PING: Ken Nadvornick

Ken, can you e-mail me at annika1980ATaol.com?

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War Photographer")
and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting with the Fabulous
EOS-1V.

Anyway, I have some B&W questions for ya. One of them concerns B&W
film choices so if anyone else has any suggestions along those lines
I'd love to hear them. My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.

Annika1980 wrote:
Ken, can you e-mail me at annika1980ATaol.com?

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War Photographer")
and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting with the Fabulous
EOS-1V.

Anyway, I have some B&W questions for ya. One of them concerns B&W
film choices so if anyone else has any suggestions along those lines
I'd love to hear them. My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.

I haven't used Tri-X or T-Max films, so I can't comment on them. Of 400
speed films, I have used Fuji Neopan 400 and Ilford HP5. Of the two,
Neopan has the finest grain, while HP5 is a bit more contrasty (I like
contrast). Similarly in the 100 speed films Neopan SS vs Ilford FP4 has
the fuji film with a finer grain, and a higher contrast on the Ilford
film. At the higher 1600ISO, I prefer HP5 pushed over Neopan 1600 for
one reason only - it's cheaper. Otherwise I find it hard to tell much
difference between grain or contrast.
My favourite portrait B&W film though is Kodak P3200TMZ. Grain is huge
which gives a unique look, and with 3200ISO native performance (which
can comfortably be pushed to 6400), you can shoot in entirely natural
lighting quite comfortably. If fine grain is your bag you won't like it
though.

Annika1980 wrote in message
ups.com...
Ken, can you e-mail me at annika1980ATaol.com?

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War Photographer")
and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting with the Fabulous
EOS-1V.

Anyway, I have some B&W questions for ya. One of them concerns B&W
film choices so if anyone else has any suggestions along those lines
I'd love to hear them. My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.
I wish I did get more
grain. I think it's part of the art, but w/ HP-5+ @ 200/250, and left in for
a little less time, there's almost none. There are so-called fine grain
developers too, but I don't care for them. The Eastern European films come
out really nice too, except I've had bad luck w/ Forte. Terrible.
Bob Hickey

My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.

Grain and texture are the whole point of the B&W medium at that speed. I
would generally use Ilford HP5+. I don't use any Fuji B&W films, so can't
comment. I can recommend some virtually grainless high contrast B&W films at
100 speed if you like.

"Annika1980" wrote in message
ups.com...
Ken, can you e-mail me at annika1980ATaol.com?

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War Photographer")
and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting with the Fabulous
EOS-1V.

Anyway, I have some B&W questions for ya. One of them concerns B&W
film choices so if anyone else has any suggestions along those lines
I'd love to hear them. My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.

"Annika1980" wrote in message
ups.com...
Ken, can you e-mail me at annika1980ATaol.com?

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War
Photographer") and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting
with the Fabulous EOS-1V.

Is the film good? I've wondered about getting it.


Anyway, I have some B&W questions for ya. One of them concerns
B&W film choices so if anyone else has any suggestions along those lines
I'd love to hear them. My limited B&W shooting has been done with
Tri-X and T-Max. I'd like to go for something like ISO400 with very
little grain.


I like some grain in B&W, often, but if you want 400 and minimal grain you
should look at some of the C41 process films. Kodak T400CN (or whatever
they're calling it this week) will look as 'grainless' as you're likely to
get at that speed.

The look of dye clouds (C41) is a bit different to grain though, and these
films don't have the contrast of a traditional B&W film, so if you want to
try that, the lowest grain I know at that speed is probably Fuji Neopan 400.
Take a look at the Ilford Delta films too, for low grain, if you can still
find them.

Tri-X shot at about ISO 250 will give you the Tri-X look, but with a lot
less grain than if you rate it at the box speed. That may be the best way
to get yourself something that 'feels' like Nachtwey's work (only without
the need for a flak jacket).


Peter

One B&W film with little grain at 400ISO is Ilford XP-2. It is a C-41
process film, so it has a drawback of not being as long lasting, after
development, as the traditional B&W films, but it has the convenience of
being able to be developed at a local minilab, if still printed in your own
dkrm.

--
Skip Middleton
www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

Bandicoot wrote:

I just watched that documentary on James Nachtwey ("War
Photographer") and it got me wanting to do some more B&W shooting
with the Fabulous EOS-1V.

Is the film good? I've wondered about getting it.

It's worth renting, but if you're squeamish about seeing dead bodies or
suffering then you might wanna take a pass. The film begins with a
quote from another famous war photographer, Robert Capa, who said, "If
your photos aren't good enough then you're not close enough."

And that one statement perfectly charactizes Nachtwey's work. His
photos are dramatic because they give the viewer the feeling that were
there. And Nachtwey goes into some pretty hairy places. One famous
photo of his shows a mob chasing a poor guy through the streets and
beating him to death. Nachtwey's camera (Canon, natch!) always seems
to be within arm's reach of the action. He's been shot at and hurt
more than once. I'm more impressed with his guts than his photographs,
which are by all accounts, awesome. Hu must have some jumbo coconut
balls. And that's what makes him great. When trouble breaks out most
photographers move back and try to stay out of it. Nachtwey moves in
closer.

The documentary features a lot of footage shot with a mini-video camera
attached to Nachtwey's EOS-1V. This allows the viewer to see exactly
what he sees through his 24mm f/1.4L. Worth a watch.

Or you can amaze yourself he
http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

SkipM wrote:
One B&W film with little grain at 400ISO is Ilford XP-2. It is a C-41
process film, so it has a drawback of not being as long lasting, after
development, as the traditional B&W films,

What does that mean, "long-lasting?"

Annika1980 wrote:
SkipM wrote:
One B&W film with little grain at 400ISO is Ilford XP-2. It is a C-41
process film, so it has a drawback of not being as long lasting, after
development, as the traditional B&W films,

What does that mean, "long-lasting?"
It is a dye based film and so the final image on the negative is not
silver and
subject to fading. On the plus side you can use DICE with it unlike a
standard silver
B/W film.

if I was going to get back into doing B/W I would not use C-41 but do
my own development. First you can develop the roll right when you are
done and second it is cheap and you can shoot a lot of photos for not
much money.

You did not say but I assume you plan on scanning the negatives as
opposed to using an enlarger to make prints?

Scott

"Scott W" wrote in message
ups.com...



if I was going to get back into doing B/W I would not use C-41 but do
my own development. First you can develop the roll right when you are
done and second it is cheap and you can shoot a lot of photos for not
much money.


On the other hand, I'd drop off rolls I'd shot the night before at a lab on
my way to work and pick them up on my way home, ready to print. It only
cost me a couple of bucks per roll.

--
Skip Middleton
www.shadowcatcherimagery.com