The David Beard Memorial photographers' thread

Thanks for the interesting comments re film scanners vs the DSLR copy approach, which pretty much echo my own thoughts. I'm another member of the Coolscan V and VueScan gang, which I'm reasonably happy with. The Coolscan was a pre-owned purchase from Ffordes and, as usual with their s/h stuff, was rather better than described. Think I was lucky to get it at the time (about 4 years ago), as they don't appear on their site very often. It replaced a Canon FS4000US, which was OK but starting to make worrying noises in the film carrier transport department - not uncommon, apparently.

My only gripe with VueScan is that I keep finding tweaks that make the results even better, so that previous scans (hundreds) really ought to be done again to match that standard.

However, encouraged by Rob (I think it was), I dusted off the Nikon scan software (plus 64-bit patch), mainly to remind myself why I didn't like it, and came away very impressed - it certainly breathed new life into old Kodachromes so I must try it on some old Fuji slides (my more usual diet, back in the day) to see if it's similarly successful. I think my main grumble with it previously was that it was a bit clunky when scanning strips of negatives (or trannies), which Vuescan does effortlessly - but probably I was too lazy to find out how to do it properly. I'm also having a slight tussle making the output pane match the preview one - but that's maybe just a matter of tweaking the curves.

Anyway here are three from a vintage meeting at Donington in May 1979 - straight from the scanner, with no Photoshoppery (mainly to eradicate any blobs left by ICE - I had that set to Normal, as I believe it can affect definition if you get too ambitious with it). For sad people like me, the support vehicles in the Paddock are almost as interesting as the vintage machinery ...

The tools to get rid of marks have to be used sparingly otherwise all manner of artefacts appear.

Today's haul was another 74 slides joining the archive, mostly 2000 Rolex 24, like this. Straight from the TIFF scan, just reduced down in size

Three marques, 10 drivers, one stupidly long caption... The Calado/Fisichella/Vilander Ferrari F488 tussles with the Garcia/Magnussen/Rockenfeller Corvette and the Aschenbach/Davis/Bell/Liddell Audi R8 during the Daytona 24 Hours in 2017.

Edited by Simon Arron, 10 December 2019 - 19:45.

Edited by bradbury west, 11 December 2019 - 01:06.

I had a Nikon film scanner and the results were not good. I put up with it for quite a while, though. Then I got an Epson flat bed (V750 Pro) and the results were 50x better.

I always hear about colour correction and different colour profiles, but what is the "correct" colour when every film stock is noted for having a unique palette of its own?

My big issue with scanned results (and indeed with digital files from a DSLR) is the blue tinge in shadow areas. Shooting cars on a race track brought this front and centre. New asphalt, asphalt in shadow, or most any asphalt taken at specific angles always had so much blue in it (and cyan) that individual correction was needed.

I've never been able to scan my father's old slides that were sandwiched with glass. The scanners could never achieve focus. Perhaps the DSLR copying method would solve that issue.

You can steer clear of Epson, but what were you expecting for a $200 film scanner?
 

I expect it to scan all of the slide not three quarters of it and part of the slide frame. I expect all four slots to perform uniformly. Finally I expect the company to "replace with new" rather than a repaired second-hand machine or refund the full purchase price.

A timely message as the season draws to a close (aside from the occasional rally, sporting trial and the Mallory Park Plum Pudding races).

Edited by dwh43scale, 11 December 2019 - 09:10.

I think my season is now pretty much done, David - can't do Mallory on Boxing Day as I'd promised to join the family for an alternative sporting fixture: Brentford vs Swansea City at Griffin Park.

I guess I might find a sporting trial if I look hard enough...

If anyone needs a respite from post election trauma and/or Christmas shopping the Croft Christmas Stages on Sunday15th offers some excellent photographic opportunities, especially if Mark  2 Escorts do for you what they do for me.   

