fotini chan

studio mode

large format meets studio meets fotini korre: an afternoon spent trying to combine large format and a simple lighting set-up in a really confined space (living-room-turned-studio). large format in a studio is a very disciplined craft, since you're bound to a lot of tripods - the lights, the camera, everything is on a tripod. changing the lighting takes time, selecting a new angle of view takes time, framing takes time, focusing takes time... hell, even shooting a frame takes time - spontaneity cannot survive on a tripod. lots of patience is needed, and disappointment can quickly rear its ugly head. still, the results are quite interesting.

fotini had an earlier television shooting for mad channel, so she came around with a wonderful make-up, courtesy of maria pilafa. she was dying for some food and all I could think of telling her was "errr, ok, you can eat, but please do not spoil the make-up and the hair". she is a most wonderful person, smart and laid-back, and she loves linguini, a fact which should not be overlooked. kudos to her patience, both when posing ("now, you must stand still while I put the film in, change the aperture, put a cap on the lens, remove the darkslide, pick up the remote trigger, remove the lens cap, trigger the lights, put the cap back on the lens, ok, you can breathe.") and when coping with my moments of failing inspiration. I owe her a night out at an italian restaurant, during which I will convince her to pose on a second, outdoor, shooting, and then I'll owe her another night out at a restaurant, and... you can see how this goes.

the afternoon's tally was 24 frames - 12 large format sheets with the monorail omega view and a 6x6 medium format roll with the bronica. presented in this post are the best 8 of them - they are separated in three annotated chapters, like journal entries.

part I: static normality

photographer tries to shake rust off   //   decides to start with a casual large format set-up   //   omega view 45d, industar n-51 210mm/f4.5, fomapan 400   //   extra background light   //   rediscovery of college yearbook style   //   model frustrated; cause: receiving instructions like "just stay still and look straight into the lens"   //   removal of extra light leads to rediscovery of rembrandt style   //   normal film, normal lens and static set-up bring about quick exhaustion and slow death of inspiration

part II: mobile squareness

photographer in dire need of a fresh view   //   abandons large format in favour of medium format   //   bronica sq-a with 80mm/f2.8 and kodak t-max 100   //   no longer attached to the tripod   //   new-found mobility brings rejuvenation   //   still hampered by casual, formal viewpoint   //   decision to move closer and change angle of view proves invigorating   //   inspiration levels rising

part III: expired pictorealism

mobility of medium format brought fresh inspiration   //   photographer switches back to large format   //   chooses projection lens to emphasize depth of field   //   chooses expired film because there was none else readily available   //   omega view 45d, leitz hektor 150mm/f2.5, kodak royal pan, expired 1973   //   depth of field really razor thin   //   film's extreme old age results in excessive grain, fogging and staining   //   pictorealism winks an eye

motocrossing

this post is a tribute to loukas mexis, who broke his ankle in a motorbike accident a week after we did these photographs. our intention was to re-do the motocross theme with a little more preparation than "-I've got free time. -I'm going motocrossing. -perfect, I'm coming along to try large format on action photos". this is not going to happen for a while, so I decided to post these photos, although they are a bit monotonous. the equipment I carried along was the usual stuff: the speed graphic, six 4x5" film holders loaded with fomapan 100 and the bronica sq-a which had half a roll of fuji pro 400h 220 that I wanted to finish up. the funny part was that I had to ride the motorbike along with loukas to get to the motocross field - you can imagine the sight of two people on a single-seater ktm bike, the one fully dressed for motocross and the other carrying two photographic bags and a tripod.

we arrived at the field and sought for a nice spot to try and capture a jump, which worked out quite well (although even the speed graphic's 1/1000 top shutter speed is not enough to "freeze" a motorbike that's flying through the air next to you), but I didn't give a lot of thought to the trees in the background - the resulting image would be a lot better if I had stayed clear of the trees, thus allowing the bike and the rider to stand out against a clear sky...

...then I tried the same framing with the medium format bronica sq-a (top shutter speed: 1/500) and the wide angle 50mm lens, choosing a lower angle and getting as close to the bike as I dared to...

...I spent a number of frames there (they came out identical, and I was pleased to see that I didn't miss the bike on any photo) and moved on to some portraits, first with the speed graphic...

...then with the bronica, still using the wide-angle 50mm lens...

...a change of view and a lower angle in order to emphasize the bike...

...and then we moved on to a different spot, trying to find a higher "jumping point". the sun was getting low and I wasn't really trying to get the best out of the whole situation (thinking this was a warm-up session), so we didn't search for a long time - we found the next jump and I readied the speed graphic again...

at that point I decided to switch from the hektor 150mm/f2.5 projector lens I was using to a proper lens, complete with an aperture diaphragm (the hektor doesn't have any) and full 4x5inch frame coverage: the industar n-51 210mm/f4.5. this lens is a russian copy of the classic carl zeiss tessar design, originally used in russian 5x7inch view cameras, and cost me about 30€ including postage. I mounted it on the speed graphic, focused, closed down, set the shutter speed but when the time came to release the shutter, my cable release got stuck and only fired on the second try...

I thought that I never got the bike in the frame, so I reckoned I could re-do the shot on the same film sheet, essentially creating a double exposure. turns out I got the bike both times, the first time on the edge of the frame, the second time bang in the center. the image frame is exactly the same (since the camera stayed in the exact same place during both exposures) but the two captures of the bike are ghost-like, since it was the only object that changed its position during the double exposure...

time was running out and we both wanted to pack up and leave, so I decided to spend the remaining frames on portraiture. I got loukas against the setting sun and loaded the speed graphic with my last large format film sheet...

the industar 210mm/f4.5 is a normal photographic lens and has a bigger image cirle than the hektor 150mm/f2.5, thus explaining the absence of vignetting in these two frames, as well as the more conventional rendering of the out-of-focus areas.

finally, I finished the film in the bronica, still using the wide-angle lens...

we left the motocross field with a lot of discussion on how and when to do a proper motocross photo-session, but it wasn't meant to be. next session I'm making with loukas will be named "spending two months with your ankle in a plaster cast". have a swift recovery, man..!