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Digitising Old Slides (part 2)
24th May 2021 - 3 comments
24th May 2021 - 3 comments
This month I am going to be looking at the scanned slides in Adobe Lightroom. But firstly, following on from last month, the slides need some initial cleaning before I scan them. The example I showed last month has so much dirt or mould on it that it would take an age to edit it in Photoshop and I wouldn't know where to start in Lightroom.
I wasn't sure what to use to clean the slides because I didn't want to damage them any more than was humanly possible. I did wonder if it was worth opening up the slide holder and removing the slides to clean them but realised this would take forever and increase the risk of damage so scrapped that idea. Wiping with a cloth was out and just a rocket blower blast wouldn't shift anything and a chemical cleaner seemed drastic. Then I hit upon the idea of tap water along with a Q-tip. It works! Or at least it gets rid of the worst of whatever is on the surface. You can get the slide quite wet really then blow it, wave it about in the air and finally leave it on top of the light box to allow its warmth to dry it off nicely. You soon learn that most of the crud has been washed to the edge of the slide so it is worth concentrating a little more effort there to shift as much as possible.
This process, when scanned, gives a slide that looks like this:
But there's still work to do. As can be seen, there is still some dirt and small hairs etc on the slide and that is when I started to edit what is now a file in Lightroom.
Now that the image can be blown up quite large on my iMac I start to assess whether it's worth continuing or not. I have found that some of the slides are just not worth bothering with because, once 'washed' it can be seen that the emulsion side of the slide has been properly eaten away by the mould and any hope of restoring the colours is way beyond my skill and patience. As can be seen quite clearly, the sky at the top of the frame has lost so much emulsion it has become a magenta blob and any definition that was in the clouds has simply washed away. I decided to crop the top of the sky and after some more work in photoshop I got the image to look like this:
Sometimes converting the image to black and white makes this easier though. That tends to show the damage as one of contrast which can be repaired to a great extent using the radial tool.
This image of my Mum, somewhere in the Lake District, shows very well the colour damage and then , once converted to black and white, how I managed to restore it, reasonably well I think!
and then in black and white after some editing in photoshop:
Because I don't want these blog posts to become a long read I am going to leave off here and continue next month where I shall try to show more of the editing process, particularly in Photoshop. Thanks for reading this month's blog, see you next time!
I wasn't sure what to use to clean the slides because I didn't want to damage them any more than was humanly possible. I did wonder if it was worth opening up the slide holder and removing the slides to clean them but realised this would take forever and increase the risk of damage so scrapped that idea. Wiping with a cloth was out and just a rocket blower blast wouldn't shift anything and a chemical cleaner seemed drastic. Then I hit upon the idea of tap water along with a Q-tip. It works! Or at least it gets rid of the worst of whatever is on the surface. You can get the slide quite wet really then blow it, wave it about in the air and finally leave it on top of the light box to allow its warmth to dry it off nicely. You soon learn that most of the crud has been washed to the edge of the slide so it is worth concentrating a little more effort there to shift as much as possible.
This process, when scanned, gives a slide that looks like this:
But there's still work to do. As can be seen, there is still some dirt and small hairs etc on the slide and that is when I started to edit what is now a file in Lightroom.
Now that the image can be blown up quite large on my iMac I start to assess whether it's worth continuing or not. I have found that some of the slides are just not worth bothering with because, once 'washed' it can be seen that the emulsion side of the slide has been properly eaten away by the mould and any hope of restoring the colours is way beyond my skill and patience. As can be seen quite clearly, the sky at the top of the frame has lost so much emulsion it has become a magenta blob and any definition that was in the clouds has simply washed away. I decided to crop the top of the sky and after some more work in photoshop I got the image to look like this:
Sometimes converting the image to black and white makes this easier though. That tends to show the damage as one of contrast which can be repaired to a great extent using the radial tool.
This image of my Mum, somewhere in the Lake District, shows very well the colour damage and then , once converted to black and white, how I managed to restore it, reasonably well I think!
and then in black and white after some editing in photoshop:
Because I don't want these blog posts to become a long read I am going to leave off here and continue next month where I shall try to show more of the editing process, particularly in Photoshop. Thanks for reading this month's blog, see you next time!
