Scotland Velvia photos

I got the Velvia that I shot in Scotland back today. Velvia is a kind of slide film much praised by photographers for its ability to reproduce colour vividly. Above all, the shots I got back demonstrate how challenging it can be to use film with such a narrow exposure lattitude effectively. Even photos with overcast skies tend to include broad sheets of pure white pixels – though that seems to be much worse on the scans I had done than on the slides themselves. Also, the textures of rock and grass look like screen rips from the original Doom: even when the files are viewed at the original scan resolution. I suspect that something went wrong in the scanning process. If someone (Tristan?) cares to confirm my diagnosis, I will happily send a 30MB archive of all the original files.

The three photos that it seemed worthwhile to put on Photo.net are here, here, and here. Despite the lacklustre results, I remain thankful to Tristan for sending me the film in the first instance.

• Does anybody know of somewhere in Oxford where I could gain access to a slide projector? Looking at the slides on top of a piece of white paper up against the MCR window is clearly not ideal and, as I said before, it looks as though the slides themselves came out rather better than the scans.
• Due to a mistake on my part, the first roll of Velvia I shot was a comprehensive failure. That was a particular shame, since they were taken of some of the most photogenic things I know: the campus of UBC and Meghan Mathieson. For a better photo of each, see this and this.
• People considering using DLab7.com for photo processing might appreciate knowing that their ‘8MB’ scans are actually only 700k or so. The jpg files are 2072×1390. Though the files are of comparable size and resolution to those produced by my A510, they are dramatically less sharp.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here. View all posts by Milan