OK, what lens was it?

[Ian Greenhalgh]

Could be a tessar or a triplet, both can have those glowing outlines to the out of focus highlights.

Really hard to judge too much because it looks both front focused and suffering from camera shake.

Hard to believe this was taken by a pro, surely a pro would have focused correctly and known how to avoid camera shake?

[goamules]

I bet it was a common RR on a common 4x5 or 5x7 negative. Printed, scanned perhaps from that print, enlarged to the web to huge sizes, no wonder it lost sharpness. Cool shot.

[Keith Fleming]

I am speculating out of curiosity, but August in D.C. is horribly hot and humid. The rolled up sleeves (and the thick haze in the background) surely reflect the conditions on the day of the photograph. Could heat and very high humidity cause the film emulsion to swell to the point it affected sharpness? Or perhaps cause the film's support to buckle in the film holder?

Keith

[Jac@stafford.net]

I am speculating out of curiosity, but August in D.C. is horribly hot and humid. The rolled up sleeves (and the thick haze in the background) surely reflect the conditions on the day of the photograph. Could heat and very high humidity cause the film emulsion to swell to the point it affected sharpness? Or perhaps cause the film's support to buckle in the film holder?

Keith

It is a glass plate negative.