What films and film developers does Paul Caponigro use?

[Mark Sampson]

About 10 years ago, when I worked for Kodak, I attended a 'Voice of the Customer" seminar. EK had brought in both Paul and John Paul Caponigro to let the employees learn from their experiences and opinions. It was a 3-day class, with around 40 attendees. We looked at pictures, listened, and did lots of Q&A. Quite an inspirational experience! I don't know where my notes are right now, but this thread is causing my mind to dig up the memories... perhaps the notes will surface and perhaps they'll be worth sharing.

[Stephen Quale]

Thanks for the responses.

I ordered "Landscape: Theory" from the library and look forward to reading it. I think it is helpful to know that Paul Caponigro uses HC-110 and maybe FG-7. I wasn't even aware of FG-7 before this post (I must have glossed over that information in Adams' "Examples"), but as I am now in a period of trying out different materials I may give it a shot.

I wanted to throw in my two cents regarding the usefulness of my original question. As I see it, Ansel Adams was at one end of the spectrum in terms of discussing technique: His "Examples" plus his other technical books are full of I used X film with Y developer and gave Z development. I find it very helpful to know that for example "Moonrise" was developed in D-23, "Aspens" was developed in pyro, and "Sand Dune, Oceano" was developed in HC-110. I think that for those particular images the film developer was an important part of what makes those images effective. Even though the films Adams' used to make those images are long gone I have the option of using those same developers with a modern film and seeing what happens and then comparing it to what Adams got. I'm not really interested in emulating either Ansel Adams or Paul Caponigro, but I am interested in understanding how they each used materials to arrive at effective images. As Steven suggested, this information can inform my own film/developer trials.

Meanwhile, Paul Caponigro is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of discussing technique. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a highly developed understanding of materials. From the interview Merg mentioned (http://www.steveanchell.com/index.ph...d=60&Itemid=98):

"I've got bags full of technique, but I know enough not to trip all over them."
and:
"I know as much about different materials as I possibly can and reach for the appropriate one to offer to the idea of the subject."

I get the impression that he just doesn't think discussing materials is what will be most helpful to other photographers. Perhaps he is saying find out for yourself (and besides that aspect of photography was covered in detail by Adams). Still, I think the information from this post is helpful: Many of Paul Caponigro's images have a kind of "clarity" that suggests a high acutance developer and its helpful to know that FG-7 and HC-110 are probably a big part of Caponigro's tool bag.

[Keith Tapscott.]

I'm currently really interested in Paul Caponigro's work and I'm curious about what sort of film/developer combinations he has used. I understand he uses all kinds of different papers and paper developers to get the precise look he is after in his prints, but after looking all over the internet I couldn't find any mention of film developers.

I'm trying to delve into the subtleties of b&w tonality I think his prints show a kind of mastery over print tone that is really remarkable.

Anybody have any ideas?

I suggest that you also look at the work of John Blakemore.

[asnapper]

Thanks for the responses.

I get the impression that he just doesn't think discussing materials is what will be most helpful to other photographers. Perhaps he is saying find out for yourself (and besides that aspect of photography was covered in detail by Adams). Still, I think the information from this post is helpful: Many of Paul Caponigro's images have a kind of "clarity" that suggests a high acutance developer and its helpful to know that FG-7 and HC-110 are probably a big part of Caponigro's tool bag.

Perhaps the clarity comes from using a Durst condenser enlarger to print his 7x5 negs

[sgelb]

just from looking at the prints, there is a lot of contrast adjustment going on. whether thats in film development or printing, I cannot say.. just from looking there is also some color filtration going on too.. Seems he experimented with different chemical developer mixes too.

heres a little school project you can do on your own:

start by shooting matthews color chart with a 120 of TP, TMAX100, PAN-X, TMY, Tri-X, Acros, Ilford FP4+ Delta 100, HP5 and what ever other B&W film you want.

meter the chart, shoot 12 exp of each in the following sequence: properly exposed, +1, +2, -1, -2, maybe shoot a landscape subject (or whatever subject you want) with the other 7. Then you can also do this with 3 rolls of the same film. then process one roll flat, one roll -1 stop, one roll +1 stop. sooner or later you will start to see what the film + developer does on different colors, different development contrast adjustments. you could also just shoot one roll and do clip tests, if your lab (or you) can. If you want add in filters and you will see the light!!! there you go, you can just reverse engineer his style, OR EVEN BETTER, DEVELOP YOUR OWN !!!!!!!!!!! once you have this kind of understanding, and control, you can step out in the field and bang your exposure every single time!

[Andrew Tymon]

Thought this may be of interest- I don't know if anybody has linked to it before

[Jerry Flynn]

I agree with the general view that it is not the film, or developer, or paper that makes the photographer or their style.

Paul Caponigro has been around a long time and has used many materials (including Polaroid). I remember when DuPont went out of the photo business hearing that he was buying up all the Varigam he could get his hands on. As materials change with the times, however, his images still bear the umistakabel stamp of his vision.

I was at his house last summer, and at that time, he said he was using Tri-X and HC-110. HIs point in disclosing that was that he is using the most commomplace materials around - there is no technical secret.

For what it's worth, I saw a lot of cans of LPD and pouches of Selectol-Soft in the darkroom.

He said he approaches printing as a brand new expeirience each time he selects a negative to print. He does not attemt to replicate an old print: he makes the best print he can today.

[Stephen Quale]

This is an old thread but I wanted to follow up...

I've found the recommended book "Landscape: Theory" very inspirational. So far I've checked it out of the library twice- I don't actually own many books but I do intend to eventually buy a used copy and put it on my shelf next to Ansel's "Examples".

"Landscape: Theory" is full of practical information straight from some really great photographers. There's the expected technical information such as what lens, film, developer, etc. Perhaps even more helpful is the information about how each photographer approaches their work.

To answer my original question of what films and developers Paul Caponigro has used:

As far as films he mentions Tri-X, Plus X, Pan X, FP-4, and Ansco Versapan. For developers he says that "years ago" he used D23 (the book was published in 1980) but wasn't satisfied with the resolution of big enlargements. He uses HC-110 1:31 "for a sharp image".

Obviously the films he used are long gone. I've looked through his "Masterworks from forty years" and I do remember thinking that his earlier work has a softer feel. Take a look at his 1958 Frosted Window for example. I'd probably be getting ahead of myself by assuming that the softer feel is because he used D23 (I've read HC-110 was introduce around 1965).

I guess I see the point of the posters that suggested much of his look is in his printing skills. I still think that while a good photographer can convey their message with a variety of materials, depending on the materials the end result will be different. Paul Caponigro is an interesting photographer in that I think his "message" is extremely clear in his images. But still, if he had stuck with using D23 I think his later work would certainly look different. It would probably have the same "message" but would have a different "feel".

I think that the selection of materials is probably even more important today than it was in the 60s. If I want to go after an "old look" that probably means using a single-coated lens and trying some of the older technology films like Efke and Fomapan 100. Back in the 60s or earlier photographers got the "old look" whether they wanted it or not. Its taken me a long time to come to terms with the reality that I probably have to give up the shiny APO multicoated lens to get the look that I'm after.

A nice quote from the Paul Caponigro's section of "Landscape: Theory":
"Discovery is essential to my photography. But only when you've done your homework, and your materials are functioning for you, can you put them into the service of what inspires you"