Digitising Old Slides (part 1)
24th April 2021 - 0 comments
24th April 2021 - 0 comments
This month I have been spending time scanning and renovating some of my parent's slides. Which involves spending quite a bit of time here at my desk:
I have box upon box of colour slides taken from the 1960s onwards. These include family shots and also some documentary work by my Dad who spent a lot of time photographing the building of Liverpool Cathedral.
The process is quite labour intensive but also quite rewarding once a photo is restored to an acceptable standard and catalogued on my iMac and an external hard drive.
I have found the first step of sorting and throwing out unwanted slides to be the most difficult because it is so easy to become very emotionally attached to some of these old images. But they can't all be kept and there's more than one reason for that. Some of them are utter rubbish!!! Pure black with nothing to be recovered! Why on earth did they keep them? Some of them are totally unidentifiable because very few have been marked to say where they are or who they are.
I view the slides on a light box with a loupe and a bin to my side. If I have no idea of what or who the subject is the slide is ditched. The choice may also be down to the condition of the slide. For example, slides can grow mould on them over time, depending on how they have been stored. This shows well in this slide before I have tried to do any restoration:
Here are some slides loaded to the frame ready to go to the scanner:
And here they are loaded into my scanner:
Next month, in part two of this blog, I shall be looking at the images in both Lightroom and Photoshop prior to filing them on my hard drive. The photos in my office were taken with my Leica V-Lux 114 and the slide was with a Kodak Instamatic on Kodakchrome.
I have box upon box of colour slides taken from the 1960s onwards. These include family shots and also some documentary work by my Dad who spent a lot of time photographing the building of Liverpool Cathedral.
The process is quite labour intensive but also quite rewarding once a photo is restored to an acceptable standard and catalogued on my iMac and an external hard drive.
I have found the first step of sorting and throwing out unwanted slides to be the most difficult because it is so easy to become very emotionally attached to some of these old images. But they can't all be kept and there's more than one reason for that. Some of them are utter rubbish!!! Pure black with nothing to be recovered! Why on earth did they keep them? Some of them are totally unidentifiable because very few have been marked to say where they are or who they are.
I view the slides on a light box with a loupe and a bin to my side. If I have no idea of what or who the subject is the slide is ditched. The choice may also be down to the condition of the slide. For example, slides can grow mould on them over time, depending on how they have been stored. This shows well in this slide before I have tried to do any restoration:
Here are some slides loaded to the frame ready to go to the scanner:
And here they are loaded into my scanner:
Next month, in part two of this blog, I shall be looking at the images in both Lightroom and Photoshop prior to filing them on my hard drive. The photos in my office were taken with my Leica V-Lux 114 and the slide was with a Kodak Instamatic on Kodakchrome.
Comparing film and digital
24th March 2021 - 2 comments
24th March 2021 - 2 comments
This month I'm looking at four images of two views. Two film images and two digital.
These photos were taken whilst walking our dogs locally between Hollington and Shirley and they are views that have always appealed, particularly the oak tree at the bend in Marsh Hollow. The black and white shots are on film. It's Ilford HP5plus but it expired in 2017. To make things even more interesting, I developed the film in a chemical called Aculux by Patterson. Now this developer became no longer available in 2013 so it is well past its 'sell by date'.
Firstly, a view down Marsh Hollow, the hill from Hollington, in black and white.
Leica M2, Summaron 1:2.8/35mm, orange filter, Ilford HP5plus.
I think the greyness of the day is captured well with black and white film. Especially as this is quite a grainy development of this classic 400iso film. A few years ago, when we first moved to the area, walking up this hill was a daunting task. We were not fit! The weather could make a huge difference to our attitude to walking up it. A sunny day and you could forget how steep it was!
Leica M240, Elmar-M 1:2.8/50mm. Digital.
Also a murky morning after it had rained overnight. I think that the use of colour gives quite a different feel to the same image. If anything, it brightens up the scene. The greens are more saturated after a good wash and have quite a punch even though they may have felt quite subdued on the day.
