Maplethorpe portrait of Doris Saatchie

[Dave Wooten]

...any insight on the technique used to make this portrait? Filter, lens, film? Thanks

[Old-N-Feeble]

If I were to guess I'd say he used a black stocking over the enlarging lens and printed high-key.

[Mark Sawyer]

If I were to guess I'd say he used a black stocking over the enlarging lens and printed high-key.

Sounds reasonable to me. The diffusion was definitely done during enlarging, as it's the blacks that diffused, not the highlights.

[Bill_1856]

...any insight on the technique used to make this portrait? Filter, lens, film? Thanks

Where' the d**n link, if you're going to ask a question about an image?

[Old-N-Feeble]

Where' the d**n link, if you're going to ask a question about an image?

Here's one LINK

[Dave Wooten]

thanks, have trouble getting links up;[ from what i have read he didnt do his own printing. i understand the hose softening technique, it seems the image was filtered on camera lens, red?

[Old-N-Feeble]

thanks, have trouble getting links up;[ from what i have read he didnt do his own printing. i understand the hose softening technique, it seems the image was filtered on camera lens, red?

Judging by tonal values, yes, he may have used a red filter during exposure... or he may have used a red-sensitive film. But, as Mark pointed out, the bleeding of light due to diffusion was done during printing, not during exposure, and this could have been accomplished any one of a hundred different ways. The bottom line is the prints were diffused during printing and they were printed high-key... but, yeah, a red filter may have been used during exposure too.

[Dave Wooten]

thanks , havent been able to find the RM daybooks

[Tracy Storer]

Yes, diffusion during printing. Well known. Edward (Maxey) Mappelthorpe, his brother(and a fine artist in his own right), did his printing, if I remember correctly.

[Taija71A]

I was always under the impression... That Tom Baril (An outstanding Photographer) -- Did the 'majority' of the Printing for Mapplethorpe. No doubt, there were also others...

-Tim.
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