Still-Life Images, 2015

[jcoldslabs]

Deardorff - Cooke PS945 - HP5+ - XTOL1:1

Excellent, Tom. A well-executed concept.

Jonathan

[Old-N-Feeble]

Admit it, Ramiro. It's not conversation you would have been interested. It's the pretty girl.

I wish I could have been there to listen to the conversation prior to the photo. Thread crossover!

[Ramiro Elena]

Seriously, what he said to get her to pose in front of that fennel bulb sounds much more entertaining. Although Tom is a resourceful man. I bet he just snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot he wanted her to be

[D-tach]

Excellent, Tom. A well-executed concept.

Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan!

Seriously, what he said to get her to pose in front of that fennel bulb sounds much more entertaining. Although Tom is a resourceful man. I bet he just snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot he wanted her to be

I'm afraid it's not very entertaining - she's a friend and I just explained her in advance I had some idea's with still-lifes in combination with a nude body part out of focus in the background to translate the duality of daily routine and boringness versus the uniqueness of every single moment. The only entertaining part was she nearly fell of the Pelicase at one moment

[appletree]

It somehow took my mind a few seconds to register that there is a female's backside in the background.

Are you using a yellow/orange/red filter ? If not, is there warm-colored light in the room due to warm-colored walls or time of day ?

Otherwise, are you under exposing + over developing ? Or clipping the values while scanning ?

Oh, and wow. I need to get some photography schooling. Or pay more attention to the books I read.

[Dan Quan]

Just as I anticipated, I like the digital color version shot through the ground glass much more. I don't know what is going on with my contrast, it always seems too much.


img384 by rabato, on Flickr

The ground glass version was literally shot through diffusion. The GG acting to diffuse the contrast. It does look lovely and can likely be replicated by shooting the LF lens through some type of diffusion. Maybe a black net like Tulle or some black silk stockings, or even white material for a different look. In a Dean Collins video I saw him describe using a "variable diffusion" filter he made with an 8x10ish piece of plate glass and hairspray. He holds the plate glass from underneath and fairly flat while spraying the hairspray in the air and letting it fall onto the glass. He gets the "variable" part by allowing it to accumulate more densely in one corner or on one side. Then, after it dries, he can move the filter by hand to a more or less dense diffusion section even while shooting quickly.

Of course color attracts ones eye more than gray tones. Thats why B&W is often more challenging but using only B&W roids will help. I am trying to solve a similar color / B&W issue in a shot myself, though it's not as lovely as yours.

[Dan Quan]

Not shiny tulle or stockings but matte tulle or matte stockings are preferable.

[Ramiro Elena]

That's an interesting observation Dan. I didn't think of it that way and you're quite right. I was more concerned about tonal scale than replicating the same look as in the gg version. Your method would be an interesting test to make. In fact I did try it for a moment but realized you need to stop down your lens in order to control the diffusion. I am using a Petzval lens with no waterhouse stops so...

Interestingly enough and going back to Ken Lee's comment on a previous photograph, it hit me the problem with my still life is not in the exposure/processing but in the way I lit the scene. The dark background makes the whole scene render a shallow tonal gradation.
I went back and made the background lighter to see if that is actually the problem. I will also cut the developing time.

[Dan Quan]

That's an interesting observation Dan. I didn't think of it that way and you're quite right. I was more concerned about tonal scale than replicating the same look as in the gg version. Your method would be an interesting test to make. In fact I did try it for a moment but realized you need to stop down your lens in order to control the diffusion. I am using a Petzval lens with no waterhouse stops so...

Interestingly enough and going back to Ken Lee's comment on a previous photograph, it hit me the problem with my still life is not in the exposure/processing but in the way I lit the scene. The dark background makes the whole scene render a shallow tonal gradation.
I went back and made the background lighter to see if that is actually the problem. I will also cut the developing time.

A tightly pulled black net should only effect contrast. It was a popular method used for controlling contrast, particularly blacks, when shooting transparency film for reproduction.

[Ramiro Elena]

Foma 100 in Moersch Tanol
10'' Petzval f4,2


Pines in a bowl by rabato, on Flickr