The analog Mr. Mu "noob to skilled" progression - new: with added skillz!

**Mr. Mu** · August 20th, 2007, 11:43 AM

Hi eazym,

I think the high contrast is due to the IR film as such - it did not need much of a contrast/sharpening treatment. I actually liked it for the same reason you mentioned... the metallic emphasis.

I did a LOFI-cellphone documentary about my way to work, work and back just for fun... not much to do with the pics themselves as I didn't want to interfere with their lofi-quality and all...:

The Daily Grind

cellphone, BW-conversion in GIMP, arranged in inkscape

**purplerose** · August 20th, 2007, 01:05 PM

Very nice idea Mu, and some cool images to boot.

My faves are the escalator and the one with the tree. Although you look dreadfully sad/tired in the one at the computer. Cheer up!

On a side note, I'll setup the photo workshop today.

**Mr. Mu** · August 20th, 2007, 05:39 PM

Hi Jerrica,

heck, seems like I wasn't actually diggin the idea of work today...lol

yay for the workshop!

**ivy'sgrandkid** · August 21st, 2007, 02:44 AM

Kodak HIE@400 in AM74, (28mm?) red Filter[/QUOTE]

I love and I mean love love love this image!

**Mr. Mu** · August 25th, 2007, 07:44 PM

grandkid... wow. Really cool you like it that much. That shot is on my re-do list for when I can use my private darkroom, so watch out!

Here's new ones I took on color slide film...

#1
my squareneck steel guitar head...
DIY double-length snooted flash on a stand from top left.
135mm fixed focal length lense.
1/125
F11 (?)

#2
came into my kitchen the other day and found this still life in the evening light through the window. Nothing added or taken away. Tripod.
click for hi-res

#3
then I took away the water bottle and added an apple to fit in with the apple mix drink. Used a tripod on both shots.

#4
again, double-snooted flash on a stand as only light source.

I don't have a complete setup shot for the guitar pics, but here's what the snoot looks like...:

It's carboard I glued some tinfoil to on the inside (to reflect the light and not swallow it). On the flash as well as on the cardboard I put self-adhesive velcro tape.

**ivy'sgrandkid** · August 26th, 2007, 02:37 AM

you freak!! lol cool set up dang I have so much to learn haah I saw a set up for this rolex photo shoot on the beach t looked like the nasa space arm hehe

**Mr. Mu** · August 26th, 2007, 06:09 AM

you freak!

I saw a set up for this rolex photo shoot on the beach

hang on... what is that about, LOL!?

**ivy'sgrandkid** · August 26th, 2007, 04:52 PM

the set up for the guitar pic hehe

**Mr. Mu** · August 27th, 2007, 10:38 AM

From the photography workshop 003 (macro):

Rollei IR 400 @ 200ASA in AM74, scanned in
- dust cloned out
- levels
- curves adjusted
- two different edgefinding algorithms applied on two layers, one set to multiply, the other one set to overlay. This I used as an alternative to unsharpen mask as this makes sure to only pronounce the edges and does not touch the gradations and flat areas.
I wanted to emphasize the leave's veins.

Hope to get another out that roll of film. Lighting that leave was kinda hard.

**purplerose** · August 27th, 2007, 01:00 PM

That guitar in #4 is pure magic.

Nice leaf buddy.

**Mr. Mu** · September 2nd, 2007, 01:31 PM

Hi purplerose,
thanks for the visit. About the guitar pic... I wanna redo that some time... I think there's still room for improvement on the lighting and the sharpness.

just to keep things up to date...

from the macro workshop:

Rollei IR 400 @ 200 ASA in AM 74 scanned in
- dust cloned out
- levels
- sharpened (USM)

and for the "Sequence" challenge:

Fuji Neopan 100 Acros in AM74, scanned in, curves, sharpened, arranged in inkscape

**purplerose** · September 2nd, 2007, 02:20 PM

I'm loving the Sequence challenge already! Gonna be a hard vote. Very nice work with the lighting. A bit upset about your cutoff head in the last one though.

**Mr. Mu** · September 2nd, 2007, 05:00 PM

Hi Jerrica,

I basically cut off the head on every frame I shot that night except on the first one of the sequence... I should have tried to not use that latter one so I could have passed it off as a deliberate choice...

**eazym** · September 7th, 2007, 11:30 PM

very nice sequence. Is it just me or does it look sharper and smoother than a lot of your other pics. Maybe its the size. Or the film (one of my favs). Or scanning method. Or maybe the exposure's spot on? Either way, something's working

**Mr. Mu** · September 9th, 2007, 05:30 PM

Hi eazym,

maybe a bit of everything...

But seriously, you have to get so many things together for a good photo with good light, so it's actually quite natural to "not get it" for such a long time (like in my case).
Now, I would love to keep it like that, but I am afraid I won't have that control over all of my shots, so expect some more fuzzines and non-bang-on-the-money-ness

**Mr. Mu** · September 24th, 2007, 05:41 PM

Hi Everyone,

I am currently busy trying my new darkroom.

