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| Jessica |
I was rating HP5+ at 3200asa and just using what light there was without the studio flashes that were available. There wasn’t much, mind you, but I was primarily interested to see what HP5 at this speed looks like - any decent shots would be a bonus. But I screwed up a bit with RO9 at the developer stage. The MassiveDevChart app on my phone suggested 18mins@21 degrees for 3200asa but only 12mins at 20 degrees for 1600asa. That seemed like a heck of a difference so I chickened out and stopped developing at 16mins (21 deg). That, my friends, was an error of judgment - the negs were under-cooked.
Not only that, my focussing was off and nothing was sharp. But hey, since when did that matter? Times like this only one thing for it - lith, and hope for the best. In the first print the skin tones were way too dark so I reduced the exposure by a full stop. The second print is what you see above. Well - after a quick dip in PotFerri just to add a little something.
The great thing about sharing images on a blog is that you can make them small enough that any sharpness problems aren't apparent!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was surprised at my ability (lack of) to nail the focus in the light available, the end result is pretty much as I intended. The Vivitar is very soft wide open and that’s the effect I was looking for, so I was pretty happy with the way the print turned out.
DeleteIf it's out of focus and poorly exposed, it's art! Joking aside, it looks good from this end of Eurasia.
ReplyDeleteI was once in a photo class, but as the students started switching to digital I got edged out. The teacher used to put his light box on the table and we would all look at each other's slides. But he eventually started bringing a laptop to class and hooking it up to a digital projector. I didn't have a way to scan my film at the time so I had to resort to asking him at the end of class to have a look. I eventually started using a digital camera for class, but then I left for other reasons.
Now and then the class would pay to go to nude or half nude sessions at a local beach, but there were too many creepy old men there so I stopped going. "Spread your legs more! Yeah . . . " I wish that were an exaggeration of things they said.
You got it, Marcus! :) I wanted something different to all the digital shooters. I’ve always been interested in soft focus, out of focus shots - some of the great photographs of celebrated photographers have been anything but sharp! I really don’t get this obsession with sharpness these days - I suspect it’s a something to do with looking at images on a screen, as opposed to a print in the hand.
DeleteYour photo class modelling sessions sound very creepy. I would feel very uncomfortable in that situation - I just wouldn’t go anywhere near that. I think to get the best out of a model you need to make some connection - both parties need to feel at ease. Jessica was super - very natural and made us all relax (for the record all models kept their clothes on).
It just came to me that Jessica looks similar to that woman from the Firefly television series. The one that the captain fancied.
ReplyDeleteI’m not familiar with Firefly. I’ll take a look. Some people are naturally photogenic - Jessica is, for sure.
DeleteWell, it's another one of your very nice portraits for sure, Michael. And I think you are very much right about the sharpness thing. You see it happen all the time people take a shot and press a button at the back of their camera to zoom in to 100%, checking the focus around the eyes, and then they delete or keep or whatever they do with all their snaps.
ReplyDeleteMe, I'm happy if it looks somewhere half close to sharp on a 8x10 paper. Some of my very best ones are very much out of focus by the way...
I would love to do a photo shoot with a pro model at some point, just to see how that works out.
I wasn't really interested in studio work or posed models but I did enjoy this session enormously. I can see how it can get under your skin. Most of the guys in the club who are into this have their own little studio setup in a spare room and every so often they get a model in for them and maybe a fellow snapper. I think that's probably the best solution - sharing space with 10 other club members wasn't ideal...
DeleteNah! I've tried that (the ballerina shots, for instance) and it's just horrible. You need sharp elbows for sure if any great snaps are to be taken at such events. Well... I'm never going to get a studio on my own, I know that much.
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