Nude Beach

Getting Used To A Portrait Lens

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I wrote on this blog recently that I purchased a Hasselblad 150mm f/4 portrait lens in the past year or so. You can find that entry HERE. It was inevitable that I would eventually bring the lens outdoors and try working with it during one of my regular location sessions. I’m not going to deny I found the experience challenging, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

Most of my awkwardness when using this lens is just simple physics. As opposed to using my usual focal length of 55mm or 80mm, with the 150mm f/4 lens I have to stand further away from my subject. Walking backward fifteen or twenty steps from the model feels incredibly disconnected compared to the way I usually work.

I imagine if I was a seasoned sports photographer or even a more skilled photographer when it comes to street photography this wouldn’t seem so strange to me. But, since I am neither of those things, standing further back from the model takes a lot of getting used to. Part of the reason I’ve always loved waist level finders on cameras like a Hasselblad or a Mamiya TLR is because I feel more connected to my subject. The longer focal length of the 150mm negates that a little bit.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

All of that being said, there is a quality to the images using a 150mm portrait lens that I very much enjoy. All of the images in this post were photographed between f/8 and f/11. Even with a relatively small aperture the bokeh is incredible. It is smooth and buttery and the central focus in the image (i.e. the model) really pops out against the background. This is especially true considering the model was standing in a thick grove of trees that would have made these images appear otherwise incredibly cluttered and chaotic from a compositional standpoint. I can definitely get a sense of the creative potential here which is thrilling to say the least.

Nude model Merrique photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

I’ll be bringing the 150mm lens with me from now on when I take my Hasselblad out for serious work. In fact, I’ll probably be leaving the standard 80mm lens at home and make the 55mm f/4.5 and the 150mm f/4 my go-to lens kit. It seems like it’ll be an interesting challenge to bring along the more extreme ends of the focal length range available to me instead of playing it safe with the 80mm “normal” lens. That is for now at least while there is plenty of sunshine and I don’t need the wider f/stop of f/2.5 that the standard 80mm lens provides.

Never Let The Rain Stop You

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When working outdoors here in the Pacific Northwest the weather is a constant challange. This is especially true when working with models. It is completely understandable that some people may not want to pose when the weather gets too cold, or too hot, or as can be the case with many days around here, far too wet. Everyone knows it rains a lot in Oregon.

Every once in a while I’ll work with someone who not only doesn’t mind the rain, but actually thrives in it. I try to make it a point not to shy away from such opportunities and embrace the challenges that come with working outdoors in wet weather. On this particular day I offered to switch our photo session to an indoor studio but the model wouldn’t have it. It was take pictures in the rain or bust!

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Ilford HP5 120 film.

It’s a little tough to tell in these photographs but there was a steady flow of rainfall coming down along Collins Beach on Sauvie Island. Keeping the camera dry was nearly impossible and every time I went to reload the camera the film rolls got soaking wet. The speckled texture on the film emulsion that you can see in these photographs is from the backing paper on the rolls of 120 film disintegrating in the rain. I brought a few towels with me and would keep one over my head trying to shield my equipment from the rain, but the effort didn’t do much good. After a while I just gave up and crossed my fingers I would still have something worth developing when I got home.

Luckily the air was very very still and there was no wind at all, which meant it was not very cold. Once the model and I just embraced the fact that we were going to be soaking wet the overall experience was quite pleasant in fact. Ultimately we ended up staying out on location far longer than we thought we would. It certainly didn’t hurt that the rain meant the beach was completely empty. We were the only two people for miles in either direction up and down the beach.

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Ilford HP5 120 film.

To hedge my bets a little, because I was not super confident I was going to get good results on film, I did a rare thing and brought a digital camera along with me as well. Ironically the digital camera proved more difficult to use in the rain and I only exposure about twenty or so frames with it. The viewfinder and the back screen kept fogging up making them totally useless so all I could do was point the camera in the general direction of the model and let all the automatic controls take over.

I had no such issues with the Mamiya C330 TLR. The focusing ground glass would fog up a little if I stuck my face right up to it or used the magnifier like I normally do, but so long as I kept the ground glass at arms length I could see through it just fine. Given the fact that the Mamiya is also 100% mechanical with no electronics to speak of, I wasn’t too worried about letting it get a little wet.

Photographed with a Sony A7iii mirrorless digital camera.

If I waited around all the time for perfect weather I would probably never get outside to make photographs. Admittedly, doing a photo session in the pouring rain might be a little extreme, but getting outside and actually doing the work without making excuses is the most important takeaway for me here.

Reflections On The Columbia River

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Typically I associate the summer months here in the Pacific Northwest as a time with bright light that can be a challenge in the best of times to work with. I’m spoiled in that for most of the years I get to work with nice subdued overcast lighting that looks good from pretty much any angle at any time of the day. For two or three months in the summer however, I actually have to be careful when selecting the time of day I go out because the light can become quite harsh, bright, and full of unflattering shadows or highlights.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 medium format film.

Earlier this week however I had a stroke of luck and found myself doing a photo session on a day with nothing but overcast and mild temperatures. Perfect!! I wish I could say I planned it, but really the weather just worked out in my favor by complete accident.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 medium format film.

To take advantage of the day I traveling out to Rooster Rock which is a stretch of beach along the Columbia River to the east of Portland that is officially sanctioned as clothing optional. On a weekend when the weather is nice I tend to avoid this spot at all costs because it can get incredibly crowded. However, on a weekend morning when the temperatures are mild the entire place is nearly deserted. It’s the perfect environment where Floofie and I could take our time, work on poses, explore the best angles to get a solid reflection in the water, and not at all worry about looking over our shoulders the entire session.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 medium format film.

As if I wasn’t lucky enough with the weather, it also happened to be low tide along the Columbia River which meant we could walk out quite a ways into the river and the water was only up to our ankles. Seriously, I’m not sure I could have asked for better conditions.

Nude on the Shore

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I’ve been quite happy with a lot of the film I’ve been developing lately. This image is a perfect example. It was made right as the sun was setting over the mountains to the west of Portland and I managed to make an exposure in those last few seconds when the light gives off its last few seconds of usable glow.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford Pan F ISO 50 medium format film.

I think this image is made all the sweeter for me as I managed to pull it off with Ilford Pan F film. I love Ilford Pan F film but I won’t deny that given its relatively low ISO (i.e. low sensitivity to light) and my general loathing of tripods I don’t use it all that often. Ilford Pan F tends to also be high in contrast, which is a quality that I think adds to the dramatic effect of the low hanging sun.

Nude From Above

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I apologize if it feels like it has been a minute since I’ve updated this blog. A lot of life changes have been going on, mostly for the better, and that means having to prioritize what I can realistically accomplish without burning myself out. I assure you however, I have been very hard at work making new images! In fact that has been my primary focus right now. Developing film, editing finished pieces, and enjoying the satisfaction of completing something.

Social media and the internet in general sometimes just needs to be ignored in order to make that happen.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 ISO 125 medium format film.

Anyone who has ever photographed with any camera with a waste level finder knows that it can be incredibly complicated and disorienting to try and photograph straight down. This is primarily due to the fact that the image in the viewfinder is already reversed, and when you are holding the camera above your head or straight out at arms length and aiming down it will almost make you dizzy trying to compose an image.

I made about seven exposures of this exact pose in this exact spot and this was the only frame that I feel like I composed properly. I was standing on a broken log above the model, balancing as best I could, with the camera being held straight outward, the lens aiming straight down. Needless to say, a Hasselblad isn’t exactly built to be held in this manner and working the controls, focus, and hitting the shutter button was awkward.

The little challenges one encounters with photography can be interesting that’s for sure!