This isn’t your typical review! Instead, it’s a report on my hands-on experience with Dehancer Film, breaking down the key aspects of the software. After experimenting with its interface and creating a range of looks, I wanted to see if Dehancer could complement my digital workflow, especially since I primarily shoot analog film.
Agfa Scala 200 faded plus
Is buying a set of film presets worth the money and will it improve your images? A question raised many times and just recently it became a topic again on social media. Basically I am very restrictive with presets for two reasons: First, I don‘t want to copy another photographers work and second, often presets are very unprecise and don‘t work the way I want. A preset is never a one trick pony. I consider a preset a starting point, a small push into the right direction and a baseline for a cohesive look when editing a series of images. When the London based art & technology company RNI, which stands for “Really Nice Images”, asked me if I want to check out their freshly released RNI All Films 5 presets, I knew already that it would be at least interesting and enjoyable to do so. But in the end, it was even more, I was quite impressed by the quality and potential of these film simulation presets.
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With an early digital background I almost exclusively took analog night images over the last couple of years. I was really embracing the lovely look of Kodak Portra that could reveal the details in the shadow of almost any scene and still convey the beauty of a night scene. The natural and aesthetically pleasing look of the final image never drew me back to my clumsy trials getting something similar from digital. But over the years not only the capabilities of digital cameras improved but also my approach to post processing changed. Time to revisit digital night photography.
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-- a monochrome study
Far on top of a solid rock, overlooking the Mediterranean sea, the Knights of Saint John have built a fortress in 1480 to protect the island. The castle has never been conquered! (S)
Read MoreWhat is it about film, that makes our heart sing? Why do people still shoot film, when digital is so convenient to use? There must be something that goes beyond detail, sharpness, precise color reproduction and this probably the "soul" of photography!
Beautiful grain, stunning tonality, bright and vivid colors, beautiful skin tones and subdued elegant shades of gray, all these attributes belong to certain type of film and wait to be explored, not only by the nostalgic enthusiast who is still drawn to the real medium, but also by the interested digital shooter, who is looking for a way to introduce the magic of film into the digital workflow.
Read MoreSpring 2016
photos - Sebastian Schlueter
Beauty of course is subjective, but standing at beaches wide and open or small and fissured, looking at the light blue sea and breathing the lightly salted air that comes with the wind from the Mediterranean Sea, it is very hard to imagine somebody not being moved by the beauty of this island. The landscape is rough and rugged, but the recent rain over the winter months scattered many green trees and bushes all over the island. On the southeast coast there is a small village called Lindos that lies neatly below the big Acropolis. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Rhodes. The small white houses of the village cover the hills around the Paul´s Bay. Walking inside the narrow alleys gives me the feeling that this place has been here forever. Spring is special here in Rhodes, the streets are still empty and quiet. It is a time of change. People are getting ready for the tourists to arrive.
Read MoreStar Ferry, a company established in 1898, looks back on a history of over 100 years serving the people in Hong Kong. A total of twelve ferries carry up to 70,000 people daily between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. After all these years it is still the most exciting way to shuttle between the two centers of the Asian metropolis. Following a very tight schedule the boats cross the harbour in less than ten minutes and despite the fact that there are alternatives available, like the subway and street tunnels, it is still the most inexpensive and probably the most exciting way to commute between the islands. The Star Ferries have been the only mean of public transportation for many decades. Boarding one of the ferries is still an adventure everyone staying in the city should experience at least once.
Read MorePhoto essay by Sebastian Schlueter
The glamorous days of Grand Hotels seem forever gone in days where one Hotel looks like the other. This is why I was so fascinated walking through the entry gate of the "Grand Hotel des îles Borromess" in Stresa at the west coast of the "Lake Maggiore" in Northern Italy. It is like traveling back in time, back to those days where individuality was common and Hotel chains have not yet been invented. Elegant mirrors and marvelous chandeliers decorate the lobby of the Grand Hotel. All the small details bag for attention [...]
Read MoreA photo essay from Shanghai China.
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