Photo Technique 2013-09-10

September/October 2013
phototechmag.com
KEITH CARTER
Transcendental Realist
INFLUENCES
& VISION
A.D. COLEMAN: PHOTOGRAPHS OF HAROLD FEINSTEIN
INSTANT
EDITING
The GREAT
AMERICAN DRIV
BOLD
WAYS
TO IMPROVE
WATERFALL
PHOTOGRAPHS
CHUCK CLOSE
Presidential Portrait
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E IN -
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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND
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_____________________
On Photography
Interview: Keith Carter,
On Mentors, Inspiration and Vision
Robert Hirsch

Seeing the Life in Which
We Live: The Photographs
of Harold Feinstein
Exploring One of the Most Under-
Recognized Photographers in the U.S.
A. D. Coleman
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CONTENTS:
Portfolio
8 Bold Ways to Improve Your
Waterfall Photography
Changing the Rules to Take You to the
Next Level
Chris Tennant
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Photograph Harold Feinstein
Technique
Alien Skin Exposure 5
Simulating the Look of Film Using the
Newest Software
Steve Dreyer
Jellyfishphoto.es: Emulsion
Transfers from Digital Images
The Newest Way to Create Emulsion Lifts
Using High-Resolution Digital Files
Wendy Erickson
Considerations and Limits
of Z-Stacking in
Macrophotography
Tech Tips and Tools for Perfecting
this Technique
Daniel L. Geiger

Anatomy of a Photo
Shoot: Chuck Closes
Presidential Portrait
Working with the 20x24 camera in
the White House
John Reuter
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pg. 37
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Influences and Vision
I bought two books the other day, Joyland, the new Hard Case Crime novel
from Stephen King, and Camera Work, The Complete Photographs by Alfred
Stieglitz, from Taschen, a book that should have been in my library but for
some inexplicable reason was not. With words and photographs printed on
actual paper, there really is something to holding and reading a good book.
Of course I never met Alfred Stieglitz, but I did sit next to Stephen King once
on a tiny plane bound for Bangor. I know both books are likely to inuence
my creative vision in one way or another. Of course I have no idea how or
when this will happen, but it will.
Creative people (like you) are inuenced by everything surrounding thema
color, a conversation, a movie, a trip or a bookin this issue youll get an
inside look at how four photographers were inspired to approach their
photography. Bob Hirsh interviews Keith Carter, A.D. Coleman writes about
the life of Harold Feinstein, David H. Wells and Carl Weese discuss their
personal projects. Their vision is different but they all have in common a
similar drive to make important and compelling photographs.
On the technical side, Lloyd Chambers shares his tests on Zeiss Touit lenses
for the Sony NEX and Fujilm X cameras, Chris Tennant shows how to make
better waterfall photographs, Steve Dreyer explores Alien Skin Exposure
5, Daniel L. Geiger gives advanced tips on Z-Stacking, John Reuter works
with Chuck Close to make the presidential portrait on Polaroid and I tackle
Jellyshphoto.es digital emulsion transfers.
Theres no better time to gure out what inuences you and the photographs
you make. You never know, inspiration might be sitting right next to you.
Wendy Erickson
Editor, photo technique magazine
wendy@phototechmag.com
FROM THE EDITOR
September/October 2013 Vol. 34 No. 5
Publisher S. Tinsley Preston III
Editor Wendy Erickson
Creative Director Lisa Cordova
Production Roberta Knight
Online Content Coordinator Bree Lamb
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________________
_________________
__________________
_________________
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Page 56 Dave Frieder
Page 54 Workshops
Gear, Apps & Good Stuff

*Select Product Raffles!
Black and White Photography Field Guide
By Michael Freeman
*Cameleon
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Topaz Clarity

Projects

The Great American Drive-in
Theatre Roadtrip
Turning an Idea into Reality Using a
Kickstarter Campaign
Carl Weese
The Personal Project:
Instant Editing
Using Peer Comments to Refine
Your Portfolio
David H. Wells
Technique Continued...

Zeiss Touit Lenses for
Sony NEX or Fujifilm X
Expert Field Tests of the Newest
Zeiss Lenses
Lloyd Chambers
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On the Cover
Keith Carter
Paula Study #2, 2011
Photograph David H. Wells
pg. 16
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________________
Robert Hirsch
Keith Carter has been called a transcendental realist
for his hauntingly enigmatic and mythological toned
photographs that blend the animal world, popular
culture, Southern folklore and religion from his East
Texas home. Carter has published over a dozen mono-
graphs and teaches photography at Lamar University
where he holds the Endowed Walles Chair of Visual
and Performing Arts. The following represents a con-
densation of our recent exchanges.
Keith Carter
Luna, 1995
Robert Hirsch: How has your background affected
your imagemaking?
Keith Carter: Im a self-taught photographer from a
Southern culture on the Texas-Louisiana border. My
mom was a single parent who made a living as a pho-
tographer of children and families in Beaumont, TX.
A sculptor in town, David Cargill, became my mentor
and we still have lunch every Wednesday. David had a
4 photo technique S/O 2013
ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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Fox Harris, 1982
darkroom and an art library that had a profound influ-
ence on me. It was the beginning of my art education
and the awakening of my aesthetic. Cargill taught me
the importance of craft and to be ruthless with the use
of visual space. He would say, If it doesnt balance
something or say something, get it out of there. His
words haunt me to this day.
RH: How did you learn black and white photographic
craft?
KC: I was electrified from the first time I saw a
good print, particularly by the way it rendered light.
I learned to print in my converted kitchen dark-
room from The Ansel Adams Photography Series and
Davids help. He encouraged me to experiment, which
is how I discovered that I could put toners on top of
toners. I hesitate to use the word love, but I am going
to use it here. I love black and white photography be-
cause it puts everything on the same democratic plan-
et for me.
RH: What lead you to tone your prints?
KC: I was overwhelmed the first time I saw Paul
Strands magnificent dark, brooding and purplish
prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art back in
the 1970s. Strands gold chloride toning methods
evoked atmosphere and emotion in me and demon-
strated the possibilities of the creative use of photo-
graphic chemistry.
RH: What role does focus play in your work?
KC: Focus plays a large role. I have a great appreci-
ation for photographys early days when the materials
phototechmag.com 5
KEITH CARTER TRANSCENDENTAL REALIST ROBERT HIRSCH
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were slow and photographs had short depth of eld.
For me it was about what you couldnt see and what
was left to your imagination. I began using slower
speed lms and shortening my depth of field to call
attention to innocuous and subtle things within the
frame. I was teaching a large format camera course
and my students were not properly operating the
cameras swings and tilts, but I liked their results so
much I started doing it wrong too. I also use a Hassel-
blad Flexbody with a 80mm lens because there isnt a
large spatial or perspective change, it sees much like
my eyes see.
RH: How did you to develop your artistic syntax?
KC: I come out of a documentary tradition, but after
awhile I wanted to put my own stamp on things. It be-
came clear to me that the subject matter I really cared
about had to do with a sense of place, of geography,
of the animal world, of the spiritual world and the ele-
ments of theology and folklore.
RH: How did African American Art and Folklore
along with Southern literature affect your direction?
KC: They made me realize that art could be made
anywhere and out of just about anything. Another of
my unwitting mentors was an older black man named
Fox Harris. He was a folk artist whose yard had to-
tems in every square foot that reached to the heavens.
He made things for both practical and ethereal rea-
sons instead of the me-me-me thing that many of
us do. He was doing it for no one but himself. I also
started reading Eudora Welty, Flannery OConner
and William Faulkner. Early on I had pored over Let
Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) and realized it was
James Agees prose, not Walker Evans photographs,
that devastated me. I also got interested in African
American folklore and legends. This was a wonder-
ful period of personal evolution and realization about
what makes the South a distinctive region and resulted
in a book called Mojo (1995).
RH: How did your series Imagining Paradise come into
being?
KC: It came about as a way to explore the changing
oddities of my own ocular vision and was a response
to a couple of things. One was a quote I have on my
darkroom wall by the surrealist writer Jorge Luis
Borges, who became blind in his late fifties. He said,
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind
of library. At the time, I had lost most of the vision in
my left eye, but I could still focus and print. When I
Bottletree, 2013 Touch, 2013
ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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closed my good eye my vision was dirty and mottled.
I began to think that my idea of paradise was the beau-
ty and joy of seeing. This, in a roundabout way, took
me into the wet-plate collodion world and changed my
relationship to the emulsion side of the negative.
RH: How has your physical interaction with your neg-
atives affected your images?
KC: The physicality was startling. The history of
photography evolved from a system of markings but
when I was doing this work I was thinking about
Japanese ink and calligraphy drawings. I started
making marks on a 2 inch negative, which I would
enlarge to 20x 20 inches. The marks would take on
iconographic meanings in ways I couldnt articulate.
They were satisfying to do and they lead me to want
to take it further, to try and destroy what had always
been precious to me, the negative, with the hope of
bringing forth something new. The wet-plate collodion
process is a different animal. You are essentially mak-
ing film and it can be hard to control, which is both
wonderful and frustrating. Every picture you make is
like Christmasa real surprise. In my current project,
Shangri-La, I am making 8x10-inch collodion tintypes
exploring a piece of land near where I live that has
been turned into an eco garden, but is mostly swamps.
It is a slow, laborious and fascinating process. I get so
excited sometimes looking at the ground glass that I
forget I cant see all that well, which is pretty great.
RH: What role does beauty play in your work?
KC: The whole beauty issue is a twisted contradic-
tion to me. In the current art world there is almost
a beauty phobia. The irony is that the search for pur-
pose and beauty in peoples lives is just huge. On the
other hand, my idea of beauty is often a bit skewed
or dark. Consider the French artist JR who pasted gi-
ant portraits of women who lost children to violence
on the favelas [shanty towns] in Rio de Janeiro. They
are haunting, issue-oriented, and beautiful all at the
same time.
RH: What role have photographic books played in
your work?
Tupelo Swamp, 2013
phototechmag.com 7
KEITH CARTER TRANSCENDENTAL REALIST ROBERT HIRSCH
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Robert Hirsch is author of Light and Lens:
Photography in the Digital Age, Exploring Color
Photography: From Film to Pixels; Photographic
Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Equipment,
Ideas, Materials and Processes; and Seizing the
Light: A Social History of Photography. Hirsch
directs Light Research, a consulting service
that provides professional services to the fields
of photographic art and education. For details
about his visual and written projects visit:
lightresearch.net. Article Robert Hirsch 2013.
Editors note: To learn more about Keith Carters work visit:
keithcarterphotographs.com
KC: Im of the generation who considered books to be
photographys Holy Grail. I learned from them and
I wanted to make one. I think of my books as small
auteur films in which I write the screenplay, do the
photography, and the editing. It took me 18 years to
publish my first book From Uncertain to Blue (1988).
With todays digital technology I now teach students
to self-publish their own books in a few weeks!
RH: What qualities make a good imagemaker?
KC: I think its helpful to have an understanding of the
history of your medium, perseverance, imagination, a
good work ethic, a celebratory or thoughtful outlook
on life and to learn to live in the world as it is. In terms
of the work itself, for me its always content firstWhat
do you want to say, who do you want to say it to, and
how are you going to say it? Theyre simple questions,
but a lot of people dont bother to answer them.
