#OTTAWA FILM OLD PHOTO RESTORATION PHOTOGRAPHER ARTIST, #OTTAWA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER STUDIO #OTTAWA,STITTSVILLE, BARRHAVEN, MANOTICK, KANATA PHOTOGRAPHER

#OTTAWA FASHION/MODEL AGENCY PORTFOLIOS #OTTAWA KIDS/CHILDREN’S FAIRY DRESS STUDIO PORTRAITS, #OTTAWA MATERNITY PREGNANCY PHOTOGRAPHER, #OTTAWA BUSINESS LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY #OTTAWA VINTAGE MUSEUM QUALITY OLD PHOTO RESTORATIONS, #OTTAWA DANCE BALLET STUDIOS

MAY/JUNE 2025

TITLE:  “AT THE LIGHT TABLE”

HELLO LADIES & GENTLEMEN: 🙂

“THANK YOU” FOR BEING HERE THIS MONTH AND KINDLY EXCUSE THE OMISSION OF LAST MONTHS BLOG DUE TO A COMPUTER UPLOAD PROBLEM!    IN SAYING THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO COMBINE INFORMATION FROM LAST MONTHS BLOG WITH JUNE OF THIS YEAR WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL FIND INTERESTING AND TO YOUR BENEFIT.

AS YOU HAVE NOTICED, MY LIGHT TABLE IS HOSTING A PAGE OF 35MM COLOUR SLIDES PRODUCED OVER THE YEARS. A QUESTION I AM ALWAYS ASKED IS; CAN WE EVEN BUY SLIDE FILM ANYMORE AND ARE THERE PLACES TO PROCESS IT?  YES!  BEING A RESIDENT OF OTTAWA, THE LABS THAT USED TO PROCESS SLIDE FILM-(E6 PROCESS) HAVE ELECTED TO DISCONTINUE THIS SERVICE DUE TO LACK OF VOLUME. HOWEVER, THERE IS A STORE IN TOWN WHO MAKES ARRANGEMENTS WITH A COURIER COMPANY TO HAVE IT PROCESSED IN TORONTO. ASIDE FROM THAT, MONTREAL IS YOUR NEXT OPTION. I HAVE SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS OVER A 40 YEAR CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY HOVERING OVER VARIOUS LIGHT TABLES EVALUATING IMAGERY. TO THIS DAY, STUDYING COMPOSITIONS OF SLIDES AND THEIR EXPOSURES WHEN USING A MAGNIFYING “LOOP” STILL BRINGS MUCH ENJOYMENT. A STUDENT OF MINE ONCE COMMENTED ON USING FILM AS OPPOSED TO DIGITAL INDICATING THAT IT IS EXCITING TO SEE WHAT YOU PRODUCED WHEN THE LAB HAS COMPLETED THE PROCESSING OF YOUR FILM. 

WHEN ORGANIZING UP COMING PRESENTATIONS OF YOUR IMAGERY, I FIND THAT LAYING IT OUT IN FRONT OF YOU WITH A BLENDING OF LOW AND HIGH KEY IMAGERY IS A GOOD METHOD OF DETERMINING THE ORDER IN WHICH EACH IMAGE SHOULD BE PRESENTED TO YOUR AUDIENCE. IN REGARDS TO PHOTOGRAPHING IN EITHER FILM OR DIGITAL; IT IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR DISCRETION AS TO WHICH MEDIUM TO CHOOSE. BOTH ARE VERY GOOD AND IN FACT, FILM IS THE BEST IT HAS EVER BEEN. VIEWING A SO CALLED “SPREAD SHEET” OF IMAGERY ON A COMPUTER SCREEN IS EFFECTIVE BUT NOT THE SAME AS FILM. I FIND IT IS WELL WORTH ONES TIME TO MOVE AWAY FROM A COMPUTER MONITOR TO GIVE YOUR EYES A MUCH NEEDED REST AFTER SPENDING A FEW HOURS VIEWING IT.  I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED THIS FEELING OF FATIGUE WHEN VIEWING IMAGERY ON MY LIGHT TABLE. AS YOU ARE AWARE, COMPUTER MONITORS GIVE OFF A SPECIFIC BLUE QUALITY OF LIGHT WHICH AFTER SOME TIME CREATES LEVELS OF STRAIN. HERE IS A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE LIGHT EMITTING FROM YOUR MONITOR WHICH YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING.

