Heliconia bihai

I am not one for still lives but this is very nice!

I like a good still life and this does not disappoint.

Peter, 'been too long! Mid-tones are delicious here. I continue to use your gallery to illustrate sumptuous botanicals to the curious.

The photograph and the subject are just scrumptious. Then to top it all off, you have this fantastic image on 8x10. Too good!

Thanks for your comments. I had never used Pyro on large format until I got this Jobo drum. Is is amazing the detail it picks up. It is also possible to stain (the afterbath) "by inspection," and tweak contrast up to a desired level.

Peter- can you tell me a little more about how you do these tight shots of plants with large format? I'd like to try something similar with my 5x7, but I have at this time only one lens and a not very good tripod. What lens do you use, do you often use movements, advice on a tripod and tripod head? I suppose if the plant is potted it's a lot easier to move it than to move the the camera...

We could move this to PM, but others may be interested as well.

I use a 240 mm Symmar and work a lot with cut flowers (easier to handle than potted plants, especially working in the house). I have a north light window,
so I put the plant in the desired position in the light and put black foamy behind it. I select the angle of the sheet of foamy so that it doesn´t reflect any light .
Inside the house I don´t require a big tripod. It is a lightweight camera. I rarely use camera movements. And I always follow Scheimpflug´s Law:
¨Never run out of Single Malt.¨

LOL! Yes, we are having fun! Yea, cut flowers would be a lot easier...

I'm still not quite setup for film processing, but maybe in a few weeks I'll be able to put something together... Thanks!