thanks for the video, this also shows that to enjoy photography and practice with composition one doesn’t need exotic locations, just passion for photography and a bit of patience....
Ah! Darkroom magic! So interesting seeing all the steps! I've made thousands of prints and never tired of the process. but! now 78, the speed of printing and digital a new magic. Not comparable! Bravo Steve!
Wow... I felt I was there in the dark room. Another great video Steve, and what an important lesson about the yellow filter. Thank you, again, for sharing your videos, and photography process. Very enjoyable.
That was brilliant Steve, and the end print well worth the effort. There is a piece of small woods just a walking distance from my house. It has become a lot smaller in recent years as the irresistible urge to build new houses has taken over, sadly.. A couple of weeks ago I took a walk there , armed with my Nikon FE2, 50 f1.4, 35 f2.8 and 85 f2 lenses, a roll of Adox CMS 20 II and a deep yellow Nikon filter. I photographed some trees that I knew were aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. The results were really worth it. Two or three decent photographs coupled to the ultra high resolution film and Nikkor lenses. Not too dissimilar to what you experienced. Thanks for the video. immensely enjoyable as always.
Hi. I have some 4x5 Adox CMS 20 II on its way to Vietnam. As you know Adox recommends their specific developer yet I see others from Massive Dev work. Which developer did you use? Thx
@@flipflopsleica ADOTECH IV. CMS 20 is an orthopanchromatic copy film. Very high contrast in normal developers, but it approaches something like normal with Adotech IV, in fact the dynamic range of scene was quite high but it coped well. Exposure placement is critical, so is the development. Take notice of the very short fixing time of less than one minute. You can go straight from development to fix. I used FX30 @ 1+9 dilution for just under a minute. Use your lenses with care. The resolving power is so high that it will easily show any trace of diffraction. No F45s here I am afraid. I think it is more suited to small format photography, but that is my opinion. Good luck.
I usually watch your very informative videos from my tv, which doesnt allow me to comment. Had to comment this time. I love when you shoot b&w and print on the darkroom. And you gave me a wonderful idea. I'd like to print 11x14 photos but don't have the room in my darkroom for all the trays. Then, watching you process your photo all in one tray gave me one of those 'of course' moments. Thanks!
Glad you found it useful Scott. I used to have a darkroom I specifically built for making 20x24” prints in three trays but actually preferred using just one - less stress on large sheets of paper.
Another great instructive video. You demonstrate again that there is so much to be learned from slowing down and spending time with a single scene. And the added bonus of your darkroom session was very much appreciated. As you alluded to, having a familiar environment undergo change can help ensure that you don't wind up taking the same photograph on subsequent excursions. I know that's something I have to be cautious about as I'm inclined to repeating shots I've liked in the past.
Very nice trip and beautiful picture! I’m also going on a trip this weekend (a river, a few waterfalls, 2 lakes, a gorge and 22 watermills still in use)! After watching your videos, I got inspired and bought myself a Holga which I’m going to test tomorrow :-)
Another great video. I took a leaf (mind the pun) out of one of your videos and went out a shot a roll of film. Was great to go back too shoot, develop and print. Thank you for your time and making these videos.
I think the main reason is that his channel is about good, honest photography and not the latest digital 300 MP, 600 auto focus point, hairy armpit focus mode cameras and so on. Only less than 5% of the YT channels show you the process of an image being created. The sad thing is, that nonsense has now permeated to analogue photography pretenders with the likes of Pentax 67 II V 4X5, Hasselblad V Fuji ***** , is this the best black and white film and such nonsense. Sad but that is how it is.
Nice wander around Delamere and Droom session Steve. Off the back of your woodland vlogs, I'm hoping for a little sun this weekend. I want to have a wander around the woods with some IR. Not for a Vista, but some intimate detail. We will see. Great little Vlog and do like the final print. Cheers Diz
This was truly fascinating and informative, Steve. I always learn something from your videos. One thing I am coming to appreciate is the photo taken while the scene is as it is. That next year, or next season, the pleasing composition one finds is no more and will never again be. Makes a person glad they took the photo.
I loved the one tray method very much Steve, it seems so pertinent to making big prints. Very good timing too. Now I know why I have delayed to make some big prints :)
I Did my first dark room session last week , ( somewhat inspired to do so my a certain young Mr 0’nions) 😉so now the printing segment I can follow and actually understand and is interesting and informative to me .. And Yes intend to print regularly to close the analog loop, and am hoping it will help me visual the end product better , hoping that I will gain a better understanding of tones and how shadows and highlights are represented in the final print when I am composing/metering and shooting the scene .. If you are shooting film and haven’t yet learnt to print , I recommend giving it a go. No matter what , you will find it more fun /interesting and satisfying than Sitting in front of a computer clicking and dragging sliders … Keep up the great content Steve , seeing the printing of the image is a great way to end the vlogs and helps reinforces the reason why we are shooting film . Plus I don’t think any other film channel I know of, actually does a darkroom printing segment regularly , so your channel may be unique in that aspect which is a very good thing is an over saturation social media world .. peace and motherfucking love😜y’all
The prints are stunning! Dark room session was very nice. I liked a lot how well organized your space is, as well as the printing process. Looking forward to watching your next video!
