In literally every image I work on, I am doing the work of the photographer; altering lighting, composition, color balance. It's not just about retouching, it's about rethinking how the photograph was conceived in the first place. It‘s like being the Art Director, Director of Photography, Photographer, and Photographer‘s Assistant all rolled into one. This is how photography has evolved thanks to the digital process. I have in my power, the ability to completely reinterpret a photograph in my studio digitally. This is a good thing. Maybe.
So, as I “retouch” these images, I began thinking more like a photographer, and less like a Photoshop artist. And, lo and behold, the quality of my work improved, and has actually gotten easier. The problems I encounter over and over are the same, but I have been correcting them as a Photoshop artist, and not as a photographer. So, deeply rooted in film, and armed with my experience in digital imaging, I realize that this is the right time to revisit my photographic roots in the digital domain.
The last digital camera I used professionally was an Olympus C-1000L with a resolution of 850KP. It behaved kind of like a camera, but looked more like a camcorder. I have not been particularly biased against digital photography, it’s just that I've been waiting for the technology to mature, and to see how the digital camera will eventually manifest itself. After doing some research, I decided that the time is right to make the first jump.
Ever since I met her, my wife Heidi, an expert amateur photographer, has always been my creative inspiration. The last great gift I gave her was a Daylab slide duplicator, on a whim. That whim turned into a passion for Polaroid Transfer Prints which has produced some of the best work I’ve seen in this medium. Perhaps, I could do it again. She brought to my attention to an article on “Bridge” type digital cameras, which included the Nikon Coolpix P5000, and so my research began. By the time the holidays arrived, the P5000 had been updated to the P5100, and I placed my order. It was compact and easy to use, but with all the creative features someone used to a shooting with an Olympus OM-10 would need.
It must have been a hit, because the following year, she bought me the exact same camera. Now, I was in the throws of researching my own digital camera purchase, a Nikon DSLR, so this came as a bit of a shock. But after spending two days with it, I had come to realize that this camera was for me.
It was a real camera, and I could take real photographs with it. And, there were enough accessories available to make it do just about anything. But what impressed me the most was the software and usability of it. Without even needing to read the manual, it taught me the intricacies of digital photography. I had always loved my Canon F1, but with no backward lens compatibility I could easily move to the Nikon Camp knowing that my investment in lenses was not a deciding factor.
So, I began slowly rebuilding my empire. The Canon F1 would hold highest honor amongst my working collectible cameras, but it would yield to the new medium. For the next few months, I would be shooting digitally, exclusively.
I was very pleased with the results. The P5100, best in its class for lowest noise, yielded images that looked very much like film photographs. There was a grain to them, much like film grain. I could control almost every aspect of my photography. Almost.
I couldn‘t shoot redscale. There was no film to cross-process. The images were almost too perfect. But there was a world of creative possibilities available to me through Photoshop, so I vowed to eventually bring these qualities to the digital domain. That was enough for now.
The optics were limited. The focal length range of 35mm to 127mm, was most versatile, almost a dead match for my FD 35mm-105mm f3.5 zoom, and 2/3 of a stop faster to boot. But it couldn’t compete with a collection of lenses ranging from 24mm to 420mm.
Fortunately, Nikon makes a number of excellent screw-mount secondary lenses that fit the P5100, so I made them my own. Now, I can go from 24mm to 254mm, and even to 381mm if I were to purchase yet another. But I've been holding off on this. My favorite addition has been an excellent 8mm fisheye lens. It has a 180° field of view, and on the P5100 it can be both a circular or full-frame fisheye. With this addition, I now have capabilities beyond my F1. Almost.
However, two things are still missing; Camera Raw, and manual focus.
Photoshop can only do so much when the image is underexposed and the Art Director wasn’t there at the shoot to say so. The tradeoff in quality is just too great. So, the Raw format was mandatory for serious work. And as good as autofocus is, sometimes it just has to be the photographer’s call. And then there was the whole lens interchangeability issue. Ever since I began taking 4x5 pinhole photos, I’ve wondered what lensless photography would be like in the digital domain.
So, now that I'd gotten my feet wet, it was time to venture into the deep end. I researched. I weighed my options. I gave Canon a second look. And finally, I settled on the D90, which for me was the best compromise between price, performance and compatibility. The D300S was my first choice, but I decided to put the money saved into the lens, because bodies come and go, but lenses span generations. At first I had reservations about the APS-C sized “DX” format. But I liked the compatibility with both full-frame “FX”and APS-C “DX” lenses. While the FX bodies could shoot with DX lenses in DX crop mode, the loss in resolution would be a poor compromise.
So, it would seem that I am now offically a “Nikonian”. I have access to a wide range of bodies and lenses with a high compatibility factor. And yes, I will be returning to film.
No comments:
Post a Comment