Category: Available Light

Another Backstage Portrait

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I am writing this blog post from the backstage dressing room of The Crucible, as we await the start of our last performance, so I thought another backstage portrait would be an appropriate subject. This is Annie, at fifteen the youngest member of our cast. She is a remarkable, talented young actor who combines wisdom beyond her years with the spirit and enthusiasm of a child; as such she is perfect for the role of Betty Parris.

Annie Backstage

 

(Nikon F2, 50mm/f1.4 Nikkor lens, Tri-X film at E.I. 800, developed in Diafine 3+3)

Her Own Space

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Today’s image was taken in the communal dressing room backstage at the Alexander Showcase Theatre’s production of The Crucible in which I have a role as Willard, the Marshall. (Five more shows to go, there is still time to come see us!) This photograph is an image of the multi-talented Sharon Zehavi, getting into character for her role as Abigail Williams, ringleader of the teenage girls.

The dressing room is small,  cramped and noisy as people get ready for the show, but Sharon is clearly in her own universe as she seemingly allows herself to be consumed by the character of Abigail.  The intensity is incredible. The exposure was 1/30th of a second, but she is so still, so focused, that if I had a tripod the exposure could have been a second or two, and there would still be no blur. Amazing. 

Sharon

 

(Yashica Lynx 5000e 35mm rangefinder, 50mm/f1.8 lens, exposure 1/30th of a second @ f1.8 on Tri-X film at E.I. 1000, developed in Diafine 3+3. Post work done using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2,
with additional post done by Sharon.)

Swirls

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Today, another image shot with my Soviet Russia era Helios 44/2 58mm/f2 lens. I took this image with the lens mounted on my Yashica TL-Electro SLR body, using Kodak Cinema XX film at E.I. 200. The occasion was the engagement photo shoot of GIllian and Kari.

The Helios 44/2 lens has achieved cult status in some quarters due to the “swirl” one can achieve in the unfocused parts of the image, when shooting wide-open, and the effect is really evident in this image. Shooting in full shade wide open at 1/60th means the image isn’t tack sharp, but I do love those swirls 🙂

Helios 44/2

Twilight Portrait

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Today, one of the film images from the session with Jennifer this past Saturday. This shoot marked the first time I used a recently acquired Helios 44/2 lens (58mm, f2). This lens is a Soviet Russian era copy of a Carl Zeiss Biotar, and has quite a cult following in certain circles. The fact that its focal length is slightly longer than normal for a “normal” lens makes it great for portrait work. In this shoot I had it mounted on my Yashica TL-Electro. The lighting was not bright, so I was shooting wide open at 1/60th of a second, on Ilford HP5+, pushed to E.I. 800. I like the gritty, documentary look I got: it is a good match for Jennifer’s intense expression. She is a master at bringing emotion into a shoot!

Candle Portrait

Take What the Light Gives You

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Yesterday morning was quite gloomy from a lighting perspective in Toronto, so I had to adjust my shooting plans accordingly.  I decided to have another go with a roll of Adox CMS 20 film. This film is basically a super high contrast micro-film, which can provide conventional tonality when developed with specific developers, and/or specific development techniques that can tame the contrast. I developed this roll using Diafine two-bath developer, 3 minutes in each solution. One challenge is the fact that the dull light that made the contrast tameable also made for challenging exposures: this film is very low speed, and I was shooting at E.I. 20, which meant shooting with the lens wide open-much of the time.

Old Railway in the Don Valley

(Nikon F3 35mm SLR, 28mm/2.8 Nikkor Wide-Angle lens)

Inside St. Martin’s Church

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Another image from England, inside what my be England’s oldest church, St. Martin’s in Canterbury (portions dating from the 600’s CE). A warm morning light was coming through a window, and illuminated wooden pews and cloth seat cushions.

St. Martin's

A Sense of History

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This image was created at the ruins of Battle Abbey in England, site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The location practically exudes a sense of history. This image is of a monk’s common room, and is one of the more well preserved spots in the structure. The very dim lighting forced me to use a digital camera with a high ISO (about 6400) to make a handheld image possible.

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