Wide Open

[Ken Lee]

I figured it was time to give the old thread a rest. It was taking a while to load all the images, and the title was... controversial.


http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/gallery/rh150b.jpg
150mm Heliar, TMX, PyroCat HD

[Dave_B]

Thank you.

[Ken Lee]

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/portraits/met2.jpg

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Agfa Record II 6x9 folding camera, Apotar lens, hand-held

[Walter Calahan]

Beautiful

[Frank Petronio]

Say it in pictures...

[Jim Galli]

Way to go Ken;

http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/the%20lilies/Lilly_No12_12CookeAviarF6.jpg

12 1/2" Cooke Aviar wide open at f6

The Aviar is anything but a soft focus lens, but at this distance it has superb oof rendition.

[jnantz]

21cm tessar 3.5
tmy stand dev in coffee+ansco130

[Ken Lee]

That one is very evocative. It reminds me of some of the very earliest photographs.

The image gives the impression of being rubbed into canvas. May I ask, what causes that effect ? And why the need for stand development ?

[jnantz]

That one is very evocative. It reminds me of some of the very earliest photographs.

The image gives the impression of being rubbed into canvas. May I ask, what causes that effect ? And why the need for stand development ?

hi ken

i am processing film in caffeinol C and print developer alot these days ..
the combination of straight developer and the coffee brings out the grain in the film
--- the grainyness and coffee-stain together can give this "look"
i have been having fun surprising myself with the results ...

no real reason for stand development - i am not a sharpness-freak or anything like that. ;)

i had to leave the room for a little while, so i figured i would throw caution to the wind ...

thanks for the comment!

john

[Randy H]

i am processing film in caffeinol C and print developer alot these days ..
the combination of straight developer and the coffee brings out the grain in the film
--- the grainyness and coffee-stain together can give this "look"

Am I understanding correctly, that you are mixing the caffenol and dev together and using that to develop with?
I ask because I am getting ready to attempt the caffenol and parodinal home-brews, and the thought just occurred that those two mixed may be tempting to try.

[lostcoyote]

wide open for a wide length of time

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=530337891&context=set-72157600309466547&size=o

[jnantz]

Am I understanding correctly, that you are mixing the caffenol and dev together and using that to develop with?
I ask because I am getting ready to attempt the caffenol and parodinal home-brews, and the thought just occurred that those two mixed may be tempting to try.

hi randy

yep, i mix'em together :)
for a while there i was spinning them in a unicolor processor ..
then i started doing 1/2 my development with dilute ansco130, dumping
and using caf-c .. and this time i just let them both sit in the tank together with stock a130.

i can't say if i am using a 'standard forumla' for my caf-c .. i don't have a measure
for my dry ingredients, i just eyeball+dump. my results are pretty consistent.
i am sure you can get similar results with dektol or another print developer
... i don't have anything but 130 on hand, so i use what i have ..

good luck!
john

[Colin Graham]

Please forgive the tired but I'm a sucker for narcissus snaps. Xenar 135 4.7

[Christopher Perez]

Ken, your images are lovely. Well done! :)

[Ken Lee]

Thanks - And thanks for selling the Heliar lens. I think you put some of your special mojo on it.

And thanks to Jim and others, for alerting us to this "wide open" approach. It's something old that's quite new for me: I feel like I did XX years ago, when I got my first 35mm SLR.

[Ken Lee]

"wide open for a wide length of time"

Splendid !

[Donald Qualls]

i can't say if i am using a 'standard forumla' for my caf-c .. i don't have a measure
for my dry ingredients, i just eyeball+dump.

The only recipe I've ever used for Caffenol is in teaspoons, not grams, except for the gram of vitamin C added for Caffenol C; if you have a set of kitchen measuring spoons, you can use a scant 1/4 teaspoon of ascorbic acid for a gram (it's close enough to water density that 1 tsp is about 5 g) and get close enough (along with 4 slightly rounded teaspoons of coffee crystals and 2 1/2 level teaspoons of washing soda).

[Jan Pedersen]

Keep them coming Colin, this is lovely.