RH: What has photography taught you?
KC: When I have a camera in my hand I experience
a heightened awareness and pay closer attention to
what is around me. Photography has helped me nd
a way to explore the sometimes-wild spiritual dimen-
sion in my own life. It has led me to mine an inter-
section where a Darwinian wonderland meets Amer-
ican magical realism. Its a beautiful world out there
that warrants re-investigation, and photography has
helped me participate intimately in it.
Raven on Table, 2011
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ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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phototechmag.com 9
Carl Weese
The Great American
Drive-in Theater Road Trip
In October of 2001 I was working on a project in rural
Pennsylvania when I encountered a drive-in theater that was
closed, but in good condition. Id photographed an abandoned
drive-in several years before and the picture proved one of
the most popular in my portfolio of twenty 8x10 platinum/
palladium prints. While I made 8x10 pictures of the new
theater a plan began to form. Every one of these iconic
American structures is unique. Although there are no cookie-
cutter stock designs, the main elements of a giant white
rectangle and other simple buildings have appeared in every
corner of the country, in every element of the North American
regional landscape. The project idea was to photograph
surviving, or at least standing, theaters in every region of the
country, in a full range of landscape settings.
Over the next decade I made road trips to work at
drive-in theaters in 27 states. But a really big trip was
needed to reach the far southeast, the west through
Oklahoma, Texas, the southwest, the entire west
coast, then back through the Colorado Rockies. I
kept putting this off because of the expense. Last
year, I learned that the theaters were under a grave
threat. Film distribution companies planned to switch
entirely to digital by sometime in 2013, but the cost
of digital projectors is $70,000 to $100,000. Drive-ins
are often seasonal, part time secondary businesses.
Many might not be able to make the transition. I had
to finish shooting the project right away.
To help with expenses, I decided to do a Kickstarter
(KS) crowdsourcing campaign, which proved succes-
sful (www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530433688/the-
american-drive-in-movie-theater). With this limited
experience I have two pieces of advice about using
Kickstarter. First, you need a compelling project.
Your video and text description should be all about
the project and why it is important. Pitches that are
all about me tend to fail. Second, KS just provides
a platform, it doesnt bring in eyeballs. Youve got
to nd ways to do that yourself. For me, I write for
the prominent photo enthusiast blog The Online
Photographer (TOP), and they featured my project as
soon as it was announced. We met the bare bones
funding goal in twenty hours flat.
The Comanche Drive-in Theater, Buena Vista, Colorado
THE GREAT AMERICAN DRIVE-IN THEATER ROAD TRIP CARL WEESE
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___________________________________
________________________
At the end of thirty days, at 196% of initial funding
goal, stats showed that nearly half my sponsors had
clicked in from TOP. Youve got to find similar mech-
anisms to support a successful campaign.
Most of my research into the theaters used Internet
sources. Logistics, compared to years past, were helped
by modern conveniences. My GPS unit not only found
best routes from one theater to the next, but also often
had them listed in its Points of Interest database so I
didnt even need to punch in an address. Many theaters
now have their own websites, which was a great help
to finding whether they were still operational. Finally,
even cheap hotels today almost always have WiFi so I
could continue my research each evening, as well as
post pictures and project reports to my blog. There was
a six-week western leg of the trip in May and June, then
a two-week circuit to Florida from my Connecticut
base, later in October. The project covered 17,000
miles during 52 days on the road. I exposed several
hundred sheets of 8x10 and 7x17 inch sheet film, and
about 17,000 digital captures.
On my earlier trips I worked exclusively in large
(and ultra-large) format (LF) black and white. I now
wish Id also done more extensive documentation
with 35mm film back then. This time I had to make
difficult decisions about which theaters and settings
were sufficiently distinctive and exemplary of regional
landscape settings to justify the cost and logistical
burden of large format film. However, all of the
theaters got extensive documentation with digital
capture, including multiple angles, small details, and
people and activities. A few times, I concentrated on
digital capture because color was such an important
element of the theater.
As in the past, I used my 8x10 Deardorff camera with
165, 240 and 360mm lenses, and 7x17 Korona with
a 305mm lens, and a big A-100 Ries tripod. Since my
The Melody 49 Drive-in Theater, Clayton, Ohio
PROJECTS
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phototechmag.com 11
black and white negatives all get the same development
in PMK pyro, I used a large Harrison changing tent to
change the film in the holders every few days, exposed
sheets going into old film boxes, one for each size. I
kept an older digital camera with the view cameras
after each setup Id make snapshots of the scene,
including the camera. These time-stamped files made
it easy to track the LF negatives once they were
developed. Another important item was a tiny
Olympus digital voice recorder that I used to record
wonderful interviews with the theater owners I was
able to contact.
Managing the digital files was rather more comp-
licated. Over the past several years Ive moved from
DSLR cameras to the micro four thirds format (MFT).
I added a second Lumix G3 camera for backup, and
a Lumix G 7-14 varifocal, largely because it had the
best optical quality of any short lens for MFTs. It
didnt disappoint. I used it for a great majority of the
theater digital captures. Most were made on a massive
35-year-old Gitzo tripod. When youre trying to make
captures at base ISO and optimum aperture in late
afternoon light in the Kansas wind, a very small
camera needs to be attached to a very heavy tripod.
To handle all the capture files I used a simple method
that seemed to work well. I bought two pocket sized 500
GB external hard drives, named one Captures and the
other Capture Bak. At the end of each day, Id create
a new folder named for the date, 6/11, 6/12, etc. After
downloading the files from both camera cards to that
The Boulevard Drive-in Theater, Kansas City, Kansas The Owen Drive-in Theater, Seymour, Missouri
folder, in Bridge (Adobe Photoshop browser module)
Id sort them on the time stamp, then Batch Rename
in the format: yymmdd_0001. Then I used a backup
program to send the new files to the second external
drive so it always mirrored the first. Because each
THE GREAT AMERICAN DRIVE-IN THEATER ROAD TRIP CARL WEESE
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Carl Weese grew up in New Jersey, and began
work as a freelance photographer in 1972 in
the Philadelphia area, and moved to western
Connecticut in 1975. Parallel to his commercial
career in photo-illustration for editorial and
commercial clients, Weese has produced
personal photographic projects on subjects such
as life with a traveling carnival, the effect of an
underground coal fire on a small Pennsylvania
town, landscapes of the eastern United States
and the vernacular architecture of country churches. He is co-author of
the 1998 book The New Platinum Print, an instruction manual on modern
approaches to the classic platinum process of photographic printing.
You can see one picture from each of the 107 theaters at carlweese.com
and read his blog at: workingpictures.blogspot.com.
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The South Drive-in Theater, Columbus, Ohio The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, Illinois
le name begins with the date, its easy to correlate
the pictures to my written notes on the subjects. In
addition, any subsidiary files I make such as jpg f iles
for the web or psd files for printing, retain the date for
tracking and also automatically sort themselves into
chronological order.
Before leaving, I had a security alarm system installed
in my car. However, I was traveling during a record
heat wave and droughtI encountered temperatures
of 113F at four different locations. Since the sun
didnt set until nearly nine p.m., I had to haul all of
the equipment cases and luggage, everything except
the tripods, out of the secure but baking car, then drag
them up to an unsecured but air-conditioned room,
then back out in the morning.
The security was still a good idea for such a large
project. I figured that if all I did was drive from one
theater to the next, Id lose freshness of approach.
So I stopped as often as possible to do an hour or so
of photo walkabout with the digital cameras any
time I came to an interesting town. I was much more
comfortable walking around a strange place knowing
the equipment and film were in a car with a good
alarm system. It made a nice break in the travel and I
got a lot of pictures I really like.
A couple of high points of the trip had dif ferent
origins. From my first serious research I knew about
The Skyline in the desert hills at Barstow, CA. Id
even seen a decent snapshot of it that influenced
my idea of getting photographs of the theaters in all
the highly distinctive regional landscapes of the US.
On June 11th I was delighted to reach the theater.
Id been in touch with the owner by email and cell
phone, and a helper was there to unlock the gate for
me. I found a location in the hills east of the theater
and returned at sunrise. The 7x17-inch view I had
visualized a dozen years earlier was right there, in
perfect desert morning light.
I really wanted a theater nestled into the mountains.
Somewhere. Nothing quite fit the bill along the west
coast, or back through Idaho and Utah. Then finally
I reached Buena Vista, CO. The Comanche Theater
sits on a flat plateau at 8,000 feet elevation, and the
Collegiate Range (the peaks are named for Ivy League
schools) rises high, just to the north. Once again, the
light next morning after sunrise was all I could hope
for, with rising haze and huge mountain clouds.
Developing the film took a while. Editing and coming
to terms with the vast number of captures took much
longer. Now, its on to drafting a book design!
PROJECTS
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phototechmag.com 13
ALIEN SKIN EXPOSURE 5 STEVE DREYER
Steve Dreyer
Alien Skin Exposure 5
I often look at my twin lens Rolleicord and old Kodak
and Nikon F3 film cameras that sit proudly on the
shelf in my office. The shelf is situated to my left as
I walk towards my desk where I have all my digital
equipmentalmost to remind me of the way it was!
There was just something special, even magical, about
the feeling I had when I picked these cameras up to
photograph something and later went back to my
darkroom or over to a custom lab to see the images
come to life.
But now I use DSLRs and post-processing to achieve
my vision. Software programs are getting better all
the time, as they incorporate algorithms for adjusting
sharpness to noise to everything in between. The pro-
grams we use are, or should be, dictated by what we
want to accomplish, possible client or gallery require-
ments, and the ease of use and control that they give
us to create that final imageour vision of the scene
we saw when we pressed the shutter. However, I still
love the look of film and thats why I jumped at the
opportunity to experiment with the latest Alien Skin
Exposure version 5.
About Alien Skin Software
For those that are not familiar with Alien Skin, the
Before After
company has been known for its quality products since
the mid-1990s. Even so, the products are very far from
old tech as the company has continually innovated
over the years. Their attention to meeting customer
requirements, support and great software is what
defines them.
Software companies work hard to differentiate their
products, and its not easy to be unique in a world
that provides photographers with so many choices. But
the latest version of the Alien Skin Exposure product
does just that. Ive spent quite a lot of time with this
version and this article describes just a few of my
favorite features with examples of how I used them.
Exposure 5 Features
Version 5 expands on the ease of use and rich feature
set of previous versions of the software. For example,
the new darkened background and panel interface
resembles the look of Adobe Lightroom and Photo-
shop. Its easier to use than previous versions and if
you use the Adobe products it feels more like part of
the general workflow. An important feature is that you
can also use Exposure 5 as a standalone product, so
Lightroom and Photoshop are not even required. Just
open Exposure and select the image file that you want
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to work on. Contrary to the way some other tools work,
you can access all the color and black and white pre-
sets and controls from the same interfacetheres no
need for separate products. This means that you can
more easily experiment to achieve your vision of the
final image.