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, Steve. Loved the images! Appreciate the yellow filter tip. I could never discern the difference between the images with and without a yellow filter. The reason could be the flat light under which those images were taken.
Very likely the flat light, it takes a strong blue sky to make a yellow filter really obvious. I like the overall improvement it gives to most shots, it makes the scene look more as I envisaged it.
The 16x20 print was nice, Steve. That's a good size, especially for putting up for sale. Turned out well. Hopefully, you can get a few more photo sessions like that and that they leave the forest alone for awhile so your new haunts stay around!!!.
A few more leaves on the trees and shrubs will spruce things up a bit, for sure. Just have to hope the forresters don't go on a clearing spree and decide to "open" up the area more.
Cheers Steve - another interesting look at some of your methods and processes. I tend to go for a yellow filter when shooting moss covered trees, or an orange if the tree bark is clear, Thanks for sharing.
I used to look forward to a Saturday morning when I wasn't out as it was always a time you normally released videos.. then I was reliant on that bell notification for my info.. anyway here I am on June 12th at 9am and a Steve O'Nions notification comes up... goodie, hang on it seems ages since I viewed one of yours... so it looks like I have missed a notification from end of May. ( my check for watching is a clicking that like button) I am guessing this was shot some time ago as there is little to no foliage around? You really do know this place well and your abilities to shoot scenes that would just pass me by are a credit to your skills as a photographer. Then we move on to your skills in the darkroom.. just fascinating to watch/listen to you talk us through the process and that resulting large print was a corker! Couple of points during the video... you mention the brightness of the light coming up and being on the edge/top of the scene... it might be different for shooting film as you demonstrated with that trunk being brighter(I wouldn't have noticed a small detail as that) but I find when shooting in a woodland I don't mind light finding its way down into the scene.. I even love a bit of dappled light - again it might not be possible to shoot a scene like that with film? Love the camera angles on some of tghe talking head piueces, did ypu climb a tree to get the angle? (lol) Also, 2 lovely muted colours scenes in your b roll footage which I would have shot at 6:00 and at 7:33 (the 2nd I saw as a letterbox crop). All in all I get a double dose of SO today as I am now off to catch up with the latest epsiode. Hope ya well. atb Al
Thanks Alan. I’m very conscious of overly bright areas when shooting film as I always have in mind the possibility of making a darkroom print later. If I scan and process them digitally it is easy to bring the lighter tones down without affecting adjacent areas, something harder to achieve in the darkroom. I did manage to stick the GoPro on a few tree trunks during this shoot, it makes for a totally different look 🙂
Great video Steve. “ Little sods”, that made me laugh. I loved watching that print develop. Wonderful!. I was working in the lab today retrieving prints jammed in the dev, bleach and wash tanks. A customer looked agog as I put on my long black rubber gloves that go beyond the elbow to get those prints out of the Fuji wet lab printer. Worn gears again. I was in the middle of printing 250 10x15 inch proof prints for nursery photographers while at the same time printing passport pictures on the dry lab and printing poster prints on fine art paper. Your video was a blessed relief and I watched it in the garden this evening with a nice cup of coffee. I’d rather be out there in the woods any day!!
Sounds like you’ve had a hell of a day Simon, I don’t envy you! I think I’m hard done by if a get a sticky reel. I was in the woods today and couldn’t believe how much everything had grown!
@@SteveONions It will all be fixed tomorrow when our engineer comes down from Warwick. So many cogs and gears and rollers to wear our. The gears have to be plastic to stop rust getting in the chemistry, but they wear out pretty quickly. So much more relaxing swishing a print around a tray full of fixer. I haven’t been to our local woods since winter, so when I do go it will look totally different. Just loaded a Fuji Sensia slide film into my Nikon FE. Dated 2006, should be interesting. I prefer Kodak film to be honest!
Fine example of different eyes and tastes here. I liked the harder look, the deeper shadows of the print you showed that had some Grade 5 on top of the overall Grade 0 exposure. I'd probably have kept that contrast setup, and dodged and burned just a little as you did on the Grade 0 print, and been very happy with it.
