Film

26 March

On March 26, 2019

With

Recent visits with 4×5

I found a Speed Graphic recently with a Rollei Heidosmat 18cm f/2.8 lens and have been playing around with that lately. This isn’t really a departure from shooting wet plate, I just don’t have a lot of time now, and the whole wet plate process takes a bit of time to set up and tear down, so 4×5 film has been a little easier to manage….and I really like shooting with the bigger cameras. Film slows you down a bit over digital, and 4×5 is REALLY slow! One sheet/photo at a time!

All of the black and white photos here are Kodak Tmax 400 film, developed in Tmax developer, and shot and developed at box speed. The color photos are Fuji FP-100c, which is a discontinued instant film. I only have a couple of boxes left, so I’m shooting it sparingly.

22 March

On March 22, 2018

In Black and White, Film, Goats, Portraits

With

Kodak TMax 400

Up until a month or so ago, I’d never shot this film. A friend threw in a few rolls when he sold me his Hasselblad. I’d mostly shot Tri-X or HP5. But now TMax400 is a new favorite. REALLY nice grain and contrast. And I can barely tell the difference between shooting it at box speed (400) and pushing it two stops to 1600. The grain is still really nice even when pushed. All processed in TMax developer. All but the one’s of Clare were shot on my Rolleiflex 2.8F. Clare’s were on the Hasselblad 503cx and 100mm f3.5.

This one is TMax rated at ISO 1600 and pushed two stops in development.

02 June

On June 2, 2016

In Expired Film, Film

With

Expired Film at Regional Track and Field

Over the last couple of years, a couple of friends have given me a few rolls of 35mm film, all of them long past their expiration date. Inspired by Chip Litherland’s shooting of expired film at the Daytona 500 and Kentucky Derby, I brought a film camera and four rolls of this expired color film to the Region 2A Track and Field meet last week at East Rockingham High School. (All of these photos were shot with a Canon Elan 7e and 35mm lens. The Elan uses the same lenses as my digital camera, so that made life a little easier.) If you’ve ever been to East Rock, you know it’s in a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains.

The thing about shooting expired film is that you don’t really know whether you’re going to get anything until you get the film back from the lab. A lot depends on how/where the film was stored. We know that this film was at least 20 years old. As film goes past its expiration date, it can lose some of its sensitivity to light, so there’s a “general rule” to overexpose the film one stop for every 10 years past its expiration date. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure of the age of the film, so I overexposed between one and two stops, and that seemed to work pretty well for most of the photos. The color can get a little wacky with expired film, but that’s what make it fun. And, if you’ve read this far, and happen to have some old film laying around in a drawer somewhere, I’d be glad to take it off your hands 😉

May 31, 2016. Expired 35mm Film. Millers Lab. Region 2A East Track and Field Meet. — Expired 35mm Film. Millers Lab. Region 2A East Track and Field Meet.

30 April

On April 30, 2016

In Film

With

1947 Chevrolet Fleetline

A friend’s “new” car. All photos on film, digital just would not have done the colors justice….at least, not for me.

March 24, 2016. Shoot date: March 17, 2016 Hasselblad 201F 110mm f/2 Portra 400, Normal development, N Photovision Develop and Scan — March 24, 2016.
Shoot date: March 17, 2016
Hasselblad 201F
110mm f/2
Portra 400, Normal development, N
Photovision Develop and Scan

March 24, 2016. Shoot date: March 17, 2016 Hasselblad 201F 110mm f/2 Ektar pushed 1 stop, N+1 Photovision Develop and Scan — March 24, 2016.
Shoot date: March 17, 2016
Hasselblad 201F
110mm f/2
Ektar pushed 1 stop, N+1
Photovision Develop and Scan

March 24, 2016. Shoot date: March 17, 2016 Hasselblad 201F 110mm f/2 Fuji 400H @ ISO 200 Photovision Develop and Scan — March 24, 2016.
Shoot date: March 17, 2016
Hasselblad 201F
110mm f/2
Fuji 400H @ ISO 200
Photovision Develop and Scan