[jnantz]

The only recipe I've ever used for Caffenol is in teaspoons, not grams, except for the gram of vitamin C added for Caffenol C; if you have a set of kitchen measuring spoons, you can use a scant 1/4 teaspoon of ascorbic acid for a gram (it's close enough to water density that 1 tsp is about 5 g) and get close enough (along with 4 slightly rounded teaspoons of coffee crystals and 2 1/2 level teaspoons of washing soda).

thanks donald!

i will see how my results look using the "real forumla" too :)
i kind of like over medicating my developer <g>

have you noticed that some instant coffees work better than others ?
i am using something now, that i had never heard of (off-brand of stop and shop?)
and my film looks nicer than the last brand i used ... nothing changed but the brand.


-john

[Donald Qualls]

Absolutely, different brands of coffee appear to have different levels of the developing agent(s), which best information suggests to be caffeic acid and potentially its chemical precursor, chlorogenic acid. The amounts I gave work perfectly with Folger's Coffee Crystals, and with a Fred Meyer branded generic (that's probably also available under other names at QFC and other stores that carry Top Crest brands, possibly including Harris Teeter if you're in the Carolinas), but a German brand (with name that's long since escaped me) that was reported as made from 100&#37; arabica beans required about doubling the coffee level. My hypothesis is that there is much more developing agent in the robusta beans commonly used to boost caffeine levels and reduce cost in lower priced brands (though caffeine itself exhibits no developing action -- decaf works just as well, and No-Doz doesn't).

Generally, then, I'd expect the cheaper instant coffees to develop more silver, other factors equal...

[Joseph O'Neil]

Front stairs of the old London (Ontario) Normal School for Teachers. Taken with my "new" Ilex 90mm, F8. This lens is said to be a clone of the Super Angulon (looks it to me).
enjoy

[jnantz]

My hypothesis is that there is much more developing agent in the robusta beans commonly used to boost caffeine levels and reduce cost in lower priced brands (though caffeine itself exhibits no developing action -- decaf works just as well, and No-Doz doesn't).

Generally, then, I'd expect the cheaper instant coffees to develop more silver, other factors equal...

donald,
i had a feeling you were going to say that .. ;)

now, if we could only make fixer out of condensed milk and crums from a baguette, i would be all set!

--thanks!

john

[Mark Sawyer]

From the 12" IWSWGon, wide at f/5.6.

Someday I'll learn to do a decent scan...

[Eric James]

Have you been studying for your PhD general exam Mark?

It looks good on my screen!

[Jim Galli]

From the 12" IWSWGon, wide at f/5.6.

Someday I'll learn to do a decent scan...

OK, I'll bite. What is a IWSWGon? Enlighten please. Looks good!

[Mark Sawyer]

OK, I'll bite. What is a IWSWGon? Enlighten please. Looks good!

Just a home-assembled lens; I have three 12" IWSWGon's and one 17".

I wanted to give them a name, but couldn't think of what to call them. The one day I was looking at some other lenses, Paragon, Acugon, Astragon, Ultragon, Rodagon...

I decided to call mine the "I-Wish-She-Wasn't-Gon". Seemed to fit...

[Donald Qualls]

donald,
i had a feeling you were going to say that .. ;)

now, if we could only make fixer out of condensed milk and crums from a baguette, i would be all set!

--thanks!

john

If you're desperate enough, you might be able to make fixer from onions. There is a significant amount of thiosulfate in onion juice (supposedly, enough to kill a dog if it eats a whole onion -- we have much more tolerance for thiosulfate than dogs do, apparently, because I eat a lot of onions and don't so much as get sick), but it's not in a directly usable form, so there'd be some effort in extracting it and removing the undesirable cations to give a reasonably pure thiosulfate in solution.

For the foreseeable future, though, it'll be simpler to buy hypo crystals from chemical suppliers, and probably cheaper as well (given the number of onions you'd need to get a pound of hypo). As long as folks swim in chlorinated pools, there'll be a market for industrial quantities of technical grade sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate, rice crystals, because it's a very efficient sequestrant for excess chlorine in water -- and there'll always be someone around willing to buy up a rail car or container load of 100 lb bags of hypo crystals, repackage it in 5 to 25 lb plastic buckets, mark it up 300%, and ship it to you and me (and still beat the photographic suppliers by 50% or more on final cost). Since sodium sulfite is used for the same purpose as well as being a very widely used preservative (for both food and non-food items), it'll be around a while, too, and you only need hypo crystals and sulfite to make a perfectly fine fixer...

