My first attempt

Hey guys, some of you may remember a little while back I asked for some advice with the ME super I had inherited. Well, the tim has come for the scanning of my first roll of pictures!

These are just test pictures for getting used to how the camera works and seeing what settings everything should be at so keep that in mind please!

These were taken on Kodak Gold with 200ASA as recommended to start with so I don't waste more expensive film.

They were also taken with a Skylight 1B filter on the lense.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, you guys all seem to take amazing pictures and I would love to take ones half as good as yours!

1.


2.


3.


4.


5. (taken wit ha tele-lense on my drive)


6. (taken with a tele-lense a few houses down from me)


7.


8.


9.


10. (realised that the previous picture had the aperture set way too small!)


11.


12.


13.


14. (took a picture of the celica I see every day, because it's nice)


15. (my favourite picture)


16.


17.


18.


19. (macro shot using spacer)


20. (macro shot using spacer)


21. (macro shot using spacer)


22. (macro shot using spacer)

Even constructive criticism would be appreciated

You might have to wait for more than an hour before getting any comments and or criticism, but no need to wait, tell us what you think of your images.

What could you have done differently with #1 for instance? And, why is #15 your favourite picture?

BTW: Lens is spelled lens, and not lense.

I'm not going to comment on subject matter.
The pictures seem to have good detail, particularly no.s 2,3,16 and 17, a small 'Levels' tweak in photoshop (or similar software) would improve them.
The scans look fine to me - what resolution did you scan them at?

I also have the M E Super and have scanned all my negs and slides from it, my biggest problem was keeping dust off the scanner glass, which you seem to have on a couple.
For a first attempt you should be very pleased. Good luck with it, look forward to seeing more.

Regards, Michael

Ps: The M E Super is a fantastic film camera, I will never sell mine!

After looking at these images I think I will stay with digital and not going back to film again.

Exposures seem to be genrally OK and the scans look reasonable, you will find you get more constructive criticism if you post fewer images, most users, myself included do not have the time to spend on judging 20+ images

Something to bear in mind for your next upload.

As a set of photos to prove that the camera and lens work, they prove that it is all ok.

Photographically for me, the Motorbike, Portraits and the Gucci work ok.
Try to avoid distracting backgrounds and keep the pictures simple.

For me the Tree shots do not really work too well, as they lack composition, mood and drama. Although I can see why you took these tree photos, with the lovely light shining through the leaves.

There are too many pics here! Be honest with yourself, some of these are duds (and we all take them- on digital they just get deleted!)

# 2 , 10 , 15 (I would say its my favourite too it has a retro feel that I like) and 22 have some merit. it seems the camera works fine.

I would say you outdoor pics need more compositional consideration. kind of looks like you just did a point and shoot on the tree shots.

Its a tough one when you've got the expense of processing- I see an expensive few months for you!

The next time you post images take a few minutes to make comments on what you like and dislike about your shots- I think you would get more feedback if you start the ball rolling.

Without sounding too poncey, the thing I have learnt in my first year is to work out what you are trying to convey in an image before you press the shutter. Especially when you've got the cost of devloping film to consider.

Cheers for the feedback guys, there is a lot to consider! Lets start at the top with peoples questions etc

Number 1, I think I made a bit of a schoolboy error to be honest it is clear that I accidentally left the windowframe in there and would have looked better without!

15 could have been better if the monitor wasn't in there but for some reason I think it works like that weirdly! It shows the shine and colour of my girlfriends hair really well and I think it really brings out her eyes too!

Since this was just the first reel, like a few have noticed, a lot of what I have been doing is simply point and shoot to get used to taking the pictures and to see how they all come out! Honestly I should have noted down the aperture and shutter speed of them all so I know what is going on and why. Something to keep in mind on the next couple!

Usually I have impecable spelling but thanks, now I know it's lens

I noticed the dust on there and was pretty gutted TBH but I didn't scan them, I took them to a place in town to do that for me since I have a terrible scanner! They came out at a resolution of 1908x1272. I will ask them if they can try to clear the dust off a little more next time as I won't be wanting 'better' pictures to have that! I may look in to Photoshop but I can pretty much guarantee I will be useless at it!

m42geo - Pretty insulting to say the least considering this was on cheap film and you don't know what lens/aperture/shutter speed/quality of scanner I used. A tip in general, never base an opinion on one source.

I'll be posting fewer next time, I guess 20ish is quite a lot to be fair... >.<

It'll be difficult to work out what i am trying to convey in an image before shooting for one reason, I am the least artistic person you will ever meet I'll try though, hopefully there will be some improvement in the next reel haha!

Thanks for the mixed feedback, it has given me a lot to think about! I am looking forward to hearing from some of you again!

By the way does anyone know how to not do 80's look photos, it's like they all have this weird 80's thing about them and I really can't explain it (total untrained eye).

It's not enough to have an emotional reaction to good pictures, and just leave it at that - unless all you want to do is look at other people's and enjoy them.

If you want to take good pictures yourself, you need to know why a good picture is good. If you don't know what it is about it that makes it good, you stand no chance of creating good pictures yourself, except by accident.

So start really thinking about why you like pictures that you think are good. Then try to create ones that have these characteristics.

Note that I'm not saying what is good and what isn't. For your pictures, that's up to you to decide.


And it's 'impeccable', not 'impecable'

Are you getting lessons from George Chris

Nah, just a natural talent. That, and modesty

In that case its "No" not "Nah"

I think I know what you mean about the 80s thing. I reckon its the characteristics of film. Many of my family shots of me growing up have this kind of feel.Others may know more than me here though.

I wouldnt be too hasty in dismissing your artistic talent. I think its something that can be learnt with decent advice and good practice- you like #15 for "artistic" reasons (btw I think you did a good job of getting the focus on your girlfriends eyes in that one).

I think you could take lots of photos of her. They are your best shots and she seems to be enjoy being the sitter and is a willing and photogenic subject which is very handy. Maybe portraits are gonna be your thing!

I'm sure you will carry it on- in a few months you may well look back at these photos and think how much you have improved.

All the best

Wo'evuh