F.A.Q.s – Do you use a light meter?

Short Answer:

Yes. Either the camera’s built-in meter, or a hand-held meter.

Long Answer:

The AE prism of the Pentax 67II is able to do spot, center-weighted and matrix metering. The built-in meter, like all in-camera meters is a reflected light meter. It works very well, but sometimes when the lighting is complicated it is best to measure the amount of incident light rather than reflected light. To do this you need a separate handheld incident light meter. If I used the in-camera metering for the following shot of AIBO the white background (which the meter would presume to be grey) would fool the camera and consequently underexpose the image.

If I were shooting digital I could simply take a test photo using the camera’s meter, chimp (check the LCD screen), and adjust the exposure to the correct amount. Some film shooters use polaroids to check exposure, but a light meter is a pretty reliable method of getting your exposure right if you operate if properly.   I use a Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter which works really well.

Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter

When shooting in the studio a light meter that can measure the amount of light (including that from strobes) is invaluable. A cable from the light meter allows you to trigger the flash, or the Sekonic can also be fitted with a transmitter to wirelessly communicate with pocket wizards on the strobe or battery pack. (I used the light meter attached to a pocket wizard transmitter for a studio shoot yesterday – images to come in a later blog.)

F.A.Q.s – Which paper do you use for prints?

Now that my photography exhibition has finished, I thought I’d put up the answers to a few frequently asked questions.

Which paper do you use for prints?

I use paper by Hahnemühle  a very old German company that produces some of the best fine art papers in the world.

The particular paper I use for my Limited Edition Prints and for the prints on display at exhibitions is the Photo Rag Peari 320 from their Digital FineArt Collection.

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl 320 - Audrey deserves the best!

The paper is actually 100% cotton rather than cellulose, with a pearl coating that give the prints a luminous quality.

Of particular importance is that the paper is certified as archival grade. Some examples of archival testing done on Hahnemühle papers with Epson’s UltraChrome K3 pigment inks can be seen here. Here are the results of another study by Wilhelm Research that tested Hahnemühle papers with Canon’s Lucia pigment inks.  

I use Canon’s Lucia inks for their longevity, but also because their professional printers use 12 ink cartridges. This means they produce a wide color gamut that allows me to print rich saturated blues. The fact that under regular glass the prints shouldn’t fade for at least 100 years and under UV-cut glass at least 150 years is why I can offer a lifetime fade free guarantee.

Print Prices – Why the change in currency?

As some people have pointed out, a few months ago the prices for limited edition prints available on my website suddenly changed from US dollars to Japanese yen.

At exhibitions in Japan all the prices for my prints are in yen. With fluctuating exchange rates, the only way to guarantee that the prices are the same whether you purchase on the website or through a gallery was to have everything in the same currency.

You can check the prices in your local currency using a universal currency converter.

Paypal will convert the amount from yen to your local currency when checking out, along with taking all the necessary shipping details. As always, A2 and A3 size prints include free international shipping and insurance.

Mac or PC?

A year and a half ago I needed to get a new computer having caused the PC I was using (Seiko’s) to go into thermal shutdown so many times it had fried various essential components. 

The problem was one of multiplication.   Most people print small (around A4) and the file sizes you are dealing with aren’t huge.  The amount of data I was dealing with was larger for several reasons.

A2 sized prints – files 4 times the size of A4

Printing at 600 dpi   – files double the size of 300 dpi 

Printing in RGB16  - files double the size of RGB8 

What this meant was that the computer files coming from the scanner were around 750mb. If I started to use the cloning tool to remove dust specks, or even worse used layers, there was the distinct possibility of spontaneous computer combustion. 

I wanted a computer powerful enough to run Photoshop and handle large data files without breaking a sweat, and to be able to do this while I am working on other things in the background. Having talked with friends working in photography and graphics there seemed to be one clear recommendation go Mac and go Pro.

Recommendations are useful, but not always based in reality. I had never used Macs before, and the Mac Pro is in the same price category I would normally expect to find cars. When I went to test drive one of the computers on a trip to Yodobashi Camera I couldn’t even work out how to open the CD drive (there’s a button on the keyboard).

In the end it was a matter of priorities. The Mac Pro was the best tool for the job, and the expense could be justified by the improved productivity and reliability. And when it does become obsolete (hopefully a long time in the future) I will be able to use it as the world’s most technologically advanced cheese grater.

 

The mighty Mac Pro (image from Mac.com)

Which scanner do you use?

 

 

Epson Perfection v750-M

 

 

I scan all my transparencies with an Epson Perfection V750-M scanner. It produces fine results, and is reasonably fast and reasonably priced for what it does. In Japan is has a different name the GT-X970, but much to my delight you could still select English rather than Japanese when installing the software.

 

 

Also essential to scanning is an air duster, to keep the scanner surface and transparency free of all the dust you can see, and then plenty of time, patience and the spot healing brush tool in Photoshop to remove all the tiny specks of dust which appear once you have enlarged the file.

Imacon flextight X5

 

Of course if money were not an issue I would run out and get an Imacon Flextight X5. It would do the job faster and produce better results if I was scanning images to very large sizes and needed to get every last detail out of the transparency. On the other hand if money was not an issue I would be in a hot air balloon cruising over the Masai Mara game reserve and someone else can do the scanning.

Do you use a tripod?

Short answer: Yes, most of the time.

Longer answer: As mentioned before the Pentax 67II is a big heavy camera. You can use it handheld, but it is both tiring and you don’t get the same level of sharpness you would with a steady base. I don’t use a tripod when I am moving around at festivals, as I am usually shooting portraits with a fast shutter speed. 90% of the time, however, when I fire the shutter I have the camera firmly mounted on the tripod. This is essential when you are taking night scenes, you are working in low light, or when you are shooting a landscape and want both the foreground and background in focus.

