Ilford Delta 100 in Kodak HC110 W 1+50

[Ian Grant]

Unfortunately, these are only files digitised with a DSLR, and some of them are already rather old.

Even with high end scans restrictions of Forum software & size make it difficult to show LF images at their best,

I find Ian's images interesting. They remind me a bit of those very sharp 19th-century photographs on glass plates. What negative format is that? 5x4?

Well I have my Grandparents wedding photos, shot on 12"x10", and 10"x8", plus two prints my Grandmother bought when she went abroad to the English Lake District on her honeymoon, from Scotland.

I mostly shoot 5x4, also 10x8, some 7x5, as well as 120 mostly 6x6 in a TLR, and a 6x17 camera,

My approach though is definitely not unique, I guess, well know, it's informed by a British tradition discussed in the 1083 Rural Myths copy of Ten-8 magazine, and the article by Paul Lewis "Where the Wild Things Went". Essentially it was about the revival of British landscape photography, and how it took inspiration from Minor White, claiming his disciples here were Thomas Joshua Cooper, John Blakemore, Richard Sadler, John Davies, etc. I also have the much earlier 1978 Issue 3 "Landscapes" copy of Ten-8.

Ways of working, subject matter, differed, but the strive for high quality prints (or other means of output) is important, and it's also not difficult.

Fay Godwin's work is mentioned in the 1978 "Landscape" Ten-8, and an image from "Remains of Elmet" a book she published of her photographs and Ted Hughes poetry, in 1979. The only work that shines in this magazine is John Blakemore's landscapes.

Around roughly 1980 Fay Godwin went on a workshop at Paul Hill's "The Photographers Place" near Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, lead by John Blakemore, it transformed her way of working. I don't mean composition, rather craft. She told us that on a workshop I went on with her

Later in 1994 she released an updated version of "Remains of Elmet" she had reprinted all the photographs, and added some some new ones, along with new poems. If you look at the two versions side by side they are like chalk & cheese.

Ian

 

[Dave_P]

This is quite a buzzing thread with lots of technical chat but zero image examples. Would anyone care to add visual examples to illustrate what you’re talking about, please? Thanks.

Here's one for a start:

Fontainebleau, rock and trees

I was prompted to post this one from last summer as there's a massive wildfire in this region now, pretty sad to see as it's an incredible area, very accessible from the UK yet largely unknown to Brits outside the climbing community. If you're ever driving up or down the A6 just south of Paris...

www.5x4.co.uk

 

[dcl]

Around roughly 1980 Fay Godwin went on a workshop at Paul Hill's "The Photographers Place" near Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, lead by John Blakemore, it transformed her way of working. I don't mean composition, rather craft. She told us that on a workshop I went on with her

Later in 1994 she released an updated version of "Remains of Elmet" she had reprinted all the photographs, and added some some new ones, along with new poems. If you look at the two versions side by side they are like chalk & cheese.

Sorry, I don't have the book from 1994, and unfortunately I can't find the Ten.8 magazine here in Switzerland ...

Zone System, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barnbaum, BTZS etc. - I see the discussion is moving towards general aesthetics. I like this, because all of our technical endeavours ultimately lead to aesthetics. This can become quite obsessive.

Some apply the zone system as previsualization, others as control of exposure, still others as the control of development, and yet others in all three of these areas.

Blakemore strikes me as an exponent of contrast control through exposure. Which is based on previsualization. Looking at his prints I learn that is not good to be a slave to the method, after all. One needn't develop every scene from a contrast of 1:16 to 1:32 or reduce 1:64 to 1:32 simply because this or that procedure exists. It seems to me that there is a lot of pure light in his pictures.

In a black-and-white image, there can also be black and white, can't there? The question is: how does the black or white fit into the image? What do these tones do to the image? How do they influence rhythm, composition, spatiality, image / viewing time? That, in my opinion, is the true purpose of previsualization. And this is why I want to preserve the shadows in Delta 100 or every other film. To have some meat on the bone to work with, even if it gets black, finally.

The zone system or systems prescribe something like a full-scale print behind glass, mounted on museum board. If we orient ourselves toward this aesthetic, the zone system makes our work easier. Evedn if we intend another aesthetic: it inevitably leads to certain shooting techniques that continuously improve quality: tripod, external spot meter, large-format or roll-film magazines, various bodies for 35mm, calibration, standard print time … it is one of many ways to become conscious of what one is actually doing.

 

[Ian Grant]

Some apply the zone system as previsualization, others as control of exposure, still others as the control of development, and yet others in all three of these areas.

Guess I mostly use the Zone System first to get an Optimal EI and Development time, for a film and developer for average lighting conditions. I always use a Spotmeter if I need to check the highlights and shadows, where I want to keep detail in both to get the right exposure, or determine if I need to adjust development..

In terms of N+ or - adjustments I rarely use increased development, and if I need to control contrast only if I need N-2.

When I first used the Zone System it was with a Mamiya 645, so EI, Dev time, and more critically exposure placement, But I think this also needs to go hand in hand with advance printing controls. The ultimate aim is for craft to become intuitive, although you should never stop learning.

Ian

 

[Nas]

In a black-and-white image, there can also be black and white, can't there? The question is: how does the black or white fit into the image? What do these tones do to the image?

I think at the end of the day it's all highly personal. This is not maths we're dealing with where you have one correct answer. Another thing to consider is when viewing a print, how bright is the light you're viewing the print in. I've been to so many exhibitions where the lighting felt underwhelming to me.