Tagged: just cool

Sailing Grenada on Film

We finally found a break in our hectic schedules. When we were young, it was so easy to take family vacations. As my brother and I have gotten older and have careers of our own, it has become much more difficult. However, the end of March was our time. It had been decades since we had sailed together as a family. So long, in fact, that Brooke had never been. We booked our trip and started to gear up for a week sailing Grenada (one country) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (another country). I was excited to momentarily step away from wedding photography, and cold Cleveland. Now I just needed to decide what to bring.

I gave myself a fun little challenge – one camera, one lens and one film stock. Then lens wasn’t even a zoom and there was no digital “crutch”. Below are a few favorites with minimal commentary –

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above – St. George, Grenada. Below, my father at the helm and Brooke taking her first turn.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing has it’s own language. Unless you speak it, things can get really confusing.

Sailing Grenada on Film

My brother moving us through the water at six knots, and Brooke taking a sunset swim.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Pulling into Hillsborough Harbor on Carriacou Island at sunset.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

My brother waiting at the fish market while our Dorado was cleaned at fileted.

Sailing Grenada on Film

We almost made Peter the new masthead on the boat.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above – colors from Clifton Harbor on Union Island. Below – Angelo photobombing my brother.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above – Happy Island and rum punches. Also my brother making some iphonography.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above- Brooke looking radiant at Happy Island and back on the boat.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above and below – Mopion Island, which might be the most photographed island in the world. The island is tiny and the single umbrella is perfect. We left our mark, albeit in temporary charcoal. I can say one thing – the island definitely needs a bottle opener.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sunset dinner of spiny lobster in the Tobago Cays.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Sailing Grenada on Film

Detail of a fishing boat and sunset in Hillborough above.

Sailing Grenada on Film

Above – pulling back into St. George and the Timoneer, the largest sail boat I have ever seen. Below, enjoying one last Carib in St. George.

Sailing Grenada on Film

VIDEO – VSCO Film Overview

In the past I have done a couple posts concerning the Visual Supply Co. VSCO Film preset package for Lightroom (here and here). As you may know, I snapped up this package pretty quickly and have been using it for a couple months. I have never bought a preset package before and to this day, VSCO Film is the only preset package I own. There is a big reason for this. Included today is our first video, and I decided to tackle and overview of VSCO Film.

During the (very low-budget) video, I discuss aspects of my shooting style and an overview of the VSCO package. Here is a quick list of what I cover –

  • My photographic style and why VSCO Film works for me
  • A walk-through of the different film emulsions included with the package
  • I briefly touch on how VSCO Film works
  • The additional preset “toolkit” items included with VSCO Film
  • How to integrate the presets into a Lightroom workflow
  • and finally, some potential hurdles to watch out for

I think that covers it for today. I certainly aim to produce better videos in the near future. Speaking of which, I will have more coming soon specifically for photographers. Also take a moment to check out what we are up to now on Facebook.

P.S. – This one video took me 9 takes and a barzillon edits. Please be kind 😉

Elise – Real Film vs. VSCO Film

[UPDATE –  I have published a detailed video review of VSCO here]

As many of you may know from my prior post, I happen to shoot both film and digital. I have also been playing around with VSCO Film lately, a new preset package designed to make digital photos mirror their film counterpart. I’m definitely not a fan of preset packages because the results can often times look unnatural. However, the idea behind VSCO Film seemed to be entirely different.

So different in fact that directly comparing film to a digital photo processed with VSCO Film makes sense. So below are two photos shot in my Cleveland studio within minutes of each other. One is definitely film and one is definitely digital (no tricks, I promise). The setup and lighting is nearly identical for both, although I did move a reflector further away for the one on the left.

So a simple question – which one is film?

Elise's senior high school portraits captured by Hunter Photographic, a Cleveland portrait photographer

Feel free to sound off in the comments. I’m really curious to see how the guesses shake out. I’ll clear up which one is which after Thanksgiving. I will also be adding another post with some VSCO Film recipes that I have been experimenting with. For now, have a great Thanksgiving!

Update – the film image is number 2 (on the right). It seems that was what most people guessed. I am continuing to experiment with VSCO Film and it really is producing some great results. I will have more to share soon.

P.S. – In case someone is curious, the film photo is Kodak Tmax 400 shot at 200 and processed in Rodinal 1+50 for 10 minutes. I love this combination!

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