Tag Archives: 1+1

Henry and Wendy Portrait Shoot

During a recent visit of Henry and Wendy in SF, I invited them to have their portraits done in large format.  Setup of the day was my 91-year-old Kodak 2D 8×10 camera with Fujinon A 240mm f9 lens and Kodak Ektascan x-ray film.  The strobes, I used two light sources, one direct light above the camera and a reflective light from the left of the subject.   The dark background is a big piece of black cloth that is about 2.5 feet behind the subject.

Here is a collage of photo of me in action, courtesy of Henry and Wendy.

Portrait session
Portrait session

The film is developed with Kodak D76 1+1 for 10-12 minutes at 19C with rollers and scanned with Epson Perfection V700.  Scanning this time I was faced with a lot of Newton ring issues.   I have an AN glass but that only prevented newton rings from one side of the light.  I have to scan the negatives with emulsion down on the scanner glass, then I put the AN glass on top of the negative.  This way I was able to get rid of most of the newton rings.  I guess I probably need another piece of AN glass and hopefully this issue will go away.

The first photo is that of Henry.  It was shot at f11, 1/30 sec and turned out quite nicely.

Portrait of Henry
Portrait of Henry

Wendy here featured in the second photo, also shot at f11, 1/30sec.  I have asked her to look into the left (her right) reflective light.

Portrait of Wendy
Portrait of Wendy

The final shot is of them together, shot at f16 1/4 sec.  I had cranked up the strobes to be the highest level.  The init negative is dark and about a click off.  I need to double up on the flash to get more light next time.  I have focused on Wendy’s eyes and even at f16, the depth of field is so narrow that Henry’s eyes were very slightly off focus.  I need to add more light sources and try at f22 or even f32 next time for group portraits.

Portrait of Henry and Wendy
Portrait of Henry and Wendy

Overall another fun shoot that yield some fantastic portraits.

First 8×10 Portraits

Six months ago, I did some test shots with my Burke & James Grover 8×10.  I finally got them developed and scanned recently.  With a couple of flashes and remote (without any diffusion), I shot a few portraits when my friends Norris and Fiona were visiting.  Here is the result.

Burke & James Grover 8x10 Portrait
Burke & James Grover 8×10 Portrait

I used Kodak Ektascan B/RA x-ray film metered at ISO50.  Burke & James Grover 8×10 with Fujinon 250mm f6.3 lens.  Lighting setup with two Yongnuo YN560II flashes on two YN622C  and a YN622C-TX.  Developed with Kodak D76 1+1 20C for 10 minutes.  Scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

Lighting is harsh, this is due to the lack of deflectors (they were still being shipped from Asia at the time).  The harsh lighting reminded me a bit of a prom shoot would of looked like in the 1960-70s.  Nevertheless a decent shot for first trials.

 

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test II

The last test of 12x was slightly over-exposed so the new test was a 10x compensation for one minute exposure.  It looks like a working combination.  I was also testing out my Kodak 8×10 2d with a Goerz 12″ f6.3 lens.  It’s amazing that a 91-year-old camera is still holding up and taking great photos just like it did when it was out of the factory.  Film developed in Kodak d76 1+1 22C for 10 mins, scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

10x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure
10x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure

 

I had some doubts  with the Goerz lens as it was over 90 years old.   Initial inspection showed a perfect lens (with only two tiny tiny air bubbles in the front element that won’t affect the photo).  The shutter is snappy (seemed accurate) and both B and T modes work.  The middle of the photo is pin sharp.  The left side however, was slightly off focus.  At first I thought it was corner sharpness of the lens but then I was shooting at f8, so this is not likely the issue.  I inspect the camera again and found that the rear tilt adjustment was off.  The left and right gear was somehow off by at least three clicks.  I think it had been in this position for a very long time and I had to spend sometime forcing it back to right position (without breaking it).  Now both left and right gears are matched, this focus issues should be fixed on the next shoot.

Kodak Ektascan B/RA Reciprocity Test

I never shot Kodak Ektascan B/RA xray film at night.  There were also no information online regarding the reciprocity of this film.  This film is normally used for health x-ray applications and there is no need to worry about long exposure.  I decided to do a test shot.  Shanghai and TriX has terrible reciprocity characteristics.  For 1 minute exposure, I generally compensate it by 8x and it worked well.  I know Ektascan is probably equivalent if not worse, so I decided to try a 12x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure.

Here is the result.  Burke & James Grover 8×10, Fujinon 250mm f6.3 lens, developed in Kodak D76 1+1 10 mins and scanned with Epson Perfection V700.

12x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure
12x compensation for 1 minute metered exposure

It looks like a working combination.  I think it might be slightly over-exposed, perhaps I need to try one with 10x compensation.

Day 2 – Black and white photo challenge

Day 2 of 5 of black and white photo challenge.  Each day I am trying to post a photo that is taken from a different camera and a different medium.  Today I picked a 135mm shot I did in Kyoto, Japan last year.  Amy and my mom were walking in front of me and the shadow was perfect when I took this shot.  Photo taken with Canon QL17 on Kodak TriX.  Film developed in Kodak D76 1+1 and Kodak Rapid Fix, scanned with Epson Perfection V700.  Today I nominate Michael Ho to accept my black and white photo challenge.

Amy and my mom in Kyoto
Amy and my mom in Kyoto, Japan