Nov. 2002
President's
Message
Photo FAQs
Photo FAQs
Eric Kissa
Q: The Photographic Society of America (PSA) awards Stars to photographers. What do the PSA Stars really mean?
A:
The PSA Stars indicate that the photographer (a) is a PSA member, (b)
has participated in international exhibitions recognized by PSA, and (c)
has the
required number of international acceptances. The meaning of the Stars
depends on the photographer. The Stars are (a) the milestones on the road
to better
photography, (b) food for the ego, or (c) credentials for judges and lecturers.
A Star rated photographer is not necessarily a better photographer then
the one
without Stars. However, the participation in international exhibitions
is a learning process which makes everybody a better photographer.
Q: What is cross-development?
A:Cross-development is a process of developing a slide (transparency) film with the C-41 process like a color negative film, or developing a color negative film with the E-6 process like a slide film. Cross-development achieves unusual color effects.
Q:When using flash to photograph people sitting around a table indoors, does the shutter speed matter?
A:Yes,
especially with a transparency (slide) film. The shutter speed determines
the ambient light/flash ratio. A lower shutter speed allows the background
to
be exposed and produces a more natural looking image. The longer exposure
affects the color as well by increasing the orange color cast caused by
incandescent lights. With negative (print) film these effects are less
pronounced. The negative film has more exposure latitude and the color
is
corrected in printing.
Q:I
had photographed my train table on color negative film and requested prints
and slides from Seattle Film Works. The slides looked about the same although
I
had varied the exposure within five stops. The fluorescent lights left
on inadvertently had no effect on the color of the slides. How is this
possible?
A:
Slides can be made form color negatives (a) digitally, (b) by copying
the negative on color negative or transparency film processed as a negative,
or (c)
by copying prints on transparency film. Scanning the film into a computer
and using a film processor is a very expensive process for making slides.
Most
likely your slides were made by copying prints onto a transparency film
as they came out from the printing machine. The color discrepancy caused
by
fluorescent lights was automatically corrected in the printing machine
and the large latitude of the negative film used allowed the slides to
look similar.
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Send questions concerning photographic
equipment (cameras, lenses, accessories, filters), photographic techniques
(other than digital), and film, as well as information on international
photographic exhibitions, to: ekissa @aol.com.