Negative From An Old Picture

[Alonzo Guerrero]

I recently came into possession of a professionally made family portrait of my great grand parents. The assumed date of the print is around 1900 or earlier. The print is extremely well preserved for its age, which is amazing given that it is not framed and is still in its original cover sleeve provided by the studio. Before giving it a proper frame, I would like to make a negative of the portrait using my own gear, if possible. The print measures 11.5" wide x 9" tall. The print characteristics are sharp, but contrast is a little flat. I kind of like these subdued characteristics and would not want to change them much, if at all.

Here is the gear I own:

Lighting system: None, so I will use the clamp style lights with incandescent bulbs placed at an angle.

Camera: Horseman (4x5)
Lenses: 90mm Caltar II N, 240mm Caltar II N, 300mm Sironar S.

Camera: Crown Graphic (4x5)
Lenses: 75mm Tominon, 90mm Angulon, 127mm Ektar, 135mm Tominon

I have backs for either camera above to shoot pack film, sheet film, or ready loads.

Camera: Yashica 124g (2.25 square)

Camera: 35mm
Lenses: 28-105 zoom, 50mm, 135mm

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Questions (given my resources):

1. I would like to use my newer gear, but are any of my lenses well suited for this work?
2. Which film? I usually shoot Type 55 film, but have also shot TMax 100. I don't have a darkroom, so this will be processed by a lab.
3. Is any particular bulb type and wattage better than others for this type of work?
4. What degree angle and distance should I use for the lighting?
5. Is there an optimal film and light combo for this type of project?

[Ralph Barker]

Personally, I'd use the Horseman with either the 240mm or 300mm lens, whichever is sharper - assuming you have sufficient bellows to get as close to a full-frame negative as possible. Place the lights at 45° to the print, centered on the vertical, and at a sufficient distance to get even light across the print. (An incident meter reading at various points should show no change.) Regular soft-white or frosted bulbs in one of the hardware-store, clip-on 10" shop reflectors should be fine, although if you wanted to get scientific, you could obsess over the spectral sensitivity of the chosen film.

If you're already accustomed to T55, try that first. If you like the results, you're all set. Personally, I'd use a conventional sheet film to gain a bit more control over the negative contrast, however. But, if you're not processing yourself, that might be more of a problem.

In setting up, make sure that everything is square, plumb, parallel and centered.

[BrianShaw]

Ralph gives good advise, and pretty much what I would suggest too. Ralph brings up a good point that you don't mention - metering. Incident meter as Ralph says, make color temp adjustments per the film data sheets (although it probalby won't make too much of a difference), and don't forget to correct exposure for bellow extension. I've done copying with conventional film and T-55 -- either will work but (as Ralph sez) a better neg might result from conventional material.

In addition to plumb and square set-up, make sure everything is rock-solid steady.

Good luck!

(Devil's advocate: why not scan it?)

[Alonzo Guerrero]

Thanks Ralph and Brian! I see I did leave off the meter info. It's a Sekonic 608 Cine which I use to take reflective light readings in the field. This project will finally give me an opportunity to take incident light readings using this meter, with a purpose.

Sounds like T-55 is a good primary film choice. What conventional film and speed would you recommend instead?

I did not consider scanning for this project because a while back I scanned a more recent photograph (taken about 30 years later) that had similar characteristics, but I couldn't control the "reflection" I encountered during the scanning phase. The reflection was similar to the reflection soft pencil lead makes on paper when viewed at an angle to some light source. My scanner is an Epson 2450 Photo. It may not be the best and I do plan to update that equipment some day, but for now it scans my T-55 and other negatives to my satisfaction.