COMPUTER MONITOR LIGHT

COMPUTER MONITORS EMIT BLUE LIGHT, ALONG WITH RED AND GREEN LIGHT, TO DISPLAY IMAGES ON THE SCREEN. EACH PIXEL ON A MONITOR CONSISTS OF THREE SUBPIXELS, ONE EMITTING RED, ONE GREEN, AND ONE BLUE LIGHT. THESE COLOURS ARE COMBINED TO CREATE THE WIDE RANGE OF COLOURS WE SEE ON THE SCREEN. WHILE MONITORS EMIT A RANGE OF COLOURS, BLUE LIGHT IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE OUTPUT, PARTICULARLY WHEN DISPLAYING WHITE OR LIGHT-COLOURED CONTENT. BLUE LIGHT HAS A SHORTER WAVELENGTH AND HIGHER ENERGY THAN OTHER VISIBLE LIGHT COLOURS. THIS CAN LEAD TO EYE STRAIN, SLEEP DISRUPTION, AND OTHER HEALTH RELATED CONCERNS.

THE LIGHT TABLE OR “LIGHT TABLET” I AM USING IN THIS BLOG IS A PORTABLE BATTERY OPERATED DEVICE. TYPICALLY, I USE A LIGHT TABLE THAT PLUGS IN THE WALL REQUIRING ELECTRICITY BUT WHEN CONTACTING A TRADE SHOW RECENTLY TO BECOME A VENDOR, THEY INDICATED THAT NO POWER WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR ME AT THE EVENT. THIS WAS A FIRST FOR ME AFTER DOING DECADES OF TRADE SHOWS! MY ADVICE FOR ANYONE WISHING TO PURCHASE THESE LIGHT TABLETS WOULD BE TO ENSURE THE TABLET HAS VARIOUS BRIGHTNESS LEVELS WHICH ARE FULLY ADJUSTABLE. THIS IS IMPORTANT!  WHEN I BROUGHT MINE HOME AND PLUGGED IT INTO THE WALL TO CHARGE IT, I THEN CONDUCTED TESTS ON HOW LONG EACH LEVEL OF BRIGHTNESS WOULD LAST SEEING AS TO I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CHARGE IT SHOULD IT RUN OUT OF POWER.  I FOUND THE FIVE POWER LEVELS VARIED ENORMOUSLY REGARDING THE LONGEVITY OF THE BATTERY STORAGE CAPACITY. ON LOW LEVEL WHICH STILL PRODUCED A NOTICEABLE IMAGE, POWER LASTED APPROXIMATELY 10 HOURS. ON THE HIGHER/ BRIGHTER SETTINGS, POWER DIMINISSHED RAPIDLY AND I FOUND AFTER THREE AND A HALF HOURS, THE UNIT WAS COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.  THE PORTABLE UNIT I PURCHASED WAS APPROXIMATELY $160 PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES AND I DO THINK THEY HAVE THEIR PURPOSE. ARTIST FRIENDS SKETCHING WHO USE THIS TABLET TAKE IT TO PARKS OR WHEREVER AND FIND THE PORTABILITY OF IT TO BE VERY PRACTICAL. OFTEN PEOPLE USING THESE FOR VARIOUS FUNCTIONS MAY NOT REQUIRE THE BRIGHTEST LEVEL TO RUN HOURS AND HOURS AND THIS MAKES IT AN IDEAL PRODUCT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR LAPTOP BRIEF CASE OR SIMILAR. 

