This is a still image project which is part of something a little larger. Maybe more about that later.
I decided to create images for this part of the project with large and medium format cameras that shoot film. As you can see in the image grid below I used a 5×4 Walker Titan camera with a 180mm lens. I shot this at an aperture of f8 which is just one stop down from the lenses widest aperture, this made focusing sometimes a bit tricky. Also, I used a Hasselblad FCW2000 (see image above), this has a really special lens, a 110mm f2, I used this for tighter portraits and sometimes I used a small extension tube so I could focus even closer and as a last minute change I decided to use a Nikon F4 and a F90x for some action images of the guys on a bikes and running.
As with previous film projects I used Foma Pan 100 film developed in ilford DDX then scanned the film with an Epson V700 scanner and put the retouched scans through Silver Efex pro 2.
This project started as a short motion film project which I’ll be starting shortly but I was introduced to Chris from Suntriathalon through a friend in the middle of a seven mile run along the seafront. I use the term ‘run’ loosley! So after a lot of messages and meetings I decided a nice little portrait project would be something SunTri could use and it would keep me busy using older cameras and shooting on film (yes I know all this could be produced with digital cameras but nothing beats the experience of using large format cameras for the sitter and me the user).
Here’s what Chris had to say about the project, “I met Michael through a fellow runner and he started talking about this project. When he asked if I’d like to be a part of it myself and the others in our group, I said yes straight away. Letting the wider community know that anyone can get involved in physical exercise no matter their current fitness levels is important. We always welcome and support new people. Across a few shoots we had a laugh posing for photos and they’ve come out great.”
Grid one is how everything looks like behind the camera and how I set the contraption up! The second grid is the film in the drying cabinets and the choice of reels used to develop the film (Jobo film and sheet film reels).
The final grid are how the images look like after scans and retouch. I opted for a lith-print type feel to the images. In a darkroom, images like this used to be made by printing on papers that liked to be developed in a lith developer. Oriental Seagull paper was a favourite for this. There’s lots of tricks you can use in this process but consistency for a batch of prints was quite tricky. I once did a job printing for another photographer a long time ago and four or five prints from different negatives had to have the lith treatment. Quite a task if my memory is correct.
Just like making pancakes (so I’m told), I would mix up the lith developer and ruin the first print then the following four prints or so could be controlled. After that it was best to mix up more developer and start again. But now using the computer I’m just looking for an image that’s close to what a lith print would have looked like using contrast/grain/colour sliders in Silver Efex pro 2 and/or Photoshop/Lightroom.
So all this experience of old types of processes has come in handy after all.
Enjoy I hope and seeya soon mb
