Nudes

One Light In Time

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I’ve never been a photographer that gets incredibly fancy with my lighting setups. Sure, when I was in college taking advanced level photography classes I learned a few complicated lighting setups. I’m familiar with strobes, and light boxes, and beauty dishes, and barn doors, etc. etc. But for some reason the more complicated my lighting setup becomes, the more inauthentic the final photograph begins to feel.

I suppose my philosophy would be different if I were a commercial photographer, but I’m not. Photography has always been a practice that I do for myself and only myself.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Kodak Tmax 400 speed medium format film.

All of that being said, I’m really proud of myself for the fact that I managed to keep a lot of details in the shadows of this image, despite the fact that there was only one single light source directly at the model’s back coming in from the window. I honestly didn’t expect this image to turn out great at all but through a combination of careful metering and some handy stand development with Rodinal the exact opposite happened.

It was tempting to pull out some artificial lighting and give some illumination either facing the back wall or facing directly toward the model. I’m really glad I followed my instincts and just relied on the natural light available to me.

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.

Isolation at the Oregon Dunes

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I’m planning another trip out to the Oregon Dunes in the next few weeks. It has quickly become one of my favorite places on earth to make photographs, whether I’m there by myself or with someone who is posing in the photographs. It’s a bit of a journey from Portland which can be a pain, but the road trip is worth it. If I take the long way along the coast the scenery is breathtaking so I really can’t complain.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Kodak Tmax 400 medium format film.

This photograph is from a few years ago on my very first visit. It was probably a bit later in the day than I would have liked it be as far as lighting goes, but since it was my first time making the trip I didn’t really know what to expect and I was just happy to be experiencing the Dunes for the first time. I like the way the results turned out anyway. I had my Hasselblad 500c/m with me and only a few rolls of Kodak Tmax 400.

Large Format 4x5 Film In The Studio

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It feels like it has been quite a while since I’ve worked with 4x5 film. After a recent photo session in the studio I think I intend to change that habit. For anyone who has ever worked with large format film you know that it is a slow moving process. Very slow. Like sloth climbing up a tree slow. But as I get older and the meaning and purpose behind photography changes for me over time, the slow methodical nature of large format film appeals to me more and more.

Photographed with a Calumet 4x5 Camera and Ilford HP5 Large Format Black and White Film.

From a technical perspective this image has a lot of failures. I think there is a bit of a light leak in the 4x5 film back I was using which was made all the worse by the fact that my studio lights were very close to the camera and the model. Either that or there is a light leak in my developing tank. I’m going to have to do some experimenting to figure out which of those two potential problems is true. In addition, when I developed the film my temperatures were a bit high making the final results a bit too contrasty for my taste.

However, for some reason i’m more forgiving of technical errors when it comes to large format photography. The slow methodical nature of the process makes everything feel more organic, including mistakes. I don’t feel as compelled to have perfect results like I normally would with 35mm, digital, or even medium format film.

8x10 Pinhole Camera and Double Exposure

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I haven’t done a lot of work with a pinhole camera lately but looking at this image makes me feel inspired to break out the 8x10 pinhole camera and take it for a spin. This image was made under bright sunny conditions on an 8x10 piece of Ilford RC paper. I metered the exposure at ISO 3 and exposed for about ten seconds with the model in the frame, and then another ten seconds with the model out of the frame.

Photographed with an 8x10 pinhole camera and Ilford RC paper.

Pinhole photography has always been very hit or miss for me. For every frame that I enjoy, there are probably about twenty that I don’t. That might sound a little defeatist but in a way that is something I actually like about it. The bad images can be a little discouraging, but when I get an image that I really like it feels like I did something extraordinary. Plus it can be really nice working with paper negatives. It keeps the costs down to a minimum which allows a bit more freedom to experiment.