Let me say that again...

my new darkroom!

whew, sounds awesome..

So,

while I am practising like crazy for that theoretical sailing exam on saturday (if you want to wish me good luck or pray to your God for my support on that day it's much appreciated) I manage to sneak down to the basement in the night and try a few prints.

I am doing 24*30cm (9.4 x 11.8 inches?) RC prints (multigrade paper).

At the moment I am revisiting an earlier negative of the portrait of the german writer Katja Freese which I am trying to print (I think it's on the previous page, a Kodak HIE IR shot).

I am reading Ansel Adamses "The Print" and so I am working through a buch of working prints to keep refining what I got so far. The goal is a "fine art" print of each negative I will be working on. "Fine Art" as opposed to "naturalistic" print of what was there. I won't try to give an accurate representation of the real situation, but rather an emotion driven interpretation of the negative.
Someday.

I will post examples of the working prints when I got my final print together. I have gone through 9 working prints (exposure tests for gradations 0 and 5 for my splitgrade exposure and a few dodge/burn tests) I think I know now how I will approach the final version.

See you soon

P.S.: argh! wish me luck for saturday!

**Morbid** · September 24th, 2007, 06:02 PM

Nice darkroom!

Good luck on the exam, I took my "boat license" this year. I don't know if it is the same.

**Mr. Mu** · September 25th, 2007, 03:58 AM

Hi Morbid,

might be the same... it's the follow-up to the basic boat license, aimed at handling sailing yachts and tidal/coastal navigation.

But, the swedish are one sea-faring people and I guess you knew all the stuff you needed already when you took your exam...

**Morbid** · September 25th, 2007, 03:25 PM

That sounds like what is called "coast skipper" exam here. I only have the basic license though, it allows me to sail boats up to 7,5 meters long if I remember correctly.

**Mr. Mu** · September 26th, 2007, 03:52 AM

The weird thing is that the basic license doesnt cover any tidal navigation, yet they let you steer a boat into the north sea with that paper!

No wonder my former sailing teacher called that german license a
family-sinking-license

**Morbid** · September 26th, 2007, 04:56 AM

They just told us to stay clear of the 3m line and we will be fine.

We dont have that much tidal here, the wind matters more for the water levels i think.

**VenomVindicta** · September 26th, 2007, 03:22 PM

Good luck with that, [unless im too late an you've already done it, in which case, how'd you do?]

Also, i like the second macro on the leaf, the light behind it brings out the veins, nicely done

Thanks for the tips on my album, I probably won't be taking many for a while, cause i've been downgraded D: to my dads phone, which is worse than the one i took the first ones with.

hopefullly i'll be able to borrow a friends camera and take a few shots though.

really good progression through this album, looking forward to the next updates.

Also, i love the first in the straight up themed ones, The smiley sun face gives it a really positive ... way about it?
Not sure how to describe it, but it makes it seem like a happy photo

Venom.

**Mr. Mu** · September 27th, 2007, 04:01 AM

hopefullly i'll be able to borrow a friends camera and take a few shots though.

oh, that's a good idea! You will see - it's like a totally different.. thing!

yea, it's a happy photo and was meant to be. Cool that I got the message across...

**ivy'sgrandkid** · September 27th, 2007, 11:25 AM

he don't drown! best of luck hehe

**Mr. Mu** · September 29th, 2007, 02:26 PM

hey everybody!

Today I passed my theoretical coastal skipper exam - as I passed the practical exam two years earlier I am now officially holder of the german coastal skipper license!

Absence of new photo material was due to practising, of course, but in addition I am also churnin out working print after working print atm, and it's not altogether unlikely that I will eventually deliver something presentable.

In the meantime, here's a photo of the print as the damn thing won't fit on my scanner...

I am planning on doing full negative prints in the future (not crop enlargements using the full paper format) so as soon as I figured out how to do the right margin burning I will have something to post from this activity.

As concerns shooting new stuff: that will start next week. Til then,

Ahoy
Mr. Mu

**klips** · October 2nd, 2007, 08:30 AM

Ahoy, Cap'n Mu! I haven't been commenting in your thread for too long, so I shall make do with this for now: freaking. huge. improvement. your control of lighting is a massive increase on what it used to be, your understanding of your equipment and how to use it is markedly different, I would say you are 'not a n00b'

. Well, not in the taking. The printing is different, but meh, that's just a new challenge.

**Mr. Mu** · October 2nd, 2007, 03:15 PM

Well, not in the taking. The printing is different, but meh, that's just a new challenge.

LOL, yes, man! The learning never stops - isn't it wonderful?

Thanks for your unnoobing me... basically, I think I'll always feel like a noob, because just when I think I grasped a basic concept I bump into a piece of information or an especially breathtaking piece of photography and I go "OK, learning time, idiot!"...

not at home atm, so only quickly checking what's up... more from me in your thread in the next days...

**klips** · October 2nd, 2007, 05:38 PM

Ah, but there is an important difference between learning and n00bing. A person doing their Doctoral thesis in Astrophysics is still *learning*, but they are not a n00b at physics by any stretch.