Alternative Energy Revisited

Mamiya Press 23 100mm f2.8 FUJIFILM Neopan Acros 100 Arista 76 Developer 1:1 - Created from a mistake during the shoot from my post Alternative Energy no. 2, this image contains a little more Photoshop work than I normal post here, but I believe interesting enough to share. I broke out my Mamiya Press 23 for the first time in many years and had for gotten that the film advance for this 6x9 rangefinder was a 2 stroke affair. Though I remembered after the 4th exposure, the 1st 4 frames were overlapped. What surprised me was the consistency and position of the overlaps. I used Photoshop to balance the exposure between the different sections of the overlaps, but decided not to blend the edges, as I believe the actually contribute to the feel of the image. I love the final result.

Below is the orginal "un-shopped" scan for comparison.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Using Epson's OEM scanner software.

Mamiya Press Close-up Tilt/Shift Exposure no. 4

Mamiya 23 Sekkor 100 mm f2.8 Adox Art CHS 100 Arista 76 1:1 - Selective Focus by tilting the back of the Press as seen in example no. 2 here. Focusing on the ground glass can be tricky when tilting the back and it is extremely important to get everything locked down. Swapping the focusing back for the film back is pretty smooth, but makes it easy to move something. A little tweak here or there can ruin the shot. The results are worth it.

Mamiya 23 Close-Up Exposure no. 8

Mamiya 23 Sekkor 100 mm f2.8 Adox Art CHS 100 Arista 76 1:1 - This shot was done the the Press back extended straight back for close focusing, as seen in example no. 1 here. Light source is single 100w Novatron modeling light coming straight from the left. A silver reflector is on the right to provide a little light in the shadows. The Statue is roughly 8 inches tall.

Mamiya Press Tilt/Shift Fun

Example no. 1 Back extended (relatively) straight for
to achieve close focus.

Example no. 2 Back tilted to achieve Selective focus.

I have owned a Mamiya Press for a long time, but have always used it as just a 6x9 medium format rangefinder. It is a great field camera in that role, though it is a much more cable camera. It's movable back allows for Tilt/Shift function similar to a large format view camera. The images above demonstrate the backs capabilities and the posts to follow will show the results. Focus is achieved on a ground glass in the focusing back. The back is then removed and replaced with a roll film back.

From the Archives - New America Theatre

Mamiya Universal 100mm f2.8 Kodak Gold 100 - The Side wall of the new America Theatre Shot sometime in 1987 or 1988. I lived in an Apartment  above the bike shop next store and amazing always likes this view.