A couple new LF shots

These were taken last Friday.

This one is the 210 Fuji -W and a 3 stop hard GND. The moon does have detail in the slide, I just couldn't quite get it in my digital capture.

A few minutes later as the moon slipped behind Pikes Peak. Same setup as above.

Lastly a spot on the Buzzi Ridge with a 125 Fuji -W. This is cropped quite a bit just because the film is still in the sleeve and I thought it was distracting. Also there is shadow detail that just couldn't get captured here. One of these days I'll get a proper scanner. Until then you'll have to deal with my lousy digital captures.

That first shot is great, Mel! Nice light on Pikes and the moon is a nice touch. This one would work well with a panoramic crop too.

Yep, one of the crummy things about digital capture (and sometimes scans) I've found is that they blow the highlights easier. Although sometimes the benefit is better shadow detail. I really like the one where the moon is dropping behind the peak here.

Jack,

Thanks. I was thinking the same about #1.

Josh,

These were shot on Provia. I don't have a good scanner right now, just a light table. So I've been setting up my dslr for copy on the light table. Its a terrible process, but at least I can share the photos this way.

I haven't set aside funds for a scanner yet. Scanner was next on the list, but now I'm thinking about getting a quickload holder and film first. Light leaks with my current holders are driving me nuts and the lower weight of quickloads will be good for what I want to do with my 4x5.

Mel – nice shots! Well done on using the 3-stop hard GND filter. The first image is my favorite, but IMHO I would crop a little from the bottom to make it more of a 2x3 aspect ratio (or pano as Jack pointed out).

Take a look at the Epson scanners. They do a really nice job. I have used the (now old) Epson 3200 to make prints up to 24x30.

Thanks for the comments Rene.

I'm planning to pick up an Epson, but I missed the fire sale on 4990s and now they are selling for almost as much as the V700 and aren't coming up very often. I'd look at one of the older ones like the 4870? or 3200, but I'm afraid that support might be dropped before I got good use out of it. So I'm just saving up for a V700 or 750. I had to buy some jeep parts recently and that ate into my photography budget for a while. But come May, you might be happy that I'm carrying an extra 10 gallons of gas on the Maze trip. And on top of that I've been having trouble with my film holders.

I also liked the first one. It seems third one is suffering from scanning issues.

Quickload is awesome. I consider the holder one of my best purchases for my LF system. Yes, the film is more expensive, but it is so much more convenient. Lower weight is definitely a plus too.

About your recent light leaks too: I had a similar problem. The images on my film had strange glare on them, but there was no fogging on the black film border. I found out it wasn't holder light leak. It was sunlight reflecting from the metal knobs and frame pieces on the side of the camera and under the camera into the lenses. This happened often when the sun was at my back. Using a lens shade (or just making sure the sun was blocked using a hat or something) solved the problem. Not sure if this has been what's causing problems for you or not, but it's always something to check.

Yep - a pano version of the first would rock. I also like the light in the second, but with the moon about ready to roll out of the frame, my eye keeps going to that edge. Ditto René's comment on use of the grad - can't see any evidence; nice work.

I really like the cool colors in the first image.