And yes, the work on the Halloween photos goes on. :) Hopefully one more day and I can move on to News Years. Noooo...I'm not behind at all. So many negatives, so little time. :)

-=>Donald

Forgot to ask, what do you think of the grain in this one? I think it may be a little much (sharpening the photo pulled the grain up a lot). -=>Donald

IMHO I agree that the grain is too noticable. I also wanted to see the colors in the flowers. Fairies are colorful little creatures and I for one like the colors they tend to sprinkle about the world. Magick Michael

No chance on the colors in the flowers unless I hand paint them. Shot was taken with Ilford Delta 3200 b&w shot at EI 6400 without flash (the light comes from a dim street lamp). Need to see if I can pull the grain back down. Thanks Mike. -=>Donald

OK..I -need- to take my butt to bed now. Last tweak of the night/morning. Went through final stages a little differently to retard grain a bit more. -=>Donald

Attached Link: mikepanic.com v3.0

the second one looks a LOT better, however it seems the focus is on the wing's and not the face, either way though, the reduction of grain is a great improvement

Definitely a big improvement without so much grain....just out of curiosity, how does the grain look in print? I'm thinking of buying a roll of the ilford 3200 to try it out, but I really am not a big fan of grain.....

Do a little research on a technique called "Smart Sharpening".....uses masks to sharpen just the edges between higher contrast areas, leaving the larger areas that don't really need it alone. Global Unsharp Masking....sharpens EVERYTHING...even grain. I don't know what your particular technique is though either.... maybe it's just the film. Oh yeah, another thing about Smart Sharpening...You can adjust the masks and blur the non-sharpened areas...So it really could be called Smart Shrpening/Blurring.

Attached Link: http://www.darkroompro.com/darkroom/special/i6400.html

Michelle - Delta 3200 has grain of course, but not as much as you'd expect. The conditions I shot this under aren't exactly condusive to keeping the grain small (low light and pushing a stop). It also depends on how you develop it. The grain in the negative is a little bit less pronounced than the 2nd photo and even less in the print. Check the link up there - received a msg from the guy who runs that site after he saw one of my Trolloween shots. Shows ID 3200 shot at 6400 and developed in Kodak D-23. MikeP - I think the focus is less on the wings than that version shows. The way I sharpened, I have less sharpening emphasis on the face (reduce grain where it was more noticeable). But you are right in that the face doesn't have the full focus that it deserves. It's tough in shooting an event like this (did it like I do my street photography) and focusing quickly and getting the shot before someone notices you and then starts to "pose". nplus - I don't use USM all that much (don't think I did here). Will look up the "smart sharpening" technique to see what it's about. Great stuff..you guys really help me pull my images together. Will try again with this photo to minimize the grain while maximizing the areas that need sharpening and will probably post it again tonight. -=>Donald

Nplus - You are THE man. That article on smart sharpening is like a freaking revalation from the gods! And the idea behind it is so simple that I can't believe it. The above is my first attempt at the new technique - integrating it into my normal grain removal workflow. There are still a few things to work out, but I think the difference is very visible. I'll be working more on it and it does take a few extra steps, but the potential of this technique makes it really worth the work. Thank you! -=>Donald

Thanks for that link Donald....looks good! You've convinced me.....I'm gonna check it out.... And this smart sharpening work looks great too...ok I have to find the time to look this up too!