Large Format Color

It’s nice that my family puts up with my requests for them to model all the time.

After making a number of successful black and white photos using the new Crown Graphic I finally had the nerve to try some color. The above image of my dad was shot on Kodak Portra 400 and processed in the JOBO using the JOBO C-41 Press Kit and scanned with the Epson V750 and SilverFast.

I really like how the 4×5 negatives look, but I’m still struggling with color rendition. Scanning is hard, especially with color. Epson Scan’s color came out all washed-out cyan. Vuescan was closer, but still a bit weak. SilverFast did the best overall job but it’s still off somehow. I don’t have a great eye for color so I find it difficult to judge the output on screen.

But it’s a lot of fun. Processing color is not terribly difficult, and I have been surprised by how much I enjoy color images. They’re so, uh, colorful. I hope to shoot more, but with the cost per 4×5 exposure pushing $5.00 it’s not something to take lightly.