 

Three marques, 10 drivers, one stupidly long caption... The Calado/Fisichella/Vilander Ferrari F488 tussles with the Garcia/Magnussen/Rockenfeller Corvette and the Aschenbach/Davis/Bell/Liddell Audi R8 during the Daytona 24 Hours in 2017.

Inspired by Simon's post - here's a Mazda in the pitlane in the rain at the 2017 Rolex and SA himself !

Odseybod – I love your '79 Donington shots. I swear there's something about film photos that digital doesn't replicate. Or perhaps its just nostalgia and the fact that modern paddock shots have 10 massive transporters in the background.

The latter, old fruit! I recall a Billy Connolly gig years ago. He started going on about the trams in Dundee. Waxing lyrical. Nearly had himself - and the audience - in tears. Then he woke up... told us, as only he can, how effing awful they were. "That's what nostalgia does to ye" he said. 

But I do so love Odsey's pics. The fellow with his arms folded... is it possible to imagine  a pose, an overall appearance, more British? I love it!!!

Edited by Gary Davies, 12 December 2019 - 11:56.

Thanks both - comments much appreciated. I've attached a couple more from the same meeting, plus a third to remind us how open and 'parky' Donington was soon after it reopened, before all the fences and other clutter (necessarily) appeared.

Re Billy Connolly. I've only to think of the wartime Gents in the 1950s/60s Silverstone Paddock, or the oil drums plus separating canvas screen serving the same function at the newly opened Thruxton for an instant nostalgia cure. Oooh, the pong!

Renault 16 in the background of the first shot. My father had two and swears they were the best cars he ever owned.

I was at Donington last October to do a race report , in which I moaned that spectating was not a patch on what it used to be because of stupidly vast run off areas . The photo of the Old Hairpin illustrates this perfectly - the good people were actually in the same time zone as the cars. It is absurd - back in the day Donington had F2 , F3000 and domestic F1 and you could enjoy proximity. Now it gets club meetings attended by 3 locals and a dog and its biggest event is touring cars - but hey, we're all so much safer

Lots to address and great post.

For now, know that IT8 targets are -- in essence if not just in creation -- original film images of a standard color chart that is then scanned. So the color and contrast differences yielded are near-exact renditions of any film's tendencies.

The scanner then scans the IT8 target and creates a base profile to later scan with. I've got them for Velvia 50 and 100 (which I rarely shot with), and Kodachrome 25 and 64. Before using that, the scanner can't see, like wearing crappy sunglasses -- but it's only spot on if the image was color-neutral to begin with. Only getting a monitor calibrated will accurately show what one has, but if unable to go to that step at least the scans will be profiled.

It's been a while but it does seem my unprofiled Nikon 5000 scans did tend cold, seems I added a few points to color temp straight away in Photoshop. Then I discovered Lightroom's reaction to scanned film and threw the whole mess back to correction in Lightroom, some things Photoshop can't even touch by comparison and I need keywording.

Example, for me my Velvia 50 images -- (and particularly 4x5s simply for the scanned size of shadows and highlights) -- tended to scan green in shadows until buying the targets. I find Silverfast to be a worthy program in scan prep, not so much after though. The Multiscan is fabulous on big film but can leave bizarre spectral highlights on high-contrast edges. My fix for those was layering the two scans and erasing through the flaws on the top layer in Photoshop to reveal the lack of flaws in those areas below.

Edited to add: racetracks trend blue as races are typically in crummy blue light. So the shadows really show that, and the best clarifier of that theory is a mid-day sunny snow image, in which I tend to leave some blue in the correction as it really is there -- but magnified by both film and digital.

Okay, a few questions. I gather that IT8 is a set colour profile for a specific film. How does the scanner know which of the, say, 5 profiles you have, is to be used?
And, if you shoot Velvia because you like the look of Velvia why would you want a "neutral" scan?

What does "... and I need keywording" mean?

I appreciate all this expertise but I am afraid I am a few (ok, many) steps behind you on scanning knowledge.