As in previous versions, the left panel is where you
select from the included presets for your work. I use
them as starting points because they have been
researched and developed specifically for the look of
film. There are even some films that I never heard
of and its actually fun to experiment. I may still
make further adjustments with the sliders in the right
panel. And you can create your own presets after
youve customized the ones that are included with
the product, which means that you can easily apply a
consistent effect on a set of images from a shootwith
the click of a homemade preset. Here are just a few
of the many things that I like about Exposure 5, with
some examples.
Black and White Film Simulation
The opening imagesthe before (color) and after (black
and white) provide just one example of the many black
and white film effects that are available. I thought
the color image that was right out of the camera was
okay, but it wasnt that special and didnt represent the
look I desired. I wanted an image that would show the
lines and detail of the rock and landscape against a
darkened sky.
I could have created the black and white version in
Lightroom, Photoshop and/or with certain other plug-
ins. But with Alien Skin Exposure, it took me less than
two minutes to achieve the film effect that I wanted.
Figure 1 shows the left panel of Exposure 5, where I
selected the Kodak Technical Pan film. Because I
wanted an even darker sky without affecting the white
clouds, I moved the blue slider in the right side panel
(Figure 2) to the left (effectively darkening only the
blue), and that was all that was necessary.
Color Film Simulation
Like many other photographers, my go-to color film
was Kodachrome 64, especially for its richness and
depth of the color. Alien Skin Exposure 5 not only
has a great simulation for this film, as it does with all
included color film presets for Agfa, Fuji, GAF and
many others, but it allows for even further adjustments.
Figures 3 and 4 show an original RAW format image
and the nal Kodachrome image respectively, after
applying a few sliders in the right side panel. And
just because it took only a second, I applied a Tri-X
treatment (Figure 4) to see how that would look.
You can see some film grain (as distinguished from
noise) that was added to this image. It can be achieved
naturally by using certain films (as in the case of Tri-X)
and in the development process. Exposure 5 lets you
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
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phototechmag.com 15
ALIEN SKIN EXPOSURE 5 STEVE DREYER
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Steve Dreyer is a New York-based photographer,
educator and writer specializing in fine art color and
black & white images. His work, which includes
landscapes, street photography and portraits, has
appeared in numerous art exhibits. Steve also
delivers workshops and creates eBooks on a variety
of photography topics, including composition, digital
workflow and post-processing software. For more
information, visit his web site at stevedreyer.com
and his blog at stevedreyerphoto.com
easily add a grain effect and has sliders that allow you
to control the amount, the size and how the grain will
be applied in shadows, midtones and highlights.
Borders and Textures
There is a section in the right panel called Borders &
Textures, which is a convenient way to further stylize
images. Although there are presets in the left panel that
automatically incorporate some of these effects, you
can select a preset as a starting point and then add an
effect from the right panel. Its that easy, and you can
experiment for the effect thats most pleasing. As with
other right panel adjustments, they can be applied to
the provided color and black and white presets or your
own creations.
Figure 5 is a color version of a woman handling chest-
nuts at an outdoor market in Asia. It is the result of
applying the Kodachrome 25 preset to an eight mega-
pixel RAW image taken several years ago with no
other adjustments. Selecting a black and white preset
can give this type of image an old feeling. I selected
Tri-X, added some scratches and a vintage border
from the adjustments in the right panel (Figure 6) and
wound up with the photo in Figure 7. Note that there
are no scratches in the center of the imagetheres a
convenient protect center option that eliminates the
effect in that area.
Summary
The effects described above and the many more that
exist are a click and optionally a slider away. Aside
from the technical and artistic benefits of Exposure 5,
it is really easy to use. In fact, it can stimulate your
creativity. Mousing over an effect in the presets in
the left and right panels gives you a glimpse of
how the image will look if you apply the effect.
This feature gives you live view flexibility in your
quest for achieving your vision.
You dont have to want a film effect to get the benefits
of Alien Skin Exposure. But if you do, this is a must-
try product. Whats interesting is that while I use
other products for some of their unique features and
functions, I now find myself opening Exposure 5 on
almost every imageeven before I use the others.
Exposure 5 has rekindled my love of film, albeit with-
out the expense, chemicals or the effort. Alien Skin
Software has a tagline for its Exposure product:
taking the digital out of digital photography and I
couldnt agree more!
Figure 5 Figure 6
Figure 7
Resources
Exposure 5-alienskin.com
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THE PERSONAL PROJECT: INSTANT EDITING DAVID H. WELLS
David H. Wells
The Personal Project: Instant Editing
Near the end of my recent six months in India, I
started a new project. I dont know if it will be a small,
short-term piece or a long term, multi-year project.
But instant editing helped me define the project
in real time. Instant editing is my process of sending
a set of selected images (20 to 40) to ten friends, to
find out which pictures work for them. My peers
comments on this new work also helped me define
my approach to the project itself as much as making
the photographs.
India, with the second largest road network on the
globe is on a massive nationwide road building cam-
paign, cutting shops and houses in half to make way
for road construction. My new photographs show
Pipalkhera, Rajasthan, India
those houses and shops after they are cut, right up to
the point where the newly expanded highway and
service roads are to be built. While the government
has compensated the owners of the cut buildings,
those who were on the land illegally were denied such
compensation. I am pursuing this work right now
because this subject uniquely includes the before
and after in the same frame. You can see both the
expressway that is consuming the land and the muti-
lation of the building displaced by that same highway.
During the months the project was evolving, I sent
out the same set of images to the same set of friends
at four different points in the projects evolution. This
was the feedback that shaped me the most:
Belluru, Karnataka, India
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Quick reaction to the workthe intro you gave, of houses
being cut in half is very visceral and immediately conveys a
sense of injustice or progress (depending on your perspective).
When I looked at the first set of photos, my reaction was not
the same. First, I noticed all the color (typical of your other
India pics, and always impressive). Then I thought how it
could be a war-torn nation, with images of rubble, minus the
carnage. Finally, I needed some more context of the roads you
mentioned. While several did speak to the roads and cars, I
never got the context of house next to road.
That motivated me to work harder and reminded me
that my imagery could be confused with that of other
topics/places, in a potentially unhelpful way. I knew
it would be expensive, but I wanted to see an aerial
image of how the cut houses look. That might really
drive home the idea that they are being cut. I couldnt
afford a plane to do aerials (and getting permission
in India would be a major undertaking). Still, I kept
the idea in mind, trying to do poor mans aerials,
by photographing from nearby buildings and bridges.
Other comments included:
I like when you can see through to the street/highway and
there are people and cars to illustrate the contrast. I almost
wish there were things or more of the structure to show it was
a house that was there. The ones I didnt choose were lef t out
because the house part just looks like rubble next to a street.
The ones with more stable pieces of the structure make more
sense to me.
This prompted me to work hard to make images
with multiple planes, ideally with the structures in
the foreground as well as roads, activity, etc., in the
background.
The ones I find most interesting or compelling are the ones
with people in the scene, with the demolished buildings as
their setting and the completed expressway in the background.
Its all context and buildings, and the expressway that
consumed the space.
This was one of the comments that started me feel-
ing that I am creating work that others get. My
response was to work doubly hard to get people in
the photographs, even if that meant passing up
interesting looking cut structures if they lacked a
human presence.
More comments from dif ferent reviewers:
One reason I like that image, despite the fact that are no
people lurking around the demolished structures, is because
it provides the context of the scope and scale of the expres-
sway that is consuming the land and displacing the
Karnataka, India Karnataka, India
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THE PERSONAL PROJECT: INSTANT EDITING DAVID H. WELLS
buildings. (Part of this last line is something I included
in the project proposal that I am now using as I send
the work out).
What works for me is the images where the house has some
context with the surroundings, or some background of the
surroundings. I wonder how these work as black and whites?
The pastels make what is painful look pretty and reduces the
impact of the pain.
The color vs black and white question was a good one
to consider. In the end, I decided to stick with color
since the colors in the structures are so important to
the story (and because color feels more contemporary
while black and white tends to feel historical).
Another comment included:
Can you find a house that is divided and show it from
a distance to explain the situation? The house photos I
saw only show destruction or partial destruction. What
about an image that shows the road leading to the half
house? I would like to see something that puts this situation
in its context.
This is a strategy I kept in mind over and over as I
was photographing. Sadly, to date, I have not made
that one strong image that answers this concern.
Comments like this were common and they reinforced
the idea that I was on track:
a good juxtaposition of new road and remains of an abode.
The people really add to the depth and veracity of the scene.
Its as though the road is now in the house! People, cars,
animals and the cut houses set in the transitional world!
and Get those people with the context of the expressway in
one image and it will be a compelling statement.
While photographing, I often felt like the road was
indeed in the house and the fact that people looking
at my work got that was very encouraging.
Some of the images look like your foreclosed dreams work,
but done in India. I liked the images that included people still
using their demolished or in the process of being demolished
houses or buildings. None of them, however, showed them
in the context of them using their building (with people
standing in entryways or walking into doorways) with
the expressway in the background. Get those people with
the context of the expressway in one image and it will be a
compelling statement.
Also, while I was photographing, I kept experienc-
ing mental echoes of what it felt like working inside
foreclosed houses in the U.S. for my Foreclosed Dreams
project. In the end, I realized that this project is
Yelahanka, Karnataka, India Yelahanka, Karnataka, India
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different than that one. And though I wanted to include
people, for me, the project is about structures first and
people second, rather than the way this friend was
suggesting it should be, which would be to emphasize
people first.
Its interesting how these are different than the
Foreclosed Dreams photographs. Those are studies of houses
left behind and the evidence of the previous occupants in
partially demolished buildings and residences still in use.
This reinforced my own realization about the
connection to and also the difference from Foreclosed
Dreams.
A few more reviewer comments:
I really like the ones with people and the ones with surgical
cuts, they really give you the idea that the surgeons could
care less about their patients. This comment validated
my emphasis on structures and the way they were cut
(as well as giving me another great line for my project
proposal).
Are you thinking of this as a body of work or as standalone
images? Im kind of torn in my editing, because I like some
images that I dont think necessary tell the story of cut houses
as solo images, but they might work as part of a bigger body
of work.
This is one of those questions that prompted me to
think about my approach and yet also reinforced my
belief in the work. The process of instant editing
literally shaped this project from start to finish as it
was developed and defined. I owe a big thanks to the
friends who were kind enough to look at all those
pictures. The project would literally not be as good as
it is without their input.
Every photographer working on a serious project
should try instant editing. Do it to improve your
own work and to improve the work of the other
photographers who are kind enough to look at your
work. In todays hyper competitive photography
market it may be one of the last win-win opportunities
for all involved.
David H. Wells is a freelance documentary
photographer affiliated with Aurora Photos. See his
work at: davidhwells.com. He specializes in intercultural
communications and the use of light and shadow to
enhance visual narratives. Twice awarded Fulbright
fellowships for work in India, his photography regularly
appears in leading international magazines.
A frequent teacher of photography workshops, his blog,
The Wells Point, appears at thewellspoint.com. As an Olympus Visionary,
Wells has been contracted by the camera company to produce images
and provide feedback on new product lines.
Yelahanka, Karnataka, India Kudur, Karnataka, India
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___________________
Shenandoah National Park, VA.
PORTFOLIO
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Chris Tennant
8 Bold Ways to Improve
Your Waterfall Photography
8 BOLD WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR WATERFALL PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS TENNANT
Any introduction to photographing waterfalls will
usually include the following: (1) always shoot on
overcast days, (2) use a circular polarizer to minimize
reflections in the water and (3) use a slow shutter
speed to blur the water. Like many rules, they are
best served as guidelines. Here are eight bold ways to
take your waterfall photography to another level by
challenging these (and other) rules.
1. Get wet.
Dont be afraid to get in the water to create a bold, in-
your-face foreground that puts the viewer smack dab
in the middle of your composition. Safety should be
your number one priority, so it goes without saying
this requires sound judgment. The good news is that
by positioning your camera in close proximity to even
seemingly tame cascades, you can produce fantastic
results. In all likelihood you will be contending with
a near constant spray of water covering the front
element of your lens. Bring a lens cloth, be patient and
make a lot of images! If necessary, clone out water
spots in post-processing.
2. Add texture.
Using a slow shutter speed produces a pleasing,
soft motion blur in running water. In addition to its
aesthetic appeal, the motion blur imparts a sense of
the passage of time, adding another dimension to the
image. Often not much thought is given to the shut-
ter speedjust as long it creates some motion blur.
Many photographs can benefit from adding subtle
structure and details of the water providing it with
a textural component. So rather than push towards
longer exposures, experiment with faster shutter
speeds. Youll be surprised at how adding texture ele-
ments can transform an image.
3. Convert to black and white.
Be bold and create a high contrast, black and white
image where the flow of water stands out in stark relief
to its immediate surroundings. Compose images that
utilize the flow of water to create compositional lines.
Allow the lines to lead the eyes of the viewer through
the entirety of the image, from top to bottom and from
right to left.
Wet feet are a small price to pay for coming away with compelling
compositions, Shenandoah National Park, VA.
phototechmag.com 23
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Err on the side of faster shutter speeds to add pleasing textural components to an image, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV.
4. Shoot with direct sunlight.
An overcast sky acts like a giant soft box, creating
an even and diffused light source that is often ideal
for waterfall photography. However, a clear blue sky
does not mean its time to pack your bag for the day.
Take chances with direct sunlight. Pick portions of
the waterfalls where the sun creates dappled light
as it passes through foliage, for instance. While you
may not walk away with the shot you pre-visualized
of the waterfall, taking the time to explore other
possibilitiesregardless of the lighting conditions
often pays huge dividends.
5. Dial back your circular polarizer.
In addition to a sturdy tripod, another necessary
piece of equipment for waterfall photography is a
circular polarizer. Without the ability to reduce re-
flections from the surface of the water (and nearby
rocks and foliage), scenes would suffer from blown-
out highlights, with an attendant lack of detail in
those regions. There are times that minimizing re-
flections nearly renders the water nonexistent. This is
particularly true in smaller cascades that do not gen-
erate a lot of froth and/or foam. In these instances
the circular polarizer becomes so effective that you
are left with only details of the stream/creek bed
below. Dialing back the effect of the circular polarizer
to retain enough reflections and highlights to accent-
uate but not overpower the image can cure this.
6. Shoot at twilight.
Want to put your own unique spin on an oft-
photographed waterfall? Did conditions during the
day create scenes with excessively high dynamic
range? Avoid the daytime crowds and shoot at
twilight! Consider waiting until the blue hour (the
period after sunset when blue hues are especially
prominent in the sky), when the light evens out and
creates a pleasing balance of tones between the sky
and water. In regions that are unobstructed by foliage
PORTFOLIO
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Convert to black and white, creating bold contrasty images, Catskills, NY.
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Shoot early in the morning or at twilight, Great Falls National Park, VA.
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phototechmag.com 27
Dont settle for the same composition as everyone elsebe creative, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV.
the water will pick up and reflect the cool tones in the
sky creating a unique and moody image.
7. Get intimate.
Its not surprising that waterfalls are so popular with
photographers and viewers alike. Often it is not only
the waterfall itself that captivates us but also the im-
mediate surroundings, whether its a narrow gorge in
a dense forest or a natural amphitheater intensifying
the sound of crashing water. Yet there are instances
when it pays to capture intimate details of a waterfall,
to the exclusion of its surroundings. Isolating details
and using repetitive shapes and lines can create
inviting, almost abstract, photographs.
8. Find a unique perspective!
Get off the beaten path and dont settle for the same
composition as everyone else. Give yourself enough
time to thoroughly explore the surrounding area and
be creative. In many instances shooting straight-on
may be the best option. However, can you safely access
a point that allows you to shoot from the side? What
about a perspective from above? Some waterfalls
even lend themselves to being photographed from
behind! Find a vantage point that allows the viewer
to become immersed in the scene.
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A physicist by training, Tennants passion
for photography started well before the
seeds of becoming a scientist were planted.
Making photographs for over two decades,
starting with the Pentax K-1000 he received
for his 10th birthday. Now fully immersed in
digital photography, his earliest experiences
were with film in a darkroom. That early
experience continues to influence his work,
as he continues to (digitally) develop black
and white in addition to his color work.
Born and raised in central New York, he currently works as an accelerator
physicist at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. To see more
of his work visit christennantphotography.com
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Wendy Erickson
Jellyfishphoto.es:
Emulsion Transfers from Digital Images
Devotees of the Polaroid emulsion lift process will remem-
ber the fun (?) of lifting off a Polaroid emulsion by soaking
it in hot water, removing the emulsion, f loating it in a
tray of cool water, and attempting to get it successfully
stuck to a piece of paper beneath it in the tray, all the
while trying to stretch it out with f ingers or a paintbrush.
Results were as f lat or wrinkled as desired. Photographers
were limited by the size of the instant film, and practice
made perfect.
Now there is a new way to lift emulsions off digital
inkjet transparencies, and though the technique used is
reminiscent of Polaroid emulsion lifts, there are some
excellent advantages:
Black and white emulsion transferred to scrapbooking paper (Sun Dress) made by Basicgrey, LLC. I wanted the effect of
wallpaper on the wall.
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Emulsion transferred to scrapbooking paper made by American Crafts.
JELLYFISHPHOTO.ES WENDY ERICKSON
Transfer sizes are now larger (A4, 11.698.27" or
A3, 11.6916.54").
High res digital camera or scanner files are used
instead of small Polaroid prints.
Dpi, color, contrast, etc. are user controllable before
prints are made.
The image is made with pigment inks, technically,
they should have excellent light stability.
The transfer product is called Jellyfishphoto.es, and is
offered as a printing service from the company with
the same name located in Bilbao, Spain. Upload your
photographs to them and they will mail you back
completed printed transparencies ready for transfer.
This is a handmade product that (like other handmade
products) may vary in quality. The sheets I tried out
worked well.
How It Works
Jellyfishphoto.es may share some similarities in
handling to the Polaroid emulsion transfer methodits
clever name comes from the jellyfish appearance the
emulsion takes on in the traybut it relies on pigmented
digital inkjet ink to create the color or black and
white image.
The ink is printed onto a receiving layer and that in
turn is adhered to a transparent polyester base with
a water-soluble adhesive. The digital transparency is
soaked in cool water for approximately two minutes.
When it is sof tened, the emulsion aka the jellyfish is
phototechmag.com 29
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Emulsion transferred to Weston Diploma Parchment. Note the slight spread of ink on to the paper in the corners. In areas
where there is a heavier ink load, residual ink may transfer on the substrate. Advice: the less handling, the better.
gently lifted and re-applied to the substrate of your
choice. Besides the final substrate, such as fine art
paper, all you need is a tray, cool water and a table to
work on.
Thirty years ago, I exposed lith film negatives in
the darkroom and processed them in Dektol to get a
continuous tone positive. I layered the processed film
over a lighter hand-colored version of the same photo-
graph, and add bits of paper, glitter, feathers and other
stuff to color the image. This sandwich of materials
was matted and framed.
When I heard about Jellyfishphoto.es digital inkjet
emulsion transfers the memory of those lith film
composites came back to me, and I thought I could
try a similar technique with this product, laying the
emulsion over fine art and decorative paper for a
unique look.
NOTE: If you have ever made Polaroid emulsion lifts,
this process may appeal to you. But this technique is
not for the faint of heartyou must have patience to
separate and re-apply the emulsion to a substrate!
Practice makes perfect. Set aside some quality time to
make your transfers. There are a number of excellent
how to videos on the Jellyfishphoto.es website, and
on YouTube.
Ordering the Digital Transfer Prints
Prepare your digital files as you normally would
for printing. Upload the files to the jellyfishphoto.es
website. At the time of writing this article, prices range
from less than $7.00 for an A4 size sheet to less than
$20 for an A3 sheet.
There are discounts for larger orders. You will receive
your images printed on the transfer paper, in about a
week to ten days depending on where you are located.
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phototechmag.com 31
JELLYFISHPHOTO.ES WENDY ERICKSON
File Specifications
A4 JPG format, at 300 dpi and no larger than
20x27.5 cm (7.8x10.7")
A3 JPG format at 300 dpi and no larger than
27.5x40 cm (10.7x15.6")
As of this writing, Jellyfishphoto.es is only providing
the service of making the transfer material to use
in your studio. I scanned some older 6x7 Fuji Reala
color negative photographs I made years ago in the
Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ. I tried a
selection of various uncoated fine art papers such as
Stonehenge White, 250gsm, Weston Diploma Parch-
ment, Canson Bristol, Savoire-Faire Lama Li decor-
ative paper (made in Nepal), a white pulp wavy-lined
paper, (beautiful, but not well-suited for the transfer
process), fabric and a few scrapbooking papers. I also
tried aluminum foil and an aluminum printing plate
the metals did not workthe emulsion peeled offif
This Savoire-Faire, Lama Li Venetian Mask paper is beautiful, and its slight texture allowed the emulsion to
easily adhere.
you want to use a metal I suggest trying a non-water
soluble spray coating first.
How To Transfer
Step 1. Soak the selected paper with the transparency
floating above it in cool water for at least two minutes.
Step 2. Gently lift the emulsion that contains the
printed photograph from the transparent sheet. This
is a delicate operation, rock the tray back and forth as
needed, and gently push back the emulsion from the
edges without tearing it.
Step 3. Remove the transparent sheet. It is helpful to
have an assistant help with this (like I did) especially
to step in and remove the clear transparency from the
tray after the emulsion is lifted from it.
Step 4. Rock the tray to spread out the emulsion and
position the paper underneath it (while still in the
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water) to flow the emulsion onto the paper. This takes
practice. I got most of the image where I wanted it
on the paper, then lifted out the wet print/emulsion
combo (holding the top with both thumbs) and placed
it on the back of a darkroom tray. You could use any
smooth flat surface. I splashed water on the emulsion
to continue moving it around. Do not let it dry out,
and take care not to tear it.
Step 5. Let the final print air-dry f lat, blot carefully
and gently with paper towels to soak up excess water
if needed.
Tips
Denser areas of ink may require more time to remove
the emulsion. Soak longer and cool down the water if
needed. Do not use hot water.
The emulsion transfer dries with a semi-matte finish
on most substrates. I noticed a glossier finish when
adhering it to textured surfaces and fabric. You can
spray or brush it with a semi-matte or matte varnish.
Always test first to make sure the varnish does not
dissolve your image.
The product performs as described and the color
rendition is accurate. Dont be afraid to experiment
with slightly textured papers, I used a few with
almost a glitter-like surface, but although they looked
good, they unfortunately didnt scan or photograph
well to show here. Remember, you are making orig-
inal art with digital emulsion transfers and each piece
is a one of a kind. If you are looking for that emul-
sion transfer look with the ease of digital photography,
go for it!
Wendy Erickson is a photographer, writer
and teacher. Her photographs and writings
have been widely exhibited, and published in
numerous books and articles. Wendy teaches
photography at the University level and as
Editor, is putting the technique back into photo
technique Magazine.
Lifting the emulsion from the transparency material, in a tray of cool water.
The emulsion, floating above the paper, after being removed from the
transparency.
Showing the lifted emulsion on Stonehenge 250 gsm printmaking paper.
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TECHNIQUE
Resources
Jellyfishphoto.es-jellyfishphoto.es; Weston Diploma parchment-
bostickandsullivan.com; Savoire-Faire, Lama Li Venetian
Mask paper-savoirefaire.com or dickblick.com; Stonehenge
printmaking paper-most local and online art supply stores;
Scrapbooking paper-basicgrey.com, americancrafts.com, and
various local or online crafts stores
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phototechmag.com 33
Topaz Clarity
Topaz Clarity uses proprietary technology that
allows you to quickly and easily adjusts various
levels of contrast with no halos or artifacts.
The results are compelling images with a very
natural look. Features include a Clarity Module
to selectively adjust contrast, an HSL Module
that allows adjustments in hue, saturation and
luminance and Advance Masking Technology for
precise masking.
topazlabs.com
1 NIKKOR 32mm f/1.2
The latest addition to its ever-
expanding 1 NIKKOR lens series
is the 1 NIKKOR 32mm f/1.2, a
medium-telephoto lens for Nikon
1 system shooters. Originally
introduced as a development lens
in October 2012, the new 32mm
lens is the fastest ever in the growing
1 NIKKOR line. With a fixed 32mm
focal length (86mm equivalent), its
equipped with a Silent Wave Motor
(SWM) to ensure quiet operation. Its
also the first 1 NIKKOR lens with a
manual focus ring and M/A (AF with
manual override function). The lens
is compatible with the entire Nikon 1
system (J1, J2, J3, S1, V1, V2).
nikon.com
SpyderGALLERY
The popular iOS calibration App from Datacolor is
now available for Android users as a free download
on the Google Play store. When used with a Datacolor
Spyder4 monitor calibration device, SpyderGALLERY
allows iOS and now Android smartphone or tablet
users to enjoy color-managed image viewing within the
SpyderGALLERY application.
datacolor.com
GEAR, APPS & GOOD STUFF
Cameleon
Tom Persinger, the photographer behind F295,
was not content with available iPhone Apps so he
set out to create a new photo app. His new app,
Cameleon, gives control of the iPhone camera to
the user by offering specific tools that allow them to
create their own unique camera setups.
http://f295.org/cameleon
*iPhone users, we have three free copies to raffle!
Black and White Photography
Field Guide
By: Michael Freeman
The essential guide to the art of
creating black and white images.
Packed with practical knowledge
and all written by specialist
professional photographers,
these handy titles have sold
hundreds of thousands of copies
worldwide. In this volume,
renowned photographer Michael
Freeman addresses black and
white photography with advice on
lighting, shooting, conversion and
post-production.
focalpress.com
Jill Enfields Guide to Photographic
Alternative Processes
Packed with stunning imagery, how-to recipes,
techniques and historical information on the
evolution of processes, this guide provides the
instruction to emulate the ethereal, dreamlike feel
of alternative processing. Whether in a darkroom,
at the kitchen sink, or in front of the computer,
readers will learn how to add a richness and depth
to their photography like never before.
focalpress.com
* We have two copies of this great book to raffle!
Nikon D800 Advanced
Topics DVD
From Blue Crane Digital
and Omega Brandess is
a comprehensive training
video to give users the
knowledge and confidence
to create the images they
want. Includes Exposure
and Movie Settings,
Color Properties, Custom
Setting and more.
omegabrandess.com
To enter one or more raffles for products marked with an asterisk, send a separate email for each raffle item. Put the name of the
product in the subject line and include your name and address in the body of the email. Send emails to rknight@prestonpub.com.
Raffle items will be draw at random the last week of October and winners will be notified by email! GOOD LUCK!
*
*
*
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TECHNIQUE
In a recent article in photo technique Magazine (Nov/
Dec 2012), Dan Burkholder provided a helpful overview of
focus or z-stacking. The technique is most frequently ap-
plied in macrophotography. In this article I share some
special tips and hints that may not be apparent and may
even appear counterintuitive to anyone interested in trying
this technique.
Lighting should be consistent both in directionality as
well as intensity in all frames of the stack. Accordingly,
light sources should not be mounted on the camera or
lens, which is moved in the process of z-stacking. The
changed position of the lights can alter the shadows
and highlights on the object.
I mount the flash heads of my Canon MT-24EX on
Wimberley Plamps. I modified one of the links in the
arms by attaching flash mount shoes with a screw and
setting it in epoxy resin (superglue does not work).
To ensure consistent exposure of all frames, manual
exposure is advised, both with ambient light as well as
with flash. Highlights have a tendency to blow out in
the z-stacking process, so the familiar expose to the
right maxim of digital imaging should not be pushed.
Considerations and Limits of
Z-Stacking In Macrophotography
Daniel L. Geiger
Rather, expose so that the histogram ends about one
f-stop to the left of the white point. When capturing
RAW files, overexposed stacks can be batch-processed
in Photoshop with an exposure adjustment action.
F-stop
The intention of z-stacking is to achieve extended
focus. It may sound reasonable to use the greatest
Comparison of z-stacked light micrograph (about 25 frames) and single capture scanning electron microscopy (SEM); image of a
marine snail. Notice the greater detail of the SEM, while color can only be recorded by images recorded with light. Light micrograph on
Zeiss SteREO Discovery.V12 with 0.63x plan apochromatic lens, Zeiss AxioCam HRc, processed with Helicon Focus.
The Cognysis StackShot set-up in the authors studio, aka the
kitchen counter. The image capture is controlled from the laptop
computer through Zerene Stacker with StackShot window.
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Z-STACKING DANIEL L. GEIGER
f-stop to generate the greatest depth of field for each
of the frames. However, it is a better approach to use
the lens at its sharpest and let the z-stacking program
do the work of generating the depth. Most lenses are
sharpest around 1 to 2 f-stops down from fully open,
which is the ideal f-stop for z-stacking. Also remember,
that diffraction introduces image blur, so maximum
advantageous f-stop (fmax) is 32/M+1. At 1:1 = f/16, at
5:1 = f/5.3. For work on stereomicroscopes it is best to
leave the f-stop (if available) all open.
Focusing Rails
There are a number of rail systems on the market. For
my work, I found the Velbon version lacking stability.
Adoramas reasonably priced rail is by far superior.
Really Right Stuff also makes exquisite dual axis plat-
forms, but all of them rely upon manual advance of the
stage. Optimizing the optics for sharpness with rather
open f-stops causes the depth of field of the each frame
to be rather shallow. At 5:1, which is easily achieved
with the Canon MP-E 65mm lens, depth of field with
f/5.6 is around 0.08 mm = 80 m! Steps between
frames should be approximately 70% of depth of field;
ideal steps are ~0.05 mm = 50 m.
Cognysis StackShot to the rescue! It is a motorized
and computer controlled single axis focusing rail,
which can either be run with its own controller box,
or through the computer interface of Helicon Focus
or Zerene Stacker. After setting start point, end point,
and step size, a single push of a button takes the entire
stack. Besides affording extremely precise stepping for
z-stacking, it can also be used for time-lapse photo-
graphy. To facilitate composition, I use a Really Right
Stuff LMT Lens Mount on the Arca quick release. It
permits side-by-side sliding of the camera, though not
with a rack and pinion system. A little known fact is,
that the MP-E 65mm can be used with tele extenders
to increase magnifications to 7:1 with 1.4x (fmax = f/4)
and 10:1 (fmax = f/2.9) with a 2x converter. The usual
caveats regarding tele-extenders still apply: loss of 12
f-stops, some loss in resolution, additional play and
vibration in set-up.
Stereomicroscopes
Z-stacking can be applied to microscopy for images at
magnifications not easily obtained with photographic
equipment. One problem on stereomicroscopes is the
7.5 stereoangle of the optics. To maintain the optical
Comparison of z-stacked light micrograph (19 frames) and single scanning electron microscopy image of an orchid flower.
Notice the greater detail of the SEM, while color can only be recorded by images recorded with light. Light micrograph on
Zeiss SteREO Discovery.V12 with 0.63x plan apochromatic lens, Zeiss Axiocam HRc, processed with Helicon Focus.
phototechmag.com 35
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TECHNIQUE
axis parallel to the z-axis, special attachments such
as the objective slider for the Zeiss Discovery series
microscopes can be obtained. Those options are only
available for high-end instruments.
Dirt on the optics or the sensor poses problems, because
it is always in focus. Due to the alignment procedure,
dirt particles will change position on the image. In the
nal image, they typically appear as a linear series of
dots on rack and pinion focusing rails, or as spirals on
the Cognysis StackShot with its helical drive. The dust-
delete function available with some cameras can help
to reduce the necessary post-processing either in the
stacking program or in Photoshop.
Z-stacking can extend focus and generate images of
unparalleled appeal. However, z-stacking cannot in-
crease resolution. On the stereomicroscope the low
numerical aperture (NA), typically <0.1, means that
the resolution is limited to around 6 m (1.22/NA).
For a field of view of 1 mm (36x in photographic terms),
only 167 line pairs can be resolved! Large sensors will
not be able to capture more details, they only image
detailed blur circles. For more highly resolved images
other imaging techniques such as deconvolution or
scanning electron microscopy have to be adduced.
Dr. Daniel L. Geiger is Curator of Malacology at
the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History,
where he also oversees the electron microscopy
facility. He uses a range of imaging techniques
from 4x5" to photomicrography professionally
as well as for his personal work. He has
published z-stacked images in his monographs
on abalone and the microscopic scissurellids,
both published in 2012. See more of his work at
vetigastropoda.com
Stereomicroscope Zeiss Discovery.V20 with blue Carl Zeiss AxioCam HRc microscope camera (peltier cooled CCD). Notice that the lens is
off-center to ensure that the optical axis is parallel with the z-axis.
Dirt on sensor or optics leaves traces on the final z-stacked image.
Linear tracks are produced by rack-and-pinion focusing systems,
as seen in partial blow-up of a 15 image stack of a flower. Spiral
structures result with the StackShot motorized focusing rail using
a helical drive. Canon EOS 5D MKII with MP-E 65mm at 4:1; 74
frames at 0.75mm = 75m step size, processed in ereneStacker
using Pmax algorithm.
