Did I Save These Images?

Saving Or Ruining film Images In Post Processing

While visiting the Palacio de Cristal in Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain, in 2019 I made several images with my Leica M4 and Delta 400 film.

The Leica at that moment was quite new to me - I purchased it just a month before in South Africa - and working with an external light meter or guessing my exposure settings with the sunny-16 rule was not something I was very much used to yet.

As a consequence, several images turned out to be quite under-exposed. Resulting in thin and grainy negatives, which showed clearly in the scans I got back from the lab.

I played around with the digital versions of these images, first in Lightroom and later in the 2019 version of ON1 I, but never really to my satisfaction.

We are in 2024 now, and ON1 got some major and interesting upgrades, including Brilliance AI and an updated version of their NoNoiseAI and TackSharpAI tools.

This encouraged me to revisit these images and put them through the ON1 works.

And to be honest: I like the results. While I admit they absolutely have a very processed look to them now, to my opinion this has created a look that pleases my eye: very clean, very slick, almost graphic.

I wonder what you think of this: did I manage to save these images, or did I only make a bad (underexposed and grainy) photo worse in another way?

Forever Young

Washington, DC | 11th Street NW | July 2014

Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Alphaville, and probably many others sang about it. Movies have been made about it.

Staying forever young: a wish that many people need to have.

If we must believe the music and film industries. 

And cosmetics and clothing firms are playing well too.

Helping people to stay forever young.

Or at least: helping people feel they can stay forever young.

Or at least: making people feel they need to stay forever young.

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Madrileñas

Madrid, Spain | Plaza Platería de Martinez | August 2019

Something that always strikes me in Spain is the strong and articulated women.

Irrespective of social status or age, they are Present, with a capital P.

After a stroll through Madrid's famous National Botanical Garden, my wife and I decided we earned some tapas and a refreshing drink. Since it was summer, most bars and restaurants had tables outside on the street, and we quickly found one near the botanical garden and the Prado museum.

While getting seated, I could not ignore these three ladies sitting at a table next to ours.

They were involved in deep conversation. One of the ladies passionately articulated her thoughts on a particular topic, while the other two listened with great attention.

I would have loved to eavesdrop to hear what they were so animated talking about, but that is not something one does. Also, my Spanish is not so good that I could fully understand what she said.

HOWEVER, what I could do was take my trustworthy Leica M4 and seize an image of this beautiful trio.

This photo might not capture a 'decisive moment', but, as I explained previously, street photography is not always about the decisive moment and is far more.

This image, for me, represents a typical situation that someone easily can encounter in Madrid. Or in any town and city of Spain.

Three ladies are having a great afternoon, enjoying some food and drinks and discussing current events, maybe talking about global wars and inflation, or gossiping about the new girlfriend of one of their sons.

In Focus: Food Envy

Pre-Pandemic Diners In The Hague

Background Story

We all remember those carefree pre-pandemic afternoons and evenings when we could stroll the streets without face masks and go to restaurants to enjoy a good meal without being restricted in how many friends to meet. Don’t we?

This image was created during a warm summer evening stroll in The Haag (Den Haag), The Netherlands, in August 2019.

I had spent a week in Madrid, Spain, with my wife and now enjoyed the additional time off with my youngest daughter who just moved for her studies to this lovely city in the Netherlands.

I stayed in the Park Centraal Hotel which is in a beautiful 160-year-old building. And in the Molenstraat and neighboring streets immediately outside the hotel are several small shops, restaurants, and eateries.

Tourists and locals alike enjoyed dining inside and on the terraces outside. The relaxed atmosphere, the darkening sky, and the light inside the restaurants created a tableau that depicted the typical Dutch “gezelligheid”. While this can be translated with “cosiness”, the Dutch word encompasses more: a general feeling of wellbeing and safety.

I find it always amusing to see how passersby look at people eating outside. In fact, they might not be as much interested in the diners as well as in the food on their plates. Are they deciding what they want to order themselves? Or are they going to an eatery which they anticipate has a less enjoyable menu; are they a bit envious maybe? Is food envy a concept?

Anyhow. The environment was right, the people were at the right place. And I made the photo.

How It Was Made

It was only in January of that year that I purchased the Fujifilm X100F, and I was still experimenting with its settings and discovering its capabilities.

I love black and white images (did you notice that all images on this website are monochrome?) and in this instance, I used the Acros standard camera preset.

Although I actually like that preset very much, when editing the image I selected the ON1 preset for Ilford Delta 400. I just love that film and I also wanted to check how the built-in preset would compare to scans from actual film images.

Why It Works

First of all, I like the subject matter.

A small city street with restaurants and outside diners. People passing by; what are they thinking?

Are the passers-by envious of the diners? Are the diners disturbed by the people walking in the street?

Then there are the leading lines that lead the viewer’s eye through the image.

The curb and the awnings are perfect examples of converging lines, anchored in the bottom right corner by the blackboard with snack offerings.

And, finally, the light. Ah, the light!

The combination of pre-sunset light and the soft incandescent light from the restaurants, creating that special atmospheric mood that is so typical of lazy summer evenings.

I can just not get enough of it.

How Can This Image Be Used

Images like this can well be used in a commercial setting.

Humphrey’s Restaurant might use it to connect their customers to the location (unfortunately their restaurant in the Molenstraat has been closed, but at the time of writing of this article they still operate a restaurant in Scheveningen, near The Hague), or to show them the great ambiance they have.

The Park Centraal Hotel can use this image to show their guests the nice area they are located at, and how close they are to restaurants and nightlife.

And the City of The Hague could use it to show prospective visitors how a big city can offer coziness and a safe environment to spend the evening.

With the current Covid-19 / Coronavirus-related restrictions in place, it might be a while until we can enjoy dining out in the Molenstraat again. But the time will come that we are allowed again! Until then, images like this will remind us how great having dinner outside with friends is.