B&W print quality: What was Karsh's darkroom and finishing technique?

[FLC]

Just returned from an exhibition at USC in Los Angeles entitled "Karsh: Regarding Heroes." The exhibit features 100 of Yousuf Karsh's portraits of world renowned luminaries.

Although I've read extensively about Karsh's work in the studio, it seems that very little has been written about his trademark darkroom and print finishing techniques. For instance, how does he achieve such depth and luminosity in his portraits? Is this a function of retouching B&W negatives? And the incredible tonality of his prints; is this readily achievable using today's B&W emulsions?

Thoughts, insights?

[Mark Woods]

Where is the exhibit? I'd like to go.

[FLC]

Fisher Museum of Art, University of Southern California. May also be known as Fisher Art Gallery or Fisher Art Museum.

[Mark Woods]

Thank you. I googled it and it looks great! Thanks for the heads up. BTW, the luminosity you see is most likely the reflection of the strobe sources on the face. This is something we try to avoid in motion pictures, but Karsh used to great effect -- no powder for his subjects, at least no SOP. :-)

[jnantz]

hi FLC

it is possible to get similar results using modern films and papers.
i worked for someone who made similar portraits. she shot everything on
tri x and tri x ortho, i processed everything in dk50 ( deeptank/hangers + replenished )
and printed everything on ilford paper processed in dektol.
everything was retouched with leads / graphite ..
sometimes prints were knife etched, sometimes they were dusted with graphite ...

this was in the 1980s ...

sometimes to get brilliant shine / highlights vaseline was used ...

[Frank Petronio]

It's a lot more about the lighting than the materials. You could do it with digital even ;-)

[cowanw]

Karsh never used strobes:just tungsten lights and yes retouching plays a huge part. His biography has an unretouched example of Churchill and the finished print. This shows how the use of retouching creates the highlights. See
The Life of Yousuf Karsh: Portrait in Light and Shadow
Author: Maria Tippett
There is a discussion of his developing techiques in that book, Developer, paper etc. He did develop by inspection to a thinner than expected negative.
Regards
Bill

[sully75]

Just returned from an exhibition at USC in Los Angeles entitled "Karsh: Regarding Heroes." The exhibit features 100 of Yousuf Karsh's portraits of world renowned luminaries.

Although I've read extensively about Karsh's work in the studio, it seems that very little has been written about his trademark darkroom and print finishing techniques. For instance, how does he achieve such depth and luminosity in his portraits? Is this a function of retouching B&W negatives? And the incredible tonality of his prints; is this readily achievable using today's B&W emulsions?

Thoughts, insights?

I think the short answer is that yes, these things are possible. Today's b&w emulsions are probably better than what was available to him. It's mostly lighting.

To me, Irving Penn's pictures blow Karsh's out of the water. And he was making a lot of contact prints, which offer a lot less room for manipulation. Also I recently saw a bunch of Avedon's 8x10 contact prints at the MFA in Boston, and they were straight up amazing too.

[Drew Wiley]

I always thought he used hot lights, maybe fresnels just like the movie sets. The prints themselves - maybe at one point a relatively cold-toned DuPont paper and typical MQ developer. The effect is easily replicated with some of today's papers,
especially with a little gold toner to cool the final image a bit.

[Drew Wiley]

Sully - I don't get the comparison to either Penn or Avedon. Karsh was after a completely different look, a lot more direct, and a fairly direct contrasty silver print
suited his personal style superbly. Just can't imagine someone like Winston Churchill
being commemorated by Avedon's capricious high-jinks, or Penn's soft fashion touch.
The direct, acutely-focussed glare, printed good and hard, was just the touch needed
by history.

[FLC]

Quoting from Karsh's book entitled PORTRAITS OF GREATNESS (Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1960) Karsh says the following:

"Camera: I nearly always use an 8X10 inch camera and employ a full range of Ektar lenses from 127 mm to 14 inches. Occasionally I use a 4X5 inch view camera or a Rolleiflex. I also have a 35 mm Leica and a Kodak Retina Reflex, one for black-and-white photography and one for colour.

"Film: It has been difficult to standardize on a special film for my portraits, but I use Kodak Portrait Pan, Super Panchro Type B, and Super XX. For 35 mm, I use Tri-X and for Rolleiflex, Verichrome. When working with electronic lights I avoid the use of fast emulsion film. I always develop my own film, usually in DK 50, and supervise the making of the 'master' print.

"Lighting: In my studio, under established conditions, my preference is still for Tungsten lighting--floods and spots. Invariably I use electronic lights when working abroad, or on location, and 90 per cent (sic) of my work is done outside my studio. My electronic flash equipment consists of four units of 200 watt seconds each. Sometimes I use only one in conjunction with available light. In organizing my lighting I begin by establishing my 'key,' or main light. Only then do I organize my auxiliary or fill-in-light.