As an alternative for 3 and/or if you don't have Lightroom, I'd recommend H & M's StudioLine Photo Classic software, which (among other things) includes an Indexing program with plenty of keywording scope. I use it to index the DVDs that my external hard drives are backed up onto - handy and not too space hungry.

On a very strange Friday 13th, politically speaking, in Europe, here is a shot of some English guys in France. 

Madness. 

Edited by elansprint72, 14 December 2019 - 14:58.

The way we were. Not sure whether this was taken with a GB Kershaw folding camera or a Pentax Spotmatic, a hand-me-down that my professional photographer dad occasionally allowed me to use after I turned 16. The scene? Former British Grand Prix host Aintree in 1977, with Phil Barak's Escort and Peter Jurgens's Austin A40 parked on what was once the Sefton Straight, part of the longer version of the track on which major internationals took place until it closed at the end of 1964. At subsequent clubbies, the asphalt once graced by Fangio was simply a parking space in the paddock. As a  youngster I was always far less interested in my paddock shots than I was in my attempts at action photography. Now that I'm a relic, I find I'm fascinated by the background detail in snaps like this – Kim Mather's transporter (the van with Dinorben Arms stickers), for instance, or that Ford Cortina 1600E, not to mention the period dress code...

October in north-west England. Rarely tropical...

Earlier this year along the same straight, although closer to Club Corner. A Cooper S waits to head on track

Cooper S by Alan Raine, on Flickr

The odd delight also turns up for the Aintree Track Days. One of the few that allow single seaters.

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_14 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_11 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_12 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

The odd delight also turns up for the Aintree Track Days. One of the few that allow single seaters.

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_14 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_11 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

Chevron B45 [45-78-02]_12 by Alan Raine, on Flickr

I'll probably regret asking but... what was an Excita?

Edited by elansprint72, 17 December 2019 - 17:37.

'Twas the North American equivalent of a Durex Surtees TS19 (or Chevron B41)...

I knew I shouldn't have enquired. 

I think my season is now pretty much done, David - can't do Mallory on Boxing Day as I'd promised to join the family for an alternative sporting fixture: Brentford vs Swansea City at Griffin Park.

 

I guess I might find a sporting trial if I look hard enough...

Well, as we stood at Mallory in the rain I wondered if we had got it right, but actually, a decent day's racing and hopefully some decent photos. Hope the game was good; by the wonders of modern technology, we listened to Radio Derby all the home.

Cripes - you mean your car has a wireless ? Could catch on   

Well, as we stood at Mallory in the rain I wondered if we had got it right, but actually, a decent day's racing and hopefully some decent photos. Hope the game was good; by the wonders of modern technology, we listened to Radio Derby all the home.

Look forward to seeing the results, David. I know a lot of people complain when it rains at motorsport events, but to my mind it adds a certain something. Don't want it at every meeting, obviously, but I welcome it from time to time. Likewise hailstorms and snow...

Didn't take my camera to Brentford, as I wasn't sure how ground security would feel about somebody bringing in professional kit to shoot from the terraces. I did take it to Bromley vs Eastleigh the previous weekend, though, having first cleared it with the home club. I'd never previously tried shooting a football match, took only a 70-200mm f2.8, ignored the absence of natural light and turned the ISO up to 'ridiculous'. Attached sample hopefully encapsulates the spirit of top-tier non-league football during a British winter: crap weather, several Eastleigh defenders (in blue) marking nobody in particular and a Bromley player stretching in vain to get a toe to the ball. Might well try again at some point.

And now, back to internal combustion...

First offering from the Plum Pudding. Martin Riman's Fiat 127 Sport - if I heard correctly a former championship winner a few years back. Cue frantic rush to "how many are there left" to see just how many 127's have survived this long (it must be about the same as the Alfa 33 seen rallying from time to time !). Slowish shutter speed, flat grey light, the slightest hint of spray. 

