The final and third attempt look very nice. I definitely prefer the third attempt. You lined the trees up great and it really has depth. Also wow.. how vivid and beautiful that green color is on film. It’s interesting to me how sometimes color on film can be tricky, and other times it can be so beautiful. This is good inspiration. I don’t think everyone likes the idea of having to photograph the same thing several times, but you’ve proven it’s worth it here.
Thank you so much Nick! It would be great to get the perfect shot the first time around but it doesn't always work out that way. I haven't done this very often so it's not the norm for me for sure, but I'm quite happy with the results. Hope your Colorado trip went well. What I've seen so far looks great. Eager to see the rest!
I'll say one thing Scott ! I wish I had your patience ! A year of shooting and coming back to the same image. And I have a question ? Did you put rocks on the ground where the tripod legs go ! Each photo was exactly in the same place ! I wrote you a few months back and said I just found your channel and I was going to start with number 1 and work my way up, I made it ! Like the fellow below me said ! Film has a magic to it that can not be replicated by digital sensors. He is so right ! I really enjoy your work...
Thanks so much for watching all those videos. Talk about patience.... No I didn't mark the exact spot, just eyeballed it each time, but it's kind of a narrow window of spots since I had particular branches that had to go in certain places, etc. Yes film has a certain magic. I just got some drum scans back today from last fall films and wow, just unbelievable depth and reality. Thanks again for being here and your nice comments.
Wonderful work! And what a testament to you as an artist! I also like the "bonus" photos. For what it's worth, I also prefer the nonpolarized version of the bonus scene.
Nice work Scott! It can definitely be a fun challenge to know of a scene that would be a great image but have to wait until conditions are perfect. There's a few I have in mind where I'm taking the same approach. I can't believe how great that final film image looks! Well done.
Thanks Brian. I'm pretty happy with it for sure. At least when it's local, returning often to check on conditions is a bit easier. Meanwhile, I have several 'one's that got away' from last fall in Utah that will have to wait a good while for another attempt.
Well persistence definitely paid off, Scott. Really like how the Provia performed for you and it was interesting to see the forest changes during the seasons. But what? No snow in January?? (Florida definitely not Minnesota). Although I'm usually picking out the Ektar prints that you and Ben Horne post over others, I have to say I again like the Provia shot at the end. Nice work and thanks for yet another lesson.
Thanks Jim. It actually has snowed here. But not often and not much accumulation. I think I could re-color balance that Ektar image a little, I think it's too green. Doing so might make it look more like the Provia shot with respect to color, while still retaining the more saturated forest look due to the rain. Anyway, it's good to have the choices and options!
Thanks for sharing your year long project. Having watched your video a couple of times, I find the Ektar photo to be my favourite , not to say that I don`t like the others as they are all great photos. looking forward to watching your next road trip.
I agree Scott. I prefer the finished Provia image a little more than the digital. The forest pops a little more and is slightly more compelling to look at. Nice work over the course of the year. I have my eye on a tree in my local woods that I am interested in photographing each season...might be a nice project. PS. I'm digging the license plate :) You, Heaton and BenHorne have cornered the market.
Thanks Graeme. The image made at that time of year had the better forest for sure. Your tree project sounds great. If you can get a nice image in each season it could make a very compelling 4 image presentation. I couldn't believe that license plate was available when I went to get it. Kinda fun. I guess film is out of fashion enough that no one cares. I think Ansel maybe had a custom one. John Sexton has had "MR ZONE" for a long time.
I agree with your choice. I will think that you picked the best one. By the way that large tree with the curly branches (right back) really calls to me as a main subject. Looks like something that is a main spooky character in a Disney animation. It has some real character. How about trying to make it a photo??? Great episode
This was fun to see the progression over time Scott! Man, that Velvia 50 is just magic stuff. I like all the Provia shots too and it was awesome to see how E100 handled it; I haven't tried that yet but I might pick up a box soon. Does your extension tube for the 450mm clip the lens coverage a bit? I noticed the corners of the Provia bonus shots are nipped off a little
Thanks Chris. Yeah those two shots came out really well I thought.The Ektachrome doesn't seem drastically better or worse than Provia and could probably be a fine substitute. One issue there is the lack of a reciprocity table, so that part is a bit problematic unless someone has one or you do a bunch of testing. PMing you on the rest.
