Comparison

My picture for the week is something I have been wanting to do for a while. I wanted to see how closely I can replicate an image I took with a 35mm camera and developed myself but this time using a digital camera and photoshop.
I've always loved black and white photos and I just feel like there is just something special about them when done with film.

I picked an image I had taken during my b&w 35mm film class of a birdhouse in my backyard. I figured it would be the easiest to try since it was a fairly simple composition.
Needless to say I still agree that there is something special about film photography. The one I took today isn't bad, but I just like the original film one more.

Original:

New:

I'm pleased with how the new image converted to black and white, but that is about all that I'm pleased with. Some of the differences in the images are beyond my control though. For one the trees in the background had more leaves in the original image, the new one has too much white space without all the foliage. Also, although I don't remember exactly, but I do believe the Nikon 35mm camera I used had a lens with a smaller f-stop which created the much more blurred background. It was also probably a larger lens; 55-200mm most likely.
I will say I did a better job of focusing the birdhouse this time, it's much more detailed. But with a larger f-stop more of the background is in focus and I don't like that.

Film. You win this round.

Granted I'm pretty biased towards b&w film...

What do you think?

Rainy Day

Normally I go out and take pictures on bright, sunny days, but I decided to give the rainy day a try. When I came home from class it was lightly misting so I figured my camera could survive with minimal harm.

I only uploaded two images, but I am trying to work on quality, not quantity.

This is some grassy plant behind the house. I love the water droplets resting on the blade.
Even though the image consists mostly of blacks and greens I think it's very striking.

This image made me feel kind of silly. I'm not normally one to photograph myself and since it's of just my shoes it makes me feel kind of hipster-ish.
But these are my favorite boots. And boots are for rain... even though these boots offer no protection from water.

kjhoi

This is an image from an afternoon I spent photographing ducks for a local photography contest for wild birds. It was my favorite picture from the day. Although I have changed my mind and no longer plan to enter the contest. Birds are a very difficult subject and require more time and equipment than I have.
Not to mention I have more important things to worry about like my last two weeks of college. Ever.
But photographing ducks was a lot of fun, although slightly scary. There were many, many ducks and they really aren't afraid to get close.  

I am trying to start taking photographs of at least one thing a week to keep myself active. This week I picked a pink, blossoming tree in my parent's front yard. I figured a shallow depth of field shot with the sun in the background would be interesting. I also spent some time working in photoshop trying to learn my way around a variety of adjustments.
I'm pleased with the results.

[Edited image. All pink and lovely. Click to view it larger and in more glory on flickr.]

[Original for comparison.]

Perhaps you noticed I had no idea for a clever title. Exam season tends to drain one's creativity. And life.