Saint Mary's Fall - Glacier National Park

[racingpinarello]

Hi and I finally have a computer to post this.

Having computer problems, I haven't had a chance to scan any of more of my slides from my trip to Glacier National Park. Just got back my drum scan from the lab of my favorite large format shot of Glacier National Park. Natural beauty of this park is amazing.

If you ever have a chance to make it here...it's incredible. This waterfall is only a 3 mile round trip hike and suitable for almost everybody.

Velvia 100F with wide angle lens, large format. The image from the printer looks much better as this is my quick web presentation.

Have a great day!!
Loren

[Photo-John]

That's beautiful, Loren. What was the shutter speed? How many sheets of film did you shoot on your trip?

[walterick]

I agree, beautiful shot Loren! I also look forward to hearing more about your shooting.

[racingpinarello]

Hey John,

I shot 36 sheets of 4x5, where I was happy with 4. I probably made every large format mistake on this trip due to inexperience. It was much easier when I was practicing in Yosemite on one location, but having to get up early and get ready in the dark was stressfull. Let's see...the double image, the dark slide not out bit, the lens not closed before taking out the dark slide, the bed of the camera showing in the image, vignetting, and the drastic over exposure. ahhhh the fun of it....Still I am hooked and Karen was great to give me more time to shoot even when she was cold and looking forward to hot chocolate.

This shot was taken at f/32, 8 seconds, with a 75mm lens(equiv to a 24mm lens). The image was scanned at West Coast Imaging and they are doing the printing also. I got the proof back today, and it's awesome. It shows that I haven't mastered photoshop enough to make my images show to their potential.

Thanks John...

[racingpinarello]

Hey Rick,

I think LF would be right up your ally. It really does take a patient personality, and if you love Velvia this is a great way to show it off.

Hopefully this weekend I can get the camera out for a Napa/Carneros Valley photo day with the LF camera.

Thanks my film brother!!
Loren

[Liz]

Loren,

What an awesome photo! Actually this is the best I've ever seen of a waterfall. It's truly a work of art. Thanks for sharing it. As I'm usually not a fan of waterfall images, you've made it worth taking a look.

I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Liz

[Old Timer]

Beautiful image Loren! I have not shot anything with LF on sheet film since the college days. I don't think that I would have the patience to stick with it now. Your image however certainly makes one think about the advantages of being patient and doing thing by the book. The results are certainly rewarding.

[photophorous]

This is great Loren. I wish I could see it on a light box. 4 out of 36 is pretty good by 35mm standards, so it sounds (and looks) like you're off to a great start. Keep'em coming!

Paul

[Photo-John]

How's the highlight detail? It's pretty blown out in this image. But I'm sure there's a lot more to be had. And I know that's the hard part in a photo like this.

f/32 and 8 seconds - classic large format. That's cool. SLRs are so quick that it's hard to be that patient. But you can't hurry with the big cameras. Just setting them up takes 10 minutes.

I used to take pictures with the lens cap on all the time, with my Mamiya. I'd shoot whole rolls of clear film

[racingpinarello]

West Coast Imaging had the choice between a darker image with the water having more detail, and one this one which was 1/2 stop brighter. They said that it had more detail. I only spent 5 minutes correcting the raw scan to present to PR.com so I am sure I blew out the highlights in the water while the final image has more detail. It's still pretty bright on the proof, but it was because the flow of water was just amazing. It had rained all week so water was really running fast.

I love the time setting up, but I do carry my F6 also because if you are chasing light then a large format can difficult. After a long hike, it's great to enjoy the surroundings and trying to capture it with a LF camera.

It's been a good fit for me...I tend to plan my shots anyways so it doesn't annoy me to wait. I'm sure the Chicago boys knew that when I was toying with MF for the first time.

Loren

[Photo-John]

With two sheets of film you can do two scans - one for the highlights and one for the shadows. I'm sure that's cost-prohibitive at WCI. But if you did the scans yourself...

[racingpinarello]

Thanks Liz...I appreciate your comments. Overall my photography wasn't great during my last trip. I gambled on large format photography and made several errors. On the positive side, even the ones that didn't turn out I visualized well. This image was taken off line from the trail and I really strived for a different angle and approach.

Glacier is well photographed, but I was just happy to be there with Karen while taking photos.

I am glad that you liked this photo...

Cheers,
Loren

[racingpinarello]

Hey OT,

At least you shot LF in the past and can appreciate it. It does take patience, which I am not
born with. Defitinely a learning curve for me.

I am sure when I have my first child in March that I will using a $300 point and shoot for 90% of my photos. Life changes, but when I am out in the field I have learned to slow down. The risks are that I may lose some images, but at least I am enjoying the outdoors. For the first time in months, I am inspired to take photos with my LF equipment.

Thanks for the comments,
Loren

[racingpinarello]

Hey Paul,

Seeing it on the light table is unreal...it's so large that it hard to believe you are looking at film. I'm still blown away by it...

btw..great story about your trip to Europe. Nothing wrong with the US, but it sure is cool to see other cities and cultures.

Loren

[racingpinarello]

I had my large format transparency scanned, the image edited, and printed at West Coast Imaging. Just didn't have the time or the photoshop expertise (patience) to get the most of the image.


The image I had posted was my quick rendition of the raw scan, but I got web versions today of my final images.


Although the cost of the scanning and printing make this type service an occasional expense, I finally have a way to get a better representation of my image without spending a ton of time at the computer.

The water flow is very white because of the massive flow due to the rains. My first print from the large format camera.

Loren

[Photo-John]

Loren-
This is a scan or digital photos of the print you got from WCI? It looks nice, but I'd like to see the print. I do see that it has more shadow detail than your scan, and I think the color looks better. But I have no doubt that the actual print looks a lot better - if this is a copy.

[mtbbrian]

Nice one Loren.
LF ROCKS!
Keep at it!
Brian
:thumbsup:

[racingpinarello]

Hey John,

I'll bring the print tonight at dinner. The image is a copy of the digital file that they printed at WCI.

The detail of the main waterfall in the final print is unreal...

Loren

[Photo-John]

Psyched to see it and I'm glad you'll be there. Hopefully we don't get dumped on. Maybe we just get to eat some tasty animal flesh. I always enjoy that

[another view]

Great shot, Loren. Don't be too hard on yourself about 4/36 sheets making the cut. I have very little LF experience but it seems like it would take a long time to master - part of the appeal of it in some ways. Thanks for sharing!