I did a shoot for a party last Saturday night.  It was in the Trueblood
Theater.  Everything was black - walls, ceiling, floor.  Most of the people
were dressed in black.  I used Fuji 400 HG film pushed to ASA 800 and decided
on manual focus.  The objective was to get archive and publicity shots of
people enjoying themselves.  What a challenge.  I am afraid I will have
nothing but faces and hands in a black background.  

We'll see - I should get the shots this coming Saturday.

14 responses total.

(...Or nice detailed photos of walls, clothing, etc. in which hand and
face shaped objects float incandescent.)

I sort of have this fear that all the pictures will look like the "Cheshire
Cat."

How did these pictures turn out??

They all turned out good, but none were excellent.  Some showed evidence of
underexposure.  

Well, I've been busy for a couple of days.  End of last week we had some
really great sunshine while the local colors were approaching "peak".  I
happened to find myself with some time off and shot nearly a roll of leaves,
trees, sky, and a couple of downtown landmarks.  Now I haven't the time to
finish off the roll, but as soon as I do I'll let you know how these came out.

Most were taken early or late in the day so I could use dramatic backlighting
through the colored leaves/trees while keeping my lens shaded.  This
fully-auto camera is still foriegn to me, but I experimented with a variety
of auto and manual modes.  Keep your fingers crossed.

I've had trouble with the _automatic film processing_ when I've done good
backlight, silhouette-type picktures.  Although you can override the automatic
features of your camera, the processing machines take you straight back to
average exposure, non-artistic development and printing.  
This is great for snapshot mistakes like setting the wrong exposure, or
lighting problems, but I had to take one negative back 4 times before they
printed it the way I'd taken it.  
Sometimes it pays to take your film to a professional photo lab from the
start.  

Catriona - Usually even a 1-hour type processor can develop to enhance some
           of the darker details, such as the face of a back-lit subject. 
           In this case, once you get the first print, you can re-submit it
           with the negative and give instructions such as "Please develop`
           to bringout face details" or other words to that effect.     

           Depending on your camera, the metering systems usually have ways
            to ensure good exposure for backlit subjects.  Some metering
           systems would permit you to meter directly on the face, push the
           "shoot" button half way, then move the camera to compose the 
           shot.  This technique is also very valuable for focusing of 
           autofocus cameras.  In this case, the final framing would have
           the center section of the frame in some area other than the 
            main subject.       

            Other techniques, depending on cameras/metering would be to spot
           meter, or else deliberately overexpose(1) to bring out shadow
           details.     

                (1) some cameras have a feature to overexpose or underspose
                    an individual shot.  Manual cameras can be manipulated in
                   several ways to accomplish this.  (More time, smaller
                   aperture, change ASA setting)        

I think if you correctly expose the shadow detail, the automatic processor
will give you an acceptable print.  

Good luck

re #5 - rickyb - sounds good - were any of the photos taken in a "park" of
any kind?  If they are good, were you aware of the "Parks & Recreation" photo
contest?  I have been out of town a lot, but I plan to submit a photo in this
annual contest.

I have been out of town, but I will have to dig out the info on this contest.
I believe it's deadline is at the end of October.  If I run across it, I'll
post it.  Perhaps you will have a winner.  Local Ann Arbor winners are sent
to state and judged again at that level.  Go for it!

Thanks Marc.  The problem was that they kept *trying* to bring out the details
in the silhouette area.  I wanted it to remain pitch-black.  

Ah!  I misunderstood.  Have you ever tried the self-operated enlargement
machine at Meijer's photo store?  It lets you play with color balance,
contrast, and light.  You can develop several attempts to get the result you
want, and they only charge you for the one you keep.  I have used this to
bring out shadow detail, but never the opposite, but it should work.    

Also, better check with the counter before you take several attempts, because
the "charge only for the one you want" may be a local policy.  In my attempt,
I shot three 8x10's and only paid (I think it was $5.99) for the one I wanted.

Sounds like fun.  I had glanced at it, but only in terms of cropping.  I
didn't realize you could manipulate the rest of the stuff.  

Hey, I shot some pictures for a CD insert last fall and I just got a copy of
the CD.  I have 4 pictures in it.  3 black & whites on the inside, and a color
shot on the back.  Another photographer has the cover photo and the inside
photo.
 
The CD is a local production put on through a group from Webster Church.  The
title is _John Touchton, Deep River.  Solo piano recorded at Webster Church_

Wow, sounds great, Marc; Congrats!!  :-)

Thanks, Denise.

Response not possible - You must register and login before posting.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss