THE FIFTH COLUMN

"This column is dedicated to the proposition that Canada (and indeed the world) is in a crisis situation and that fundamental social change is required to remedy this situation." - The First Column, Lambda November 2, 1971 This blog is inspired by my column of the same name in the Laurentian University Newspaper, Lambda, from 1971-1973. The title refers to the concept of subverting the system from within. To read key excerpts from those columns read the first few posts in this blog.

Showing posts with label Franzis Black & White Projects. Show all posts

2024-11-15

Evolution of an Image – Photo Versions

I have been trying for a few years to get this photo of the vegetation by the Emerald Meadows pond in Bridlewood but have not been happy with the results.

These first photos were taken in November 2023 with my small Panasonic Lumix TS5 camera that I used to keep with me all the time on the bike. Unfortunately even when set for Vivid it’s pictures look washed out and need to be improved with software,

These images are the first one I tried, from the camera, and then edited with Simply Good Pictures. It did not turn out too bad but still was not what I was hoping for.

So I tried another one, but was still not happy after editing it with Simply Good Pictures. Then I tried enhancing the reds in Photoshop Elements 2023 and further enhancing it with Franzis Color Projects, which I think I overdid. These images are those photos in that order.

I tried again in October 2024 with much better results, likely a result of a bright day with better lighting and using my new Panasonic Lumix FZ300 camera. The first photo is from the camera and the second is enhanced with Simply Good Pictures and Franzis Color Projects. I am quite happy with that result.

Upon reflection I began to think that this photo would be a good candidate for playing around with in Franzis Color Projects as well as Franzis Black & White Projects to see what kind of variations and effects could be created. The following slide show, starting with the final version above, shows the kind of variations and effects that can be produced.

2024-09-25

Orange Flowers Photo Variations with Franzis Projects Software

These are variations on a photo of orange flowers taken on the grounds of Boldt Castle along the St. Lawrence River with my Panasonic Lumix FZ300 camera, using Franzis Color Projects and Franzis Black & White Projects software.

The Franzis Projects software is a collection of presets with variations on levels and sharpness, brightness and contrast as well as colour hue and saturation, etc., as well as some filter effects. Most of the presets are manually adjustable but I tend to just use use the extensive collection of presets.

You will notice I am not indicating which effect I used for each photo. That is because I am lazy and the intention of this post is not to teach you how to create these effects but to show you the wide range of final images you can create from one original photo. Just play with the software and see what you can create from your own original photos and a little imagination.

The variations are shown in the following slideshow (can be viewed full screen) with the Original Photo From Camera shown first followed by Franzis Color Projects Versions and Franzis Black & White Projects Versions.

2023-12-04

Franzis Black and White Projects Professional 6 Photo Film Emulation Versions

This is a demonstration of the film emulation capabilities of Franzis Black & White Projects. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the emulation provided by this software but it is indeed an interesting idea. I have not included all the options available but have selected a few film types from the brands I am familiar with. You will see that in many cases the differences are subtle but others are noticeably different.

I have selected a base setting in Franzis Black and White Projects of Natural Maximum Details and Optimization Natural with various film emulations. Since infra red film does not seem to be included in the choices I have also included a variation with Landscape Infrared setting, as well as an optimized colour version (I don’t recall the software I used for that) just for comparison.

Original From Camera (Panasonic Lumix TS5)

Optimized Colour Version

Franzis Black and White Projects Versions

Digital Negative

Agfa APX25

Agfa APX 100

Agfa APX Pan 400

Fuji Neopan Acros 100

Fuji Neopan 400

Fuji Neopan Neopan 1600

Ilford Delta 100

Ilford Delta 400

Ilford Delta 3200

Kodak T-Max 100

Kodak T-Max 400

Kodak T-Max 3200

Landscape Infared

2023-08-29

Fernbank Road Pond Photo Versions

Slideshow of photos taken along the Fernbank Road Pond in Stittsville in July 2023 with my Panasonic Lumix FZ100 camera and edited with Photoshop Elements 2023, Simply Good Pictures 5, Franzis Color Projects 6 Professional and Franzis Black & White Projects 6 Professional.

(View in YouTube to view full screen)

2023-02-12

Photo Versions Created with Franzis Black & White Projects

Back in the day, not my day but the day, cameras were not an app on your phone but bulky and heavy apparatus with explosive flash powder that could only take monochrome photos. We have advanced a long way to today’s sophisticated DSLRs and prosumer cameras such as my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 .

So why black & white photography today when the technology has moved so far beyond it. One can be overwhelmed by the colour in a colour photograph and miss the complexities of light and contrast and even the composition. A black & white photograph can put the emphasis on the other aspects of the photo rather than the colour. But for me it often has more to do with the subject. For historical, or even industrial photos, there is a certain authenticity that a black & white image provides, It is like the photo was taken back in the day.

The photos in this project were taken with my Konica Autoreflex T-3 35 mm camera using 100 ASA colour slide film. They were scanned with my CanoScan 4400F scanner at 600 DP with low compression. The colour images were enhanced with Simply Good Pictures 5 and converted to black & white using Franzis Black & White Projects 6 Professional.

The Natural High Quality setting on Franzis Black & White projects provides high quality black & white versions of the colour images. There are also a large number of other presets available to provide other versions, some with subtle differences and some with much greater differences, including a number of artistic settings. All of the presets have an unlimited number of individual adjustments that can be made to them. This project displays a number of the different photo versions that are available with Franzis Black & White Projects.

King’s Landing Historical Settlement, New Brunswick, August 8, 1982

Original Scanned Slide (1636)