Garden of the Gods - Velvia Large Format

[Colorado CJ]

I posted my black and white film images the other day to this forum. Yesturday I picked up my color slides from the processors.


This was my first time shooting color slide film. I've always stuck with black and white because I can process it myself, and because it is cheap compared to color.


Well, I was a little nervous as I pulled the dark slide for the first time to expose my first sheet of color slide film. I did a lot of reading on proper metering for slides, but not ever doing it before, I was sure I was going to mess it up. I used my same Pentax spot meter that I use for my zone system work, but exposed the highlights to zone VII, letting the shadows fall where they may.


Once I got the slides back from the processor, I threw them on my light table and just sat there and stared at them. This was my first time seeing color slides on a light table and I couldn't believe how detailed and colorful they were.


Anyway, it took some doing trying to scan them in, I had to fiddle with scanner settings for over an hour until I was getting close to what the slides looked like on the table. These aren't near as good as they look in person (I just cant get the detail in the shadows that I can visually see on the light table in these scans), but they'll have to do.


Shot on my Zone VI 4x5 camera using either a Fujinon W 125mm F5.6 lens or a Kodak Ektar 203mm F7.7 lens. No filters were used.



Garden of the Gods - Velvia 100-1 by Colorado CJ, on Flickr



Garden of the Gods - Velvia 100 - 3 by Colorado CJ, on Flickr



Garden of the Gods - Velvia 100 - 2 by Colorado CJ, on Flickr



Garden of the Gods - Velvia 100 - 4 by Colorado CJ, on Flickr




I can tell that I'm going to like shooting slide film. I have another 44 sheets of Velvia 100 and 120 sheets of Velvia 50 coming in the mail. I'll still primarily be shooting with black and white films, but will have a Grafmatic loaded up with color slides along on all my outings as well.

 

[Bill Burk]

These are beautiful Colorado CJ!

I don't know what else to say. It's like this is what mountains are made for.

 

[SchwinnParamount]

Nice! Who is your processor?

 

[Dr Croubie]

Yeah, there's something about just staring at 4x5 RVP, I could do it for hours.
#1 I can see, given what I know about RVP, that it will look a hundred times better in person than that scan (although the scan is still very good).
Personal favourite #3 though, nice and wide for the 'dramatic foreground' thingy (I'm a sucker for that, and do it often enough myself).

 

[Loulou]

Wow, these are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them with us, Garden of the Gods is such an appropriate name.

 

[zanxion72]

Wonderful! I love the last one! Great colors and lots of subtle details.

 

[BrianShaw]

OK, now we're talking! I LOVE photographing at Garden of the Gods, but the results always seem better in color.... as you have shown. Not that the B&W isn't really good, but this place needs color to show its true glory.

 

[ME Super]

This is why I shoot slides, even though I stick with 35mm for projection. Slides on a light table, or projected, are awesome! Better than prints, IMHO.

 

[Palantiri7]

Beautiful!

 

[Paul Cunningham]

Nothing beats a big slide. I'm just about to try b/w reversal through DR5, I'm excited about the prospect of black and white slides on 4x5.

 

[darinwc]

These look great! I really like how nicely the sky came out in 2 and 3. I've been to garden of the gods and my photos for not turn out half as well. Glad to hear you did your research beforehand. Or obviously made a big difference.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Since you liked Garden of the Gods, you need to go to Moab UT to see Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

 

[benjiboy]

I stick to 6X6 Slides because you can't project large format ones and projected on a 60" square screen medium format ones are stunning.

 

[alanrockwood]

Stunning photos.

 

[ME Super]

Agreed. There's a Garden of the Gods in Illinois too, down near the southern end of the state. Also very beautiful, though the rock formations are smaller and completely different.

 

[globaltechno]

Your photo very nice. Where is mountain?

 

[Slixtiesix]

Wow, 3rd is my favorite. Like Ansel Adams in color...

 

[Colorado CJ]

Thanks again guys!

Globaltechno, these were shot at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a great place for photography and hiking on the front range.



Just an update. These were my first slides I ever shot. I am now waiting on an E-6 Processing kit to arrive from Freestyle. I've slowly been building up my stock of slide film after seeing what it can do and now have around 150 sheets of 4x5 Velvia and 30 rolls of 120 Velvia with some Ektachrome thrown in.

I'm going to shoot more slides and see how well I can develop them myself. I'd go broke paying for them to be processed at a lab.