What an intriguing forest to photograph in and difficult. It is quite difficult to choose a transparency film that would do justice to that scene, even so I prefer the Provia's rendition. I am not too keen on using PL filter. I find that it may add a bit of saturation but quite often it renders a flat lifeless scene. Lovely photographs too. I am glad that the 4X5 held its own against a medium format super duper digital camera. Film has a magic to it that can not be replicated by digital sensors.
Thank you. I probably should have done Ektar on that first scene too because there is a lot of range there, between the shine on the palmetto leaves and the deep dark underside of the back tree trunk. I sometimes sense a more 3-D feeling to the film images. I'm working on some real side by side comparisons so we'll see.
I’ve lusted after the 645z since it came out, and in isolation (I had seen the original video) the photo looked fine, but I have to admit that I liked the Provia version you showed. The penultimate ones at 5:51, not the August version, of which I do prefer the Pentax take. Shows it is time of year, light, conditions etc. not a particular camera, though film stock does seem to affect my preference.
Hi! Thanks for watching and your thoughtful comments. The 645z is a great camera and I'm very happy with it. Although if you were going to do MFD today, probably one of the Fuji mirrorless GFX models would be ideal. That said, if you like the Pentax ecosystem, consider finding an older original 645D model. It has the wonderful CCD sensor, which is much more film like compared to the CMOS sensor of the Z model. It has a few hindrances which made us all upgrade from the D to the Z, me included, but once we saw the images from the Z, many of us longed for that creamy, wonderful CCD sensor of the D model. I have one friend who followed that upgrade path but eventually sold the Z and found an older D model because he loves the image quality so much. Meanwhile, one thing I didn't do was try to make the digital image look more like the film image. I guess there are plug ins or presets one can apply in LR or PS to make a digital image look more like a particular film stock. I've never tried those, but I could boost contrast or saturation and other controls to see if I could get closer. Finally, I did shoot several side by side, at the same time, film/digital scenes during my fall trip last year. I hope to get started on those actual direct comparisons soon, making prints from both and comparing to see what happens. Stay tuned for possible video on that.
@@ScottWalton Having just sold a whole lot of equipment and swapped out a Sony A7ii and A7R3 for two immaculate second hand Fuji’s (XT2 and XH-1) I am so happy with the Fuji colour that if i do ever go to medium format it will likely as not be with Fuji. But for now I don’t even see a need to move from the lovely (to use) APS-C models. Such nice cameras and such lovely colour achievable with so little messing on a computer.
@@kronkite1530 Sounds like you've got a great setup and good reasoning too. Assuming you make prints, do you see much (any?) difference between ones you did on the full frame and those now with the APS-C?
@@ScottWalton Using my Canon Pro 10S with ICC Profiled papers from Fotospeed and Canson, no difference at all in detail or noise etc. I haven’t tried cropping as ruthlessly (I often used the 5DSr and A7R3 knowing I could cut down so get the effect of a longer lens) so that will be interesting. Though with the brilliant Topaz DeNoise AI and Gigapixel AI (there is such a thing as a free lunch, and magic!) I have high hopes.
Hey Scott. I like the concept of progression on the same image though that must be hard to manage with a living forest and clips from differing light and time. I did have a question on the digital to film comparison. I agree the film version was a lot more interesting and I wondered if you think the difference was the film versus digital or if you attribute the difference to the scene at different times and with different light. I suppose some of both? Have you ever done a side by side comparison. Thinking back over your videos, it seems to me you shot a scene on the BRP with both but I can't recall it now. I was at Craggy Pinnacle last week shooting the old black birches. Conditions above 6000 feet there stunt them and make them really interesting. Went back 5 times hoping for fog but didn't get that. Enjoyed the video! P.