This was a lovely video to illustrate the joy of film capture and chemical printing (loved the reference to the magic of the image appearance) and the final images are beautiful. Although my main method is digital, I do dabble in the hybrid of film development, digital scanning, processing & printing. Do you have any lessons that you have learned from the hybrid process that might make the basis of a video?
Thanks Keith. The hybrid process is quite different and I treat the film differently in terms of exposure. I quite like a thin negative for scanning compared to a thick one for the darkroom. I also find it very easy to rescue badly exposed negatives via scanning and can produce excellent prints in just a few minutes.
I did appreciate the chance to watch you working with the scene before you. Very helpful. I'm just trying now to work out how long it is since I stood there watching a little bit of magic happening in a plastic tray... Sadly, I'm unlikely to be able to experience that first hand again - but still... I know that you have probably owned most of your gear for some time, but I have been tempted for a while now to ask if you had any advice about buying B&W filters today. I am still shooting digital but I am among those who think that there is a lot to be said for trying to do as much as you can before pressing the button. But there doesn't seem to be a great choice these days.
Hi David. There’s a lot less choice in coloured filters now but Hoya still make them and I use Cokin square ones too. It’s fun to get the capture as good as possible to reduce the amount of post processing.
Always a pleasure watching your vlogs, reallly inspires me to get the film equipment out . You are clearly a true master at real printing way out of my league...lol what is the app that you use for recipricosity (excuse spelling) calculations?
Hi Steve, I really appreciate your time documenting your work and thought process in these videos. It’s good for me to have some of my ideas challenged such as the comment about the twigs (which I overly worry will ruin a composition). Your content is what I expect from workshops but don’t get unless you’re asking lots of question (I prefer to observe and soak in). 2 questions: what you mean by Grade 5 vs Grade 0? Also is there any loss of sharpness at f22 on your 80mm lens (stopped down to minimum)? Again, fantastic video today!
Thanks Dan. Grade 0 is a soft contrast filter and used to lay down the highlights such as the sky. Grade 5 is the hardest contrast and delivers the low values such as deep shadows. In terms of lens sharpness and aperture I know which lenses work when stopped right down and the 80mm is one of them. Obviously not as sharp as say f-11 but not far off and a lot more DoF.
Parádne video , s potešením som si všimol ,že používate československý zväčšovák zn, Meopta Magnifax 4a, nemali by ste chuť vyskúšať aj československú kameru Flexaret ?
This is really a great class! Thank you for sharing it! I have a question about the development/stop/fix in a single tray. How do you clean the tray after fix to be sure that next development is safe? In my little darkroom this solution could help me to do larger prints. Thank ^^
Hi Jacopo. The tray gets a good clean as I use multiple clean water rinses after the fixing stage, a quick wipe down after this and it's all ready for developing again.
Nice work Steve. I was I had your expertise in the darkroom, a true master. I pulled out my Ambico K2 yellow filter to try out. However, placing my light meter in front front of filter, shows 1/2 stop exposure . Should into with full stop increase or 1/2 ? I tend to photograph old , wooden buildings lately . Thanks so much . Ken B.
It’s a color filter, so you can’t simply say add xx stops, it depends on the colors of the light and subjects. In general, the usual suggestion is 1 stop extra for yellow, 2 for orange, 3 for red. Experiment and see what works for you.
I always enjoy your videos . . . thanks Steve . . . Curious though . . . if you don't mind, what time of year was this taken? You mentioned a chilly morning . . . In the southern part of Mississippi right now, we are already having highs of mid 80's (f) and lows of upper 60's . . .
@@SteveONions Thanks Steve ... Here in Mississippi today it is 88 degrees Fahrenheit at 4:45 p.m. with hurricane season officially starting tomorrow ... again, thanks for sharing these videos... The only way for me to see the UK is through your videos ... And I do enjoy seeing your work and the excursions. Blessings
Hi Steve, just a question on Ilford developers. I have recently started developing my own film. I have been using the Ilford Simplicity pouches but this will be too expensive long term. I’m a bit confused as to which developer to use going forward (too many choices!). I see you are using ID-11. The simplicity pouch uses Ilfosol 3. I would probably find a liquid concentrate easier to use than powder but what is your recommendation for a novice? I shoot 35mm mostly FP4 but also Delta 400 depending on conditions. Landscapes of course! Thanks always for your helpful, honest videos.
I think that the composition of the last shot would've maybe been better with the tree crown more in the centre, having the camera lower. Can you maybe make a video about filters?
Never seen single bath print processing before. That was interesting. I was lucky I always had access to a full darkroom with benches, plumbing etc. But it just reminds me why I like digital processing nowadays! Shooting on film is fun but the printing process is just way too time-consuming and uncomfortable. Great video though.
