0.005sec (1/200); f/13; Focal Length:105 mm; ISO Speed:640;Exposure Bias:0 EV;Flash fired; using 12 and 20mm extension tube

My favourite subject is ladybird. Though very small, it is a very beautiful beetle with bright red shell doted. The size–about 5-7mm-presents a serious challenge.

Back earlier April, I used Macro function comes with the lenses on Macro photography, which can be manually focus (with moving camera back and forth) at around 0.45m distance. The finished shoots after crop, zoom and interpolation become blur at edges. This is understandable-the finished photo I used as desktop is actually 4 times the life size by digital up scaling.

0.005sec (1/200); f/9; Focal Length:105 mm; ISO Speed:100;Exposure Bias:0 EV;Flash No; Using Macro function

Reverse ring is the cheapest solution; you can pick up one from eBay for around 5 pounds including postage from China. It exposed the lenses inside out, could be a hazardous. And of course you lost TTL metering and auto focus.

Bellow is the most flexible but quite bulky. It takes a platform with ruler and guiding rails. I feel it is not the best choose for field shooting. I saw one on eBay going for £160 with a compliment 50mm FD lenses. A new one without lenses shipped from China costs about 30 pounds includes p&p.

That leaves candidate extension tube. By mounting it ( or combine a few and) to camera body, then mount lenses to it, you have the balance of flexibility, portable and lenses protection.
There are two types of extension tubes around. The economy one costs around £10 pounds, it doesn’t come with electronic contact points, so the camera and your AF, TTL lenses are disconnected. The one I brought from Kenko come with build-in contact points, it relays the communication between lenses and camera body so retains TTL metering and auto focusing. It totally costs 55 pounds from HK. About the price I paid for a 50mm 1.8F prime lenses. Consider there is no lenses, no motor and no circuit board inside but 3 aluminium rings, it is quite expensive.

shown with 12, 20 and 36mm extension tube mounted

0.005sec (1/320); f/9; Focal Length:105 mm; ISO Speed:400; Exposure Bias:-1EV;Flash No; Using 20mm extension tube

0.005sec (1/320); f/9; Focal Length:105 mm; ISO Speed:400; Exposure Bias:-1EV;Flash No; Using 12, 20 and 36mm extension tube

拍摄

用DSLR 选用 RAW格式 - 画质无损失 后期处理更方便。(JPG格式压缩了文件，又加了一些相机定义的调整配方，不好) 三角架拍摄，按暗处侧重测光。如雾景适当开大1/2到1级。这时如检查片片，你可能会觉得画面偏亮，高光处暴光过度。不用担心，目前关键是捕捉细节。正常暴光的话可能暗处细节就没了。

回家整理片片

各相机的RAW格式都不同，Photoshop CS2 可能可以处理(我用的是CS，要加装插件) 最好还是用随相机的厂家软件处理。我用的是佳能的随机软件。调什么呢？主要是白平衡和暴光，还有就是程序配方。

佳能大概有‘人像’‘风景’‘中性’‘忠实’和‘黑白’几种。我选择了黑白。

然后又有可选滤镜。拍黑白胶片的朋友可能知道各种滤镜的作用。比如深红可以加强对比突出细节。 因为考虑到雾影的效果，我在这个片子里用了黄色。然后转换保存RAW格式到TIFF格式。这时的文件是最大的，有70多兆-画质无损失 是有代价的。

然后用Photoshop打开TIFF文件。等文件加载。如果内存不够大(512Mb或以下)，你就先去冲杯咖啡吧。

把画面放到100%，局部一点一点检查。高光处用‘Burnt tool' 5% 暴光的棉球扫暗一点。低光处用‘dodge tool' 5% 暴光的棉球加亮一点。一点一点加，不要企图一下加到20%。

这张片片里，左边火车头驾驶室里是减暗了点的。远处火车照射出的灯柱是加亮了以突出戏剧性效果的。

最后保存成JPG就行啦。这里使用的技巧和普通暗房处理是一模一样的。我在Photoshop数码照片处理上还是菜鸟阿，大家斧正阿。

I counted lab processing is part of the fun of using film compared to digital ones (Digital image vs Slide Film) Now the fun becoming a torture. I sent a process order to www.fujilab.co.uk at the beginning of Jan, yet I am still waiting for it.

Check their web cam a few times (regret I didn’t take a chronicle screen shots). The lab looked like is being dismantled and they promptly shut it down – maybe follow my complaint?

From the email to them:

...

A few days ago got through to the processing lab, they told me there was a backlog and it was in the queue. Factoring the potential length of the queue and the typical 48 hours turn around time, I can see no reason why it is still not done. Checking the web cam is certainly worrying - like the lab is under construction or being dismantled. By the way the web cam snap shoot was last updated at 07/Jan, would that mean it has been disconnected since then?

...

And the webcam still as of writing

And what it look like now?

Yeah, great got to sit tight…

19/01/20006 Finally I got the slides back...

Dixons has recently stopping selling film camera. A shocking news but probably shouldn't be too surprise. They stopped selling VHS recorder a few months before. High street chain retailers are chasing profit than anything else.

I finally sit myself down at this dismayed Sunday afternoon for some serious hobby that been listed in the 'TODO-now list' for more than three years.

You see, I like photography and travel. These two are the prefer compliment to each other. I have even setup a darkroom for enlarge and print in the garage but never really use it since it was built. I still took photos in slides and black and white film, but they normally ended-up in the shelf for my own pleasure.

Friends ask me, 'Why don't you share your photos online?' Believe me I have tried since three years ago. But all ended up nowhere as I always wanted to built a site from ground zero.

Still not very comfortable on sharing photos using third party (e.g. msn) service. I know, everyone does so nowadays. It is just me.

Based on the velocity, I find that an quality afternoon (i.e. no one is yarning or messing around in the house) could afford me to tidy up two photos with minimum modifications.

If I could keep it like this, all photo frames we bought two years ago should be very quickly put into use once I get them print. :-)