Kodak Portra160VC - not just for people

Vonder · Jun 5, 2009

It's rare when you get enough light at a zoo to use Portra 160, but when you do, man, this is beautiful stuff...

Jeff Kubach · Jun 5, 2009

That's a great photo! I love it.

Jeff

fotch · Jun 5, 2009

Outstanding!

BetterSense · Jun 5, 2009

how long of a lens were you using? 35mm?

Vonder · Jun 5, 2009

Details

BetterSense said:
how long of a lens were you using? 35mm?

It's shot on 35mm, with a Canon T90. The lens was Canon's 35-105 f4 lens, one of the better zoom lenses ever made.

BetterSense · Jun 5, 2009

I have to say that is impressive detail for a print film. I never seem to get as good a results when I shoot color. The last batch of Kodachrome I shot was rather unsharp. I think it must be because I scan the film with a cheap (Epson V500) scanner. In B&W, I get way better results by scanning even small analog prints than I do by scanning the film directly. I should get into RA4, or at least start having my stuff processed by a competent lab.

Sirius Glass · Jun 5, 2009

BetterSense said:
I have to say that is impressive detail for a print film. I never seem to get as good a results when I shoot color. The last batch of Kodachrome I shot was rather unsharp. I think it must be because I scan the film with a cheap (Epson V500) scanner. In B&W, I get way better results by scanning even small analog prints than I do by scanning the film directly. I should get into RA4, or at least start having my stuff processed by a competent lab.

Yes, that would really be better than an incompetent lab.

Steve

pentaxuser · Jun 5, 2009

I't's a fabulous shot with what seems to me to be very true colours. With a 105 and with the tiger filling the shot like this, I think you must have been quite close. How far away were you and what separates you from being the tiger's next meal!

pentaxuser

Sirius Glass · Jun 5, 2009

A brilliantly executed composition with Portra VC makes a stunning photograph.

Steve

Vonder · Jun 5, 2009

About 10 feet

pentaxuser said:
I't's a fabulous shot with what seems to me to be very true colours. With a 105 and with the tiger filling the shot like this, I think you must have been quite close. How far away were you and what separates you from being the tiger's next meal!

pentaxuser

The tiger is behind glass. Fortunately, the glass was clean where I shot from, which is partly due to me being 6'2". The area lower, where all the kids are, was much too dirty to shoot through.

pentaxuser · Jun 5, 2009

Thanks Ah yes glass I hadn't thought of that. I hope that he/she has a really big enclosure behind the glass. In the U.K. we used to keep them in 30-40 ft cages and then parade them around a circus ring. The cages at zoos were a little better but not much. The dark ages were chillingly quite recently.

pentaxuser

eddym · Jun 5, 2009

What a great shot of a beautiful animal!

Bruce Watson · Jun 5, 2009

Yes! I loves me some 160PortraVC. I also love 400PortraNC; it may be the best color film ever made. It's astounding. And I use this stuff almost exclusively for landscape in 4x5.

Ektagraphic · Jun 6, 2009

I have used Portra for more than Portraits. Before Ektar, for the very few rolls of negative film I shoot, it has been/still is Portra.

glbeas · Jun 6, 2009

I'vebeen using Portra for landscapes, works quite well for waterfalls.

Curt · Jun 10, 2009

What a beautiful subject so well photographed! Just stunning, what is the Zoo? I've photographed in Zoo's and it isn't easy with glass and distance etc. and the lighting is what you get.

Vonder · Jun 10, 2009

Thanks to all who commented!

Curt said:
What a beautiful subject so well photographed! Just stunning, what is the Zoo? I've photographed in Zoo's and it isn't easy with glass and distance etc. and the lighting is what you get.

Aye, I've been taking zoo pics for over 20 years, and in all that time I can say that I only have three (including this one) that I really, REALLY like. If it's not glass it's chain link fence, if neither of those then the animals are too far away or asleep or underground or it's raining or inexplicably, a complete solar eclipse occurs.

This is taken at Omaha's Henry Dorley Zoo. The zoo has a lot of nice exhibits and many have indoor components so you can get out of the rain if you want, which was great on this trip because it did rain most of the day. They have an amazing gorilla exhibit but I couldn't get a decent shot there - the glass was packed with people and I had a wild two-year-old to contend with.

shootpositive · Jun 11, 2009

BetterSense said:
I have to say that is impressive detail for a print film. I never seem to get as good a results when I shoot color. The last batch of Kodachrome I shot was rather unsharp. I think it must be because I scan the film with a cheap (Epson V500) scanner. In B&W, I get way better results by scanning even small analog prints than I do by scanning the film directly. I should get into RA4, or at least start having my stuff processed by a competent lab.

if you're having trouble getting sharpness with color, maybe it's your lens or the wrong film (go 100) or not using your aperture...

there is nothing wrong with the Epson V500. I am really happy with the scans I've got with the V500. IMO better than the Coolscan IV/V that I've used (and liked).

EASmithV · Jun 17, 2009

Epic Win

Kodak Portra160VC - not just for people

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