Photographing the Redwoods, Spring 2021: Film Reveal

[@MatMarrash]

The exposure and composition on that first transparency was [chef's kiss] fantastic! Also enjoy the loupe shots for the close-up details.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Mat! It sure is nice when all the decisions in the field pay off.

[@PenGious]

I can't believe that first one. Everything about that shot is perfect!

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Jacob! It sure was a wonderful scene to find!

[@pbsalfen]

Absolutely love the first image. The path leading through the underbrush to the bridge, framed by the arc of the tree limb, is awesome! Box set material there.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Phillip! This one will definitely be in the box set this year. Looking at the transparency with a loupe is downright magic.

[@Prashant.Khapane]

This is such a wonderful and inviting image (the first one); I can spend hours looking at it through the loupe.

[@amyverhague1491]

I love that first shot, it looks like you are in a magical forest!

[@BenHorne]

Thank you Amy! You're very correct. It is indeed a very magical forest. :-)

[@MagnusLindbom]

These Film Reveals are great stuff Ben!

[@tremainwilliams2468]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!! BTW, Beautiful photos of the green side and the cold side.

[@BenHorne]

Thank you Tremain!

[@tremainwilliams2468]

You're welcome.

[@thomaspopple2291]

I have noticed with my own work that ektachrome needs more light. About 3/4 to a full stop. I rate it at 64 with the tests I have done. As always, I love it when a new Ben Horne video comes out, especially when I am getting my gear ready to go shoot. Gives me inspiration every time. Thank you.

[@BenHorne]

That’s an excellent observation about the overall speed of the film. It’ll be interesting to see how the film does in different conditions, including reflected light in southern Utah. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Thomas.

[@stohlenttv]

Love all the scenes, but especially the first one. Just an absolutely lovely shot.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Joshua! It sure was fun to work with that first scene.

[@MeasuredLight]

I always love your videos, Ben! Interested to see how the colour negatives scan :)

[@deviningram6814]

These are fantastic. Trying to see as you do and set up similarly to you is unmatched. Love your photos!

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Devin!

[@dannydivilly6146]

Great trip, man. I’m a sucker for a good tree-path image, so I really dig that first shot.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Danny! It sure was a wonderful scene to work with.

[@stuartbaines2843]

I look forward to seeing the Ektar scans and how it’s colour rendition handles the blue river rock. Certainly a challenging location for film.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Stuart! I can’t say I’m very satisfied with the Ektar scan. There is just something off about the color. I prefer a more natural rendition, and both the Provia and Ektar versions are a departure from reality, so I don’t really connect with either one. I’ll show it during the composition review though. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!

[@stuartbaines2843]

@@BenHorne I could not understand the colour rendition either ? Fuji films have always gone for blue and greens and Kodak reds. I have some old Fuji and its leaning to green with age. I need to try a warming filter to try to correct this a bit?

[@sebastiantrandafir5607]

Thank you for your inspiration Ben! I like your results very much, the perspectives are really great and the first motive is also my favorite. The negative can be looked at well with the smartphone and the Instagram app when the Cinestill filter is switched on, the impression is almost as good as the male of a positive. Greetings, Seb

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Seb! That is a great tip about the cinestill filter. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!

[@sloemo4024]

Thank you, i love your film reveal videos. Very interested to see how the color neg compares to provia once scanned - would love to see that in a video if you’re able.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks! I can't say I'm overly happy with the color negative scans. I had a tough time making them look natural. Maybe it's all the greens or something. I'll show some of them in the composition review video. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@duringthemeanwhilst]

the first image for me is a winner. I shot something similar at a location I'd never shot before and it was only 2 minutes from my home!

[@BenHorne]

It sure is nice when some of the best shots are close to home. Although this one wasn't close to home for me, at least it was close to the road, only a 30 or 40 second walk. :-)

[@duringthemeanwhilst]

@@BenHorne as a disabled person, that's my kind of photography!!

[@ScottWalton]

Hey Ben, like everyone says, that first image with the bridge is a real winner, just beautiful. BTW, I think the iPhone shot of the rock and curving shoreline is very nice. Man I've had that happen so many times, where the film image later doesn't live up to the iPhone test shot. Since I've found the film going blue like that so many times when photographing in the shade under a blue sky, I just got an 81b filter. I haven't tried it yet though. Have you ever thought about trying that? I wonder if it might have made a difference in this situation?

[@BenHorne]

Hi Scott! I do think the warming filter would help in the future for situations like that. I suppose part of my surprise about the blue cast for that one was because the scene didn't seem very cold to my eye. The sun had dropped behind a hill to the west and there was a lot of warm light out. That all goes to show the importance of knowing a location, how the light works, and what to expect. Thanks as always for watching and commenting!

