Zion Winter 2021: Film Reveal

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3 жыл бұрын

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Пікірлер: 82

@jimioutback 3 жыл бұрын

Loving the all new Loupe-cam Ben, that makes me smile widely for some reason. Great implementation, I'm scratching my brain wondering about a piggy-backed zv1 setup on top of your loupe but keep your secrets lol. Photos are great of course, but they are somewhat a poor static 2d relative (though undoubted bonus!) to an amazing 3d dynamic life experience. The crunch of the snow, everything hushed by that snowy blanket, the tranquility, the atmospeherics... and the lottery-win bonus of having had Zion all to yourself for a few hours, and having sensed it - now that is amazing. Some of my best / favorite shots are the ones where I couldn't get the camera set up in time, they exist only on the canvas of my memory, which somehow nakes them all the more precious. Reminds me of Rutger Hauer's dying speech at the end of Blade Runner, where he recounts amazing visual memories from his life, and laments that all his memories are to be lost with him, washed away "like tears in rain" These life experiences are the biggest bonus of chasing up photos in the beautiful great outdoors.

@drb9705 3 жыл бұрын

Well said! 👍

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

You guessed right with the ZV-1. :-) The loupe-cam consisted of my Peak 4x Loupe, the cap of a Hahnemuhle Protective Spray Can, the hood for my Zeiss Loxia, Gaffers tape, and several rubber bands. It's pretty much impossible to replicate the actual experience of looking through the loupe, but I figured this would be a fun addition to the film reveal video. It sure was a great week to be in Zion, and I think I'll be spoiled by it for many years to come. They only get a couple decent snow events each year, so we'll see if I'm ever lucky enough to be there again for one. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@andrewsimpson5436 3 жыл бұрын

Great to see them all together and certainly some keepers in there, and still the Digitals to come and DV to await :-)

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andrew! It sure was a fantastic way to start the new year. There are definitely some fun digital photos to share, and I look forward to putting together the DV video journals.

@alexforsyth4786 3 жыл бұрын

Brilliant photography as always, Ben. What an incredible time to be in such an awesome corner of the world!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Alex! It sure was a great week to be in Zion, that's for sure!

@MrMB2652 3 жыл бұрын

Really like the composition on the first snowy tree/canyon shot, when watching you set up the shot I remember thinking "keep the foreground vegetation", glad you did. Just purchased the new EBook looks worthwhile reading. All the best, Marshall.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Yup, the foreground was very important for that photo. It helps give a sense of depth, and also helps to ground the composition. Thankfully the lens I was using was the perfect focal length for that scene.

@sander5086 3 жыл бұрын

Always enjoy these film reveal video's, learn so much from it!!! The first photo on velvia is my favorite from the trip, hope that one will be available as a print aswell!!!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Sander! That photo will definitely be in the box set as well as being available as a print. You'll see some more about that photo in my composition review that goes live tomorrow morning. That sheet along with the horizontal version of the same scene with the clouds the day before are currently en route to my buddy Michael Strickland for a high res drum scan. :-)

@sander5086 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Looking forward to tomorrow's video!! I will definitely order a print from the portrait version, when it comes available👍

@fubband 3 жыл бұрын

Helluvva haul in the end, Ben! 🙌🏻

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Martin! It sure felt great to start the year out with a successful trip. It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders for the rest of the trips throughout the year.

@brucewdelorme 3 жыл бұрын

I ALWAYS enjoy your VLOGS Ben. I dont shoot big frame cameras but I totally enjoy your work.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bruce! When it all comes down to it photography is pretty much the same whether you shoot film or digital. It's all about subject, light, and composition.

@gkalantzes329 3 жыл бұрын

Well done Ben! It was indeed a great week to be in Zion, probably the best this winter. You may already know this but that rock formation on the morning snow shoot is The Pulpit. You nailed it! 😊. Look forward to seeing how you did in DV.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always! It sure was a great week to be there. In many ways, it reminded me of the good ol' days when I had that sort of experience without the crowds in the fall. I wish I could go back in time and visit the park then with what I know now.

@clucida 3 жыл бұрын

I love so much the first photo ❤️

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! It sure was a wonderful scene to witness and to photograph that morning!

@BillMcCarroll 3 жыл бұрын

I get a free tutorial every time I watch your film reveals Ben, love these winter scape images in Zion.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Bill! It sure was a fantastic trip. I look forward to being in Zion during similar weather in the years to come.