Even longer answer:  There are several factors that determine what is a good tripod, but the importance of these individual factors will depend on the needs of the photographer so there is no one perfect tripod for all photographers, you have to find which works best for you. There are several factors you should consider.

Weight: A heavier tripod is a more stable tripod. The heavier your camera the heavier the tripod you need. However, a tripod is of no use at all if you don’t take it with you. Think realistically about whether it is something you want to carry around all day. 

Stability: How well is it made. Do the legs flex or wobble. If legs extend, does each section lock securely.

Height: How tall do you want or need your tripod to be. Many tripods only allow you to raise the camera to waist height. Personally, I wanted a tripod that I could use to shoot over the top of other peoples’ heads and cameras. I chose a tripod that when the camera is mounted is close to 2 meters tall. (Again bigger tripods, tend to be heavier so be careful not to get something too ungainly) Remember that if the tripod has a center column it is for minor adjustments not for adding height. Cranking the center column all the way up produces a monopod attached to a tripod.

Attachment system: How will the camera attach to the tripod. Is the attachment secure, and how long does it take to mount.

Cost: A good tripod is an excellent investment. Higher end models are designed to take a lifetime of use / abuse. Unlike a digital camera which may lose half it’s value in a year a tripod is a much more stable purchase   Do remember that if you spend a lot of money on a tripod it is another thing  to worry about when traveling. I am constantly reminding myself when I get off trains or leave stores to check I still have my tripod with me. ( I have also attached an “If found….” sticker)

So what do you use?

Gitzo Mountaineer Mk2 G1348 Tripod legs

 

 

Gitzo Mountaineer Mk2 G1348 Tripod

Strong, reliable, no center column.

Gitzo.com

 

 

Arca-Swiss B1 Ball Head

Arca-Swiss B1 Monoball Ball Head

 These are great solid dependable ball heads that keep the weight of the camera directly over the centre of the tripod. The clamp allows the camera to be quickly mounted and removed. (BUT ALWAYS CHECK THE CLAMP IS TIGHT) The  Z1 has superseded the B1 and is said to be stronger and lighter but as my B1 is perfectly fine I haven’t tried it out.

 

 

 

Really Right Stuff Base Plate for Pentax 67II

Really Right Stuff Base Plate for Pentax 67II 

This is attached to the base of the camera and slots into the clamp on the head of the tripod. Base plates are designed to be an exact fit with a particular model of camera.

 

Really Right Stuff

Why the “67″ in Travel 67?

The short answer: 67  refers to the frame size of the film my Pentax 67II camera uses.

The much longer answer:  Just as digital cameras have different sizes of sensor, film cameras use varying sizes of film. The vast majority of film cameras use 35mm film. One step larger than 35mm are the medium format cameras that use roll film. Roll film always has the same width (56mm), but different medium format cameras vary in how much of the roll they use in each frame. The most popular medium format cameras are 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7. The image below shows how the frame sizes compare.

35mm     24×36mm    864 sq.mm

6×4.5           56×42mm         2352 sq.mm    (2.7x as large as 35mm         format)

6×7            56×67mm         3752 sq. mm.  (4.3x as large as 35mm format;            1.6x larger than 6×4.5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why use larger film?

Capturing an image on a larger piece of film has many advantages. It allows you to record more detail, there are better gradations in tone and they require less enlarging when printing. In the past 35mm was fine for smaller prints but 2 page spreads in magazines or commercial work for advertising, portraits or even weddings was done with medium format cameras. You could go one stage further and use large format cameras for even finer detail. (These are the bohemoths that take single sheets of film 4 by 5 inches or even 8 x10 inches in size. These cameras were mainly used by landscape photographers who loved the detail and the special shifts and tilts that could be made.)

There are, however, disadvantages to using bigger pieces of film including size, weight, availability, practicality and cost. A bigger piece of film requires a bigger camera. Bigger cameras need bigger lenses, which then means you need a bigger tripod and end up with a bigger, heavier camera bag.  The cameras and lenses also tend to be more expensive to buy, but more importantly is the cost of film and processing. On my camera each click of the shutter costs more than a dollar in film and processing.

Photographers using film therefore had to weigh the advantages against the disadvantages for their particular situation. News photographers tended to use 35mm while studio photographers tended to use medium format. As a travel photographer a smaller camera will mean you are less conspicuous, it’s less intimidating, you can walk around all day without backache, you have more shots on each roll of film and you have the advantages being able to use autofocus or metering if you need them.

 Back in 2002, I checked what the submission requirements were for various travel magazines and noticed that many preferred medium format slides, stock agencies likewise preferred the larger transparencies. My goal was to take the highest quality photographs I could get while traveling. To be able to offer photo editors the best images I could produce.  I looked at various possible cameras, but in the end chose the Pentax 67II.

 

Pentax 67II

The Pentax 67II is a 6×7 camera so the film size is 4.3 times that of 35mm.

The camera does, however, operate very much like a traditional manual 35mm SLR with the film advance lever, shutter release button, prism etc all where you expect them to be. The biggest difference is the size of the camera which leads to its nickname in Japan – Gulliver. The camera body with meter weighs 1.66 kilos while the lenses I use range from around 700 grams to a back destroying 3.7 kilos.

So back to the short answer.  67  refers to the  frame size of the film my Pentax 67II camera uses. Why include this in the title of my website? Because it’s not just about taking travel photographs, but pushing myself to get the best  images possible.