[@IraGardner]

Hi Ben, just came across your channel. Great videos! I rode my motorcycle through the redwoods just a couple of weeks ago. With transparency film have you played with under and over exposing and then push and pull development to adjust mid tone contrast? Do you pack and use CC filters? I used to shoot a lot of film and you are inspiring me to get back to it! Thank you!

[@xasaintx]

I love seeing the detail through the loupe. How do you film that? And confession time, I often want to know what the scans of the negatives will look like so I screen shot them, then do a quick curves adjustment in Photoshop to get a rough idea (and then delete them after). Especially if it's a shot you mention in taking in the journals but don't end up showing.

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Chris! I film the loupe cam stuff with a Sony ZV-1 that’s rubber banded to a loupe along with cap to a can of spray paint as a spacer. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done.

[@jefffenske1958]

I've been a fan of the first shot since you showed it in the earlier video. The main reason is the giant Redwood behind the bridge. That is a Redwood, correct? I don't think you've mentioned it. That's what makes it for me. Without that, it would just be another forest scene, but that giant Redwood beginning its journey heavenward is special!

[@BenHorne]

Thank you Jeff! That is indeed a redwood just behind the bridge, and you'll see more of them in the upper right corner. I was standing at the base of several huge trees as well. It really is a wonderful balance of trees and vegetation along the stream. It's one of those areas where all those elements align, and it was great to include some of the large trees in the background. Thanks for watching and commenting Jeff!

[@jefffenske1958]

@@BenHorne I just now watched again the video in which you shot this scene, which does show you standing next to and in front of some giants! Great job videoing yourself! I'm guessing that those who have not been there in person may not be able to fathom who high these trees really go. It's probably also possible to visit the redwoods without spending enough time looking straight up, to then not get the full impact. At the end of your shooting video, you do show a close-up of the bridge, and the redwood behind it. I can't tell for sure if it's one big redwood or two close together. I'm guessing it's one big one, which means this tree shoots up well over 300 feet. The distant giants shooting skyward are also wonderful. Very nice shot, and thanks for the explanation. To me, this all gives glory to God. Only sitting underneath a very strong aurora that's straight overhead in Alaska (where I live) do I get this same feeling of awesome grandeur in nature. And this happens rarely. The redwoods are continually accessible. Except, I've heard it's not a good idea to walk underneath them in a strong wind, because of high up branches possibly falling. I stupidly did that once without realizing. It's been 15 years now since I've seen these magnificent giants. I'm glad they're able to pull water vapor from the fog, even during the droughts. What a wonderful place! Good job!

[@patmurray9199]

As usual, absolutely first class photography! What make and model is the light box??

[@BenHorne]

Thanks Pat! I really like this light box. It's the Kaiser Slimlite Plano: bhpho.to/3fDAFJJ

[@jazzclarinet2006]

More loupe views in the future please!

[@BenHorne]

Will do! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks as always for watching and commenting!

[@FirstOnRaceDayCapri2904]

Provia 100F has reciprocity failure at 124 seconds. E100 only 10 seconds, probably why it was darker.

[@BenHorne]

Yup, the tricky thing about E100 is that they tell you when you need to start adding compensation, but they don't tell you how much to add. That's the very important piece of information that's missing. I really wish they would publish the charts like how fuji does.

[@FirstOnRaceDayCapri2904]

@@BenHorne Yeah, that makes no sense at all, to tell that reciprocity failure happens at 10 seconds but not saying how much compensation is necessary.

[@trondsi]

Redwoods are so darn difficult to photograph. How did that color negative looking up the tall redwood with strong contrast turn out?

[@MattSchulze]

It always amazes me how you can go to the Redwoods and schlepp all your 8X10 stuff through the underbrush and when it comes to the photo reveal there is not a single redwood in sight. Well, maybe a wannabe redwood that didn't quite make it and fell over trying. Don't get me wrong, I love the photos you took and all that goes into it. It just puzzles me.

[@FlosBlog]

MAybe you could invert the colours of your video when you show the negatives from above so that one could get a rough idea of what the photo looks?

[@BenHorne]

Although possible, it still wouldn't give much of a feel for the image, and since I wouldn't be able to see that way at the same time, it would be tough to talk about the image. I usually go through the color negative stuff rather quickly for that reason. Thanks for watching!

[@runninblue9415]

Nice work. What do you mean "threading the eye of the needle" re: exposure? Sorry, I'm a bit concrete 😜

[@JHurrenPhotography]

Perfectly in the middle. To get thread through that tiny hole, you have to be very precise. It's a perfect analogy for slide film

[@runninblue9415]

@@JHurrenPhotography cheers 👍

[@wudl83]

It's a fancy and fascinating way of going for a walk. The rogues around aren't that creative. Eagerness and loyalty have come a long way from Norway to Ruanda. That's how life goes, right?