I’m figuring out b&w filters and rapidly coming to the conclusion that yellow is my go-to-filter. Out of curiosity, what colour filter would you recommend for foggy/misty scenes? I am guessing blue (which I don’t have), would green be useful… or no filter?
If you hadn't stopped down to f22 causing lens diffraction, it would be MUCH sharper than a digital image. A 6x6CM FP4 negative contains about 120 MP of data. The reason the film has so much contrast, is the long exposures you use require a corresponding DEVELOPMENT reciprocity adjustment also. Illford PanF+, FP4+, and HP5+ all are recommended for a 10-15% reduction in development time with exposure times between 10-30 seconds, 20-30% from 30-60 seconds, and testing for critical work for exposure and development times for exposure times exceeding 1 minute. Kodak Tri-X has extended (up to one hour) reciprocity exposure indices and development suggestions. 54 years experience in the darkroom making baryta prints on formats from Minox to 8X10 negatives and prints up to 60"x100" and mixing my own developers from scratch such an D-23 and Pyro gives me the yellow fingernails to prove I know what I'm saying.
Very interesting information, thanks, as I use those Ilford films a lot, it's good to know if I ever do long exposures. I shot line charts with my Bronica GS-1, fairly wide open to avoid diffraction effects. Near as I could tell I had about 2400 ppi of true resolution, which would be about 33mp, or about 50 lpmm. That is certainly less than the maximum resolution of the film (FP4 Plus), I guess due mainly to mechanical tolerances in the film holder and viewing screen more than the lenses themselves.
Very true Scott, he did employ the full range of tones. There are also many excellent photographers who would employ a much lower contrast range, each to their own I suppose.
@@SteveONions I've just bought a nice Bronica SQ-Ai and four lenses. The 80 ps, 150 ps, and the 250 S and 50s. I'm testing the lenses. I'm agree with you.. the 50S is not sharp. Good, but not so good.
thanks for the video, this also shows that to enjoy photography and practice with composition one doesn’t need exotic locations, just passion for photography and a bit of patience....
Nice print....I love the Darkroom session
Ah! Darkroom magic! So interesting seeing all the steps! I've made thousands of prints and never tired of the process. but! now 78, the speed of printing and digital a new magic. Not comparable! Bravo Steve!
Digital is so fast and flexible, not to mention the ease of repeating prints that are identical!
It definitely was “an enjoyable little session.” Thanks Steve.👍🏻
You’re welcome Joel.
Wow... I felt I was there in the dark room. Another great video Steve, and what an important lesson about the yellow filter.
Thank you, again, for sharing your videos, and photography process. Very enjoyable.
Really pleased you liked it 😊
What a great approach---"If they're in the frame, they're in the frame. Who cares!" Many photographers should adopt that approach.
Thanks Roy 😊
That Darkroom printing was a blast from the past Steve, enjoyed the whole video.
That was brilliant Steve, and the end print well worth the effort. There is a piece of small woods just a walking distance from my house. It has become a lot smaller in recent years as the irresistible urge to build new houses has taken over, sadly.. A couple of weeks ago I took a walk there , armed with my Nikon FE2, 50 f1.4, 35 f2.8 and 85 f2 lenses, a roll of Adox CMS 20 II and a deep yellow Nikon filter. I photographed some trees that I knew were aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. The results were really worth it. Two or three decent photographs coupled to the ultra high resolution film and Nikkor lenses. Not too dissimilar to what you experienced. Thanks for the video. immensely enjoyable as always.
Hi. I have some 4x5 Adox CMS 20 II on its way to Vietnam. As you know Adox recommends their specific developer yet I see others from Massive Dev work. Which developer did you use? Thx
@@flipflopsleica ADOTECH IV. CMS 20 is an orthopanchromatic copy film. Very high contrast in normal developers, but it approaches something like normal with Adotech IV, in fact the dynamic range of scene was quite high but it coped well. Exposure placement is critical, so is the development. Take notice of the very short fixing time of less than one minute. You can go straight from development to fix. I used FX30 @ 1+9 dilution for just under a minute. Use your lenses with care. The resolving power is so high that it will easily show any trace of diffraction. No F45s here I am afraid. I think it is more suited to small format photography, but that is my opinion. Good luck.
I usually watch your very informative videos from my tv, which doesnt allow me to comment. Had to comment this time. I love when you shoot b&w and print on the darkroom. And you gave me a wonderful idea. I'd like to print 11x14 photos but don't have the room in my darkroom for all the trays. Then, watching you process your photo all in one tray gave me one of those 'of course' moments. Thanks!
Glad you found it useful Scott. I used to have a darkroom I specifically built for making 20x24” prints in three trays but actually preferred using just one - less stress on large sheets of paper.
