March 2011 Portraits

[jp]

Summer - hot weather - ice cream.... and Kala!

Nicest color portrait I think I've seen on here!

[Mark Sawyer]

One of my students, with a 13 1/2-inck Vitax, wide open at f/3.8 on 8x10:



Detail of one of her eyes:

[dlin]

Mark,

That's absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

All the best,
Daniel

[lenser]

Stunning, Mark. Very reminiscent of the early portraits of Lilian Gish in their wide eye innocence.

[Jim Galli]

Beautiful Mark. Inquiring minds want to know. Do you have one of those cradles that can tilt the camera angle, or did you have her lean?

[mandoman7]

That is a wonderful portrait.

[mdm]

Yes, I agree. Maybe the nicest one since ajsikel's girl with blossoming trees or the gentleman from France's portrait of his grand daughter, whose name escapes me.

[Jay DeFehr]

Beautiful portrait, Mark. Her pupils are quite dilated, the light must have been subdued. It's a great effect, especially well suited to the subject. A real plus for strobes.

[benrains]

Fantastic portrait! Really love this one.

One of my students, with a 13 1/2-inck Vitax, wide open at f/3.8 on 8x10:

[Mark Sawyer]

Thanks, all! I must confess, though, having a seemingly endless supply of high school girls for models makes portrait work easy, especially when they understand the process...

Jim, it's just the old Semi-Centennial Stand with a Century 7A. Sometimes I tuck a book under one side of the camera for a little tilt, but in this case I just had her lean her head against the side of the old wing-back chair. (We threw a white sheet over it.) Resting the head against the chair makes for a nice effect sometimes, and reduces the chance of moving between focusing and exposing, always a worry with that thin, thin depth of field. What I really wish for, and may try to make someday, is a rotating back so it would be easy to just set whtever angle.

And yes, Jay, the pupils are quite open. We use the old lens-cap-for-a-shutter trick, so our exposures are a second or two long. That means shutting off the room lights so they don't expose the film, and the pupils do open up in the dark. I agree, it's a nice effect, and fits the images.

BTW, the Vitax was set to "full soft", which doesn't do a lot, but definitely does a little. Kinda like the Cookes, it protects me from my baser instincts of "let's really soften this one up!"

You know, thinking of all the wonderful portraiture I've seen in these monthly portrait threads, I really wish there was a bit of a demand, or at least appreciation, for such images in the "commercial" world. Oh well, such is life...

Again, thanks, all!