November 2016 Portrait Thread

[jp]

A really excellent start to the month's portrait thread.

Jnanian suggested we be adventurous and try something new:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...something-else

I got rocks and trees AND portrait.. It's a start. I think I have found a good model. My family is awesome, but I'm trying something new here. Personally I am trying to take pictorialism in new directions, and my niece Taïna might be part of it. Next I will alt-process print these and then will change gears for some George Seeley style indoor portraits.

Pictorialism of old never strayed far from white folks either in victorian clothing or nudes. Not that skin color is important, but the pictorialists were helpful to an urban melting pot variety of people but rarely photographed those people. They were after beauty and missed much of it or never published it. Kasabier photographed some native Americans but not all softly, but perhaps that was just part of the fad or fascination of wildness that was prevalent for an era rather than trying to be innovative.


img294 by Jason Philbrook, on Flickr

Owls Head, Maine. November 2016. 4x5 speed graphic, 9" Gundlach Hyperion soft focus lens, FP4+ film in pyrocat hdc.

[jp]

My daughter kindly posed for a portrait over the weekend. This is a quick scan, the composition is better on the negative some of which got cropped by the scanner (v800). Ilford HP5+ film Linhof master technika, Schneider APO 210mm lens at f5.6. It is a shame about the emulsion damage on the bottom left not sure what caused that. I will print this in the darkroom. Does anyone have any ideas how I can hide the emulsion damage at the printing stage?

I think you'd be fine to crop that damage out of the final print by cropping the bottom of the photo. Crop a little off the left and you'll preserve the 4x5 aspect ratio and all will be well. This will be a treasured print.

[Peter De Smidt]

[Mark Sawyer]

Pictorialism of old never strayed far from white folks either in victorian clothing or nudes...

Are you familiar with the work of F. Holland Day or Edward Curtis?

A lovely portrait, JP. Pictorialism still wields a strong influence, at least in large format photography, and I think this is another example of why. It wouldn't be the same if made with a Plasmat at f/64, and the soft lens is only a part of this way of seeing...

[jp]

Are you familiar with the work of F. Holland Day or Edward Curtis?

A lovely portrait, JP. Pictorialism still wields a strong influence, at least in large format photography, and I think this is another example of why. It wouldn't be the same if made with a Plasmat at f/64, and the soft lens is only a part of this way of seeing...

Thanks. yes. Edward Curtis used pictorialism style for a few years but I don't think he was too dedicated to it and changed photography styles like underwear. Some of his soft photos are great. I think of him as someone who used the style but wasn't dedicated to it.

Day had a couple photos with black men in the background but rarely as a primary subject. His philanthropy helped many immigrants but I don't think, for the most part, his photography represented that. His seven last words series used costume which was probably not victorian.. But I think these are exceptions that sort of prove the rule.

[Mark Sawyer]

Thanks. yes. Edward Curtis used pictorialism style for a few years but I don't think he was too dedicated to it and changed photography styles like underwear. Some of his soft photos are great. I think of him as someone who used the style but wasn't dedicated to it.

Day had a couple photos with black men in the background but rarely as a primary subject. His philanthropy helped many immigrants but I don't think, for the most part, his photography represented that. His seven last words series used costume which was probably not victorian.. But I think these are exceptions that sort of prove the rule.

If you ever see the original gravures from Curtis' North American Indian, they fit well within a pictorial aesthetic.

And Day made a number of images with blacks as the primary subject, in both costume and period dress:

[Mark Sawyer]

More:

[Mark Sawyer]

And more:

[jp]

Very good Mark; sincere thanks for the education; I only have two Day books which do not cover this well enough.

I like some of Curtis's darker photos where I read he shot within a tent, only carefully adding light to get the look he wanted.

[Robclarke]

I managed to get my son to sit for a portrait. Linhof Master Technika, Schneider 210mm f5.6 APO. Ilford HP5+ pushed 1 stop. Shot at f8 1/15s.

img336 by biotecbob, on Flickr