Faces From 75 Years Ago

An interesting find while going through boxes and boxes of pictures from my late aunt’s house. There were several negatives tucked away in this envelope. It’s hard to tell when this is from, but from the distinctive Art Deco font and the negatives inside, it was probably pre-WWII.

Without getting into a digital vs. analog debate, many young photographers that only know digital may not know what this is. It’s a paper holder for your prints and negatives. The corner drug store was a common place to have your film developed until only about 5 or 10 years ago. What’s amazing is that the 75-year-old negatives inside were in near-perfect shape. I scanned them all and saw pictures of family members long gone that I have never seen. I wonder if anyone will be able to recover digital pictures 75 years from now?

No Graffiti

Manchester Street, Lexington, KY

Yashica-12 TLR, Fujifilm Neopan Across 100, Perceptol 1:3

Thoroughbred Entrance

Thoroughbred Entrance

Donamire Farm, Old Frankfort Pike, Lexington, KY.

This is a monochrome image tinted orange/teal (cinematic look) in Photoshop.

Yashica-12 TLR, Fujifilm Neopan Across 100, Perceptol 1:3

Winter Afternoon Sunlight

Winter Afternoon Sunlight.

Yashica-12 TLR, Fujifilm Neopan Across 100, Perceptol 1:3

A Day in Versailles

How I wish it were in France, but central Kentucky is a great consolation prize. For those of you outside Kentucky, it’s not pronounced “Ver-SIGH-ee.” It’s “Ver-SAILS.” Also nearby are Paris (PEAR-us, not pear-EE) and Athens (AEE-thens, not ATH-ens). Took the Yashica-12 medium format 6×6 roll film camera and a roll of Neopan Acros (Fujifilm) to try.

I’m trying to learn new exposure and developing techniques. Today I wanted to try exposing for shadows and making development adjustments to bring out more detail in the shadows. For the Acros, box speed is 100, so I rated it at ASA 50. On every shot, I metered for shadows using a spot meter, then increased exposure by 2 stops. When I developed in Ilford Perceptol at 1:3, I reduced development time by about 20%. From what I’ve read, this keeps the highlights from blowing out.

I have to say that it works. It allowed me to decide what kind of detail I wanted in Photoshop. It’s very similar to, if not exactly like, using the zone system to control contrast. By metering for the part of the scene where you want to retain detail in the shadows, you are essentially placing that in zone III in a 7-zone system. Your camera meter is searching for medium 18% gray, or zone V in a 7-zone system. If I would meter for the shadow detail and not increase exposure, then that shadow would be medium gray and the highlights blown out. The opposite is true when metering bright subjects like snow. The meter is looking for gray, so it will reduce exposure to make that snow gray and block the shadows.

Ansel Adams’ trilogy on photography outlines the zone system and previsualization. By anticipating where tones will be in a picture before the shutter is released is a powerful skill. But Adams’ system encompasses 9 zones, which are perfect for large format photography. But I shoot 35mm and medium format, which has less contrast in enlargements. Plus, I’m not a professional and can’t distinguish such minute changes in shade. I base my view of the zone system on one proposed by Carson Graves in his book The Zone System for 35mm Photographers. This book opened my eyes to the zone system. I had read Adams’ books on it, but it never totally clicked until I read Graves’ book and tried his technique. I suggest you get it (used ones are really cheap!) and try it.

“Doublecross” Versailles, KY

“Plant Stand” Versailles, KY

“Refershing” Versailles, KY.

“Mailslot” Versailles, KY

Perryville Battlefield in Black-and-White

Tree near Wilson’s Creek.

Valley from the perspective of Union Brigadier General James S. Jackson’s division of McCook’s Corps.

Cannon overlooking Wilson’s Creek from the perspective of Union Brigadier General James S. Jackson’s division of McCook’s Corps.

Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex, Arista Ultra 400 expired, Ilford Perceptol 1+1

Thought I’d take out the Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex for some exercise. It’s a pretty neat camera. Like the Voigtlander Bessamatic, it’s an SLR, but with leaf shutter instead of a focal plane shutter. It’s similar to what’s in a TLR, only you see the scene through the lens instead of a separate lens. A big plus is the ability to sync flash at all speeds. You can also mount different lenses, but in reality, they are only the front element and are in short supply. Other downsides that made these have a short market life are complicated mechanics and "black out" by the mirror after each shot.

 

 

Farmers Bank 1903

Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex, Arista Ultra 400 Expired, Ilford Perceptol 1+1

Near Winchester, KY.  I want to know who needs a mailbox here?

 

Sprockets

My first successful try at shooting sprockets. Shot in a Lomo Lubitel 166 TLR with Kodak Plus-X. My first stab had the frames overlapping. The next try had too much space in between.

The hardest thing getting used to was trying to shoot horizontals. Because you look down into the top of a TLR, you have to turn it sideways, and stand with your side towards your subject. Next, you have to steady it. Then you have to frame it in the middle because the viewfinder is showing coverage for 120 film. Lastly, you have to scramble your brain because the image is reversed.  On top of all this is the inferior Lubitel viewfinder and focus.