New work in progress

Today I’d like to share a print I’ve been working on. The image space is approximately 9 by 11 inches, the paper is new Ilford Multigrade RC Deluxe with a satin finish. The negative was made on my Intrepid 5x4 camera with HP5 plus film and zone system exposure.

I’d normally present a photograph of a print with more aggressive whites, but I’ve held of on this one because of the subtle greys in the top left of the image. The corner is very finely balanced to provide a sense of enveloping mist, while preserving a modicum of tonal density.

Still Life in 5x4

Today I’d like to share a darkroom print with you. It’s a piece that has taken some time to make, thanks to challenges faced at both the capture and printing ends.

The image is of a somewhat austere or minimalistic still life made with a simple vase, dried flower and table arrangement. It was shot with my Intrepid 5x4 camera on Ilford HP5+ film. I tweaked the arrangement several times before I was happy with it, and pushed my camera and lens to their limits. The focal length of my lens was only just appropriate, and I was asking the Intrepid to behave a little more like a monorail than a field camera.

I made two exposures, one roughly at zone VII and one at V (taking the image as a whole). Both are equally good for printing with, although I chose the zone VII one. If you have ever printed large areas of empty tone in a darkroom print, you will know how challenging it can be. The image was not as evenly lit to start with as I would have liked, and then one has to ensure rigorously even development. Any dust on the negative is much more readily evident too.

In my first printing sessions I went down a rabbit warren of burning-in, striving for an even background. The aforementioned problem of uneven lighting made for edges that were too light. Then I had a Eureka moment: this negative might behave much better if I applied a pre-flash first.* I duly followed my idea and the negative printed with relative ease. I was then left to enjoy decisions between a denser print with longer greys, and the more contrasty version you see here. The latter won out, as I felt it more in keeping with my original vision for the piece.

*Pre-flashing involves exposing the paper without a negative, just enough to begin a chemical reaction. No tone is created, so the paper still appears blank. When the main exposure with the negative is made, the denser parts of the image will expose much more readily - and this can prevent the need for difficult burning-in.

Man in a Hat, Mahon

Taken with a Huawei P20 Pro smartphone.

Monmouth View print

Following some of my labours over the summer, I’m happy to present a new print for sale, Monmouth View.

It’s taken on Ilford Delta 100 5x4 film and has been scanned for printing on fine art inkjet paper. I chose Hahnemuhle Photo Rag for its beautiful matt cotton surface, and I think it suits the wide but subtle tonality of the image.

The image size is 19 x 24 cm, but I’ve printed it on a larger sheet of paper which has been hand-trimmed. The generous paper shape hints at a larger mount / frame arrangement, although naturally the buyer can choose. Some people like to have a mount that shows off the paper, and this print size allows for that.

A portrait and a podcast

Here’s something I’ve been working on recently: a 10x8 portrait of my Dad, Ian Pickup. It’s a contact print on fibre based warmtone paper. I’ve been steadily working away at 10x8, especially on trialling development times to complement my zone system practice in 5x4. The large format adventure is continuing, if slowly, due to the ever present demands of teaching and full-time work.

I have been busy in other ways too. On Tuesday this week I recorded for the Large Format Photography Podcast with Simon Forster and Andrew Bartram. It was great to chat with Simon and Andrew, about the zone system, my work and website, amongst other photography topics. If all is well and Simon and Andrew broadcast the session I’ll share a link in a future post. If you read my zone system post and wanted to know more, our conversation could be a good place to start. I’d also recommend checking out their other podcasts - they have some great guests and there’s lots to learn from other people’s work and experiences in large format. I’ve not got the podcast ‘bug’ in the way other people have, but it certainly is a medium on the up. I enjoyed dipping in and out of podcasts in my downtime.

Trees and Woodlands Zine in Pictures

HP5 Plus exposed at 3200

I’ve been doing some experiments exposing Ilford HP5 Plus at 3200 for the grain. Here’s a trio for your perusal. You can see they are of flowers, shot on 35mm and close-up using an extension tube. The tendency towards abstraction, and areas of simple tone, emphasises the grain I think.