"Exposure: I read exposure meters, both Norwood and Weston, periodically (but only if I think the reading coincides with what I feel it should be). This applies to black-and-white photography. The exception is colour work, where I use sheet Ektachrome Daylight and Ektachrome Daylight roll film. The exposure latitude in all forms of colour film is so limited that only when I am working under lighting conditions completely under my control, and with which I am familiar from long usage, do I rely on the physical rather than the photo-electric eye."`

[cowanw]

Peter Miller went to Europe in 1954 with the Karsh's as an assistant.
He describes two banks of diffused photofloods, a photoflood backlight and three 500 watt spotlights. They used tri X and d-23.
I suppose technique and materials change over 60 years.
but most of Karsh's seminal and oft repeated images were pre 1960.
Now that I look at them; his post 1960 photos (say Khrushchev or Bill and Hilary) had much harder edges on the shadows than his earlier portraits (say his 1957 John and Jacqueline).
Regards
Bill
PS. Karsh "Karshed" himself in his personal stories. He did not do unflattering portraits; nor did he tell unflattering stories. They just were not always the whole truth.

[CG]

... Karsh says ... I use Kodak Portrait Pan, Super Panchro Type B, and Super XX. For 35 mm, I use Tri-X and for Rolleiflex, Verichrome ... I always develop my own film, usually in DK 50 ... Dead ordinary film and processing. No magic bullets. Good lighting, appropriate exposure, and his portrait skills are what made a Karsh a Karsh.

[Lynn Jones]

Hi FLC,

I can tell you a bit about him. I met him and talked with him briefly a couple of times around 1961-62. Later we became quite close when I was with the original Calumet. The owner founder, Ken Becker and Karsh couldn't stand each other, however Ken never interfered with any of my sales or designs. Karsh wanted 2 Calumet 8x10's but in semi glosse white with red bellows. I had all the metal parts painted by a good painting company he didn't argue about the price of these cameras. Yousef was a stickler for good processing technique and he also used the Calumet 515 print washer (the most efficient ever created and designed by Dr. C.E. Ken Mees for Becker). Karsh like George Hurrell was an excellent pencil retoucher, further Karsh's wife was the ultimate in the use of New Cocine red dyes used in retouching.

Under those conditions the negatives would almost print themselves, however he was an excellent b/w printer. I was only in his studio and darkroom once in the 1960's in Ottowa. In his early years he obviously shot with tungsten because that's all there was. However, Bruce Downes of Pop Photo (late '50's ?) talked Kash into using a Rollei (a gift from Pop) with lots of chrome films on his month long European vacation. Pop published several pages of it (and between us folks, it wasn't that great). After that he started shooting some LF color and started to shoot with electronic flash as well as tungsten.

I moved to NY to run the Eastern Div. of Calumet, Yousef had a sister and brother -in- law that had a French Restaurant and an apartment upstairs. They would book appointments for Karsh and once a month he would shoot in rental spaces there. My company sold and rented Balcar Flash (when I left, my Calumet employees would start the Flash Clinic). He would call me, "Lynn (pronounced Leeen) this is Yousef (pronounced Youusef), could you send me some Balcars". Of course I would send him several packs and lamps, he would often ask me to assist him which I sometimes did, this was '67 and'68. The understanding was that I should not bill him and also not tell my boss, Ken Becker. In those days he was shooting 4x5, and 8x10, occasionally 2 1/4 Hasselblad in chrome. Frankly, his color never approached his b/w. Karsh was a kind of a strange man, but we had a wam friendship for about 5 years until I moved to the west coast and we could no longer help each other. Whenever Karsh had a problem in cameras, lenses, or technology, I would get phone calls to where ever I was, "Lynn this is Yousef". I'm sorry to say that I haven't had one of those calls for about 25 years

For me, Yousef Karsh was the greatest classical portraitist in my life time (and my professional life is from 1947 'til the present). Let me restate this: Retouching and never letting any photo be shown until it is retouched an printed is key to a good reputation! The same could be said of my long time friend George Hurrell who was the best in theatrical photography. And as is the case with most artists, some of their work was far less than great, however their over all greatness eclipsed their lesser work.

Lynn

[Lynn Jones]

Hi FLC,

I can tell you a bit about him. I met him and talked with him briefly a couple of times around 1961-62. Later we became quite close when I was with the original Calumet. The owner founder, Ken Becker and Karsh couldn't stand each other, however Ken never interfered with any of my sales or designs. Karsh wanted 2 Calumet 8x10's but in semi glosse white with red bellows. I had all the metal parts painted by a good painting company he didn't argue about the price of these cameras. Yousef was a stickler for good processing technique and he also used the Calumet 515 print washer (the most efficient ever created and designed by Dr. C.E. Ken Mees for Becker). Karsh like George Hurrell was an excellent pencil retoucher, further Karsh's wife was the ultimate in the use of New Cocine red dyes used in retouching.

