September 2015 Portraits

[mdarnton]

Thanks, all.

I'm having some focus issues with it, simple inexperience on my part. The shot was focused and shot at f/5.6, and I figured there'd be some focus movement towards the back, especially using xray film, so I tried to focus a bit ahead of her glasses. When I saw the negs with a magnifier, I thought I'd totally missed and focus was somewhere in the middle of her hair and the front of her face was totally out, but after seeing positives, it doesn't look so bad. It's still a bit of a mystery to me.

[Peter De Smidt]

Yeah, focusing is the biggest challenge for me when using these type of lenses. My Collinear, which isn't a soft-focus lens, has considerable focus shift as it's stopped down. Furthermore, with a number of these lenses the depth of field seems to be all at and behind what looks sharp on the ground glass. I don't understand this, but Kodak's info on their portrait lenses confirms it, as least with those lenses.

[djdister]

Well the mystery worked out pretty well. The lighting is almost textbook from this Veritar lighting illustration (the successor to the Verito), and I'll bet contact prints would render nicely.

Thanks, all.

I'm having some focus issues with it, simple inexperience on my part. The shot was focused and shot at f/5.6, and I figured there'd be some focus movement towards the back, especially using xray film, so I tried to focus a bit ahead of her glasses. When I saw the negs with a magnifier, I thought I'd totally missed and focus was somewhere in the middle of her hair and the front of her face was totally out, but after seeing positives, it doesn't look so bad. It's still a bit of a mystery to me.

[mdarnton]

That's pretty funny. You have nailed it except I'm using a hair light instead of background light, for the same purpose--separation, and I put the key, which is a softbox, relatively higher than they would have wanted: the eye highlights are from a nearby window, but in the "printing" I used what I had there. The reflector is a 2x3-foot piece of white foamcore. So at least I have that part right!

[Harley Goldman]

and one more just because..

8x10 , 420mm Heliar

Streets by Sergei Rodionov, on Flickr


vinyl background from China, a bit smaller than i originally thought, but still works ok Gridded Elichrom dish on the left to make sharp-ish shadows. And another source on the background, to get some light going there there.

Beautiful, Sergei.

[ImSoNegative]

and one more just because..

8x10 , 420mm Heliar

Streets by Sergei Rodionov, on Flickr


vinyl background from China, a bit smaller than i originally thought, but still works ok Gridded Elichrom dish on the left to make sharp-ish shadows. And another source on the background, to get some light going there there.

Damn!!! now that is sweet

[Robert Langham]

Byron, listening. 8X10/HP5/Pryocat.

[mdarnton]

Robert: That's very striking; compositionally strong!

[SergeiR]

Damn!!! now that is sweet

Beautiful, Sergei.

thanks, folks.

[mdarnton]

Maybe a little too normal, but what the heck.....
5x7, xray film, 11-3/4" Verito, main light and reflector plus a hair light.

This is someone I work with, and I love the mischievous expression. I shot this
after squeezing off a bunch of digital shots for her headshot on our web page.



Juli
by Michael Darnton, on Flickr