HP5 Plus exposed at 3200 developed in LC29 for 11 mins

HP5 Plus exposed at 3200 developed in LC29 for 11 mins

HP5 Plus exposed at 3200 developed in LC29 for 11 mins

Mulling over the negative

One of the pleasures of 10x8: taking one’s time.

And so I have been. Taking my time. Going slowly. Slow photography. 10x8 style.

This process invites contemplation; room for visualisation before action. So today I invite you to join me as I contemplate this negative, a neg I haven’t even contact-printed yet.

I exposed for a ‘pale’ image punctuated by the dark line of the traversing diagonal branch. I envisage that the rich foliage will offer a large range of tones, even at a lighter register. As ever, questions present themselves: will this be the case? Does the composition quite work? (The bank of foliage in the foreground is perhaps too large.) Will the darker diagonal look too incongruous against the lighter tones? Is there a greater tonal range than I envisage?

Here I feel at home with 10x8: a little work here, a little work there. It fits in with my schedule and my tendency to ponder. Perhaps before too long I’ll be sharing this piece in a more finished form.

The full negative on the lightbox.

'Fallen Tree' Fibre Based Print

As part of my ongoing work with my 10x8 camera, I'm happy to offer for sale 'Fallen Tree' as a darkroom print. I have made a very limited number of contact prints from the 10 x 8 negative, on Ilford's Warmtone Fibre Based paper. The image size is a little smaller than 10 x8, and the paper size is nearly 11 x 14 inches. This allows the print to be mounted with a paper border showing, should the buyer wish. As always, the screen image fails to do the print justice, which really needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

Shanghai travelogue part 2: enter Ilford HP5 Plus

“No place is boring, if you’ve had a good night’s sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film.”

— Robert Adams

In this instalment of my Shanghai Travelogue I’ll be looking at the second approach I took to shooting in China, namely with 35mm black and white film. Here, I was very much on home ground: my Leica M6TTL being my camera of choice and Ilford’s HP5 Plus my film. It’s an approach I am intimately familiar with, and, in the spirit of Adams’ quote above, one I enjoy for its simplicity. Waking up in Shanghai, with somewhat more than a pocket’s worth of film in my possession, was indeed a heady experience.

Million Matches, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film

I chose HP5 Plus because I know it and its development routines intimately. Many people begin to ask themselves what equipment they need when travelling to new locations, almost as if they are starting again with their photography. Instead, I prefer (and indeed recommend) familiar equipment and technique. Why change your way of working, just because you are going to be somewhere different? Increasingly, over the past few months black and white has become my preferred style, and films like HP5 Plus have been a mainstay.

The majority of my shots were exposed at 320 with a view to developing them in Perceptol. This is something like my default black and white mode right now. One loses a little speed (hence 320 not ‘box speed’, 400) and development times are long, but for me there is something of a holy trinity of sharpness, good tonality and well-controlled grain. My manual 35mm rangefinder camera allows for a contemplative approach to shooting, but when one is in the flow it also allows for speed of reaction too. Choose an aperture and shutter speed, part focus the lens, and shooting can take place almost instantaneously. I’d wager I give the best autofocus systems a run for their money with my camera so primed.

Sports Statue, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film

Builders in the Mist, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film exposed at 1600

On a particularly misty day (which you can see in the shots), I decided to shoot at 1600. This flexibility is another virtue of HP5 Plus. It would mean another developer (this time LC29), but gave me a twofold advantage: speed when shooting on the underground trains, and small-ish apertures for street shots in the mist. The grain is somewhat exaggerated at this speed, but I think it complements the mist and was an effect I had visualised at the time. If my pursuit of 320 and Perceptol came from my earlier days of wanting to suppress grain for a cleaner look, my embracing grain at 1600 represents a more mature self who has made his peace with the medium and its quirks. There is beauty in grain. As ever with film, the key thing is to assess the situation in front of you and try to use your knowledge of printing and development to see a finished print in your mind’s eye.

I’ll be looking at my experience of shooting large format film with my Intrepid Field Camera in the next instalment. I hope you enjoy the shots.
 

Street Chef, Leica M6TTL and Ilford HP5 Plus film

Courtyard Tree, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film

Commuter, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film exposed at 1600

Street Silhouettes, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film

Shanghai Lights, Leica M6TTL and HP5 Plus film