Large Format Landscapes

[Maris Rusis]

Alexn! Three fabulous surf and rocks pictures in a row. The location is actually Tea Tree Bay with Dolphin Point the jutting cape in the background. Granite Bay is the next beach beyond Dolphin Point. These locations are in Noosa, Australia where I moved in order to have these landscape treasures close at hand.

Alexn you are absolutely right about the spectacular properties of a 65mm lens when well used on a deep landscape. I've tried my Nikkor-SW 65mm f4 at these same locations but never with such stunning results.

[alexn]

Thanks Maris, I wasn't sure if I had ventured far enough around to be in Granite bay or not unfortunately, I arrived at Noosa Heads at about 4:20am, it was still quite dark.. I went off the basic locality map at the entrance, and walked up and past the boiling pot then down and around the next small headland, Looking at the map now, yes you are right it was Tea Tree Bay... Beautiful location it is too. I found composition a little difficult down there as it seems everywhere you look is a "Good" scene, but finding a stand out beautiful scene that will work as a photograph is quite tricky... In the end I found the only way to make the 65mm really work for me (especially for that first shot) was to get down low to the water, and accept the fact that I was going to be driving home very wet.

I ended up wet to just above my waist making that first image, although I was in shallow water the camera was only 30cm above the surge of the waterline.... Very tense when you're under a dark cloth and can't see the next set of waves

Thanks again for your comments and correction on the location Maris.

[alexn]

"Fractured"

That will be my last for at least a few days...

[ImSoNegative]

Nice shot alexn

[dodphotography]

This is my first sheet of 8x10 film that I recently had developed... I really enjoy how it came out. Expired Portra 100T, just a Lee Big Stopper used.. I left the 81A at home.

Ritter 8x10
Portra 100T (expired Aug 2002)
Nikkor 300M @f45 11minutes - lab processed

[Deval]

Dod, seems like it was a beautiful evening for a shot. Would you be up for any public discussion or critique of the image?

[dodphotography]

Dod, seems like it was a beautiful evening for a shot. Would you be up for any public discussion or critique of the image?

It was about 540 AM... I am always open to great discourse. I don't get any critique of my work, ever. It's frustrating to constantly hear ... "Oh, that's pretty"

[Deval]

I think its an interesting composition that demonstrates where the conventional rule of thirds is broken well. Traditionally horizons aren't placed at the midline, but in this case there are color, shape cues that create a rule of thirds with the shadows below and the color shift zone in the sky. I ended up buying a Lee Little stopper to counter the blue shifts that I ended up getting with the Big stopper. The blue does work well as an artistic choice in this case. I saw your website(well constructed) and it seems that central horizon is part of your signature.

I'm not a 100% familiar with Portra 100T, as all negatives are open to interpretation in scanning and development, but the text on the film rebate is clear(as opposed to orange). If the rebate text is supposed to be that color, then ignore the following statement. There may be a further color shift(possibly from the expiration date or how it was post-processed.

My eyes are repeatedly drawn to the shadows begging for a little more detail in the coastline. Is there detail seen on the actual negative? The scene seems to be in the range of color negative for capture, so I would imagine it would be there. If the natural scene was out of the range of the film, perhaps adding a ND grad would work well to bring the scene within range. Thankfully the LEE holder is great in that regards as far as stacking filters. Did you choose the water for metering? I will say the black rocks within the middle of the scene itself work well with the contrast.

Again many of the things I'm saying are a matter of choice and taste;again wonderful subject and shot. One more thing,did you develop your self or at lab. If at the lab, ask if they prewash which I've found notorious for getting unwanted color shifts in negative film.

This is my first sheet of 8x10 film that I recently had developed... I really enjoy how it came out. Expired Portra 100T, just a Lee Big Stopper used.. I left the 81A at home.

Ritter 8x10
Portra 100T (expired Aug 2002)
Nikkor 300M @f45 11minutes - lab processed

[dodphotography]

I think its an interesting composition that demonstrates where the conventional rule of thirds is broken well. Traditionally horizons aren't placed at the midline, but in this case there are color, shape cues that create a rule of thirds with the shadows below and the color shift zone in the sky. I ended up buying a Lee Little stopper to counter the blue shifts that I ended up getting with the Big stopper. The blue does work well as an artistic choice in this case. I saw your website(well constructed) and it seems that central horizon is part of your signature.

I'm not a 100% familiar with Portra 100T, as all negatives are open to interpretation in scanning and development, but the text on the film rebate is clear(as opposed to orange). If the rebate text is supposed to be that color, then ignore the following statement. There may be a further color shift(possibly from the expiration date or how it was post-processed.

My eyes are repeatedly drawn to the shadows begging for a little more detail in the coastline. Is there detail seen on the actual negative? The scene seems to be in the range of color negative for capture, so I would imagine it would be there. If the natural scene was out of the range of the film, perhaps adding a ND grad would work well to bring the scene within range. Thankfully the LEE holder is great in that regards as far as stacking filters. Did you choose the water for metering? I will say the black rocks within the middle of the scene itself work well with the contrast.

Again many of the things I'm saying are a matter of choice and taste;again wonderful subject and shot. One more thing,did you develop your self or at lab. If at the lab, ask if they prewash which I've found notorious for getting unwanted color shifts in negative film.

The negative does posses some detail in the rocks, but it is very faint. I used a spot meter (pentax converted to Zone VI standards). I keep detailed notes for each exposure. I had the rocks as an EV O and the sky an EV 5. I placed the rocks in zone III. I'm actually pleased for how this came out because when I was leaving the house I grabbed the wrong Lee package and had my traditional holder in there, not the 95mm push on style one. I had to handhold the filter to the lens for 11 minutes, making sure I didn't bump and lose focus or let in stray light.

I do tend to keep the horizon around the middle... it is the admiration of Sugimoto in my work. I tend to pay 0% attention to photography rules.

This was processed by a lab, Color Services in Needham, MA. There aren't many left and they are significantly cheaper than Dorian... another lab whose reputation is sky high.

[alexn]

My 2c worth on that shot.
I feel it would work well as a minimalist panoramic if cropped 3:1 or 2.5:1 with none of the foreground rocks. I feel the rocks add little to the image and draw attention away from the stunning colours of the water and sky.