For the last couple of weeks I’ve been sorting-out what gear to take, or more accurately, what gear NOT to take to Canada in 6 weeks time. I took far too much gear last time, too many different formats and 4 different types of film. I was shooting on 6x7cm, 6×4.5cm, 35mm and Fuji Instax instant film, using colour and black and white with 3 different film speeds. In April I’m taking a Mamiya 7II, 80mm lens, a sekonic light meter and 60 rolls of Kodak Portra 160. I’m also packing my trusted Olympus Mju II and a small flash, just in case.
I’m going back to Yellowknife to work on an on-going project which started last September, this could be my second of many trips to the area, or it could be my last, I’m still not sure…
An Apple a day…
I’ve had the same 21″ iMac for 5 years now, I’ve always been happy with it, but 5 years is a long time in the life of any working computer and it had started to show it’s age. So, I ordered a new one, this time a 27″ version, I also decided that if I was going to invest another 5 years into the Apple Corporation, I may as well do it properly and maxed-out all the specs – 3.4GHz processor, 32GB of RAM, Thunderbolt storage,etc,etc….then I had to wait nearly 6 weeks while Apple used the slowest employees in China to assemble said iMac and then send it off for a 9 day trip around the world via Shanghai, Dubai, Germany, Ireland and England, all courtesy of UPS. But I knew the wait was going to be worth it…
…My new Mac was delivered last Friday, the same day that I came-down with the worst bout of ‘flu I’ve had in years, it was the best I could do to carry the 17KG box down to my basement without passing-out. I un-boxed it, plugged it in, then passed-out for 3 days.
I have finally got to play though, and the wait was well worth it, the new Mac makes my old one look like a pocket calculator. I can now scan 4800dpi files from 6x7cm without any problems, in an instant. I’ve also invested in Adobe CS6 6, which runs like a dream, as does Lightroom 4.
The best thing though is the huge 27″ screen, size certainly does matter!
PHIL KNEEN 
Hi! I like your Blog very much! Very nice photography!
I would like to ask you a question: How do you scan New Portra 160/400. Do you use silverfast? If you use it wich negafix preset is the best in your opinion?
Thank you very much!
Martin
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Hi Martin, I just use the Epson software, scan at 3200dpi with none of the presets such as sharpening, etc. I then colour correct in Lightroom 4, sometimes all it needs is auto white balance. Scans are always too blue, so I crank that down a bit. All I do after that is a bit of spot healing and maybe bring the whites slider up. And that’s it really.
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Thank you very much for the answer! Keep up the good work!!! Have a nice trip!
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have a great trip. needing to invest in a new computer as well.
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Thank you! I’m starting to get a bit of a panic on now, to be honest!
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I love the shot of that guy resting against his truck! I like the saturation of the colours as well as the contrast. I have to get myself some of that Portra Film!! Out of interest I see you use lightroom. Forgive my ignorance but what would you do to your film images within Lightroom/Photoshop?
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I do hi res scans without using any of the presets that come with scanning software – sharpening,auto-white balance, dust removal. So, the scans need a bit of work in LR or PS to make them look nice.
I generally just do a colour balance, which takes time and then I sometimes adjust the contrast slightly. The main job is dust removal.
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Thanks Phil. So I guess that the information contained on the film is not picked up by the scanner needs to be corrected within LR/PS.
Thanks, fella. Appreciated.
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Yeah, everything comes out very blue. You can take them in to PS and do an auto tone/colour and it works very well 99% of the time.
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Looking forward to the next instalment Phil- hope it goes well. How come Portra 160 with the mamiya? Do you not find the 400 gives you some extra flexibility, given the mamiya apertures?
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Yeah, I know what you mean, but 160 gives me a ‘look’ that I find impossible to achieve with 400. I’ll just use my tripod more, which is no bad thing!
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Very true- don’t use the tripod though, just stick a massive flash on the side!
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Hi Phil. I’ve enjoyed looking at your blog. Like your images, like your approach. Following. I’m doing mainly ‘street’ stuff at the moment. Have alook. Best wishes, V.
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Thank you so much. You’re images are great!
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your photos are stunning! I’m having some problems scanning my kodak portra 160 negatives. I’ll just give u your technique a try. thanks for sharing and dropping by 🙂
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