Another great instructive video. You demonstrate again that there is so much to be learned from slowing down and spending time with a single scene. And the added bonus of your darkroom session was very much appreciated.
As you alluded to, having a familiar environment undergo change can help ensure that you don't wind up taking the same photograph on subsequent excursions. I know that's something I have to be cautious about as I'm inclined to repeating shots I've liked in the past.
I would love to watch more darkroom content from you. I really enjoy your videos. - Cheers from Greece!
Thanks Christos 😊
Very nice trip and beautiful picture!
I’m also going on a trip this weekend (a river, a few waterfalls, 2 lakes, a gorge and 22 watermills still in use)! After watching your videos, I got inspired and bought myself a Holga which I’m going to test tomorrow :-)
Beautiful and interesting video. Thanks
Thanks Julien.
Another very informative video. Thank you.
Another great video. I took a leaf (mind the pun) out of one of your videos and went out a shot a roll of film. Was great to go back too shoot, develop and print.
Thank you for your time and making these videos.
Thank you 👍
Very magical seeing the image pop up on the print paper!
🙂
Your videos always inform and entertain, keep up the good work 👍
Why does this channel not have 400k subscribers???
Steve doesn't say "PWhat's Up" and do card tricks.
I think the main reason is that his channel is about good, honest photography and not the latest digital 300 MP, 600 auto focus point, hairy armpit focus mode cameras and so on. Only less than 5% of the YT channels show you the process of an image being created. The sad thing is, that nonsense has now permeated to analogue photography pretenders with the likes of Pentax 67 II V 4X5, Hasselblad V Fuji ***** , is this the best black and white film and such nonsense. Sad but that is how it is.
@@lensman5762 I hear you. Those reviews leave me cold, too much focus on video and autofocus speeds. Don’t need it!
Your work is inspiring. Your comments are instructive. Thanks from Los Angeles, California.
Glad you found it useful 😊
Thanks Steve. Lovely to see the whole process start to finish.
Thanks Julian.
Lovely video, inspiring stuff. Especially liked the one tray print processing - that was gold.
Glad you found it useful 😊
Great vlog Steve. Appreciated seeing the complete process in the one video. Nice work.
Glad you enjoyed it Wayne.
Lots of fun to watch the whole process, especially the darkroom.
Glad you liked it Dino.
Nice wander around Delamere and Droom session Steve. Off the back of your woodland vlogs, I'm hoping for a little sun this weekend. I want to have a wander around the woods with some IR. Not for a Vista, but some intimate detail. We will see. Great little Vlog and do like the final print.
Cheers
Diz
Hope you got the sun Diz, it was very bright here (and in the Lakes), too bright to be honest so I only shot images with the little digital Infrared.
Wonderful.
Starting my day with a Steve O-series.. makes me think again about how to build my low budget contact printing method
Inspiring! You give me inspiration not to give up on my local forrests. Thank You!
I’ve given up in the past but I’m realising just what a great location I have on my doorstep.
Great session Steve. I enjoyed the thought process you go through from the setup to the final print.
Glad you liked it John.
This was truly fascinating and informative, Steve. I always learn something from your videos. One thing I am coming to appreciate is the photo taken while the scene is as it is. That next year, or next season, the pleasing composition one finds is no more and will never again be. Makes a person glad they took the photo.
Thanks James, one of the advantages of woodland is the ever changing details.
I did in fact enjoy - tyvm.
Good to see someone who can work fp4 hard! The shot with the twigs in the way is my favorite.
Thanks David.
Great video Steve! Love the mixture of printing and shooting. Excellent content
Thank you ☺️
I loved the one tray method very much Steve, it seems so pertinent to making big prints. Very good timing too. Now I know why I have delayed to make some big prints :)
To be honest Gene I’d use this method even if I had more space, it’s so easy and also involves less stress on the larger paper sizes.
awesome work man!
Thanks Yannick.
Love these darkroom prints!
Thank you Aram.
Absolutely fantastic photos
Thanks Jonathan.
I Did my first dark room session last week , ( somewhat inspired to do so my a certain young Mr 0’nions) 😉so now the printing segment I can follow and actually understand and is interesting and informative to me ..
And Yes intend to print regularly to close the analog loop, and am hoping it will help me visual the end product better , hoping that I will gain a better understanding of tones and how shadows and highlights are represented in the final print when I am composing/metering and shooting the scene ..