@fafnorcal 3 жыл бұрын

Very high keeper rate - that alone should make you feel good. Your experience with Provia vs Velvia matches what I recall from my days of shooting 35mm slide film; I ended up much preferring Provia and restricting use of Velvia to special circumstances. Provia colors tend to be far more realistic and I recall my dynamic range measurements suggesting a slightly wider range for Provia. An "emergency" metering bromide from shooting slide film in Northern New England winters with a Nikon FM2: meter off your Caucasian hand and open up on stop. Well done, Ben.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Frank! For my first time working in these conditions I was quite happy to see things turned out quite well. It certainly was a learning experience for me. Provia indeed did very well with the winter conditions. It's interesting how it turned out so very neutral as opposed to the rather cyan cast it can take on for a sunny day. During those conditions, Velvia looks great, but in the wintery conditions, Velvia had a bit of a magenta cast for sure.

@MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio 3 жыл бұрын

Very nice photos! I'm glad you had a pleasant trip. I'm looking forward to seeing the Death Valley photos next.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Michael!!

@trailimagesphotography6635 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent results from your fine field work as always, Ben. Each image has it's own merits depending upon your desired outcome between the V-50 & Provia. In the end my fav is the singular horizontal from the valley floor area at around 6:30 in the video. I'm sure I'll be odd person out here which is nothing new. Instead of going cool on that I might try warming it up slightly. It's obviously optional thinking for a look see. But with PS easy enough to play with there. Thanks for taking the time for the follow up reveal here.......later, Paul !

@kronkite1530 3 жыл бұрын

Odd isn’t it, personal taste? As I, too, would be tempted to warm the background rather than cool it or the whole image.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Paul! That's the very interesting thing about photography, comparing the actual moment to the final photo. I can definitely see how one might want to warm up that photo, especially since we're accustomed to seeing the nice warm sandstone in Zion. That being said, the experience of standing there as the snow was falling was definitely one of very cool light, and some of that light quality was neutralized by the film. That's why my initial reaction was that it should be a bit cooler to give the same feeling as standing there. Another factor at play was the rain that feel before the snow, thus darkening the sandstone a bit. I brought the photo into photoshop and play with it to warm it up rather than cool it down, but the result was a departure from the reality of the scene. For me, that's the toughest part of photography, trying to take photos that are true to the scene. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Paul!

@trailimagesphotography6635 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne I hear you, Ben. Part of my warming things is a fall back to being such a V-50 guy and the pull towards magenta. I can truly see your point of it being a cooler mood to the image as a result of being there and experiencing the weather for the day so to speak. There is nothing like first hand contact on the location and environmental conditions to make the right call. Regardless, the hard part is done with having the original capture in the bag.

@kanonhile 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for taking the time to setup shots through the loupe! I’m always curious what “sharp” looks like on film.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It still isn't quite the same experience as looking through the loupe in person, but at least it gives a bit of a feel for it.

@alexnail 3 жыл бұрын

This is always my favourite bit, just saying that before I actually watch it......So hopefully it lives up to expectations :P

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Alex!!!

@ChrisTurnerPhotographer 3 жыл бұрын

7:00 love it. Makes me want to try large format again but I’m pretty sure I’ll get frustrated and set the camera on fire

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris! It definitely a slow and methodical, but IMO, viewing a sharp, properly exposed, and well composed transparency of a great subject is an unrivaled experience in the photographic world.

@peterebel7899 3 жыл бұрын

Those big slides could make one thinking about shooting large format .....

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

It sure is fun looking at them with a loupe. It totally tricks your mind into thinking you're looking at reality.

@billywalker2506 3 жыл бұрын

By the way, I love your Zion work. I've been there many times through the years and have been lucky enough to do a motorcycle ride through Zion as well. What an incredibly beautiful park!! I would love to go through there when there is snow present but given the fact I live in Charlotte, NC, it becomes impossible to time my arrival in a beneficial way.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Billy! Seeing Zion on a motorcycle sure must be a great experience! So many dramatic views in all directions. I know that my experience riding my bike up the main canyon on the fall trips sure was an eye opener. I loved seeing those beautiful cottonwoods pass by overhead, and the fresh air in my face. Timing the snow sure is a tough one, especially coming from North Carolina. I'm lucky to live only a half days drive from the park.

@andrewherbert9938 3 жыл бұрын

A very successful trip I’d say Ben

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Andrew! It sure was a great trip. I look forward to trying to time future winter trips with snow storms as well. I love how the park transforms so dramatically in such a short period of time.

