to go back and reprint some shots that were pretty good and get them much closer to what I wanted.
What's my ratio? 20 out of 320? 20 out of 125 or so (if you count scenes rather than negs)? And as I go back through my old negs with my improved printing skills maybe that 20 is now more like 30. In a year maybe another five will become keepers.
I should add that my standards for a shot being a "keeper" are probably not all that strict. Most folks here would probably junk all or nearly all of them. So maybe I'm batting zero for 320.
I went out and shot eight sheets the other day after scrambling over boulders the size of houses, balancing on slick rocks with a freezing cold rushing river below. The light changed on me but I kept shooting. I knew deep down the shots were never going to amount to much. And you know what? They stank. Terrible. Embarassing to look at in private. Tempted to burn the negs. But that happens a little less often now than it did a year ago. And it was fun getting out and practicing.
Mac
Last year I tried to compile a small book of my favorite photos to give as a gift last year. I shot mostly 35mm and medium format at a rate of about a roll a week . I barely found a dozen photos that I would deem above a snapshot and it was stretch at that. So don't despair at your success rate, it seems to be better than you think.
Dad, why is the lens cap on?
What Paul Owen said. In very large type.
Best regards,
I'd say 10 was pretty good. I'm sure photographers like Avedon and Adams felt they only had a couple keepers in any given year.
Budd Watson mentioned once at a seminar that if he could get one good shot a year... boy he'd be ahead of the crowd after 40 years.
-Rob Skeoch
Richard, you have gotten some very good answers here. I would not be concerned about your ratio of "keepers". However, one obvious way to increase the ratio is by being more selective in the field. That is the place to do your editing. What is your ratio of exposures per field set up? Also, I often find that my best images take the least time to compose.
It's so reassuring reading all these responses. We all seem to understand!
Thanks all.
I forget where I read this, but someone somewhere wrote that the difference between an amateur and a professional is that a pro doesn't show his failures to others.
Actually, your rate of 'keepers' may be a bit high. Go back through them after a month and see what you think. Remember -- others will know you as a photographer by the pictures they see. Are you showing them what you want them to remember you by?
Politically, aerodynamically, and fashionably incorrect.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks