Gayle's Eclectic Photos
(K=91003) - Comment Date 2/9/2006
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hi, here is one of my created vintage shots...if want to know how i achieved it,then let me know....there may be some others in my portfolio under "vintage" that are also what you are looking for...i think there is a B/W swing on a tree shot that looks vintage...and i have a series of vintage florals that are to be sold as cards...regards,gayle
http://www.usefilm.com/Image.asp?ID=523459
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Eric Peterson
(K=4210) - Comment Date 2/10/2006
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If you want the most authentic results you could pick up an old folder, TLR or box camera and load it with some 120 Plus-X, Tri-X or HP5 and you'll be right back to the early/mid 20th century for a very minimal investment. I have a number of shots from various vintage cameras scattered through my portfolio including my very first upload that used a pre-war Zeiss with an uncoated lens. The combination of the larger format film and the older optics (especially the uncoated optics) makes for a distinct look that in my experience is very hard to duplicate with modern glass, even with help from PS.
Eric
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Chris Marsh
(K=210) - Comment Date 2/13/2006
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Thanks for the hints, guys.
Great picture Gayle! I'd love it if you could tell me how you made it. It is just the style that I'm looking for.
Could someone explain what a TLR or a box camera is? I am only a student who is studying photography and am relatively new to it.
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Gayle's Eclectic Photos
(K=91003) - Comment Date 2/14/2006
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hi,Chris....I have Paintshop Pro8 editing program and to achieve this vintage look you do the following:
1. choose Sepia tone 97%
2. Reduce contrast (brightness 38/Contrast -17)
3. Color balance: slide bar to more orange saturation
4. Soften focus (pick painting level of soft focus)
5. Add Gaussian noise/monochrome 8% ...voila! you have an oldstyle image
You can also do similar with color shots that you convert to B/W...i just choose some noise,soften and play with contrast level until it favors a faded vintage image...Hope this helps and look forward to seeing what you come up with....regards,gayle
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Gayle's Eclectic Photos
(K=91003) - Comment Date 2/14/2006
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Here is another style that has that very old civil war era photography look....i did this on the fly and didn't write down what i did,but other than convert to B/W and play with contrast level, it has a soft solarized look,so probably achieved that by choosing solarized in B/W pts.
http://www.usefilm.com/Image.asp?ID=720547
regards,gayle
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Helen Bach
(K=2331) - Comment Date 2/14/2006
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Do you want historical accuracy for 50 or 70 years ago, or do you want the look of a print from 1865 - the American Civil War, as Gayle says.
Fifty years ago - 1956; seventy years ago - 1936.
Neither of these dates are back in the early days of photography. Most B&W prints from then would still be in very good condition - in fact almost any B&W print from the 20th century will still look pretty good. I have a collection of pictures from 1900 to the end of the First World War, and the noticeable change is mainly the even, overall loss of visible density. The shadows have lost some depth, and the highlight details have gone. There is probably little change in the image colour. Our family photos from the thirties are still in very good condition, despite having been kept in albums that would now be regarded as non-archival because of their acidity.
Early film was less sensitive to red light, and hence comparatively more sensitive to blue light, than the panchromatic stuff we use now, so washed-out skies were common. Therefore use a light blue filter with modern pan film; or colour film/digital and the blue channel in PS (but that might be too grainy); or orthochromatic film (ie film that is insensitive to red light).
During the time you refer to medium and large format film was used a lot, and often contact printed instead of being enlarged, so the definition is usually higher than what we are used to today. The contrast is usually lower because of the uncoated lenses. A lot depends on the type of image you are trying to mimic. Family snaps would typically be taken on medium format film, possibly using cheap Brownie box cameras with two apertures (sunny f/14 to f/16, cloudy f/8 to f/11) and one shutter speed (around 1/100 or 1/125), usually with what we now call ISO 125 film (typically Verichrome and Verichrome Pan - B&W despite the ‘chrome tag). A Holga is not quite up to the standard of a Brownie, in general. Most press photographers would be using 4x5 cameras, so the definition, tonality and grainlessness would be striking by today’s press standards. Check out the work of Weegee - he worked between 70 and 50 years ago.
Documentary and reportage photographers have been using 35 mm for many decades - their images would look a little more grainy than the ones we see now. Check out Robert Capa’s pictures of the Spanish Civil War for examples from 1936.
I've simplified and generalised a lot. Eric's suggestion of getting a cheap camera from the 30's, 40's or 50's is a good one. There's nothing like the real thing. A box camera looks like a box. Wikipedia has an illustrated entry for 'box camera'. TLR stands for 'twin lens reflex'. Do a google on 'tlr camera' and you will find lots of information.
Best,
Helen
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Chris Marsh
(K=210) - Comment Date 3/4/2006
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I've now bought a TLR camera from Ebay which was made in 1951. It is a medium format and I'm waiting to see how the pictures come out from my first film. Thanks for all the tips. If you think of any more over the next 3 weeks I'd be delighted to hear them.
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