I think the Springtime conditions played a large part in the success of my final choice and probably would have looked great with the Pentax too at that time of year. I don't remember shooting side by side in the Smokies but I definitely did in Zion last fall and have just received back my drum scans of the film and plan to start making prints soon. I may make a video on all that, we'll see; but I'm eager to learn if the prints from film look better or different or what. I'm not exactly sure how to approach that. Should I make the best print I can from the film and then try to match it with the digital, or vice versa? Or approach each one independently if possible and ignore the other one, including color balance, density and overall contrast? At some level it will be impossible to not be influenced during the making of the second print by the look of the first. Maybe let a week or more go by between attempts and not look at the first when making the second? Thoughts? Your Craggy Pinnacles sounds interesting. Would it be good in the Fall?
Hi Scott, You haven't retired have ya ? Just checking, I watched Chris Darnell and he thought highly of you. Hope your in good health .. I'll just sit here and wait ! :)
Hi and thanks for getting in touch. I haven’t had a photo trip since Spring. Summer is usually very slow here for me here in Florida. Way too hot and humid to get out and do much. But my Fall trip is coming up soon. I’ll be heading back to the Smoky Mountains for (hopefully) beautiful fall color. So stay tuned for those videos and thanks again for reaching out. Actually I was just out photographing in my local forest this morning. DIdn't shoot any video but no worries, I haven't retired!
I should have also mentioned that I'm regularly posting over on Instagram, so if you happen to use that, you can find me here: instagram.com/scottwaltonphotographs/
The final and third attempt look very nice. I definitely prefer the third attempt. You lined the trees up great and it really has depth. Also wow.. how vivid and beautiful that green color is on film. It’s interesting to me how sometimes color on film can be tricky, and other times it can be so beautiful. This is good inspiration. I don’t think everyone likes the idea of having to photograph the same thing several times, but you’ve proven it’s worth it here.
Thank you so much Nick! It would be great to get the perfect shot the first time around but it doesn't always work out that way. I haven't done this very often so it's not the norm for me for sure, but I'm quite happy with the results. Hope your Colorado trip went well. What I've seen so far looks great. Eager to see the rest!
Nice shot Scott. Persistence pays off.
Thanks so much Russ!
Great video Scott! Love seeing the progression and variation of the image. You ended up with a really great film image in the end.
Hi Rene! Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.
I'll say one thing Scott ! I wish I had your patience ! A year of shooting and coming back to the same image. And I have a question ? Did you put rocks on the ground where the tripod legs go ! Each photo was exactly in the same place ! I wrote you a few months back and said I just found your channel and I was going to start with number 1 and work my way up, I made it ! Like the fellow below me said ! Film has a magic to it that can not be replicated by digital sensors. He is so right ! I really enjoy your work...
Thanks so much for watching all those videos. Talk about patience.... No I didn't mark the exact spot, just eyeballed it each time, but it's kind of a narrow window of spots since I had particular branches that had to go in certain places, etc. Yes film has a certain magic. I just got some drum scans back today from last fall films and wow, just unbelievable depth and reality. Thanks again for being here and your nice comments.
Wonderful work! And what a testament to you as an artist! I also like the "bonus" photos.
For what it's worth, I also prefer the nonpolarized version of the bonus scene.
Thanks so much Dan, I really appreciate it!
Nice work Scott! It can definitely be a fun challenge to know of a scene that would be a great image but have to wait until conditions are perfect. There's a few I have in mind where I'm taking the same approach. I can't believe how great that final film image looks! Well done.
Thanks Brian. I'm pretty happy with it for sure. At least when it's local, returning often to check on conditions is a bit easier. Meanwhile, I have several 'one's that got away' from last fall in Utah that will have to wait a good while for another attempt.
I think I like the Eklar photo better on the last tree shot
Thank you Erich!