March 24, 2016. Shoot date: March 17, 2016 Hasselblad 201F 110mm f/2 Portra 400 pushed one stop, N+1 Photovision Develop and Scan — March 24, 2016.
Shoot date: March 17, 2016
Hasselblad 201F
110mm f/2
Portra 400 pushed one stop, N+1
Photovision Develop and Scan

27 February

On February 27, 2016

In Film, Portraits

With

Clare

Promotional photos for Clare a couple of weeks ago. Freshman at MCHS, amazing talent! Follow her Facebook page to find out where she’ll be playing next: www.facebook.com/clareofficial
She’s also on Instagram: @clare.sukley

Digital above, of course, we shot just a bit of black and white film also 😉

12 December

On December 12, 2015

In Colonial Williamsburg, Film, William & Mary, Williamsburg

With

Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary

These from a short trip to Williamsburg in early November. Fall color was still hanging on nicely. All film images here, all Portra 400, processed and scanned by Millers Lab. You can click on any of the images below to see more, or buy a print.

November 3, 2015 Williamsburg Fall Color. Film. Portra 400. Developed by Millers Lab.

November 4, 2015 Williamsburg Fall Color. Film. Portra 400. Developed by Millers Lab.

20 November

On November 20, 2015

In Black and White, Family Portraits, Film, Portraits

With

The Nobblitt Family {Black and White Film Portraits}

From the end of the summer, so yes, I’m a bit slow posting. Sorry about that. This was another all black and white film session 🙂

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24 July

On July 24, 2015

In Family Portraits, Film, Portraits

With

Brockman Family {Black and White Film Portraits}

If you follow on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been shooting a bit of film, mostly black and white, at portrait sessions for a while now, but I’ve never done a session completely on film, particularly black and white. Film has such a different “look” than digital, and I get a little bored with the look of digital from time to time. I really like the look and feel of these. And I thank the Brockmans for putting up with me for a half hour or so last week so I can work out some of my crazy ideas.

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For anyone interested, these were shot with a medium format Hasselblad on Tri-X 120 film, developed in HC-110b, and scanned on an Epson V600. I do all the processing and scanning of black and white film at home, color film I have to send off to a lab.

If you’ve made it this far, and are interested in black and white film only session, click here and fill out this form to get in touch. I’ll only have time to do a few before I get busy with high school seniors this fall, but we’ll see what we can work out. And, I’m up for anything, family, couples, individuals, high school seniors, whatever.

06 October

On October 6, 2014

In Film, High School Seniors, Portraits

With

Ashlyn

A little wind is always fun….
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This was the first time I’ve ever used this spot on the river. Really nice there….but the water needs to be low…which it is now. Also did a few photos there on Sunday, but it’s getting a bit cold. It took a while for my toes to warm up…but definitely worth it 🙂

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And a rare black and white film smile. I usually like non-smiling for black and white film…but it’s hard to get much better than this one….

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…..unless it’s maybe this one….

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…and a little color film. I don’t shoot too much of that because I don’t have the patience to wait for the scans to come back from the lab. This digital world has ruined me…

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09 September

On September 9, 2014

In Film, High School Seniors, Portraits

With

Madison

Madison…from Orange 🙂

Thought maybe I should lead with a smiling photo….since I post so many non-smiling ones. Don’t worry, I shoot lot of smiles…

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…and one on black and white film….

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03 September

On September 3, 2014

In Film, High School Seniors, Portraits

With

Caitlin

File these under “Foggy Morning Senior Pictures”. The little bit of fog in the background was perfect for pictures. It was definitely worth getting up early for. These first two are digital, the rest are film.

August 22, 2014.

If all of my film photos turned out as good as the ones below, I’d give up digital for portraits. I still don’t trust myself enough with film, but I couldn’t be happier with the way these look. And, Caitlin had A LOT more to do with that than the film did. She was just perfect.

August 22, 2014.

