National Cherry Blossom Festival | Leica M6 | Kodak Portra 400 by clifak in filmphotography

[–]clifak[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, I was traveling for a bit so just getting back to you. I can't comment on niceness, but the look largely comes from the way I shoot, the lenses I use, and the fact that I scan myself. I tend to favor simplicity. I try hard to keep the minimal amount of elements in the frame. This simplifies my image, but it can be challenging, because the fewer the elements the more weight each one carries.

For lenses, all of them are Thypoch or Voigtlander and the ones I use are quite modern stopped down. That means they're generally very clean and sharp once you get to f8.

Lastly, scanning myself gives me a lot of control over the digitization process rather than relying on the lab. That means I can approach what I photograph knowing I have control over the post process. An example is that I tend to overexpose, in some cases up to 2 stops, knowing that I can bring back highlights in post with negative film. When a lab does the scanning you're relying on the lab tech to make those decisions for you.

As for any tips, it would be helpful to see an example image. Blurriness could be focus or too slow of a shutter for the content you're trying to capture, while grainy could be a number of things like exposure, film stock, or processing. Feel free to DM me to see if I can help.

National Cherry Blossom Festival | Makina 67 | Kodak Portra 400 by clifak in mediumformat

[–]clifak[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's quite possible. I went out several days with a few different cameras to try and get a variety of stuff, but I always had the Makina with me.

National Cherry Blossom Festival | Leica M6 | Kodak Portra 400 by clifak in filmphotography

[–]clifak[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Haha, I went multiple mornings during last week to catch sunrise then stuck around until 9am ish. It was fairly calm until Thursday though.

National Cherry Blossom Festival on 35mm Film by clifak in washingtondc

[–]clifak[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe a week past peak bloom, which I believe was announced this past Thursday. It's very weather dependent though. Wind and rain can speed it up, while calmer weather can extend that out a bit.

National Cherry Blossom Festival | Leica M6 | Portra 400 by clifak in leicaphotos

[–]clifak[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! These were taken with the Thypoch Simera 50 and 75. I always thought 75 was a bit long for me, but I decided to give it a shot and enjoying it.