Well persistence definitely paid off, Scott. Really like how the Provia performed for you and it was interesting to see the forest changes during the seasons. But what? No snow in January?? (Florida definitely not Minnesota). Although I'm usually picking out the Ektar prints that you and Ben Horne post over others, I have to say I again like the Provia shot at the end. Nice work and thanks for yet another lesson.
Thanks Jim. It actually has snowed here. But not often and not much accumulation. I think I could re-color balance that Ektar image a little, I think it's too green. Doing so might make it look more like the Provia shot with respect to color, while still retaining the more saturated forest look due to the rain. Anyway, it's good to have the choices and options!
Thanks for sharing your year long project. Having watched your video a couple of times, I find the Ektar photo to be my favourite , not to say that I don`t like the others as they are all great photos. looking forward to watching your next road trip.
Thank you Duncan, I really appreciate it!
Thanks for this beautiful video !
Thank you Marcel, I really appreciate it.
Great job
Thank you Moin!
I agree Scott. I prefer the finished Provia image a little more than the digital. The forest pops a little more and is slightly more compelling to look at. Nice work over the course of the year. I have my eye on a tree in my local woods that I am interested in photographing each season...might be a nice project. PS. I'm digging the license plate :) You, Heaton and BenHorne have cornered the market.
Thanks Graeme. The image made at that time of year had the better forest for sure. Your tree project sounds great. If you can get a nice image in each season it could make a very compelling 4 image presentation. I couldn't believe that license plate was available when I went to get it. Kinda fun. I guess film is out of fashion enough that no one cares. I think Ansel maybe had a custom one. John Sexton has had "MR ZONE" for a long time.
I agree with your choice. I will think that you picked the best one. By the way that large tree with the curly branches (right back) really calls to me as a main subject. Looks like something that is a main spooky character in a Disney animation. It has some real character. How about trying to make it a photo??? Great episode
Thanks Erich I'll have a deeper look at that tree and see what I can do.
This was fun to see the progression over time Scott! Man, that Velvia 50 is just magic stuff. I like all the Provia shots too and it was awesome to see how E100 handled it; I haven't tried that yet but I might pick up a box soon. Does your extension tube for the 450mm clip the lens coverage a bit? I noticed the corners of the Provia bonus shots are nipped off a little
Thanks Chris. Yeah those two shots came out really well I thought.The Ektachrome doesn't seem drastically better or worse than Provia and could probably be a fine substitute. One issue there is the lack of a reciprocity table, so that part is a bit problematic unless someone has one or you do a bunch of testing. PMing you on the rest.
What an intriguing forest to photograph in and difficult. It is quite difficult to choose a transparency film that would do justice to that scene, even so I prefer the Provia's rendition. I am not too keen on using PL filter. I find that it may add a bit of saturation but quite often it renders a flat lifeless scene. Lovely photographs too. I am glad that the 4X5 held its own against a medium format super duper digital camera. Film has a magic to it that can not be replicated by digital sensors.
Thank you. I probably should have done Ektar on that first scene too because there is a lot of range there, between the shine on the palmetto leaves and the deep dark underside of the back tree trunk. I sometimes sense a more 3-D feeling to the film images. I'm working on some real side by side comparisons so we'll see.
I’ve lusted after the 645z since it came out, and in isolation (I had seen the original video) the photo looked fine, but I have to admit that I liked the Provia version you showed. The penultimate ones at 5:51, not the August version, of which I do prefer the Pentax take. Shows it is time of year, light, conditions etc. not a particular camera, though film stock does seem to affect my preference.
Hi! Thanks for watching and your thoughtful comments. The 645z is a great camera and I'm very happy with it. Although if you were going to do MFD today, probably one of the Fuji mirrorless GFX models would be ideal. That said, if you like the Pentax ecosystem, consider finding an older original 645D model. It has the wonderful CCD sensor, which is much more film like compared to the CMOS sensor of the Z model. It has a few hindrances which made us all upgrade from the D to the Z, me included, but once we saw the images from the Z, many of us longed for that creamy, wonderful CCD sensor of the D model. I have one friend who followed that upgrade path but eventually sold the Z and found an older D model because he loves the image quality so much. Meanwhile, one thing I didn't do was try to make the digital image look more like the film image. I guess there are plug ins or presets one can apply in LR or PS to make a digital image look more like a particular film stock. I've never tried those, but I could boost contrast or saturation and other controls to see if I could get closer. Finally, I did shoot several side by side, at the same time, film/digital scenes during my fall trip last year. I hope to get started on those actual direct comparisons soon, making prints from both and comparing to see what happens. Stay tuned for possible video on that.