I’ve been shooting at least one roll of black and white film at my recent senior sessions. I develop and scan the black and white film myself, so there’s a quick turn around time. The photo below is color, Ektar 100. I have to send that off to be developed and scanned, which takes at least a week, I rarely have patience for that! 🙂 But, I do love the tones of color film. I guess I just need to work on the patience thing….

24 July

On July 24, 2014

In Film

With

FILM!!

Saturday before last, the 12th, I took a film workshop in Charlottesville, Film for the Studio Photographer. The link is to their upcoming workshop in Seattle…you’ll find it totally worth flying out there :-). The workshop was put on by Sandra Coan (from Seattle) and Cat Thrasher (Charlottesville). The links are to their websites, be sure to check them out.

I won’t go over too many details of the workshop, you can read that in their words at the first link. It was mostly geared to film shooters who work in either natural light studios or shoot inside client’s homes. If you’ve seen my work you know I’m more of an outside guy. But the workshop was totally worth it for me. Cat’s studio is just fantastic to shoot in, all natural light with huge windows. We had different film stocks to try, some I’d never used before. Sandra and Cat were very thorough in their explanations of the different films, and metering for the different films. And, as you can see below, we had great models to work with in the afternoon.

Of course I started out shooting film back in the late 70’s because that’s all there was. I’ve just started shooting film again in the last few months. Film cameras are very affordable these days. Film is a bit expensive, as is the scanning, but it’s all been worth it to me. Film just has a different “look” than digital. Every single one of the photos below are straight out of the camera. No editing whatsoever. They are digital scans of the negatives and are just the way the lab sent them to me.

Expect the addition of film-only sessions in the not too distant future. I’m still getting reacquainted film and am not ready to use it for a paid session…..yet. But, it WILL happen! 🙂

Fuji 400H, Film for the Studio Photographer Workshop, processing by Millers Lab, Hasselblad, 150mm Sonnar

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Fuji Acros, Processing by Richard Pro Lab, Hasselblad, 150mm Sonnar

Kodak Portra 400, Processing by Richard Pro Lab, Hasselblad, 150mm Sonnar

The photo below is absolutely my favorite from the day. Of course, Jackie is beautiful, and it’s hard to take a bad photo of her, but I just love the look of this photo. The Hasselblad 150mm just gives a perfectly flattering look to tight headshots like this. It was shot at f/4 (wide open for that lens) and the focus falloff is just perfect!

27 March

On March 27, 2014

In Film, Portraits

With

Taylor

Taylor and her mom came by a few weeks ago. Taylor is the reigning Little Miss Lynchburg 2014, and needed an updated headshot for the Miss Virginia program. We did some photos indoors in my little “studio”, and also went outdoors for some. It was one of the RARE warm days this winter!

March 11, 2014.
Taylor Clark Portraits

These last two are black and white film. We’d finished the session and I asked if she’d mind doing a few more just so I could shoot a little bit of film. All of her pictures were just fantastic. She just doesn’t take a bad photo. But this first one below just blows me away. It’s one of my favorite photos of all time.

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19 February

On February 19, 2014

In Film

With

We shot these a while ago, while Ellen was home on Christmas break. I’ve been hanging onto them, trying to figure out what I wanted to say about going back to shooting some film…..and, I still don’t really know 🙂

I shot a little 35mm black and white film at a couple of high school senior sessions last fall, Emily and Sam‘s. There’s definitely different look to film vs digital, but I don’t really know if non-photographers really see it. The colors are different. There’s always this slight amount of grain that I find pleasing. Digital can be too sharp and smooth sometimes….at least, for me. Film is slightly softer, which makes it nice for portraits.

Film cameras, at least the ones I have, are also manual focus. That slows things down. I take less photos….so I spend a little more time on each one. I think that makes a difference.

The photos below were all taken on Kodak Portra 400 120 film. It’s a considerably larger negative than 35mm, 2 1/4″ x 2 1/4″. And, I do like the square format. There are some comments on the photos below. PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know what YOU think!! Positive or negative…..

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