@kaufmannneofoto 3 жыл бұрын

I always learn so much from your film reveals, even though I am a "digitalist" ;)). Thank you.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

When it comes down to it, film and digital are all the same in that regard. It's all about subject, light, and composition. I'll be showing some of the digital images from this trip pretty soon. Thanks for watching!

@kaufmannneofoto 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne looking forward to the digital output from your trip.

@berthaduniverse 3 жыл бұрын

Good morning BH, thanks for a nice review day. IMO, the Provia look far more neutral. They are all on my go-to list.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Paul! Yup, Provia really handled those scenes so very well. Velvia sometimes looks nice on a lightbox, but the moment you scan it, it's way over the top. Provia is such a wonderful film.

@davidfearn8635 3 жыл бұрын

Great video, have always loved these since you started doing them (inc. that metal music stand/wall bracket thing you used to prop up your light panel!). Esp. right now Ben's vids are so so evocative and escapist. Re. the metering of Velvia in snow, I guess this is the great thing about film, you can go with what feels right, and to find out how the camera sees. Metering at ?+2.4 seems great for some scenes; and even a full stop or more lower may of course produce a different aesthetic depending on different subjects and lighting conditions, perhaps esp. for more intimate subjects that might lend themselves to more abstraction. Heads up in particular to Bruce Percy's phenomenal minimalist snow work, another source of great inspiration.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always David! You sure have a good memory to remember those really early film review videos! Much of the time, the film would slide around when I had it propped up like that. I should go back and watch some of those early ones just for kicks! One of my best purchases for large format photography has been my Lastolite foldable gray card. That thing really comes in handy for some of these difficult to meter scenes. It really helped speed things up too, which was fantastic.

@davidfearn8635 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Thanks Ben. Well, I and I imagine many others continue to watch them for pleasure! And for education of course (composition, what to look out for in exposures). Also interesting to gauge your initial reactions to what subsequently becomes a stand-out image for you.

@richardstollar4291 3 жыл бұрын

Some real nice images there. "I didn't feel like shooting any more photos" - I'm sure we all get that :)

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Richard! It's definitely nice to reach the point where you feel content with the work you've done, and one can simply enjoy the scenery without the pressure of shooting.

@robertstonephoto 3 жыл бұрын

Would love to see some of the SONY images!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Robert! I'll highlight a few of my favorites from the winter trip in an upcoming video. It was definitely fun to work with the sony, especially with the 100-400mm.

@duringthemeanwhilst 3 жыл бұрын

on Provia v Velvia, I always think that de-saturated colours look best in cooler (colder) shots so I prefer the Provia ones.. on the images: the one at 6:27 is my favourite by far. I can only imagine what it must have looked like in the moments before as you described it :-)

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

I came to an interesting conclusion regarding the Velvia versus Provia for one of the shots from this trip, and you'll see that in the composition review video tomorrow. It even surprised me a bit. Although it would have been nice to photograph the scene just before that photo at 6:27, I'm now convinced that I captured the best of it. The dense curtain of snow would have been interesting, but that photo also would have lacked the wonderful canyon wall texture behind. Of course, it the best of both worlds, I would have been able to shoot both ways and choose after the fact. :-) Thanks as always for watching and commenting!

@SD_Alias 3 жыл бұрын

Beautiful photos. Living in a very flat marshy area i am fascinated by that rocky landscapes. I am curious if the negativ shot from the contrasty scene in 5:30 provides more details in the snow and shadows than the E6 version…

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

That's a really good question about the color negative version, and I don't have any answer for you yet because I haven't scanned that sheet of film. The same applies to the photo of the slot canyon in the active snow. I was happy enough with the transparencies for those scenes, but I really should scan those color neg sheets. Perhaps those are some of my best shots from the trip and I don't even know it yet. Gotta love film. :-)

@SD_Alias 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Please show them in a following video in comparison to the slides. I never managed it to shoot the same subject with both kind of films at the same time and light for comparison. i like negative film. I am "scanning" them with my mirrorless camera. For me it is sufficient because it is only 35mm film ;) I have good results with negmaster plugin for converting C41 negs to positives…

@TylerBrigham 3 жыл бұрын

Nice

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tyler!