Resources
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with battery grip, Canon M-PE 65mm, Canon
extension rings, Canon EF 1.4x II tele extender, Canon MT 24-EX,
Canon Speedlite 580EX II-usa.canon.com; Cognysis Stackshot with
Arca QR and RRS LMT-cognisys-inc.com; Cressington 108auto with
rota-cota stage sputter coater-cressington.com; FlashZebra TTL flash
cables-flashzebra.com; Gitzo CF tripod-gitzo.us; Linhof Profi II ball
head-linhof.com; Haoda matte focusing screen-ebay.com; Helicon
Focus-heliconsoft.com; Really Right Stuff-reallyrightstuff.com; Tousimis
Autosamdri
-815 critical point dryer-tousimis.com; Wimberley Plamps-

tripodhead.com; Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro-Planar T ZE lens, Zeiss
SteREO Discovery.V12 stereomicroscope, trinocular ergohead with
SLR tube or 0.63x TV coupler for Zeiss AxioCam HRc, objective slider,
0.63x and 1.5x plan apochromatic lenses; Zeiss EVO
40 XVP scanning
electron microscope with SE, VPSE and QBSD detectors-zeiss.com
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THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HAROLD FEINSTEIN A.D. COLEMAN
Gypsy Girl at the Carousel, Coney Island, 1949
A. D. Coleman
Harold Feinstein is a true photographers photographer,
and one of the most seriously under-recognized senior
figures in U.S. photography. Until the beginning of
this new century he was best known as a highly re-
spected independent teacher of photography whose
private workshops (conducted mostly in his Manhattan
studio) influenced hundreds of people in the field,
including Mary Ellen Mark, Ken Heyman, Mariette
Pathy Allen and others. Yet at long last, now past the
age of 80, Feinsteins work has become familiar to an
increasingly wide audience.
Seeing the Life in Which We Live:
The Photographs of Harold Feinstein
Feinstein was considered by the photo world as some-
thing of a child prodigy. Born in Brooklyn, New York
in 1931, he started taking pictures in 1946 as a teen-
ager, soon caught the eye of Edward Steichen (then
the head of the photography department at the
Museum of Modern Art), and by the age of 19 had
prints in that museums permanent collectionmaking
him probably the youngest photographer so honored.
(He turned down Steichens invitation to participate
in the historic 1955 exhibition The Family of Man, on
the grounds that he didnt want his pictures treated as
phototechmag.com 37
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anything save autonomous works of arta decision he
now reconsiders with chagrin.)
Later he worked with the great documentary photo-
grapher W. Eugene Smith for a period of time, before
setting out on his own. Smith said of Feinsteins work,
He is one of the very few photographers I have known
or have been influenced by with the ability to reveal
the familiar to me as beautifully new, in a strong and
honest way.
Widely and internationally published, exhibited and
collected since then, Feinstein became one of a small
handful of master teachers whose legendary private
workshops and art-institute classeswhich he taught
regularly for more than forty yearsproved instru-
mental in shaping the vision of hundreds of aspiring
photographers. Like many who teach, both inside
and outside the academic setting, he often set career
concerns aside to concentrate his attention on his
students needs. Nevertheless, over the course of his
working life has Feinstein produced an impressive and
durable body of imagery.
From the late 1940s through the end of the 1990s
Feinstein worked almost exclusively in black and
white, primarily as a devotee of the small-format
camera: 35mm and 2x 2. Using these instruments,
Feinstein steadily pursued his own idiosyncratic
brand of that mix of the diaristic and the sociological
associated with whats been called the New York
Schoolin his case, a photographic form of tough-
minded, tenderthearted humanism.
Whether he worked in his hometown or elsewhere,
this is New York School small-camera work at its best
intimate, engaged, almost intrusive. Yet theres none
of Weegees brashness, William Kleins arrogance, or
Garry Winogrands snideness here; this is the work
of a man who loves people, takes unalloyed pleasure
in seeing them enjoy themselves, likes to get very
close to themand, by rendering their physicality in
Sightseeing Bus, NYC, 1956
ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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GI in Photo Booth, Camp Kilmer, 1952
phototechmag.com 39
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tactile, nuanced prints, engrosses the viewer in the
sensual, material world they occupy. At the same
time, Feinstein has a solitudinous aspect that leads
him to register moments of inner stillness and pas-
toral tranquility.
One of the core aspects of Feinsteins work is his ap-
proach to the process of printmaking in photography
as a creative activity; this was also one of the
emphases of his teaching. For many photographers
of Feinsteins generation, the darkroom served as a
meditation chamber, in which the interpretive pro-
cess of printmaking turns the negative into a com-
municative expression of its makers vision. This is
achieved through a delicate adjustment of tonal
relationships, among other strategies. Feinstein not
only transmitted this craft to the participants in his
celebrated workshops, but also wrote detailed tutorials
on his printing techniques for such periodicals as
Popular Photography, earning himself a reputation as
one of the master printers of his day.
Those teaching texts included several on the subject
of photomontage. Unlike many of his contemporaries
in the New York School wholike the Group f/64
purists on the opposite coastabjured any post-
exposure manipulation of the image in the darkroom,
Feinstein saw photomontage as a process unique to and
inherent in photography as a medium. Considering
himself a visual poet, not a documentarian, he ac-
cepted photomontage into his toolkit, mastered it
(one of his best-loved images involves combining
eight separate negatives), wrote explanations of his
techniques, and in general took it for granted as one
of the necessary skills of the serious interpretive print-
maker in photography.
Feinsteins reputation in that area rested on his
virtuosic handling of the gelatin silver printthe
classic form of the photographic print from the
1940s through the 1970s. When health issues forced
him to leave his darkroom practice behind at the
end of the 20th century, he surprised everyone by
Window Washer and Flock of Pigeons, 23rd Street Loft, NYC, 1972
ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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Man Smoking in 14th Street Diner, NYC, 1970
initiating a serious engagement with digital imaging
as a way of achieving the pictures he feels impelled
to make. For many photographers of the old school,
anything digital still remains anathema. Yet more
and more senior figures, like Feinstein, are making
the transition, because (among other things) digital
technologies offer an unprecedented degree of control
over ones final results.
Feinstein came to digital imaging through the back
door, so to speak, by using it to catalogue and archive
half a centurys work, produced primarily in black and
white. The resulting familiarity with digital-imaging
systems led to various experiments, which in turn
opened up the possibility of working in color by
eliminating the expenses involved in analog color
printing and, even more importantly, allowing him to
nuance his color prints as consciously as he did his
works in gelatin silver. Ingeniously, he decided to treat
his digital scanner as a camera, with its glass surface
functioning as a lens.
This project has preoccupied him for the past decade,
and has resulted in a series of seven color books
published internationally to great acclaim, starting
with the celebrated One Hundred Flowers (Bulfinch
Press, 2000). Feinstein himself generates the final
digital files used for printing these books, as well as
the files used for the limited-edition prints of his
color images that he produces for the fine-art market.
His trendsetting in the arena of digital photography
earned him the Smithsonian Institutes Computer-
world Smithsonian Award in 2000.
According to Feinstein, The availability of the more
precise [computerized] controls with immediate feed-
back, plus the simple capability of duplicating im-
ages, allowed for a more intuitive and improvisational
way of working. One could take more risks, he adds,
and there was a further sense of adventure in the
printmaking process. Indeed, he claims that he can
get a digital color print superior to anything achievable
by analog means.
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Most photographers who have addressed botanical
subject matter have of course encouraged us to look
more attentively at f lowers. Feinstein suggests, instead,
that we see ourselves in relation to them, look deeply
into them, and his images enable us to do so. You or
I could never get this physically close to a flower and
see it in such detail. This combination of proximity
and precision of focus, unavailable to the naked eye,
is a gift to us from photography as manifested in the
resolution capacity of a high-end scanner. There are
pictures in this suite so crisp that you can count the
grains of pollen on a stamen, trace tiny filaments and
veins in the wings of a buttery.
Feinstein treats these once-living forms in a variety
of ways. In some of his images a flower appears as a
fleshed, tactile, sensuous creature, a corporeal being
alive and embodied. In others he reveals his subject
as a scape, a visual terrain inviting imagined travel.
Yet others he renders as architectural spaces, com-
plex constructions through which he encourages the
viewers eye and mind to wander. And still others
pulse and radiate like flames, pure energy somehow
made visible.
Publication in 2012 of the first monograph devoted
to his black and white work, Harold Feinstein: A Retro-
spective, with an introduction by Phillip Prodger
(Nazraeli Press), has brought renewed attention to
that phase of this photographers output. Plans are
afoot for a follow-up volume of Feinsteins images of
Coney Island, where he photographed regularly for
half a century.
In the last analysis, whether working in black &
white in the urban social environment or isolating
the particulars of a ower or shell or insect in their
distinctive coloration, Feinstein is still showing us a
world filtered through his own inimitable sensibility.
Animated by the same spirit, the works of his earlier
years and these more recent projects actively enrich
and amplify each other. A profound awe in the
presence of living things manifests itself in all his
pictures. A cluster of smiling faces on a beach blanket
suddenly becomes a bouquet; a thoughtful scrutiny of
an opened blossom suggests a portrait. Part and parcel
of the same encompassing worldview, they need no
further justication.
To reveal the miracle of what I believe to be Gods
creations, Feinstein wrote as he began his exploration
of digital systems, has been my path with the camera,
even though I was unaware that this was so until later
in my life. . . . [W]e have ceased to see the life in which
we live. It is my intent to cause the viewer to revisit
the gifts we are surrounded by and see them as if for
the first time. Whether one believes in divinity or
Darwinism, what Feinstein reminds us of with these
images, as he does in all his work, is the astonishment
of the life in which we live. Persuading us to attend
closely and reverently to it once more, wherever it
manifests itself, is his great gift.
A. D. Coleman has published eight books and
more than 2000 essays on photography and
related subjects. Formerly a columnist for the
Village Voice, the New York Times and the
New York Observer, Coleman has contributed
to ARTnews, Art On Paper, Technology
Review, Juliet Art Magazine (Italy), European
Photography (Germany), La Fotografia (Spain)
and Art Today (China). Colemans widely read
blog, Photocritic International, appears at
photocritic.com. Since 2005, exhibitions that
he has curated have opened at museums and
galleries in Canada, China, Finland, Italy, Rumania, Slovakia and the U.S.
Copyright 2013 by A. D. Coleman. All rights reserved. By permission
of the author and Image/World Syndication Services, imageworld@
nearbycafe.com.
Modern Rose
ON PHOTOGRAPHY
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_______
John Reuter
The President of the United States is one of the most
photographed people in the world. Listen to any press con-
ference or announcement and you will hear hundreds of
shutter clicks sounding like a hailstorm on the hood of a
car. To photograph the President in a private setting is ex-
ceedingly rare. To do it with a 20x24 camera seems to happen
once a decade.
Chuck Close has been using the 20x24 camera and
Polaroid film since its inception and has made portraits
of over 100 people with the camera. His signature style
is a very closeup, strongly lit unrelenting rendition
of his subject. Nearly all of his images are made to
be converted into paintings up to 7x9 feet. Some are
also transformed into edition prints in a variety of
Anatomy of a Photo Shoot:
Chuck Closes Presidential Portrait
traditional printmaking methods from screen prints to
paper pulp constructions. Since the late 90s Chuck has
also embraced digital transformations of his portraits,
embracing inkjet technologies and also a digital
tapestry process.