I think this next shot, on film, has captured how we felt on this morning. Grey, no, very grey! Graininess of the expired HP5plus really does capture the mood.
Leica M2, Summaron 1:2.8/35mm, orange filter, Ilford HP5plus.
It will be interesting this year, now that I have some new film stock and shall be replacing my chemicals, to see how differently this film comes out. Who knows, it might be the same and these may just be the normal characteristics of this traditional film from Ilford.
The oak tree on the corner marks the half way point of one of our more frequently taken walks from home.
Leica M240, Elmar-M 1:2.8/50mm. Digital.
This photo from my M240 shows a view which I find quite heartening. It means we're almost on our way home again. The road bends to the left by the tree and from there we head towards the village of Shirley. However, you may notice, at the foot of the tree, a sign for the public footpath to Ednaston, pointing to the right which we can use as a short cut if we don't feel like going the whole way round. Going that way would cut approximately 2.5 miles off. We don't take the option very often, especially not in the winter as it can be very muddy where it crosses farmer's fields.
Two very similar days following rainy nights, still and overcast with very subdued light showing nicely how differently black and white and colour treat the same scene. You may have noticed that I used two different focal length lenses, 35mm and 50mm. Although the scenes are similar there is a noticeable difference in perspective and distances are shortened by the standard lens compared to the wide angle. The next step would seem to be to take the same shots with my 90mm and see the difference that makes.
Next month I shall be looking at some photos not taken by me. I have been scanning some slide film taken by my Mum with her Kodak Instamatic during the 1960s. I hope it's interesting, it has been for me!
These photos were taken whilst walking our dogs locally between Hollington and Shirley and they are views that have always appealed, particularly the oak tree at the bend in Marsh Hollow. The black and white shots are on film. It's Ilford HP5plus but it expired in 2017. To make things even more interesting, I developed the film in a chemical called Aculux by Patterson. Now this developer became no longer available in 2013 so it is well past its 'sell by date'.
Firstly, a view down Marsh Hollow, the hill from Hollington, in black and white.
Leica M2, Summaron 1:2.8/35mm, orange filter, Ilford HP5plus.
I think the greyness of the day is captured well with black and white film. Especially as this is quite a grainy development of this classic 400iso film. A few years ago, when we first moved to the area, walking up this hill was a daunting task. We were not fit! The weather could make a huge difference to our attitude to walking up it. A sunny day and you could forget how steep it was!
Leica M240, Elmar-M 1:2.8/50mm. Digital.
Also a murky morning after it had rained overnight. I think that the use of colour gives quite a different feel to the same image. If anything, it brightens up the scene. The greens are more saturated after a good wash and have quite a punch even though they may have felt quite subdued on the day.
I think this next shot, on film, has captured how we felt on this morning. Grey, no, very grey! Graininess of the expired HP5plus really does capture the mood.
Leica M2, Summaron 1:2.8/35mm, orange filter, Ilford HP5plus.
It will be interesting this year, now that I have some new film stock and shall be replacing my chemicals, to see how differently this film comes out. Who knows, it might be the same and these may just be the normal characteristics of this traditional film from Ilford.
The oak tree on the corner marks the half way point of one of our more frequently taken walks from home.
Leica M240, Elmar-M 1:2.8/50mm. Digital.
This photo from my M240 shows a view which I find quite heartening. It means we're almost on our way home again. The road bends to the left by the tree and from there we head towards the village of Shirley. However, you may notice, at the foot of the tree, a sign for the public footpath to Ednaston, pointing to the right which we can use as a short cut if we don't feel like going the whole way round. Going that way would cut approximately 2.5 miles off. We don't take the option very often, especially not in the winter as it can be very muddy where it crosses farmer's fields.
Two very similar days following rainy nights, still and overcast with very subdued light showing nicely how differently black and white and colour treat the same scene. You may have noticed that I used two different focal length lenses, 35mm and 50mm. Although the scenes are similar there is a noticeable difference in perspective and distances are shortened by the standard lens compared to the wide angle. The next step would seem to be to take the same shots with my 90mm and see the difference that makes.
