Combining Film + Digital in Nature Photography

Hi everyone! I'm doing some personal research, and thought that a specifically nature related photography forum would be a great place to get more insight. Especially with the wonderful quality of photos I've seen! Anyway, I am interested in learning about photographers who use a film + digital combination, and the results that they get. I found this local photographer who uses a system that seems unique in quality and technique. I saw his large scale printed photos and was greatly impressed by the results that the combination of film capturing and digital editing seems to produce. No grain, no pixels, beautiful colors and lighting. I would love to hear feedback from pros (I'm just learning!), and from those who may know about the subject personally, or have links to other photographers they admire. Thank you so much for the time and response!

Here's the photographer I found, although the online images don't do him justice!:
http://www.mondragonfineart.com/images.html
http://www.mondragonfineart.com/workflow.html

I'm using film/digital blended processes with color slide, color negative and some B&W with 35mm and 4X5 formats. I also shoot with a DSLR. I prefer the quality of the film even with 35mm, but it takes more time to work with this medium.

I would say that Richie Voninski, Brent Doerzman, Scott Bacon and Rene Pirolt from RMNP all had a part in inspiring me to take on the large format. Once I started to use the 4X5, I went back to mostly film on 35mm too.

http://www.voninski.com/default.htm
http://www.doerzmanphoto.com/
http://baconphoto.com/
http://www.renepirolt.com/

I am using 4x5 film and 35 mm based digital for image capture. All of my printing workflow is digital, including scans of my LF and older 35 film.

I've found that the cleanness of the digital is a huge edge over 35 mm film and that it is unlikely that I will shoot much, if any 35 mm film in the future. Also, for the volumes of 35 I shoot, it simply makes good economic sense.

Have said that, I tend to prefer the color palette and look of film. I'm shooting 4x5 for my personal work for subject that lend itself to that format. Toss in the advantages of movements in the format and I seriously doubt I'll ever quit that format, except possibly by moving up.

Film and digital have their advantages and disadvantages. In the end, you really need to decide what is important for your work. For me, I'll use both for different ends.

Nice, thank you for the responses and links!

Lauren, I'm afraid to tell you that nearly everyone shooting film today is using digital processing and printing. Sure, there are quite a few darkroom enthusiasts and artists out there, but in relative numbers, they are rare today. The good news is that we are both doing the same work, just using different tools.

What's film?

I started out shooting large-format/6x4.5cm/6x7cm and digital but soon migrated to digital only. I really don't ever want to shoot film again. Most all of my work goes into my books and calendars and the need to large film is not needed for me. Digital gives me the freedom of not being limited by a film palette or a cumbersome camera. I only wish that I could get all my film scanned so that I could sell my scanner!

BTW, I loved my film days! Shooting film gave me the experience of understanding exposure and I think that today's photographer is missing that. It's easy to fire off a shot and check the histogram to see if it's OK.

I shoot 4x5 transparency film and scan it. It turns out that you have far more control over the image quality with digital editing than you ever had when making c-prints or cibachromes. For instance, in chemical color printmaking, aside from your choice of paper, you have no control over saturation. Used with care, digital editing of images shot on film is (for me at least) an ideal combination of quality and control. The availability of digitally controlled c-print machines (e.g., Chromira) eliminates variability in the back-end and yields fantastic results.

I shoot digital as well, and have had some success, but it always feels like playing tennis without a net.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I also shoot film and scan for prints (4x5 inch and 6x6 cm). The difference in the final print from scanned 4x5 film, compared to digital, is very noticeable in large prints. I’m sure digital will get there but for now, large format film leads the way.