The Obama portrait had been in the works for quite
some time. Chuck has done portraits of politicians
before, from President Clinton in the Oval Office in
1996, Hillary Clinton at the White House in 1998 and
Vice President Gore in the 20x24 studio in 2000.
Discussions were held with the Obama team in 2008
but nothing ever came of it. As the 2012 campaign
went into full gear and the demanding fund raising
ratcheted up, the Obama team sought out Chuck,
ANATOMY OF A PHOTOSHOOT JOHN REUTER
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TECHNIQUE
whose previous editions were significant fundraisers.
A date was chosen in late June, and of course it
conflicted with a previous commitment the day be-
fore in New York. The Obama session would be in
Washington, D.C. the following afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Unfortunately, the Secret Service wanted the equip-
ment at the Jefferson Hotel in D.C. by 10:00 a.m. for
security screening.
As we packed the camera and lighting the day before
we had to account for two very dif ferent shoots, one
for black and white with soft lighting and the other
for color with Chucks point source lighting. The 20x
24 camera is a 235 pound machine that by brilliant
design can compact itself into its 24 by 40 inch frame
and reduce to 60 inches in height. It is wrapped in
moving pads and tied to its studio stand for stability.
It is a bit like moving an upright piano. For lenses
we packed a Rodenstock 800mm, a 600mm Fujinon A
and a 360mm Fujinon SW. The Rodenstock is a pro-
cess camera lens and as such does not have a shutter.
We have adapted a Sinar shutter to mount in front
of the lens, giving us flash sync and shutter speeds up
to 1/60th of a second.
As Robert Pattison drove the camera, we took the
Acela from Penn Station to D.C. Accompanying
Chuck are his nurse, Thais Lizarra, myself, Myrna
Suarez, photographer and Nafis Azad, our NYC
Director of Photography. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and
then took a van to the Jef ferson Hotel on 16th Street
and M. The truck had been cleared by bomb snif-
fing dogs and the equipment was already upstairs.
We were provided with two rooms, each about 10x16
feet with nine foot ceilings. This is about as small a
space you can shoot in with 20x24. Our extra challenge
is that Chuck is in a motorized Segway wheelchair,
whose footprint is nearly as large as the camera. We
staged the equipment from an adjacent bedroom,
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and set the lights as close as we could to our normal
setup, restricted somewhat by the confines of the
room and a huge furniture chest on one side that was
not removed.
Chucks lighting for 20x24 is not your typical portrait
lighting. His 20x24 portraits are often transformed
into paintings and prints so the lighting is harder to
reveal more details for that transformation. Our key
light is a Broncolor Pulso 4 with a large reflector,
medium grid and a sheet of dif fusion cut to fit behind
the grid. Slits are cut into the diffusion film so the
head wont overheat. The fill is a 3x4 foot Elinchrom
softbox on another Pulso 4 head. Two more Pulsos
with small reflectors illuminate the background with
black flags keeping the light off the subject. The final
light is a Pulso 4, with small reflector and medium
grid coming over the subjects shoulder to provide a
strong highlight. We started our setup around noon
with the President due at 3:00 p.m. In the studio that
would be plenty of time but adapting to the smaller
room was taking a bit of time. We started testing
around 1:30. Chuck introduced a new wrinkle and
asked us to experiment with colored gels to heighten
the color. These images would be transformed into
the new digital watercolors Chuck had recently been
producing and the extra color would give them more
range. To complicate that further, he wanted the color
on the fill side, which meant putting the gels inside the
softbox near the flashtube.
Gels that covered the whole softbox would have
been better, but we only brought sets of 12x12" gels.
We tested a shot on Chucks nurse, whose skin tone
was close to Obamas. Our first tests were good, but
it soon became apparent that we did not have any
viewing lights in the hotel room. The hallways had
fluorescents, which would not work. Because we had
gelled the shooting lights we could not use those. We
finally discovered that there was a spa down the hall
that had some tungsten lights we could use to properly
evaluate the exposure and color. That meant that after
PROJECTS
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every test shot, Chuck and the crew had to maneuver
through the lights in the studio and head several
rooms down the hall to the spa to evaluate. We were
now five or six tests in and it was getting alarmingly
close to 3:00 p.m.
The Secret Service let us know that the President was
on the way. Here we go ready or not! Five minutes
later the President arrived and headed right for Chuck
(whom he knows as Chuck is on the Presidents Com-
mittee on the Arts and the Humanities). He thanked
Chuck for doing the shoot (it is a benefit for the DNC)
and then turned to all of us on the crew and shook our
hand one by one. He had never seen the camera but
seemed well briefed and sat right down to pose.
Chuck likes to shoot quite magnified and we used the
equivalent of a 450mm lens (combo of front element
of 600mm and rear element of 360 lens) at about 55
inches of bellows extension. Thats approximately one
and a half times lifesize magnification. Depth of field
is very narrow and often first time sitters tend to move
a lot while Chuck engages them in conversation while
we frame and focus. The President didnt skip a beat in
his conversation with Chuck and sat rock solid while
we focused. Framing and focusing completed, we
moved to close the lens, the back door of the camera
and brought the film into place.
10,000 watt seconds of light fired with a pop and the
President took it all in stride. Nafis processed the im-
age in the hallway on our lighting crate. Our P7 film
takes an excruciating two and half minutes to develop
and in a pressure situation like this seemed like 10
minutes. The Secret Service agents in the hall gather-
ed around and finally the camera buzzer sounded.
I peeled the negative away, scooped the excess puddle
of reagent off the bottom and brought it in to show
Chuck and the President.
Things were looking good with one small problem.
The Presidents flag pin was angled towards the key
phototechmag.com 47
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John Reuter has been a photographer since the
early 1970s, majoring in Art while attending SUNY
Geneseo and then went on to receive two masters
degrees at the University of Iowa. It was there
that he began to specialize in Polaroid materials,
most notably his SX-70 constructions, combining
photography with painting and collage. Reuter
joined Polaroid Corporation in 1978 as senior
photographer and later Director of the legendary
20x24 Studio. His own work evolved through large
scale Polacolor Image Transfers to digital imaging in the mid 1990s. He
has taught workshops in Photoshop, Lightroom, Polaroid materials and
encaustic painting around the world. johnreuter.com
light and was completely blown out. We raced through
another half a dozen color images, changing the pose
slightly. President Obama got up between shots and
somehow managed to hit his focus mark every time
he sat back down. Usually these shoots are five to 10
minutes and were already pushing a half hour. Chuck,
who had been making the most of his time with the
President discussing arts education in high schools
decided to go for broke and asked the President if we
could switch to black and white film. I have been
making 7x9 foot tapestries from the black and white
Polaroids and I know the National Gallery will want
one. The President agreed and we scrambled to pull
the color film, open the case of black and white and
get it into the camera as fast as we could.
With no time to test, I quickly made the exposure
calculations for the change from an ISO 125 film to
an ISO 600 film leaving the colored gels on so we
wouldnt get a density change. The first print came out
looking great, with the exception of a small flare in
the upper right corner. The President agreed to one
more and this one was perfect, an excellent finish to
a great shoot.
Before he left I asked the President if he would mind
signing an autograph for our truck driver Robert
Pattison. I explained that he left NY at 4:00 a.m. to get
the camera there. He said Thats great, thats great,
you make sure you tell him how much I appreciate his
efforts. And with that he once again shook all of our
hands and walked on down the hall.
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________
Lloyd Chambers
DSLR users know that good glass is necessary no
matter the sensor size, and thats where mirrorless
cameras suffer most, with limited lens selection that is
often of marginal build quality and too often modest
optical performance. Yet demands on optical quality
tend to be higher for smaller sensor cameras due to the
greater photosite density, at least for similar levels of
high quality detail in the same number of megapixels
(e.g. 24 megapixels from full-frame vs the smaller
APS-C).
Enter the Zeiss Touit lens line for Sony NEX and Fuji-
film X. The optics in the Touit lenses are optimized for
the APS-C sensor size and for digital without optical
design compromises for a DSLR mirror or rangefinder
flange focal distance. Also, Zeiss has licensed the
necessary electronic protocols from both Sony and
Fujifilm for both autofocus and native camera control
of the lens.
Overview of the Touit Lenses
Three lenses are available (12/2.8, 32/1.8, 50/2.8),
with the 12mm and 32mm, shipped in June 2013, and
a 50mm to follow in late 2013.
The Touit lenses offer a high-grade build quality,
indeed an elegant feel compared to the majority of
mass-produced lenses. Lens hoods are included with
Zeiss Touit Lenses for
Sony NEX or Fujifilm X
ZEISS TOUIT LENSES FOR SONY NEX OR FUJIFILM X LLOYD L. CHAMBERS
each lens and fit seamlessly; the 32/1.8 includes a
round hood and the 12/2.8 includes a scalloped hood.
Both increase the apparent lens size substantially, but
add little weight. When mounted, they fit so well that
they appear like a seamless extension of the lens itself.
Filter threads are built-in for standard filters so that
a filter or polarizer can be easily mounted (12/2.8 =
67mm, 32/1.8 = 52mm).
On Sony NEX, aperture control is through the cam-
era body, but on Fujifilm X, the Touit lenses include an
aperture ring. The lens diaphragm itself is an almost
circular one with nine blades.
Zeiss opted for metal with key parts, but plastic and
rubber for others: the lens barrel structure is metal
for reasons of durability, mechanical stability and in
order to be impervious to environmental influences.
The rubberized and plastic exterior over the barrel is
not unlike the announced ultra high grade 55mm f/1.4
Distagon for DSLRs. I like the non-metal lens skin.
Manual focusing is focus by wireless than ideal for
frequent manual focus work, but required to achieve
autofocus on the target cameras. Zeiss took pains to
give the lenses a general amount of focus throw, and
focusing operation is very smooth and with a good
feel in actual use. The rubber focusing ring is 17mm
phototechmag.com 49
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wide, and is easily found by feel. The front of the lens
does not rotate during focusing, important for use with
a polarizer.
The autofocus motors make only minor noise. The
motors chosen for the Touit lenses are more powerful
for longer life and more reliable focusing, in part
because of the lens elements being moved internally.
In my studio and field tests with the 24-megapixel
Sony NEX-7, Touit optical performance generally
matches or exceeds what you might obtain with a
Zeiss DSLR lens mounted via adapter, while at the
same time offering autofocus and a much smaller
and lighter form factor. As with all high-perform-
ance lenses, critical focus accuracy is essential for
optimal results.
In this regard I was less than satisfied with the Sony
NEX-7 autofocus accuracy, and would recommend
using the EVF in magnified Live View with manual
focus for work where precise focus position matters.
Also, the Sony NEX-7 stops the lens down to the
shooting aperture even while focusing, which can
cause focus ambiguity with any lens: open the aperture
for critical focusing, then stop down to shoot.
Both Touit lenses appear to be free of focus shift, which
is rarely the case for f/1.4 and f/1.8 50mm lenses for
DSLRs. This is a very practical feature that eliminates
one hurdle to achieving peak quality.
Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon
Weight: 264/283/307 grams for lens/+hood/+hood+lens
caps (Sony E-mount)
The 12mm f/2.8 Distagon is an ultra wide-angle lens
utilizing a high-grade optical design of 11 elements in
eight groups with a 99 field angle equivalent to 18mm
on full-frame cameras. Field shooting confirms that
it has been highly optimized for the APS-C digital
format, with extreme sharpness to the frame edges
and only a modest sharpness falloff to the extreme
cornersexceptional for an ultra wide-angle lens.
Outside, extreme contrast situations fail to provoke
any color fringing, even to the edges and corners.
Along with exceptional contrast and outstanding
flare control (shooting into the sun is fine), the 12/2.8
Distagon delivers images with clarity and color
saturation sure to thrill the wide-angle enthusiast.
Compared to the 18mm f/3.5 Zeiss ZF.2 / ZE for full-
frame DSLRs, the 12/2.8 Distagon outperforms in
f/2.8 @ 1/80 sec handheld, ISO 100, 0.5 push. Sony NEX-7 + Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar
TECHNIQUE
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multiple ways including flatness of
field, color correction and control
of astigmatism, and its 2/3 stop
faster to boot!
The Touit 12/2.8 Distagon offers
performance even wide open that
remains consistent across the
frame; images show an appealing
uniformity of background blur
from center to corners. Bokeh wide
open is unusually good if not per-
fect for strongly out of focus areas,
but by f/4 it is very pleasing.
Combined with its other optical
qualities, the 12/2.8 Distagon is a
lens that will surely be appreciated
by its user more and more with
time. It offers well-mannered
performance, a rare find in a fast
ultra wide-angle lens.
Distortion is moderate and can
be corrected if desired, while vi-
gnetting is often more of a useful
creative tool than something
worth correcting. For field images
(raw format on Sony NEX-7), I
f/6.3 @ 1/60 sec handheld, ISO 500, 0.5 push. Sony NEX-7 + Touit 12mm f/2.8 Distagon
felt absolutely no need to correct
for either (the examples are from
Sony NEX-7 raw format and have
not been corrected in any way).
Also, you cannot help but be im-
pressed with what the Sony NEX-7
sensor can deliver with a high
quality lens. Its clear that opti-
mization for digital is not just a
talking point.
In shooting the Touit 12mm f/2.8
Distagon, the outstanding optical
correction quickly manifested it-
self: sharpness is high, color sat-
uration is rich and there is no
color fringing to be found even
under demanding lighting con-
ditions. The high lens contrast and
color correction lend themselves
to outstanding quality black and
white conversions from color orig-
inals. This is a very high perform-
ance lens.
Touit 32mm 2/1.8 Planar
Weight: 203/228/247 grams for lens/+
hood/+hood+lens caps(Sony Emount)
phototechmag.com 51
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__________________
The Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar is a normal lens equiv-
alent to a 48mm on full-frame cameras (48 field angle).
Field shooting confirms high sharpness wide open,
but with modest contrast. The contrast wide open
was found to be much superior to several alternatives,
so this must not be misconstrued! Stopping down to
f/2.8 delivers very high micro contrast, with peak per-
formance reached at f/4.
Across the focusing range the Touit 32mm f/1.8 of-
fers high performance near-macro range, head-and-
shoulders, or full-length portrait, distance shooting.
As with the 12/2.8 Distagon, the 32/1.8 Planar offers
exceptional flare control. In field torture testing it
minimized flare even with the sun placed just inside
or outside the edge or corner (certain DSLR lenses
exhibit extreme flare in those circumstances).
Color saturation is very high in field images. No special
glass types are used in the 32/1.8 Planar and so a faint
color fringing can sometimes be seen off-center on
high-contrast edges. Out of focus, there is secondary
longitudinal chromatic aberration (magenta/green
blurs) as found in virtually all lenses, but these effects
are unusually free of any harsh edge effects and are
effectively banished by f/4. Again, context matters: the
Touit 32/1.8 appears to be as well corrected (or better)
than high quality 50mm designs for full-frame.
One hallmark of the Planar design is pleasing image
blur (bokeh), and indeed the most compelling feature
of the 32/1.8 Planar is its exceptional combination of
bokeh along with high micro contrast for in-focus fine
detail. The uniformly pleasing bokeh in front of and
behind the plane of focus and even into the extreme
corners lends a certain stability and relaxation to the
image that steadily seeps into the photographers sense
of its rendering style. It is classic Zeiss and anyone
looking for something special will find it here.
Subjects with bright out of focus specular highlights
such as glassware are handled beautifully. I had no-
ticed this quality immediately, and each field image I
made added to this initial impression, until ultimately
I came to see it as a distinguishing characteristic.
f/2.8 @ 1/50 sec handheld, ISO 100. Sony NEX-7 + Touit 32mm f/1.8
Planar
f/2.8 @ 1/160 sec handheld, ISO 100, 0.45 push. Sony NEX-7 +
Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar
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As with every 50mm lens for DSLRs, the Touit 32/1.8
has some field curvature but it is at a lower level than
most 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8 designs for full-frame DSLRs
while also avoiding focus shift, so this behavior must
be understood in context as not perfect, but unusually
well behaved. The field curvature manifests mildly as
follows: when shooting a flat subject (e.g., landscape
scene at infinity), stop down to f/5.6; otherwise some
areas will drop in sharpness relative to others (which
areas are sharpest or least sharp depends entirely on
very small changes in lens focus). Again, this behavior
is commonplace and not at all unique to the Touit
32/1.8, but should be understood for critical work.
Every optical design makes tradeoffs; the authors
preference would be an f/2.8 design with near perfect
imaging quality along with an f/1.0 design for high-
speed applications.
Distortion of 2.5% could be of concern for some sub-
jects, but in practice I saw little need to correct it
(example images are from Sony NEX-7 raw format,
and have not been corrected in any way). Vignetting
was of no concern whatsoever, and I generally con-
sider it a desirable effect when shooting at wider aper-
tures anyway.
Conclusions
The mirrorless camera market has come of age: an
entirely new lens line from Zeiss is an endorsement
of the format popularity and future potential of the
mirrorless APS-C camera market. High-quality optics
might be a tipping point that persuades more pro-
fessional photographers to consider a smaller camera
system (non DSLR) for some jobs, especially as the
sensors further improve.
Shooting the Sony NEX-7 with the Touit lenses in New
York City, one thing stood out for me: walk-around
shooting is just easier and more fun with a compact
system camera than a bulky DSLR: small and light-
weight, high quality results, any shooting angle, and
perhaps most important, innocuous: no one pays at-
tention to a tourist camera, even if it happens to
have a high performance Zeiss Touit lens on it.
After shooting film for years, Lloyd L Chambers
enjoys all-digital photography in 35mm, 45, 67
and 617 formats. His web site and blog at diglloyd.
com offers a wealth of material on advanced
photographic techniques. The Diglloyd Guide to
Mirrorless Cameras, Guide to Zeiss, Guide to Leica,
Advanced Photography and Making Sharp Images
publications offer in-depth analysis and how to for
photographers looking for top results. diglloyd.com
Editors Note: The Touit lenses are reviewed in detail at diglloyd.com
f/2.8 @ 1/25 sec handheld, ISO 200, 0.65 push. Sony NEX-7 + Touit 32mm f/1.8 Planar
Resources
fujifilmusa.com; zeiss.com; sony.com
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______
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__
WORKSHOPS
Steve Anchell
People-to-People Photography Workshop
in Cuba
Havana and Matanzas
December 27 to January 4
anchellworkshops.com
Our authors offer photography workshops
throughout the year. Here are some workshops
you can join through the end of 2013.
Workshops are a great way to learn from
the best, meet new friends and take your
photography a step forward!
2013 WORKSHOPS
by photo technique Authors
Tillman Crane
Spirit of Structure: Ghost Towns of
Western Montana
based in Dillon and Missoula, Montana
September 813
tillmancrane.com
Kevin Pepper
Bald Eagle and Mountains Photography Workshop,
Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland of British
Columbia, Canada
November 710
northof49photography.com
Nolan Preece
Chemigrams Workshop
Virginia City, Nevada
St. Marys Art Center
October 26
nolanpreece.com
Alan Ross
Perfecting the Expressive Photograph: Merging
Vision, Passion & Craft
Portland, Oregon
September 1922
Ansel Adams Yosemite: The Art of Seeing
Yosemite National Park, California
October 812
One-on-One: Master Printing in the Traditional
Darkroom; Crafting the Expressive Photograph
Santa Fe, New Mexico, by special arrangement.
alanrossphotography.com
Contact Alan to schedule One-on-One.
David H. Wells
Light, Shadow, Night, Twilight, Brooks Workshops
Santa Barbara, California
September 2022
workshops.brooks.edu/lightshadow-workshop
Surviving & Thriving with Digital Workflow, the Center
for Photography at Woodstock
Woodstock, New York
September 2829
cpw.org/WPW/2013/pages/September.html
Click: California Photo Festival, Light Workshops
Los Osos, California
October 711
californiaphotofest.com/events.php?
instructor=15
Photo-Essays Old and New, Brooks Workshops
Santa Barbara, California
October 1820
workshops.brooks.edu/photo-essays-old-and-new-
workshop-with-david-h-wells
Morocco: A Visual Feast, Open Sky Expeditions
Morocco
November 818
openskyexpeditions.com/PhotoTours/Morocco.html
India Photo Tour: The Magic of India, Epic Photo Tours
India
December 317
epicphototours.com/NewIndia.html
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_____________________
_____________________________________
_________
_________________________________
Photograph Richard Baker
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______________________
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Upper Portal, George Washington Bridge, New York, NY, 2008.
Dave Frieder
Page 56
Dave Frieder has been photographing the bridges of New York since 1993. Hes climbed and
photographed 16 New York bridges working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the NYCDOT and other agencies to gain permission to climb
the bridges. His work has been published in two books The Creation of Bridges and Six Bridges, the
Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann. Modern bridge engineering began in New York and Dave is currently
at work on a book of his fine art photographs that emphasize the magnificence of bridge engineering
and especially New Yorks great bridges. To see more of his photographs visit davefrieder.com.
My passion of photography began when I was six years old. I had just moved from Queens New York to
New Jersey and my father bought a Brownie 127 film camera that I was allowed to use. Later, I built myself a
darkroom in my fathers basement.
I have always loved architecture, and to me bridges are the pinnacles of civil engineering. I first
started photographing bridges with a 4x5 monorail camera but I realized that it would not work if I were
photographing on the main cables and eyebars of the bridges. Since I have absolutely no fear of heights
my visualization would not be hindered. I did use my Leica R5 for some close-up work, taking advantage
of the great depth of field, but I needed a larger format for bigger enlargements. I then decided to use
my Hasselblad 2000 FCW. With the 40 mm Distagon lens it became my workhorse camera. It provided
the larger negative but I had to contend with bridge vibration and wind. Then I saw an ad for a camera
gyroscope. I figured that would correct my camera shake problem. After first renting the Ken-Lab KS-8
Gyro, I found that it worked perfectly and I purchased it. The Gyro was one of my best investments as 99%
of my images were taken with the Hasselblad/Gyro combination.
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__________________________

Photo Technique 2013-09-10

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