Pushing the Dynamic Range of Color Negative Film

December 17, 2019 Alex Burke

“Sunflower Sunset” - Backlit scenes are no trouble with color negative film. A filter was left off for this image to avoid flare troubles with the sun. The foreground (also the important part) was average metered and the sky ignored when taking the … — “Sunflower Sunset” - Backlit scenes are no trouble with color negative film. A filter was left off for this image to avoid flare troubles with the sun. The foreground (also the important part) was average metered and the sky ignored when taking the meter reading. Ektar 100 4x5, 210mm lens, 2 seconds at f45, no filters.

Color negative film has increasingly become a larger part of my workflow over the last several years and with good reason: the flexibility of the stuff is just phenomenal. It can be used to capture all the delicate subtleties of a low contrast scene as well as landscape scenes with intense dynamic range. If you don’t know what you will be getting into when you head out for a shoot it’s an excellent choice because it can handle anything you throw at it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used for a specific purpose or aesthetic either. Color negatives are the film type that I get the most questions about, mostly because people see such a wide variety of looks coming out of the same film types…

Manual Inversion of Color Negative Film

October 17, 2019 Alex Burke

This one is for you DSLR scanning folks, or those who want more control out of your film scanner. It’s been just about three years now that I’ve been using a drum scanner which has drastically changed my scanning process with color negative film. While the software for this scanner is incredibly powerful, it falls apart when it comes to inverting color negatives. This means that I had to develop a method to do this on my own that can work for every image I throw at it. While I love sharing my findings with the film community, I wasn’t sure that a technique I developed for drum scanning would be helpful to the average shooter. It turns out that this manual inversion can work no matter what you use to scan your film with…

Metering and Shooting Kodak Portra Film

May 16, 2019 Alex Burke

“Luskentyre Morning” - Portra 400 645, 35mm lens, 1/2 second at f16, no filters

If you’ve been following me for a while - especially my recent work - you’ve probably noticed that I’ve got a passion for Portra. This film can have such a unique color palette that is flattering for many types of subjects and light conditions, but it’s also one of the films that I’ve gotten the most questions about when it comes to metering and shooting…

New Prairie Work 2019

March 7, 2019 Alex Burke

“Elevator Sunrise” - Colorado, January 2019

If you’ve been following me on Instagram lately, you’ve probably seen a new and different type of work coming from me in the recent months. While this series of images is still growing rapidly, I feel that now is a good time to share the beginnings and what I’ve created so far. Many of you know that I’ve photographed the plains of Colorado for, well, about as long as I’ve been photographing anything. It’s always been one of my favorite areas…

Using a Large Format Camera in the Dark

February 6, 2019 Alex Burke

“Twilight Spire” - Velvia 50 4x5, 135mm lens - 3 minutes at f22, no filters

If you’ve browsed through my images, chances are you’ve noticed that I’m a big fan of twilight and early morning light; the soft warm glow on the landscape is just sublime. Shooting in twilight comes with its own set of challenges, but those are greatly increased when trying to use a large format view camera. I’m going to share some tips that can help you out when the light is fading fast, or when you arrived well before sunrise and don’t want to miss the morning glow because you can’t see anything…

The Best of 2018

December 29, 2018 Alex Burke

As every year comes to a close it can be helpful to look back on the last year; while one could argue that the date of January 1st is arbitrary, a retrospective still puts a timeline to progress and is a chance to look back on how we’ve grown and where we can go. As a photographer, the best way to do this is by culling down the entire year into my absolute favorite images. I must admit that for 2018 this was a real challenge! I felt as though I’ve had one of the stronger years in a while…

Scanning and Editing Color Negative FIlm

December 19, 2018 Alex Burke

One of the top questions I get from other film photographers is “How do you get those colors out of your film scans?” This was true back in 2013 when I first wrote this post and it’s still true today, so it’s time for a complete overhaul of this article. We all grow as photographers and over time my process has been changed and tweaked ever-so-slightly. The scans that I’ve gotten the most questions about are my color negative images, particularly Kodak Ektar…

The New Intrepid 4x5 MK3 - Field Test and Review

November 12, 2018 Alex Burke

The new Intrepid MK3 4x5, looking good in red in the wild.

After a year of backpacking with the intrepid 4x5 camera, I realized I was really falling in love with the idea of just using a lightweight wooden box to create images. I used the “older” mk2 version last summer during several trips…

Backpacking with a 4x5 - 2018 Update

June 29, 2018 Alex Burke

My 4x5 camera in the wild, right where it belongs!

It’s been five years since I’ve last touched on this subject and I must admit a lot has changed since then. Backpacking has grown into an even larger part of how I create images, and the desire to go deeper into the wilderness while having the miles wear me out less has required more than a few “tweaks” to how I do things…

The Best of 2017

December 29, 2017 Alex Burke

With the new year just a few days away, it's time for one of my favorite annual blog posts where I get to look back on where the last year has taken me and think forward to where I'll go in 2018. I can't think of a better way to do this than by sharing the best images of 2017...

Drum vs Flatbed Scanner - Side by Side Comparison

December 18, 2017 Alex Burke

"Corn Lilies in the Rain" - A fresh image from the Tango drum scanner

Many of you who follow me on social media have heard that I acquired a drum scanner about a year ago. I spent much of the last year learning how to properly wet mount film and operate this beast of a machine. Now after scanning about a hundred sheets I now have some results to share...

Silence of the Wilderness - Backpacking in the Canadian Rockies

October 26, 2017 Alex Burke

"Rampart Range Sunrise" - A brief window of morning light illuminates the towering Rampart Range covered in fresh snow.  Prints available. — "Rampart Range Sunrise" - A brief window of morning light illuminates the towering Rampart Range covered in fresh snow. Prints available.

Aside from creating new images, one of the main reasons I venture out into truly wild areas is for the solitude, the peace, and the diversion from the noise of everyday life. We humans make an astounding amount of noise nearly all the time, often appearing as if that was our sole purpose of existence on this earth. Talking, driving, constructing, and entertaining all come with an incredible amount of noise...

Wind River Range Backpacking with the Intrepid Camera

August 30, 2017 Alex Burke

The Intrepid 4x5 Camera in the Cirque of the Towers, complete with my reflection in the ground glass.

I just wrapped up a nice 5 day backpacking trip in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, which gave me a great chance to become familiarized with the new Intrepid 4x5" field camera. If you're not familiar with the Wind River Range, it's a huge area with over a thousand alpine lakes and deep wild valleys surrounded by lofty granite spires that attract climbers from around the world. It's also known for lengthy hikes to most of the locations that keep the day hikers out and make it a great backcountry destination. Just about all of the good spots.....

The Best of 2016

December 30, 2016 Alex Burke

With 2016 coming to a close, it's time to reflect on the last year and look forward to the next. On top of that, it's time to show my personal favorite images from the last year!

GND Filters - Getting the Perfect Exposure in One Shot

August 31, 2016 Alex Burke

It’s time for me to answer another set of frequently asked questions, one that I get almost weekly so I need to make a blog post about it. Do you use GND filters, how do you choose the right filter, which ones should I buy, how do you position them, and how do you meter for them? Well the answer to the first question is a big definite yes, I use GND filters for the majority of my images and I will explain the rest throughout this post in great detail...

Metering and Exposing Color Film

April 3, 2016 Alex Burke

It's time for a long overdue post. Looking back through my archives, I realized that I've covered topics like film selections and scanning film but to date I've skipped one really important part: metering and exposing color film. This is something I get quite a few questions about so bear with me while I try to be very thorough and cover topics from different lighting conditions and how I would meter with the various film types, both color negatives and slides...

Death Valley National Park - December 2015

February 1, 2016 Alex Burke

At the end of 2015 I ditched the Colorado snow and headed for the warm sun of Death Valley, California. Well, okay, it’s not that warm there in December (stupid northern hemisphere and science) but the days are far more pleasant and the nights more mild than they are in Colorado this time of year. I’m going to write a bit about my experiences in the park but mostly I want to share the images! Death Valley National Park...

Top 15 Photos of 2015

January 5, 2016 Alex Burke

As the year 2015 comes to a close, I like to look back and see where my images have progressed and where I want them to go in the future. It’s also a good time to reflect on how I’ve grown personally over the last twelve months. I would say 2015 was another great year! Sometimes after a year as amazing as 2014 it can be hard to compete but I still grew a lot this year, took some wonderful […]

Connecting With Nature Through Landscape Photography

November 2, 2015 Alex Burke

The other day while riding my bike down a river trail lined with golden autumn cottonwoods, I somehow found myself wondering how my life would be without the beauty of nature. More specifically, my connection with nature that's happened from years of experiencing it through the mindset of a landscape photographer. The thoughts started to roll through my head as I pedaled along for miles, and I realized that I've come...

Sand Creek Lakes - Not your normal wedding photoshoot

July 16, 2015 Alex Burke

A few months ago I was approached by my friend Jen who had an interesting proposal. She and Marc (also my very good friend ever since I met them both at the Pawnee Buttes four years ago) were finally going to tie the knot this June after years of being together. Jen knew very well that traditional wedding photography was not something I do, but she wanted me to help to create a special memory of the day they would be getting married. Marc and Jen moved out to the Denver area from New York in 2011 and quickly fell in love with all aspects of Colorado. They instantly enjoyed the mountains and also gained...

Large Format Film Photography

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