Next month I shall be looking at some photos not taken by me. I have been scanning some slide film taken by my Mum with her Kodak Instamatic during the 1960s. I hope it's interesting, it has been for me!
Westonbirt Digitally
24th February 2021 - 1 comment
Once again I'm returning to 2014 for this month's blog. I have been revisiting the photos that I took with my Leica M240 whilst Lynn was having a dabble with my M2. I don't often go back to old images and this will be the first time that I have re-edited after so long. In that respect it has been interesting to see how differently I approach post processing six years down the line.
Our visit to Westonbirt was on the last day of August, a little too early for full autumn colours. Also, it was a very sunny day with a huge dynamic range between the blue sky and the shadows under the trees.
I had bought my M240 about eight months earlier and was certainly still learning how to make the best use of it. I had previously been using a Nikon D60 for digital photography and was reasonably happy with its results. The new Leica really was vastly better though. I hadn't really appreciated how soft the Nikon images were until I started to process the images from the M240. More than double the resolution to start with and the lenses were and still are phenomenal.
A very definite difference between the digital images and the film ones is the detail and then, even more obviously, the vibrance of the colours. I suppose a more scientific approach would have been to try and take pretty much the same shot on film and digitally but I hadn't even thought of producing this blog back then so it wasn't a priority.
For next month's blog I have taken two pairs of images on different days but with similar weather of the same views near to Hollington whilst walking our dogs. Two are on film and the other two are digital. It will be interesting to see the comparison.
Final thought for this month's blog. It became apparent during the last month that some people want to be able to comment on my blog, which is really nice but there was not a proper place to do so. As a result I have added a comments box to the bottom of each blog and now I look forward to hearing from you. Bear in mind that this is just my hobby after all!!! Thanks again for taking the time to read my ramblings, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you may have to say! See you next month.
24th February 2021 - 1 comment
Once again I'm returning to 2014 for this month's blog. I have been revisiting the photos that I took with my Leica M240 whilst Lynn was having a dabble with my M2. I don't often go back to old images and this will be the first time that I have re-edited after so long. In that respect it has been interesting to see how differently I approach post processing six years down the line.
Our visit to Westonbirt was on the last day of August, a little too early for full autumn colours. Also, it was a very sunny day with a huge dynamic range between the blue sky and the shadows under the trees.
I had bought my M240 about eight months earlier and was certainly still learning how to make the best use of it. I had previously been using a Nikon D60 for digital photography and was reasonably happy with its results. The new Leica really was vastly better though. I hadn't really appreciated how soft the Nikon images were until I started to process the images from the M240. More than double the resolution to start with and the lenses were and still are phenomenal.
A very definite difference between the digital images and the film ones is the detail and then, even more obviously, the vibrance of the colours. I suppose a more scientific approach would have been to try and take pretty much the same shot on film and digitally but I hadn't even thought of producing this blog back then so it wasn't a priority.
For next month's blog I have taken two pairs of images on different days but with similar weather of the same views near to Hollington whilst walking our dogs. Two are on film and the other two are digital. It will be interesting to see the comparison.
Final thought for this month's blog. It became apparent during the last month that some people want to be able to comment on my blog, which is really nice but there was not a proper place to do so. As a result I have added a comments box to the bottom of each blog and now I look forward to hearing from you. Bear in mind that this is just my hobby after all!!! Thanks again for taking the time to read my ramblings, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you may have to say! See you next month.
Westonbirt on film.
24th January 2021 - 0 comments
The Gruffalo in Westonbirt
One of the films I developed during last summer was exposed in 2014, six years since it was removed from the camera and stored in its canister. Not really following best practice by any means.
On the way in to Westonbirt Arboretum
Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, Gloucestershire is a beautiful place to vist, particularly in Autumn when the colour of the trees is stunning. So why black & white? Tones is the answer. Lots and lots of tones.
One of the trees
My choice of film was, as usual, Ilford HP5+ and the camera my Leica M2. The difference was that I handed the camera to Lynn so that she could try out using a rangefinder. Whilst she was not overly enamoured with the camera, I think she did a lovely job. I set the aperture and shutter speed but the focus and composition was all hers.
