Old Habits Die Hard.
Last week we took a spin in the new jalopy and headed for a place that not only do we both love, but also somewhere that I have so enjoyed making photographs for almost twenty years. Though my techniques have evolved moreso over the last ten years or so, sometimes, I still crave the simple, bare-bones approach to shooting. Drumlanrig Castle is as beautiful a place as any I have ever visited that can shine all by itself, with the simplest of photographic approaches. Some subjects need little work at all. The last time I photographed here was back in early November ’19 [Post No.166]. It was so good to be back, especially before the gardens open to the public again! All this space to myself… kid, sweetshop…
All frames: Sigma DP2 Merrill | 30mm [45mm Equivalent].
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I | 1/50th -f8 – ISO:125
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II | 1/80th – f5.6 – ISO:100
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III | 1/100th – f8 – ISO:100
35Chronicle Photography 
Good job! You are lucky to have access to such beautiful place!
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Alessandra, thank you! And yes, we certainly are very lucky! A few more frames from Drumlanrig coming today from the DP3M. Probably favourite of the Merrill series, if I am honest. Have a great day, A! Best, R.
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Reblogged this on ausevor.
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Thank you so much, Javier! I hope you’re well. Very best, Rob.
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Nice ones! Your prior photos made me look up the Merrill DP2 (up until then I only knew about the Quattro) and found an absolutely hysterical review on YouTube from none other than Nick Devlin himself and Chris Nicolls from the Camera Store TV (some people may know him now from DPReview magazine’s channel. Looks like the camera takes some learning, but the large format prints from it were absolutely breathtaking and what was so interesting was the fact that they corroborated your theory from your last week’s post where you said that even though the red layer on the sensor is all the way back, making the reds weaker (not so good for B&W), it still takes amazing monochrome shots regardless.
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Hey Jiri! Thank you ever so much for your kind comments. Yes, I know of Nick Devlin and of course – the increasingly famous Chris Nicholls! The youtube video to which I think you’re referring, saw them pitting the DPM against FF and making a few prints after a winter-shoot. I too was pretty staggered and I dare say, I watched that only a few weeks before I stumped up for the 1,2 & 3 – I’m sure it swayed me. But having used the 2 & 3 in the past, I knew what I was getting into and, in all fairness, the learning curve isn’t all that steep at all. For usability and configuration, it’s one of the simplest I have ever used and very intuitive. For sure, colour shooters will find it a pain in the proverbial because each different iteration of the Merrill series produces a different colour palette – so custom WB is key really to getting it right in-camera, but, for monochrome, this thing is a beast. My only issue is that I find that even with in-camera sharpness reduced to -0.4 it still bites my face off when I review for edit. Next time, I will reduce to -1.0 and see how they fair. Microcontrast is right on par with the hugely underrated Nikon [Coolpix] A. And that camera was also a prime candidate for a three-prime set. What a shame Ricoh and Nikon didn’t look at what Sigma was doing! Every now and then, I look at the colour shots from the DPMs and am usually very pleased with them – but for me, black and white is where it’s always going to be at. Really good to read your thoughts, Jiri – and, enjoying your work immensely, my friend!! Have a great day! Best, Rob.
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