If you are shooting film and haven’t yet learnt to print , I recommend giving it a go. No matter what , you will find it more fun /interesting and satisfying than Sitting in front of a computer clicking and dragging sliders …
Keep up the great content Steve , seeing the printing of the image is a great way to end the vlogs and helps reinforces the reason why we are shooting film . Plus I don’t think any other film channel I know of, actually does a darkroom printing segment regularly , so your channel may be unique in that aspect which is a very good thing is an over saturation social media world .. peace and motherfucking love😜y’all
Check out another of my favourite channels, Shoot Film Like a Boss, for regular fantastic darkroom printing segments,
Glad you found it useful Gaius, hope the printing sessions go well and you get to see more of your negatives come to life!
Excellent video Steve. Great to see the whole thing from shoot through to darkroom print . Well done and thanks!
Glad you liked it Jon.
The prints are stunning! Dark room session was very nice. I liked a lot how well organized your space is, as well as the printing process. Looking forward to watching your next video!
Thanks Eugene 👍
Hi Steve ! GREAT !!!
A nice print, Steve. I enjoy that kind of image in B&W. Not super-dramatic, but they reward a nice close look.
Thanks Eamon, I find that the simpler images have a much longer lasting appeal.
Great Steve! Fascinating watching it all happen.
Thanks John.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, Steve. Loved the images! Appreciate the yellow filter tip. I could never discern the difference between the images with and without a yellow filter. The reason could be the flat light under which those images were taken.
Very likely the flat light, it takes a strong blue sky to make a yellow filter really obvious. I like the overall improvement it gives to most shots, it makes the scene look more as I envisaged it.
The 16x20 print was nice, Steve. That's a good size, especially for putting up for sale. Turned out well. Hopefully, you can get a few more photo sessions like that and that they leave the forest alone for awhile so your new haunts stay around!!!.
I’m hoping so too Carl, I was down there this morning and the increase in foliage is amazing.
A few more leaves on the trees and shrubs will spruce things up a bit, for sure. Just have to hope the forresters don't go on a clearing spree and decide to "open" up the area more.
My prints have come!
Cheers Steve - another interesting look at some of your methods and processes. I tend to go for a yellow filter when shooting moss covered trees, or an orange if the tree bark is clear, Thanks for sharing.
Interesting Ray, I'd not considered orange when shooting tree bark but it does make sense to lighten it.
I used to look forward to a Saturday morning when I wasn't out as it was always a time you normally released videos.. then I was reliant on that bell notification for my info.. anyway here I am on June 12th at 9am and a Steve O'Nions notification comes up... goodie, hang on it seems ages since I viewed one of yours... so it looks like I have missed a notification from end of May. ( my check for watching is a clicking that like button) I am guessing this was shot some time ago as there is little to no foliage around? You really do know this place well and your abilities to shoot scenes that would just pass me by are a credit to your skills as a photographer. Then we move on to your skills in the darkroom.. just fascinating to watch/listen to you talk us through the process and that resulting large print was a corker! Couple of points during the video... you mention the brightness of the light coming up and being on the edge/top of the scene... it might be different for shooting film as you demonstrated with that trunk being brighter(I wouldn't have noticed a small detail as that) but I find when shooting in a woodland I don't mind light finding its way down into the scene.. I even love a bit of dappled light - again it might not be possible to shoot a scene like that with film? Love the camera angles on some of tghe talking head piueces, did ypu climb a tree to get the angle? (lol) Also, 2 lovely muted colours scenes in your b roll footage which I would have shot at 6:00 and at 7:33 (the 2nd I saw as a letterbox crop). All in all I get a double dose of SO today as I am now off to catch up with the latest epsiode. Hope ya well. atb Al
Thanks Alan. I’m very conscious of overly bright areas when shooting film as I always have in mind the possibility of making a darkroom print later. If I scan and process them digitally it is easy to bring the lighter tones down without affecting adjacent areas, something harder to achieve in the darkroom.
I did manage to stick the GoPro on a few tree trunks during this shoot, it makes for a totally different look 🙂
Great video Steve. It is truly intriguing watching the image develop and appear. I hope to experience it one day.
It never gets boring, something very appealing about the latent image appearing.
Thank you very much!
You’re welcome Oleg.
Great video Steve. “ Little sods”, that made me laugh. I loved watching that print develop. Wonderful!. I was working in the lab today retrieving prints jammed in the dev, bleach and wash tanks. A customer looked agog as I put on my long black rubber gloves that go beyond the elbow to get those prints out of the Fuji wet lab printer. Worn gears again. I was in the middle of printing 250 10x15 inch proof prints for nursery photographers while at the same time printing passport pictures on the dry lab and printing poster prints on fine art paper. Your video was a blessed relief and I watched it in the garden this evening with a nice cup of coffee. I’d rather be out there in the woods any day!!
Sounds like you’ve had a hell of a day Simon, I don’t envy you! I think I’m hard done by if a get a sticky reel.
I was in the woods today and couldn’t believe how much everything had grown!