[Jim Galli]

Just a home-assembled lens; I have three 12" IWSWGon's and one 17".

I wanted to give them a name, but couldn't think of what to call them. The one day I was looking at some other lenses, Paragon, Acugon, Astragon, Ultragon, Rodagon...

I decided to call mine the "I-Wish-She-Wasn't-Gon". Seemed to fit...


I had it all wrong. I figured it for a "It's-Whatcha-See's-Whatcha-Get-on" I have a few of those.

[scrichton]

Yes I have posted this in a different thread, but it's wide open. Plus the other is too.

Both on ERA 100 in T-Max shot on aero ektar wide-open with negative tilt.

[Scott --]

Tessar 105/4.5, stopped down slightly - was trying to get enough speed to stop the kids. Didn't. Arista.EDU Ultra 100 in HC-110.
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/tessar01.jpg

[william linne]

Schneider Xenar 300mm f3.5

[Hugo Zhang]

Hermagis serie II. f=310 m/m.

[Jim Galli]

Hermagis serie II. f=310 m/m.

Now that's what 'm talkin about!

[Ken Lee]

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/gallery/mht180.jpg
180mm Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/4.5

[jnantz]

graflex slr
rollback
expired hp5
caffenolC+a130 +stand

[jnantz]

tessar

[Duane Polcou]

To Frank Petronio and William Linne:
Love, LOVE the pics of models.

[J Peterson]

Schneider Xenar 300mm f3.5

:eek: Oh....My....God....

[william linne]

To Frank Petronio and William Linne:
Love, LOVE the pics of models.

Thanks! But I don't really shoot models.

W.

[Mark Sawyer]

Thanks! But I don't really shoot models.

W.

First we shoot them, then we take them in the darkroom and blow them up...

Then we stick them in the chemicals; that'll fix em!

Then we hang them up to dry...

[cobalt]

Schneider Xenar 300mm f3.5

Your lens...give it to me....now.....

[Marko Trebusak]

cca 130 mm magic lantern lens wide open (no other setings anyway:) )

Marko

[Uusilehto]

Your lens...give it to me....now.....

No worries. As it happens, it's currently on the classifieds section of this forum.

[Pat Hilander]

Ziess Jena Tessar 16.5cm f2.7. Wide open on the SG.

[Ken Lee]

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/gallery/dogwd.jpg
210mm Heliar f/4.5, TMY, Pyrocat HD

[Colin Graham]

Another xenar 135 4.7. Not a stunning technical shot, but I always liked the mood of it.

[Ole Tjugen]

G-Claron 355mm f:9 - "wide open" is not all that open!

[chris_4622]

Part of my dried fruit series. Sorry about the bad scan. Don't know why there is no thumbnail.
5x7 and a Kodak portrait lens wide open.

[jnantz]

.....

[Donald Qualls]

Don't know why there is no thumbnail.

Probably because you have the file extension as JPEG instead of JPG, and the BB software doesn't recognize that version (i.e. lazy programmer syndrome).

Just got this one processed in the past week -- not only wide open, but hand held, and focused on the ground glass. :D

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/dqualls/Speed%20Graphic/th_02.jpg (http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/dqualls/Speed&#37;20Graphic/02.jpg)

Componon 150/5.6, f/5.6 at 1/25; .EDU (Forte) 400 in Parodinal 1:25.

[Scott Whitford]

John,

That is an incredible photograph.

Scott

[jnantz]

hi scott -

thanks!

i appreciate the comment :)

john

[Ken Lee]

That is an incredible photograph.
I'll second that.

[jnantz]

I'll second that.

thanks ken

i appreciate the comment :)

-- john

[Hugo Zhang]

John,

I like that picture too.

Hugo

[jnantz]

John,

I like that picture too.

Hugo


thanks hugo,
i appreciate the comment :)
john

[Jim Galli]

A bit of a departure for me. For a couple of years I've been mesmerized by the photographs Don Normark did in 1949 Los Angeles' Chavez Ravine. They are sumptuous. What makes them even better is that he was just a starving student who wanted a Rollei but had to settle for a lowly Wollensak Ciro-flex. I always said I was going to buy one and see what it could do, so the other day I bought one on Ebay for $12.37. It has a gorgeous little coated Wollensak 85mm Velostigmat in a decent shutter. So this is a photo from the first and only roll of film run through the Ciro-Flex. Obviously, I'm no Don Normark :D 1/200 sec @ f3.5


http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Ciro_55.jpg

Look for a copy of the book, Chavez Ravine by Don. It's a little feast.

