Self, dark.

[Anthony J. Martinez]

For my first image post here at APUG I'll go with a self-portrait I shot when some new tools arrived from my dear friend the UPS man.



Mamiya C3, 80/2.8 (chrome), Delta 100 in DD-X. Lit by an Einstein 640 shot through a diffused 28" beauty dish about a foot and some change from my head. Scanned on a Canoscan 8800F. When I finish my darkroom this week I intend to see how this enlarges.

I shot this as part of a series to illustrate to a friend how to achieve "dramatic" light falloff. I got into inverse square law talk, and math, and she short-circuited. A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[Rick A]

Very nicely done! Excellent self-portrait, my favorite type of lighting. Welcome to the fold, you should get along very well here.

 

[Axle]

Very well done. Perfect example of a nice low-key image, b/w is perfect for the subject as well.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Awesome! Love it.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

A great shot!

Jeff

 

[Anthony J. Martinez]

Thanks folks. I'd done it digitally, and then attempted to get the B&W conversion where I wanted but quickly grew frustrated with that and loaded the Mamiya. The Mamiya seldom disappoints. Now, back to building my darkroom (which should be complete by the time I usually eat dinner).

 

[Anthony J. Martinez]

And the same shot scanned from an 8x10 print from the maiden voyage of my new darkroom! I've posted in the enlarging forum for advice on how to avoid whatever is going on in the bottom right of the print.

 

[altair]

I dare say I prefer the scan over the print what paper and developer did you use? How long was the exposure time?

 

[Anthony J. Martinez]

The print has gone a long way, thanks to the help I received in this thread: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

The paper is Ilford Multigrade IV RC Pearl, developed in Ilford Multigrade. If I recall, the exposure time was around 16s at f/11 on the print above. It ended up being closer to 32 seconds at f/11 with a #3.5 contrast filter in the final print.


Self, Dark. Final. by Anthony J. Martinez, on Flickr[/QUOTE]

In an unrelated note, I lived in KL in the mid-90's. 11 Lorong Ampang Ulu Tiga was my address!

 

[altair]

Anthony, that print looks great. I'm just beginning to print too, it's got me hooked!

And hey, you lived in KL in the 90's? Way cool...that's not far from where I live too

 

[Ottrdaemmerung]

I have a Mamiya C3 myself. Awesome camera, and an awesome shot you've made with it!

 

[Anthony J. Martinez]

Thanks all.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Excellent photo, I really like the lighting. It also points out what the Mamiya C3 series is capable of capturing.

 

[h.v.]

Really gorgeous self portrait, it looks nice and dramatic. I am jealous because I've yet to master the genre of self portraiture.

 

[chioque]

H.v. I share your sentiment. Although, in my case, the 'self' part is not such a photogenic subject

 

[Anthony J. Martinez]

Thanks again folks, I really did enjoy this. Some similar work may be happening with a 4x5" camera soon.

It's pretty cool how many KL people have found this.

 

[chioque]

Yeah, saw the post that you mentioned you stayed in KL for a few years in the 90's. Really great to know that.

 

[dehk]

Prints better, more shades.

 

[altair]

Looking forward to the 4x5 version, Anthony.