@@SteveONions It will all be fixed tomorrow when our engineer comes down from Warwick. So many cogs and gears and rollers to wear our. The gears have to be plastic to stop rust getting in the chemistry, but they wear out pretty quickly. So much more relaxing swishing a print around a tray full of fixer. I haven’t been to our local woods since winter, so when I do go it will look totally different. Just loaded a Fuji Sensia slide film into my Nikon FE. Dated 2006, should be interesting. I prefer Kodak film to be honest!
Enjoyable, Steve
Thanks Michael.
Fine example of different eyes and tastes here. I liked the harder look, the deeper shadows of the print you showed that had some Grade 5 on top of the overall Grade 0 exposure. I'd probably have kept that contrast setup, and dodged and burned just a little as you did on the Grade 0 print, and been very happy with it.
Fair point, the harder black and white look is more eye catching but I do like the more gentle mid tones 😊
This was a lovely video to illustrate the joy of film capture and chemical printing (loved the reference to the magic of the image appearance) and the final images are beautiful. Although my main method is digital, I do dabble in the hybrid of film development, digital scanning, processing & printing. Do you have any lessons that you have learned from the hybrid process that might make the basis of a video?
Thanks Keith. The hybrid process is quite different and I treat the film differently in terms of exposure. I quite like a thin negative for scanning compared to a thick one for the darkroom. I also find it very easy to rescue badly exposed negatives via scanning and can produce excellent prints in just a few minutes.
I did appreciate the chance to watch you working with the scene before you. Very helpful. I'm just trying now to work out how long it is since I stood there watching a little bit of magic happening in a plastic tray... Sadly, I'm unlikely to be able to experience that first hand again - but still...
I know that you have probably owned most of your gear for some time, but I have been tempted for a while now to ask if you had any advice about buying B&W filters today. I am still shooting digital but I am among those who think that there is a lot to be said for trying to do as much as you can before pressing the button. But there doesn't seem to be a great choice these days.
Hi David. There’s a lot less choice in coloured filters now but Hoya still make them and I use Cokin square ones too. It’s fun to get the capture as good as possible to reduce the amount of post processing.
Off to do a film shoot to experiment with a yellow filter tomorrow, thanks for the tips.
Have fun Fiona 👍😊
Always a pleasure watching your vlogs, reallly inspires me to get the film equipment out . You are clearly a true master at real printing way out of my league...lol what is the app that you use for recipricosity (excuse spelling) calculations?
Thanks Malcolm. The app I use is called 'Reciprocity Timer'
Hi Steve, I really appreciate your time documenting your work and thought process in these videos. It’s good for me to have some of my ideas challenged such as the comment about the twigs (which I overly worry will ruin a composition). Your content is what I expect from workshops but don’t get unless you’re asking lots of question (I prefer to observe and soak in). 2 questions: what you mean by Grade 5 vs Grade 0? Also is there any loss of sharpness at f22 on your 80mm lens (stopped down to minimum)? Again, fantastic video today!
Thanks Dan.
Grade 0 is a soft contrast filter and used to lay down the highlights such as the sky. Grade 5 is the hardest contrast and delivers the low values such as deep shadows.
In terms of lens sharpness and aperture I know which lenses work when stopped right down and the 80mm is one of them. Obviously not as sharp as say f-11 but not far off and a lot more DoF.
Thank you.
You’re welcome George.
Thank you, I appreciate your inspiring and informative videos. I'm looking for a filter system. Which filter system are you using?
Thank you. The system I use with my Bronica is the Cokin P range, 85mm square so just big enough for the lenses I have.
Parádne video , s potešením som si všimol ,že používate československý zväčšovák zn, Meopta Magnifax 4a, nemali by ste chuť vyskúšať aj československú kameru Flexaret ?
To je dobrý nápad, můžu si dávat pozor :)
This is really a great class! Thank you for sharing it!
I have a question about the development/stop/fix in a single tray.
How do you clean the tray after fix to be sure that next development is safe?
In my little darkroom this solution could help me to do larger prints.
Thank ^^
Hi Jacopo. The tray gets a good clean as I use multiple clean water rinses after the fixing stage, a quick wipe down after this and it's all ready for developing again.
Nice work Steve. I was I had your expertise in the darkroom, a true master. I pulled out my Ambico K2 yellow filter to try out. However, placing my light meter in front front of filter, shows 1/2 stop exposure . Should into with full stop increase or 1/2 ? I tend to photograph old , wooden buildings lately . Thanks so much . Ken B.
It’s a color filter, so you can’t simply say add xx stops, it depends on the colors of the light and subjects. In general, the usual suggestion is 1 stop extra for yellow, 2 for orange, 3 for red. Experiment and see what works for you.