[Paul Metcalf]

As usual, excellant start Jim. Here's some of Don's photos:http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/album.html
Looks like most/all of the history of Chavez Ravine lies below Dodger stadium.

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Here`s a couple wide open with my 12" Ilex Paragon on 4x5.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1305/853980371_2be453e5ed_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1326/853980357_fa7f809d7c_o.jpg

[Miguel Coquis]

...like a tree ?

[Mark Tweed]

Amund, lovely shot of the dog house. Is your Ilex Paragon's widest aperture f4.5 or f6.3?

thanks,

Mark

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Amund, lovely shot of the dog house. Is your Ilex Paragon's widest aperture f4.5 or f6.3?

thanks,

Mark

It`s the regular plain old f/6.3 version, wich I personally like a lot. Nice and smooth bokeh. Not the typical supersharp precision optics, but I love it near/at wide open.

[MenacingTourist]

...like a tree ?

Clicked on the thumbnail out of habit and glad I did. I could really get lost in that print.
Alan.

[sparq]

Nikkor-SW 4/65 + Fomapan 200

[Alex Wei]

150mm caltar IIN, wide open with a twist:)

[jnantz]

...

[Pat Hilander]

Verito 9" f4.

Soft focus lenses and heavy machinery, what the heck was I thinking?
:p

[Ken Lee]

Almost Wide Open

250mm Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar in Barrel
4x5 TMY PyroCat

[Daniel_Buck]

Nikkor 200 (f8 I believe?) wide open with some front tilt :D

http://danielbuck.net/wip/4x5_12.jpg

[Paul Metcalf]

Daniel-
What Nikkor gives that look?

[Daniel_Buck]

Daniel-
What Nikkor gives that look?
I don't know much about it. The blur was made by tilting the front forward, I haven't tried shooting it wide open with no tilt. This image was just to see what it would look like! :) It's a 200 f8 I believe.

[Mike Boden]

Here's a recent image I took with a Crown Graphic and Aero Ektar lens...wide open. The wedding couple is my Mom and her fiance, both 70 years old, tieing the knot on 7-7-7. Enjoy!

http://www.zoeticlight.com/images/ToniJohn_Web.jpg

[domenico Foschi]

Here's a recent image I took with a Crown Graphic and Aero Ektar lens...wide open. The wedding couple is my Mom and her fiance, both 70 years old, tieing the knot on 7-7-7. Enjoy!

http://www.zoeticlight.com/images/ToniJohn_Web.jpg

Lovely image,Mike.

[Miguel Coquis]

or without it !
wa som berthiot perigraphe 135 mm f:22
Ilford HP5 5x7
Dev Tmax 1:9 N

[Daniel_Buck]

135mm Schneider Symmar at f5.6

http://404photography.net/wip/4x5/4x5_dodge_truck_01.jpg

[Jim Galli]

135mm Schneider Symmar at f5.6

http://404photography.net/wip/4x5/4x5_dodge_truck_01.jpg

Great stuff everybody! I'm of a delicate age great enough that the first school bus I rode on was a Dodge of this vintage. It caught on fire and the school was forced to purchase a new Ford.......which is also an antique if it still exists. That was 1962.

[Brian Bullen]

A little bondo and a headlight and this truck is ready for the road. Great shot Daniel.

[Jon Wilson]

Couple of recent shots, the shot of Alison was taken with my 15 1/2 inch Illex Portrait lens at f8 and the other is a "self-portrait" which is my first shot with an 11 1/2 inch Vesta in a barrel with a packard shutter.

[Jim Galli]

Couple of recent shots, the shot of Alison was taken with my 15 1/2 inch Illex Portrait lens at f8 and the other is a "self-portrait" which is my first shot with an 11 1/2 inch Vesta in a barrel with a packard shutter.
Jon, it looks just like ya.

[Jon Wilson]

Jon, it looks just like ya.

lololo.....yep....ugly as ever.......lolololo:D