REFERRING TO THE EXPOSURES OF BOTH THE COLOUR SLIDES AND THE BLACK AND WHITE NEGATIVES, YOU WILL NOTICE QUITE A VARYING DEGREE OF EXPOSURE IN THE BLACK/WHITE NEGATIVES. I SELECTED THIS SHEET OF NEGS FOR YOU INTENTIONALLY TO INDICATE NEGATIVES WHICH ARE WELL EXPOSED TO THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO REQUIRE SOME EFFORT TO PRINT DUE TO SLIGHT UNDEREXPOSURE. THIS UNDEREXPOSURE OF IMAGERY CAN OCCUR WITH DIGITAL AND FILM PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT IF YOU HAVEN’T METERED THE SCENE ACCURATELY.   WHILE THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG POST IS NOT TO ADDRESS HOW TO EXPOSE FILM OR DIGITAL IMAGERY, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO REFER TO NEGATIVES THAT ARE VERY “LIGHT” IN TONE. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE PAGE OF NEGS, IMAGES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SHEET AND TOP CENTRE ARE LIGHTER THAN OTHERS. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THIS: THE PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE TIME OF MAKING THE EXPOSURE DID SO INCORRECTLY, NOT GIVING THE NEGATIVE ENOUGH LIGHT TO PRODUCE A WELL ORCHESTRATED PRINT. YOU WILL FIND THAT SHADOW DETAIL IN THE FINAL PRINT CONTAINS MORE NOTICEABLE GRAIN AND NO REAL SOLID BLACKS OR DARK GREY SHADOWS WILL BE EVIDENT EITHER. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT A THING TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN EXPOSING TRADITIONAL FILM. UNDEREXPOSED NEGATIVES ARE VERY “THIN” IN EXPOSURE AND CONTAIN LESS INFORMATION THAN A WELL EXPOSED NEG. DIGITAL FILES WOULD HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS BEING, A GRAINY DUSTY APPEARANCE WOULD BE VISIBLE IN THE SHADOW AREAS AND TRYING TO REINSTATE DETAIL IN A FILE THAT IS UNDEREXPOSED IS A REAL TIME WASTER. 

THE NEGATIVES DISPLAYED HERE HAVE BEEN CREATED USING A HASSELBLAD 120 FORMAT CAMERA WHICH ARE “SQUARE” IN DESIGN. I MENTION THIS BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE AWARE OF HOW YOUR FINAL IMAGERY IS GOING TO BE PRINTED, SHOULD YOU WISH TO DO SO BEING EITHER VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL. PHOTOGRAPHING WITH A SQUARE FORMAT CAMERA MEANS YOU HAVE TO ALLOW SUFFICIENT AREA AROUND YOUR SUBJECT SO WHEN IT IS PRINTED, A PREFERRED CROP WILL NOT CUT OFF OR CUT INTO YOUR MAIN SUBJECT AREA.  IT SIMPLY MEANS, YOU HAVE TO ALLOW MORE ROOM AROUND YOUR SUBJECT WHEN MAKING A COMPOSITION TO ALLOW FOR CLOSER CROPPING. IS THIS A PROBLEM? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I HAVE USED SQUARE FORMAT CAMERAS SINCE THE EARLY 1970’S AND WHETHER I AM CREATING A LANDSCAPE OR PORTRAIT IMAGE, IT HAS NEVER CREATED A PROBLEM. 

*I AM A RESTORATION ARTIST OFTEN RESTORING VERY OLD, FADED, TORN, DAMAGED IMAGERY. I OFFER MY CLIENTS THREE OPTIONS OF RE-PHOTOGRAPHING THEIR ORIGINALS PRIOR TO BEGINNING THE RESTORATION PROCESS BEING; MAKING AN EXCELLENT QUALITY SCAN; COPYING THEIR ORIGINAL WITH PROFESSIONAL FILM, OR CREATING A HIGH QUALITY DIGITAL FILE WITH PROFESSIONAL COPY LIGHTS. *FILM…WITH IT’S SMOOTH GRADATION OF TONALITY IS OFTEN SURPRISINGLY EXCELLENT WHEN RESTORATION WORK IS REQUIRED. IT SHOULD BE MENTIONED THAT MY CAMERAS, LENSES, STUDIO LIGHTS ARE OF VERY HIGH QUALITY.

I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT YOU CONSIDER PURCHASING ONE OF THESE LIGHT TABLET PRODUCTS SHOULD YOU HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR PARENTS OLDER STYLE/VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEGATIVES.  IT WOULD BE A NICE PROJECT ON ONE OF THOSE RAINY AFTERNOONS WHICH TEND TO KEEP PEOPLE INDOORS. 

I HOPE THIS INFORMATION HAS BENEFITED YOU AND LET ME TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH YOU THE BEST DURING THE ABOVE SHOULD YOU ELECT TO PARTAKE ON THIS ADVENTURE! 🙂 🙂 🙂

WITH GOOD WISHES EXTENDED,

JEFF RYAN PHOTOGRAPHY/RYAN STUDIO OTTAWA

613-599-5363

www.jeffryan-photography.com

5 Star Photographer

40 Years In Business