Large Format Photography and Darkroom Printing - What an Education

 

 

Falls, Buzzard Hill, Appalachian Trail, Virginia, by Reed A. George

Horseman 45FA 4x5 Camera, Wollensak Raptar 135mm f4.7 Lens

EDU 100 film, f/22, 4 sec. exposure

 

I've gone back to basics for this phase in my photography. As I mentioned, a dear friend has given me his father's darkroom, which helped to set me on this path.

 

I'm making a lot of mistakes, learning about limitations, and really enjoying the occasional success.

 

This is a scan of a print I made in the darkroom, with my own two hands. It represents so much more thought, effort, and investment in the process than a similar image I'm sure I could have made with a digital SLR. In fact, I could've made hundreds of similar images with the DSLR in a fraction of the time. And that's just the point; that's not how this image was made.

 

I understand that viewers won't necessarily care, but I do.

 

So much left to learn about this craft...

 

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I Love Slow Photography - Jim Austin Shares "SloFo" on Film Photography Project Blog

Slow, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera

 

I love slow photography. Probably my favorite camera for ultra-slow, contemplative photography is the Mamiya Universal Press (MUP). You just don't hurry this camera up. It's big, heavy, and stubborn. It makes me do photography it's way.

 

Jim ("Jimages") Austin has written a nice blog post on the Film Photography Project's blog about slow photography, which he refers to as "SloFo." I'm not sure why we need a new term for it, but I enjoyed Jim's post nonetheless. Jim was shooting in the Bahamas with a selection of Konica, Nikon, and Nikonos film cameras.

 

(Click Here) to read the blog post on the Film Photography Project's page. Be sure to watch the video that's linked to from the text; it shares different pictures than are used in the text. Plus, it's kind of fun to see Jim paddling his boat to shore.

 

If you're a rapid-fire high speed continuous shooter, you owe it to yourself to try some slow photography. Personally, I find it much more rewarding and useful in sharing my creative vision.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Another Birthday Portrait with the Mamiya Universal Press

A few days back, I posted an image I shot of my daughter on her birthday, taken with the Mamiya Universal Press (MUP) and Polaroid back, loaded with Fuji FP100C pack film. I also shared a scan of the color negative I recovered from that shot. (Click Here) to see that post.

 

Today, I'll share another shot from the same time and place, only this one was made on Kodak Portra 400 color negative film, using the MUP's 6x9 film back.

 

Birthday Portrait, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, 150mm f5.6 Lens

Kodak Portra 400 Color Negative Film

 

I just got the negatives back from The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com). I actually made a mistake with this roll of film, and exposed the Portra 400 at settings for Portra 160. No problem. The Darkroom pulled the processing by 1.5 stops, saving the pictures for me. I'm pleased with the result.

 

I really enjoy shooting the MUP. It's a very large, heavy beast, with matching impressive lenses. But, when you have the time to set it up and think about your shot, it's great fun to use. This is slow photography. I like it.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Small Town Scenes, Brunswick, Maryland

I took my new Mamiya Universal Press (MUP) camera out for some shooting in the small town of Brunswick, Maryland. Perfect location for some black and white imaging, Brunswick is located on the Potomac River, and is a historic transportation hub for goods moving from the inland farms to the more populated coastal cities like Baltimore and Washington, DC.

 

Two competing forms of transportation intersected at Brunswick - the C&O Canal, which runs along the river from Cumberland, Maryland into Georgetown in DC, and the railroad. The canal has long been out of service; the railroad continues to live on. I shot these three images from the highway bridge that runs over the river and the tracks. In the third image, if you look close, you can see a person climbing the steps on the front of the locomotive on the right.

 

I used the graduated filter in Lightroom to bring out the detail in the clouds.

 

 

 

Brunswick Railroad Scenes, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, Kodak Tmax 100 Film

The shot below is of a historic building above the tracks, and below the modern bridge. I shot this one with the Mamiya Sekor 65mm f6.3 wide angle lens.

Historic Brunswick, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, Kodak Tmax 100 Film

As I've said before, I am thoroughly enjoying the MUP. I shot a total of about eight images (a full roll of 120 film at 6x9 format) in an hour. That's pretty fast for the MUP. It felt pretty fast for such a quiet day in Brunswick as well.

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