In camera special effects question

[AZLF]

I joined a local photo club recently and went to my first meeting of the club last weekend. I was disappointed to find that the group really should have been named the Tucson digital image capture club as all of the people there were shooting digital cameras and the meeting topic had to do with using photoshop to produce an HDR image with digital. I was welcome to join in with my film cameras but no one else seemed to be interested in using them. The "challenge" for next month's meeting will be a self portrait and as I was thinking about this I had an idea that I liked.

What I have planned was to set up a muslin backdrop and shoot the portrait with multiple exposures. I would be in the background right adjusting the backdrop,background left doing the same. Front foreground right holding up a meter to meter the scene and foreground left leaning forward from the center subject position supposedly checking my appearance in a mirror while the center of the shot would be a "normal" 3/4 head and shoulders portrait.

I remembered seeing filters that were half blocked out so you could do two exposure shots for extended dof and also a group of differently shaped blackout pieces that would sit in a filter holder or compendium in front of the lens for special effects with multiple exposures. So I built one.
I took a piece of black cardboard and using a circular punch cut a circular 1" hole in the center out of the cardboard piece that I planned to attach to the center of a skylight filter and the surround would be quartered so that I could remove and replace each surrounding area as I exposed that portion of the film in my "portrait.


But.

I just checked this out by placing the center black out section on the front of my Mamiya 645 and ....surprise it doesn't black out the center it just lowers the light level a bit. The same with my surround section with only the 1" hole in it.

I remembered then that there are "filter" pieces that are placed in front of the lens with varying numbers of holes in them that soften the image but do not "block out" light on the center.

So....

I know I can get the image I described by just shooting them all in sequence full frame holding back the light on the rest of the image area as much as possible but I thought there was a way to completely block portions of the film area.

Does anyone know how I might do this with my Mamiya 645?

 

[copake_ham]

I joined a local photo club recently and went to my first meeting of the club last weekend. I was disappointed to find that the group really should have been named the Tucson digital image capture club as all of the people there were shooting digital cameras and the meeting topic had to do with using photoshop to produce an HDR image with digital. I was welcome to join in with my film cameras but no one else seemed to be interested in using them. The "challenge" for next month's meeting will be a self portrait and as I was thinking about this I had an idea that I liked.

What I have planned was to set up a muslin backdrop and shoot the portrait with multiple exposures. I would be in the background right adjusting the backdrop,background left doing the same. Front foreground right holding up a meter to meter the scene and foreground left leaning forward from the center subject position supposedly checking my appearance in a mirror while the center of the shot would be a "normal" 3/4 head and shoulders portrait.

I remembered seeing filters that were half blocked out so you could do two exposure shots for extended dof and also a group of differently shaped blackout pieces that would sit in a filter holder or compendium in front of the lens for special effects with multiple exposures. So I built one.
I took a piece of black cardboard and using a circular punch cut a circular 1" hole in the center out of the cardboard piece that I planned to attach to the center of a skylight filter and the surround would be quartered so that I could remove and replace each surrounding area as I exposed that portion of the film in my "portrait.


But.

I just checked this out by placing the center black out section on the front of my Mamiya 645 and ....surprise it doesn't black out the center it just lowers the light level a bit. The same with my surround section with only the 1" hole in it.

I remembered then that there are "filter" pieces that are placed in front of the lens with varying numbers of holes in them that soften the image but do not "block out" light on the center.

So....

I know I can get the image I described by just shooting them all in sequence full frame holding back the light on the rest of the image area as much as possible but I thought there was a way to completely block portions of the film area.

Does anyone know how I might do this with my Mamiya 645?

Heck, I'm only in Tucson every once in a while, but when is the next meeting of this club?

Can I join?

"Imagine....

'One fellow walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

Next day....

Another fellow walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

Pretty soon....

Everyone walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

And there, then, yes, you have it, the Entire, I shoot film, Masacree Movement!"

 

[JBrunner]

I joined a local photo club recently and went to my first meeting of the club last weekend. I was disappointed to find that the group really should have been named the Tucson digital image capture club as all of the people there were shooting digital cameras and the meeting topic had to do with using photoshop to produce an HDR image with digital. I was welcome to join in with my film cameras but no one else seemed to be interested in using them. The "challenge" for next month's meeting will be a self portrait and as I was thinking about this I had an idea that I liked.

What I have planned was to set up a muslin backdrop and shoot the portrait with multiple exposures. I would be in the background right adjusting the backdrop,background left doing the same. Front foreground right holding up a meter to meter the scene and foreground left leaning forward from the center subject position supposedly checking my appearance in a mirror while the center of the shot would be a "normal" 3/4 head and shoulders portrait.

I remembered seeing filters that were half blocked out so you could do two exposure shots for extended dof and also a group of differently shaped blackout pieces that would sit in a filter holder or compendium in front of the lens for special effects with multiple exposures. So I built one.
I took a piece of black cardboard and using a circular punch cut a circular 1" hole in the center out of the cardboard piece that I planned to attach to the center of a skylight filter and the surround would be quartered so that I could remove and replace each surrounding area as I exposed that portion of the film in my "portrait.


But.

I just checked this out by placing the center black out section on the front of my Mamiya 645 and ....surprise it doesn't black out the center it just lowers the light level a bit. The same with my surround section with only the 1" hole in it.

I remembered then that there are "filter" pieces that are placed in front of the lens with varying numbers of holes in them that soften the image but do not "block out" light on the center.

So....

I know I can get the image I described by just shooting them all in sequence full frame holding back the light on the rest of the image area as much as possible but I thought there was a way to completely block portions of the film area.

Does anyone know how I might do this with my Mamiya 645?

Try using your DOF preview @ 22 or 32 (not familiar with that lens) and see if the line resolves. If it does, and you can hold still, you're in business. getting the mask farther from the lens will help a ton. (You can build a 'foamcore mask holder") Still, it's a just simple trick, difficult to get seamless, and it won't hold much truck with the mouse munchers.

You could also shoot multiple exposures, and cut and tape the negatives together, with a bit of "kill your darlings" mixed in. That would really stop the clock, when you say no computer, none.... and easier in many ways. Look up Emil's ("Gandolfi") gallery, and his kill your darlings article here on APUG. That's what I would do.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Usually these multiple exposure masks go on a matte box, which is like a compendium shade that has a slot on the front for masks. If the mask is farther from the front element of the lens, it can make a more well defined line, so if you want the mask to be sharper, get it farther out (as far as you can without the shade vignetting) and stop down.

 

[AZLF]

Heck, I'm only in Tucson every once in a while, but when is the next meeting of this club?

Can I join?

"Imagine....

'One fellow walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

Next day....

Another fellow walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

Pretty soon....

Everyone walks into the room saying: I shoot film.

And there, then, yes, you have it, the Entire, I shoot film, Masacree Movement!"

Sure but I doubt there will be much of a movement toward film.

The website is below and the next meeting is Jan 12/08'.

http://photo.meetup.com/590/?gj=sj6

 

[AZLF]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have a compendium for the 645 with a slot in front . I did not try that yet but I will.

 

[JBrunner]

Better yet here's the link

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

AZLF, I added to my first post, so go back and take a lookie, if you would.

 

[AZLF]

Better yet here's the link

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

AZLF, I added to my first post, so go back and take a lookie, if you would.

Arrhhhhhhhhgh! I couldn't do THAT to a negative! :rolleyes:

But thankfully I just checked and the compendium extension together with stopped down aperture works so thanks again. I knew there was a way to do this but could not remember how.