@kronkite1530 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve loved watching the videos of your days in Zion, and the resulting images. Especially love the snow covered tree in front of the canyon; once you have prepared any for print I really would like to buy a copy of that one. It was your videos that pushed me back to a view camera, in this case an Arc Swiss F Line Classic. Only 6*9cm but upgradable through 4*5 and even to 10*8. Like yours, when it grows up! Do you find the detail/sharpness better in the 10*8 slides than the Sony?

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much John! I just sent that sheet of film to my buddy Michael Strickland for a drum scan. I look forward to seeing it on paper when proofing it for print. That's very exciting to hear about the view camera as well! Arca Swiss sure makes fantastic equipment! It sure is a joy to use in the field.

@kronkite1530 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your website and ordering a print. I can tell you how much the trip/photo hit me as, last night, I had a vivid dream that I was in a snow covered pass talking to my son about photography and saw a line of snow rimed trees and realised I was looking at the same scene. Desperate to get an image I fumbled around for a missing camera and... don't know! Can't remember anything after that :-( Bet I didn't get a shot...

@gotminnam 3 жыл бұрын

The shot at 8'16" is incredible

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Philippe! It sure was a lucky shot. The conditions where changing so fast and I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

@gotminnam 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne you are too modest. It's called perseverance and talent ;)

@JonnyRobbie 3 жыл бұрын

A question: why do you spot meter off a gray card and not use an incedent mode on a meter? That should be essentially the same but a bit less cumbersome, right?

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

That’s a good question. The problem with an incident meter is that you cannot verify how bright or dark each individual subject is within the frame to see if the meter reading is appropriate for the range of the film. With a spot meter and a gray card, I can log the reading into memory, hit the average button, then look through the spot meter while holding the meter button and it will tell me how bright or dark each subject is in relation to the meter reading. With an incident meter, you can’t verify your results.

@richardstollar4291 3 жыл бұрын

Do you shoot other film stocks like Kodak E100? (I'm still finding my large-format feet with B&W and color negative films like Ekrat 100 and Portra 160)

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

I haven't worked with E100, but it seems to be quite similar to Provia which I have a lot of in my stockpile. I do have quite a bit of Portra 160 and Ektar, but I use those mostly on very high contrast scenes. It sure is nice to look at slides on a lightbox, especially when debating the subtle differences between images.

@peterebel7899 3 жыл бұрын

How to break the Arca Cube? I am interested about this experience because I am thinking to purchase this piece.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

It was a freak accident. My camera was pointed downward, and much of the weight was below the head. I repositioned my camera a few feet, and one of the tripod legs slipped on some frozen sand then hit a rock. This forcefully jarred the camera, and the weight at an awkward angle stripped the gear. It was definitely a freak accident, and there was a LOT of force exerted on the gears. The cube was repaired and is as good as new now. Don't let that incident dissuade you at all from buying the cube. It's an amazing piece of equipment. Although it's expensive, it's worth every penny.

@peterebel7899 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Thank you, I appreciate your report of experience! Do you use spikes under your tripod legs to avoid this in future? Luckily your camera wasn't damaged and you are ready for Death Valley :-) Do you know how lucky you are with some of the very most photogenic landscapes around you in fairly reachable distance? Good luck, good light and enjoy!

@pjf7943 3 жыл бұрын

Are you not allowed to rotate the light box..?

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

I'm limited more by the video camera above and the 16:9 aspect ratio. Rotating the entire light box will still chop off the top and bottom of the verticals. I have a bigger lightbox now, and I might edit the video so verticals span from top to bottom, and then I can digitally zoom in on the horizontals. There really isn't an ideal solution.

@billywalker2506 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Ben, nice work! Who do you use to process your film?

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Billy! I use North Coast Photographic in Carlsbad California. Great lab.

@billywalker2506 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne I see they convert scans to JPEG's only and then mention the photographer can convert the JPEG to a TIFF. Does that conversion to TIFF allow for typical TIFF flexibility in terms of editing? I know JPEG's offer little in terms of flexibility and have always assumed a JPEG to TIFF conversion would not get you much, if any more flexibility than a normal JPEG.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

@@billywalker2506 I only have them develop my film, and then I scan at home on my Epson flatbed scanner. I scan my own film as TIFF files for maximum editing ability. I can see how starting as a jpeg isn’t ideal, but I suppose it also depends on how you use the scans. Ultimately, the best scans will be drum scans, and that is what I have done to a sheet of film once a customer orders a print.

@billywalker2506 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Thank you, Ben. Sounds like you've got an effective workflow there.

@billywalker2506 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Are you using North Coast for your drum scans as well?