A drive in the country. See Red, Donington Park 2009.

Monaco 1976; good, good, good; good vibrations... 

Two cars, ten wheels.

Edited by elansprint72, 27 December 2019 - 22:29.

Look forward to seeing the results, David. I know a lot of people complain when it rains at motorsport events, but to my mind it adds a certain something. Don't want it at every meeting, obviously, but I welcome it from time to time. Likewise hailstorms and snow...

I agree!  The following were taken at the 2012 Bathurst 12 Hour.

I like this one, very atmospheric ...

This was as bad as it got that day

Second place leading first, for the moment.  Clearly, either the Audi driver had bigger .. err ... bells, or much better wet weather driving skills

I was happy to lug the camera gear around in the rain, keeping it dry(ish), for shots like these.

Using a flash at night in the rain produces some nice effects.

Joseph Haider, Opel Kaddet, 1988 Rally New Zealand.

Frazer Nash is possibly my most favourite pre-WW2 car to photograph. 

Jo Blakeney-Edwards poses for the camera; I wish that every other racer made it this easy for us to photograph. 

Edited by elansprint72, 28 December 2019 - 23:22.

On a couple of days a year, a normally bleak Scottish hillside is transformed into something a bit less ordinary... Cheers Ian

  Possibly my favourite race car ever !...photo has been Pete-treated !  ... Cheers Ian 

Mirage at Le Mans(!). 

Edited by elansprint72, 19 January 2020 - 20:49.

Possibly my favourite race car ever !...photo has been Pete-treated ! ... Cheers Ian

  Possibly my favourite race car ever !...photo has been Pete-treated !  ... Cheers Ian 

 

When we moved into my current home in North London in 1977, there was a B8 for sale in the dealership at the end of our garden for £1,200...

When we moved into my current home in North London in 1977, there was a B8 for sale in the dealership at the end of our garden for £1,200...

"...and still 'ave change!"

And I cherish the memory of seeing a B8  being driven in heavy traffic  through Leeds City Centre in the early Seventies

Mirage at Le Mans(!). 

 

You had me puzzled for a moment - until I realized you were referring to the 'Howmet haze'!

Who was is who hillclimbed a (silver?) B8 as a modsports in the UK the early '80s?

(I was tempted to say say Tony Bancroft - later with a quick 911 - but think I may be confusing things here...)

I recall Tony in TVR Griffith (then driving as Spotty Smith )  , GT 40 and 911 but not a B8 . But I may be wrong

Edited by john aston, 21 January 2020 - 07:19.

Tony Bancroft did run the Chevron B19 BMW 3.0 but it was blue & yellow.

A vague memory of that may be what has confused me Stephen... but definitely a B8 that I recall.

I'll have to dig out some old programmes now, to find whose it was!

A vague memory of that may be what has confused me Stephen... but definitely a B8 that I recall.

I'll have to dig out some old programmes now, to find whose it was!

not early 80's, but John Cleland hill-climbed a B8 at Doune in 1973...sponsored by Play-Golf...it was bright red/white...Cheers Ian

Didn't Jim Thompson run a B8 for time as well?

But the driver I was thinking of is Roland Jones...

for example:

Shelsley, Aug 83 (National Champ meeting)

GT and Modsports over 1600

Chevron B8, number 52.

Held class record there for quite a while (30.98) established in previous July (so presumably a Midland round - don't have a programme for that one); also record holder at Prescott, and possibly elsewhere too.

I think class regs must have changed some time later, since a few years after Modsports (without the 'GT's) record for Shelsley is shown with a 'slower' time (for another 911 stalwart, Josh Sadler). I was never quite clear on how a B8 would qualify as either a Modsports or a GT. (Although those of a more purist persuasion might say that is no greater anomaly than Chevrons, Lolas and Tigas running as Skodas.)

Edited by 2F-001, 21 January 2020 - 12:57.