It has been a productive weekend for hand-tinted portraits. Today’ image features Jinxy, an alternative model with a unique and vibrant esthetic.
Category: Medium Format
Twin Lens Reflex
Today’s image was created on Kodak Portra 400 colour negative film using my Rolleicord IIIa camera, which is a Twin Lens Reflex camera. Normally the term twin lens reflex refers to the fact that the camera has two lens — a viewing lens, and a “taking” lens directly below the viewing lens. With this camera though, twin lens for me could refer to the large difference in image sharpness when shot with the taking lens wide open (at f3.5) compared to stopped down to a smaller aperture, say f8 or f11. Stopped down, the lens (a Schneider Kreuznach Xenar) is reasonably sharp. Wide open though, I get a softness that I just love. It is great for portraits, such as this one of Emily.
Strength, Part 3
Today is the final post on the photo shoot with remarkable model and Cystic Fibrosis survivor Sarah D. In this image I made no attempt at glamour; Sarah’s surgical scars from her double lung transplant are plainly visible; nothing is hidden.
The clock to me symbolizes many things; from what I have read, various treatments have improved life expectancies, from a median of 6 months (U.S., 1959) to over 47 years (Canada, 2007). The clock can also symbolize the patient waiting for suitable donor lungs to be available, as the race against her condition continues.
The final symbolism was quite by accident — after seeing the image, Sarah remarked that the clock was showing a time of about 8 o’clock, and that this was the time of her surgery which saved her life. A striking coincidence, and a testament to the operation that gave her the physical strength (buttressed by her obvious mental strength) to extend the timeline of her remarkable life.
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Tri-X)
A Camera that Plays Mind Games
Today’s image in Kensington Market was taken with my Yashica Mat LM 120 format Twin Lens Reflex camera. On one hand it was quite inexpensive, and has an amazing lens. On the other hand, the shutter/film advance mechanism is balky, so that the film advance often sticks until I jiggle the camera or mutter incantations. This is the one camera I have where keeping a headless chicken in the camera bag (to wave in front of the stuck film advance; when all else fails there is always voodoo).
I swear that in a past life this camera was a cat (Will I work? Yes. No. Yes. No. ….)
Found
In today’s image, the model Rae is sitting in an old chair I found a block and a half from my house, put out by someone with a “Free” sign on it. My guess is that it dates from the 1930’s/40’s, and it needs some TLC, but in its present condition it was perfect for the vintage, somewhat melancholy mood I was looking for in this image, and it worked great with Rae’s lovely pose and expression. I just had to click the shutter.
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 100 film processed in HC-110 Dilution B for 6 minutes, scanned then post-processed using NIK plug-ins)
Background
One more image of Keira from our Kensington Market shoot. We both saw this background at the same time, and immediately gravitated to it. The iconic Metropolis robot heads, and the frame, slightly askew which frames Keira’s head were an interesting combination — there is a lot going on!
Time
To me, it seems that part of what defines the feminine is time: the onset of the monthly cycle of fertility at puberty, the ticking of the biological clock until its end at menopause. In addition, for many women independence and self-actualization involve transcending time, and refusing to be imprisoned or have one’s self-worth shackled to this definition.
Today’s image (NSFW, so just a link), explores this idea, the struggle against being the prisoner of time. The model is a powerful, strong and independent woman who will not surrender to the passing of days.
Expressions
Every now and then, I’m lucky enough to capture an amazing expression in a portrait — one that has complexity and subtlety, and in this recent image of model Julia Lewis, the expression she created is really quite something. Every time I look at this image, I see something new and different in her expression. At the end of a rather iffy week photographically speaking (models not showing up, weather-related shoot cancellations, technical screw-ups), getting this image made for a very positive end to a not so positive week. 🙂
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm f2.8 lens, Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, developed in HC-110, dilution H)
Glowing Shadows
Today’s image is of Kaitlin, a model I worked with recently. I really went wild with the post processing on this one, to get the heavy glamour glow I like. The background is an old curtain I got at a thrift store for about $5.00 sometime back; I love its pattern and texture.
Hidden and Magnified
This is Danielle, a young model I had the pleasuring of working with in downtown Toronto last weekend. We were shooting at an abstract sculpture near Roy Thompson Hall, and she suggested shooting through some holes in one of the panels of the sculpture. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but now I’m pretty happy with the results, especially this image: the fact that so much is obscured really seems to focus what we can see of her eyes and expression.
My Third Eye 