Portraits by Window Light

I was photographing the abandoned Tonopah Silver Mine, now a museum Museum. The buisiness office building is easily overlooked as its mostly empty. It has one very interesting small office with a broken down chair. The leather is cracked and the seat couldnt possible take the weight of an adult! So I purloined a small plank and put t over the dangerously fragile center of the seat and had Jm Galli sit down and it held!

The light coming in from the window was very bright. Ideally, I'd have overcome the light with flash and a fast enough shutter speed to get the effect of the evening light and have the shadows opened up just enough. Still, that was not possible. We were packing up!

So here's my grab shot with 8x10 Efke 25 ISO film, scanned at 600 dpi with a simple desktop all in one printer-scanner, MP610 I got for free when I bought my wife her iMac!



Jim has taken wonderful pictures of the chair and other treasures. His perfectly balanced pictures are here.

Asher

Gelatin -silver photograph on Fomabrom Variant 111 VC FB photographic paper, image area 16.2cm X 16.2cm, from a Tmax 100 negative exposed in a Seagull 4A-103A twin lens reflex camera by self-timer.

Maris,

Yours has a lot of drama!

Having a timer is very useful here. Did you balance it on a table or used a tripod?

That Seagull Camera was a bargain! However, today, one can pick up the big brother, Rollei Rolleiflex 3.5 T Medium Format Twin Lens Camera from KEH for a song, (well a $450 song)!

I recommend folk following your example. It's a marvelous and economical way to enter the world of classic photography and the concept of making each show count.

Asher

Fear not Asher, it's all carefully contrived without being obviously implausible...I hope. The shadows of the objects on the table don't overlap. A shiny teapot casts it's specular reflection just so. The spectacles throw a double image. Reflected in the window behind the reader is a figure with a sunlit profile, and the teapot again. To acknowledge that the picture is consciously photographic a Pentax Spotmeter lies incongruously close at hand.

The camera was mounted at ceiling height on a tall tripod. A ten second self-timer gives but a short interval to descend a ladder, arrive at table, and fall into a posture of relaxed concentration.

A Seagull TLR is probably the worst "good" camera. Mine cost $140 brand new in 1987.

Hi, Maris,

Maris Rusis said:

Reading Ansel Adams 400 Photographs​

Gelatin -silver photograph on Fomabrom Variant 111 VC FB photographic paper, image area 16.2cm X 16.2cm, from a Tmax 100 negative exposed in a Seagull 4A-103A twin lens reflex camera by self-timer.

Click to expand...

Wonderful shot, in so many ways.

Is that some sort of serious spot exposure meter on the table?

Best regards,

Doug

That's a fine photo of Jim, Asher! It's remarkable how much detail can be seen in the shadows with such strong light at the window. Get a load of the bead board on the walls, for example. I'm sure all the little treasures in the desk are long gone by now, but that right hand drawer may yet contain an unopened pint of very aged Cactus Jack Whiskey.

Thanks for the comments, Tom.

I question whether the LF film camera can outclass digital simply because of the forced slowing down as we ponder the value of every shot we take and exactly how we do it.

It must be a different mental process. We are devoted to our spouse and long term partner. A quick fling might be fun and that's what it is, a transient experience. Like a marriage, a commitment to a film camera allows far more intimacy with what we love!

........but it is work!

Still, whether by film or digital recording, the magic of window light has never been surpassed!

Asher