Under those conditions the negatives would almost print themselves, however he was an excellent b/w printer. I was only in his studio and darkroom once in the 1960's in Ottowa. In his early years he obviously shot with tungsten because that's all there was. However, Bruce Downes of Pop Photo (late '50's ?) talked Kash into using a Rollei (a gift from Pop) with lots of chrome films on his month long European vacation. Pop published several pages of it (and between us folks, it wasn't that great). After that he started shooting some LF color and started to shoot with electronic flash as well as tungsten.

I moved to NY to run the Eastern Div. of Calumet, Yousef had a sister and brother -in- law that had a French Restaurant and an apartment upstairs. They would book appointments for Karsh and once a month he would shoot in rental spaces there. My company sold and rented Balcar Flash (when I left, my Calumet employees would start the Flash Clinic). He would call me, "Lynn (pronounced Leeen) this is Yousef (pronounced Youusef), could you send me some Balcars". Of course I would send him several packs and lamps, he would often ask me to assist him which I sometimes did, this was '67 and'68. The understanding was that I should not bill him and also not tell my boss, Ken Becker. In those days he was shooting 4x5, and 8x10, occasionally 2 1/4 Hasselblad in chrome. Frankly, his color never approached his b/w. Karsh was a kind of a strange man, but we had a wam friendship for about 5 years until I moved to the west coast and we could no longer help each other. Whenever Karsh had a problem in cameras, lenses, or technology, I would get phone calls to where ever I was, "Lynn this is Yousef". I'm sorry to say that I haven't had one of those calls for about 25 years

For me, Yousef Karsh was the greatest classical portraitist in my life time (and my professional life is from 1947 'til the present). Let me restate this: Retouching and never letting any photo be shown until it is retouched an printed is key to a good reputation! The same could be said of my long time friend George Hurrell who was the best in theatrical photography. And as is the case with most artists, some of their work was far less than great, however their over all greatness eclipsed their lesser work.

Lynn

[cowanw]

Lynn, I am going to print your post up and put it in my Karsh bio.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Regards
Bill

[Lynn Jones]

You are certainly welcome, Bill

Lynn

[Daniel Stone]

here ya go, VIDEO and all, telling it how it is :).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m3HubQgnZ0&feature=related

its part 2 of 3, watching the 3rd part now :)

-Dan

[sun of sand]

just stumbled into the thread somehow and all I have to add is he printed a lot/mainly on Opal Suede ..a paper that i liken more to a very fine sandpaper than suede
maybe 50/50 a rough/worn crocus cloth

maybe that accounts for some portion of whatever character you see
he could have printed on anything but he seems to have liked that one

[asmith]

Jnanian,

Would be cool to see some of your former employer's work that you printed. Can it be seen online?


hi FLC

it is possible to get similar results using modern films and papers.
i worked for someone who made similar portraits. she shot everything on
tri x and tri x ortho, i processed everything in dk50 ( deeptank/hangers + replenished )
and printed everything on ilford paper processed in dektol.
everything was retouched with leads / graphite ..
sometimes prints were knife etched, sometimes they were dusted with graphite ...

this was in the 1980s ...

sometimes to get brilliant shine / highlights vaseline was used ...

[jnantz]

yeah, i wish i had some of the work i processed+printed too ..
she passed away in the last 10years or so.

working for her was quite the experience ...

[asmith]

How much does an original Karsh finished print cost these days? And where can they be purchased?

[cowanw]

I have seen his work of WW2 servicemen going for less than $100 on the bay. I have an original of Lord Bessborough and his wife, the real first photo that started Karsh on his career as court photographer for the Canadian government. Signed by the Governor General, his wife, Lady Bessborough and Karsh, in a leather vice-regal frame, for $200 on the Bay.
But the famous work goes for many thousnds more.
Regards
Bill

[Robbie Bedell]

I worked as a printer (in Florida) for a photographer from Ottawa named Bil Lingard who was once a printer for Karsh. Bil told me that many times Karsh just used a standard issue gray wool army blanket for a backdrop and rubbed Vaseline on some of his subjects faces to create a slight highlight and bring out the pores. Bil also said Karsh was the consummate showman who once chartered a commercial jet to fly to Rome to personnaly deliver his portaits of the Pope. Bil had lots of stories to tell about other photographic adventures not involving Karsh! It was a grand time..Robbie


http://robbiebedell.photoshelter.com

[John DeCindis]

Where is the exhibit? I'd like to go.