@@ScottWalton Having just sold a whole lot of equipment and swapped out a Sony A7ii and A7R3 for two immaculate second hand Fuji’s (XT2 and XH-1) I am so happy with the Fuji colour that if i do ever go to medium format it will likely as not be with Fuji. But for now I don’t even see a need to move from the lovely (to use) APS-C models. Such nice cameras and such lovely colour achievable with so little messing on a computer.
@@kronkite1530 Sounds like you've got a great setup and good reasoning too. Assuming you make prints, do you see much (any?) difference between ones you did on the full frame and those now with the APS-C?
@@ScottWalton Using my Canon Pro 10S with ICC Profiled papers from Fotospeed and Canson, no difference at all in detail or noise etc. I haven’t tried cropping as ruthlessly (I often used the 5DSr and A7R3 knowing I could cut down so get the effect of a longer lens) so that will be interesting. Though with the brilliant Topaz DeNoise AI and Gigapixel AI (there is such a thing as a free lunch, and magic!) I have high hopes.
@@kronkite1530 That sounds great, thank you.
Hey Scott. I like the concept of progression on the same image though that must be hard to manage with a living forest and clips from differing light and time. I did have a question on the digital to film comparison. I agree the film version was a lot more interesting and I wondered if you think the difference was the film versus digital or if you attribute the difference to the scene at different times and with different light. I suppose some of both? Have you ever done a side by side comparison. Thinking back over your videos, it seems to me you shot a scene on the BRP with both but I can't recall it now. I was at Craggy Pinnacle last week shooting the old black birches. Conditions above 6000 feet there stunt them and make them really interesting. Went back 5 times hoping for fog but didn't get that. Enjoyed the video! P.
I think the Springtime conditions played a large part in the success of my final choice and probably would have looked great with the Pentax too at that time of year. I don't remember shooting side by side in the Smokies but I definitely did in Zion last fall and have just received back my drum scans of the film and plan to start making prints soon. I may make a video on all that, we'll see; but I'm eager to learn if the prints from film look better or different or what. I'm not exactly sure how to approach that. Should I make the best print I can from the film and then try to match it with the digital, or vice versa? Or approach each one independently if possible and ignore the other one, including color balance, density and overall contrast? At some level it will be impossible to not be influenced during the making of the second print by the look of the first. Maybe let a week or more go by between attempts and not look at the first when making the second? Thoughts? Your Craggy Pinnacles sounds interesting. Would it be good in the Fall?
Hi Scott, You haven't retired have ya ? Just checking, I watched Chris Darnell and he thought highly of you. Hope your in good health .. I'll just sit here and wait ! :)
Hi and thanks for getting in touch. I haven’t had a photo trip since Spring. Summer is usually very slow here for me here in Florida. Way too hot and humid to get out and do much. But my Fall trip is coming up soon. I’ll be heading back to the Smoky Mountains for (hopefully) beautiful fall color. So stay tuned for those videos and thanks again for reaching out. Actually I was just out photographing in my local forest this morning. DIdn't shoot any video but no worries, I haven't retired!
I should have also mentioned that I'm regularly posting over on Instagram, so if you happen to use that, you can find me here: instagram.com/scottwaltonphotographs/
Approximately where were you at. I lived in FL for awhile. It looks familiar.
This is in the Panhandle, near Destin.
I will be traveling to Santa Rosa Fl. in May. What part of Florida are you located?
Hi Patrick! I’m in the Destin area. Hope you have a great trip!