Hydrangea
The Gruffalo
Confusion in wood
Bench of remembrance
To finish off this month's blog, here is a photo of Lynn with my M2 round her neck, checking the light meter reading. I think it's obvious that next month I should resurrect and possibly re-edit some of the photos that I took that day on my Leica M240.
24th January 2021 - 0 comments
The Gruffalo in Westonbirt
One of the films I developed during last summer was exposed in 2014, six years since it was removed from the camera and stored in its canister. Not really following best practice by any means.
On the way in to Westonbirt Arboretum
Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, Gloucestershire is a beautiful place to vist, particularly in Autumn when the colour of the trees is stunning. So why black & white? Tones is the answer. Lots and lots of tones.
One of the trees
My choice of film was, as usual, Ilford HP5+ and the camera my Leica M2. The difference was that I handed the camera to Lynn so that she could try out using a rangefinder. Whilst she was not overly enamoured with the camera, I think she did a lovely job. I set the aperture and shutter speed but the focus and composition was all hers.
Hydrangea
The Gruffalo
Confusion in wood
Bench of remembrance
To finish off this month's blog, here is a photo of Lynn with my M2 round her neck, checking the light meter reading. I think it's obvious that next month I should resurrect and possibly re-edit some of the photos that I took that day on my Leica M240.
December 2020 - Developing Old Films.
24th December 2020 - 0 comments
24th December 2020 - 0 comments
This year has provided me with time to catch up on some jobs that have been sitting on my to do list for far longer than I can reasonably excuse. I had around half a dozen films that had been exposed in my M2 going back as far as 2014.
I think that the longer you leave a job that you've been putting off, the harder it is to get yourself into the right frame of mind to get on with it. If there is a problem with your confidence to carry it out, it will only get worse.
Well, I've stirred myself into action during the lockdown and periods of isolation and managed to get all the outstanding films developed and scanned. This month I've been spending time processing them in both Lightroom and Photoshop on my iMac.
The following three images were taken in 2014 and left undeveloped until a few months ago. They are all on Ilford HP5 plus film stock that ran out of its use by date in 2017. They were developed in developer that became no longer available in 2013 that probably should be poured away but seems to work ok.
This first image is of my lovely wife, Lynn. She would prefer I hadn't taken it I think!
The next couple of images were taken whilst on a stroll around Lyde Green which was at that time a new development and part of Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire.
Over the Christmas period I shall probably be spending time editing more of the negatives including some images that Lynn took at Westonbirt with my camera. It looks as though January's blog already has a subject!
Here's hoping for the best possible Christmas in the current circumstances and look forward to all improvements the New Year brings our way. Stay well everyone!
I think that the longer you leave a job that you've been putting off, the harder it is to get yourself into the right frame of mind to get on with it. If there is a problem with your confidence to carry it out, it will only get worse.
Well, I've stirred myself into action during the lockdown and periods of isolation and managed to get all the outstanding films developed and scanned. This month I've been spending time processing them in both Lightroom and Photoshop on my iMac.
The following three images were taken in 2014 and left undeveloped until a few months ago. They are all on Ilford HP5 plus film stock that ran out of its use by date in 2017. They were developed in developer that became no longer available in 2013 that probably should be poured away but seems to work ok.
This first image is of my lovely wife, Lynn. She would prefer I hadn't taken it I think!
The next couple of images were taken whilst on a stroll around Lyde Green which was at that time a new development and part of Emersons Green, South Gloucestershire.
Over the Christmas period I shall probably be spending time editing more of the negatives including some images that Lynn took at Westonbirt with my camera. It looks as though January's blog already has a subject!
Here's hoping for the best possible Christmas in the current circumstances and look forward to all improvements the New Year brings our way. Stay well everyone!
My First Post
16th December 2020 - 0 comments
16th December 2020 - 0 comments
There will be a new blog post on 24th December 2020. It will be the first of a monthly blog series to go along with the recent overhaul of my website. I have had this resource for seven years and despite it having reached many people, I haven't really made the most of it. Hopefully this new beginning will be a positive step forward.