@@joeltunnah Thank you, thats what I needed clarified . Ken B.
As Joel says, it isn't possible to state an exact filter factor but typically +1 for a regular yellow filter is a good starting point.
I always enjoy your videos . . . thanks Steve . . . Curious though . . . if you don't mind, what time of year was this taken? You mentioned a chilly morning . . . In the southern part of Mississippi right now, we are already having highs of mid 80's (f) and lows of upper 60's . . .
It was April Jeff, the coldest one on record I believe and also the driest. It has been very cold until the last few days too, and extremely wet 🙁
@@SteveONions Thanks Steve ... Here in Mississippi today it is 88 degrees Fahrenheit at 4:45 p.m. with hurricane season officially starting tomorrow ... again, thanks for sharing these videos... The only way for me to see the UK is through your videos ... And I do enjoy seeing your work and the excursions. Blessings
Hi Steve, just a question on Ilford developers. I have recently started developing my own film. I have been using the Ilford Simplicity pouches but this will be too expensive long term. I’m a bit confused as to which developer to use going forward (too many choices!). I see you are using ID-11. The simplicity pouch uses Ilfosol 3. I would probably find a liquid concentrate easier to use than powder but what is your recommendation for a novice? I shoot 35mm mostly FP4 but also Delta 400 depending on conditions. Landscapes of course! Thanks always for your helpful, honest videos.
Hi Andrew. If you want simplicity and economy then I’d recommend Kodak HC-110. It lasts forever and works out very cheap.
I think that the composition of the last shot would've maybe been better with the tree crown more in the centre, having the camera lower.
Can you maybe make a video about filters?
Steve, will you do a video on the Cinestill BWXX for medium format?
Probably not Ben, I’m not really into testing many materials to be honest 🙂
Never seen single bath print processing before. That was interesting. I was lucky I always had access to a full darkroom with benches, plumbing etc. But it just reminds me why I like digital processing nowadays! Shooting on film is fun but the printing process is just way too time-consuming and uncomfortable. Great video though.
Thanks Alan, it is quite a faff but oddly rewarding 😊
Thank you Steve. Quick Q, what is the actual image size of the print on 16x20 paper, is it 15x15? Cheers
It is indeed 15x15” 😊
What kind of filters did you jused? Couldn't find any, that are similar.
I use Cokin P series square filters.
@@SteveONions Thanks!
I'm expecting to see Yoda sitting meditating on a stone there somewhere :)
😊
I’m figuring out b&w filters and rapidly coming to the conclusion that yellow is my go-to-filter. Out of curiosity, what colour filter would you recommend for foggy/misty scenes? I am guessing blue (which I don’t have), would green be useful… or no filter?
I’d also probably go with no filter Alistair or possibly a blue but I very rarely use that one.
@@SteveONions thanks!
If you hadn't stopped down to f22 causing lens diffraction, it would be MUCH sharper than a digital image. A 6x6CM FP4 negative contains about 120 MP of data. The reason the film has so much contrast, is the long exposures you use require a corresponding DEVELOPMENT reciprocity adjustment also. Illford PanF+, FP4+, and HP5+ all are recommended for a 10-15% reduction in development time with exposure times between 10-30 seconds, 20-30% from 30-60 seconds, and testing for critical work for exposure and development times for exposure times exceeding 1 minute. Kodak Tri-X has extended (up to one hour) reciprocity exposure indices and development suggestions. 54 years experience in the darkroom making baryta prints on formats from Minox to 8X10 negatives and prints up to 60"x100" and mixing my own developers from scratch such an D-23 and Pyro gives me the yellow fingernails to prove I know what I'm saying.
Very interesting information, thanks, as I use those Ilford films a lot, it's good to know if I ever do long exposures. I shot line charts with my Bronica GS-1, fairly wide open to avoid diffraction effects. Near as I could tell I had about 2400 ppi of true resolution, which would be about 33mp, or about 50 lpmm. That is certainly less than the maximum resolution of the film (FP4 Plus), I guess due mainly to mechanical tolerances in the film holder and viewing screen more than the lenses themselves.
Excellent, you should make a few videos.
Let me see ... Ansel Adams often had quite a lot of contrast in his final results, and nobody would argue against them.
Very true Scott, he did employ the full range of tones. There are also many excellent photographers who would employ a much lower contrast range, each to their own I suppose.
Do you like the fp4? I don't like it. It is too much creamy for me.
I don’t use it much, prefer 400 speed films generally and Delta 100 for slower stuff.
@@SteveONions I've just bought a nice Bronica SQ-Ai and four lenses. The 80 ps, 150 ps, and the 250 S and 50s. I'm testing the lenses. I'm agree with you.. the 50S is not sharp. Good, but not so good.