rolleifreak
Hello everyone,
How do I achieve the look shown in the attached example?
My theory: Diffuse light during shooting, probably high-speed 400 ISO film,
Exposure – negative developer?
A hard gradient was likely used during enlargement.
Thanks and best regards,
Rolleifreak
Urnes
Wide-angle, stop down, use a fast shutter speed. In this example, you’ll just need to make sure you increase the exposure if necessary, because of all the white.
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Renate
High-speed films generally produce soft images with a wide range of grey tones, whereas low-speed films tend to produce a harder look. That’s one of the reasons why I still have a few rolls of CHS 25 gathering dust in my fridge, or rather in the freezer, and why I rarely put PanF in my camera.
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Best regards
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Renate
Wolfgg
Hello Rolleifreak,
A bit of theory:
Subject contrast = Object contrast * Lighting contrast
I can’t see any shadows in the picture, which means the lighting contrast is close to 1 – the light is coming from all directions, as it would under an overcast sky (no sun visible) – so the following applies:
Subject contrast = Object contrast
i.e. almost only the object’s intrinsic contrast is recorded on the film, i.e. the brightness of the colours. If the light were also coming from the ground, even the ripples on the white clothing would be invisible.
If such a subject is developed and enlarged normally, the result is dull and flat. The experienced photographer extends the film development time; ideally, the zone system should be used, as this makes full use of the film’s characteristic curve even with this subject. During enlargement, the paper gradation is then increased until the shadows are slightly too deep (sink).
The reproduction of the highlights, however, smacks a bit of split exposure: the gradient in the shadows seems harder to me than in the highlights. In other words: two exposures – first one where the highlights are beautifully detailed as desired, but the shadows come out too light, then a second with high gradient, which pulls the shadows down but leaves the highlights unchanged. Of course, this only works with variable contrast paper. Give it a go, and you’ll see.
Regards, Wolfgang
Olivinyl
Hello Rolleifreak,
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I’ve achieved a similar look using the Rollei 400S / Superpan 200 / Agfa ASP 400S. Films of this type, with increased red sensitivity, tend to blow out in the highlights, meaning they build up more density than one would normally want. If you develop these films with developers such as Rodinal/Adonal at 1+25–1+50 or undiluted Xtol, the highlights get blown out, meaning they lack detail. If you reduce the development time, the ISO sensitivity drops significantly; the highlights are rendered better, but the shadows lose detail.?
Do you want to scan or print?
I’ve experimented a bit with these films and can offer you tried-and-tested development times if you’re interested.
However, these films distort the colour reproduction!
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Best regards, Oliver?
