A Hasselblad, more than 40 years after first looking.

Nokton48 said:
Testing Studio Lighting 2 350mm f.56 Tele Tessar ELM by Nokton48, on Flickr

Testing some olde Broncolor strobe lighting. Hasselblad 500EL/M, 350mm f5.6 Non-T* Tele-Tessar, Ilford FP4+ 120, Omega DII laser aligned with Omegalite, 180mm black Rodagon, 8x10 Arista [NODE="2"]Forum[/NODE] RC Multigrade developer
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I am really impressed with that 350mm lenses rendering in your two images, beautiful and totally unexpected.
Thank you.
 
Einstein said:
I am really impressed with that 350mm lenses rendering in your two images, beautiful and totally unexpected.
Thank you.
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Thanks Einstein! I studied the two images for quite a while before the final shooting. These orchid photos are very personally important to me.

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Thanks for taking time to write about your experiences with Hasselblad and Rolleiflex. You mention the light is dim in the viewfinder of your Rolleiflex and I wonder if a new mirror under the viewing screen might be in order? Get a mirror with the coating on the front of the glass because if the coating is on the rear you’ll have focusing issues.

Enjoy your cameras.
 
Tim Kelly Lighting Test Hasselblad 100mm Pan F Plus by Nokton48, on Flickr

Thirty years ago I studied Tim Kelly's portrait techniques. Now I am revising and revisiting it in my smaller studio. A Broncolor C171 monolight with modern 360 degree Broncolor Balloon Head at 90 degrees left. Another C171 with Pulso Softbox at 45 degrees left, set one stop brighter. A whitish fill panel semi silver at 45 degrees right, just out of the shot Finally, a smaller C70 Broncolor Monolight, with custom made old Broncolor snoot and grid, 45 degrees right but up very high, creating the spot of light just to the right and slightly above the test subject. The idea is that the lighting reads "dark, light, dark, light" which creates an artististic rythm that is very classic. Hasselblad EL/M with 100mm f3.5 T* black Planar, Hasselblad YG filter, Ilford Pan F+ developed in D23 1:1 in JOBO tank on Unicolor Uniroller. Omega DII laser aligned with Omegalite Head and 180mm black Rodagon. Arista [NODE="2"]Forum[/NODE] RC 8x10 paper developed in Multigrade. Canvas background 8x8 feet "Classic Kelly Brown" painted recently for me by artist David Maheu
 
Beautiful orchid shots. F16? The sophisticated Kelly lighting hard to read in the succulent shot, but it’s worked beautifully.

And thanks Bill. I need to do as you say, and get a new screen.
 
"Beautiful orchid shots. F16? The sophisticated Kelly lighting hard to read in the succulent shot, but it’s worked beautifully."

Thanks RichardG .

At this point I shoot extra frames, bracketing the exposure, why not have a choice of negatives to print? As I refine this I will nail the exposures down, I'm taking notes. Broncolor lights are super consistent. One thing I do not like so much, is that the backgrounds are too sharp. I have Hasselblad B50 Neutral density filters that may help with that. With FP4+ I remember F16 to F32. Need to open the lens up some more. The goal is to have all this pretty well worked out when I start shooting people again. If you look at Kelly's work you see what I mean. BTW Kelly still uses his motor Hasselblad at times, despite going nearly 100% all digital. Still uses his 4x5 Gowlandflex, too. I do like using the PanF+ in D23. Using the background light is like the cream in the coffee, the cherry on the sundae. It adds a lot IMO. Didn't use a background light with the orchids, and the background was sky blue seamless paper. But the base lighting is the same and my standard go-to.

So I'm getting closer to what I want

Here's Kelly. (241) How to Create a Fine Art Portrait. What Makes a Photographic Portrait Art? Digital and Film Session - YouTube
 
The Tim Kelly videos are obviously a good resource. Thanks. There's never an end to learning about lighting. He makes so many good points on portraits generally.

Here's a little street portrait on my way to work one Saturday recently. I deliberately focussed on the house hoping the 60mm Distagon's depth of field and smalll aperture would carry the day. Not quite, but good enough perhaps. Could have been a bit more hyperfocal about it.



Richmond by Richard, on Flickr
 
I've been watching Tom Heaton's landscape photography videos on Youtube. Impressive act and a lot of good things on focus and film latitude and some beautiful hikes in Scotland and elsewhere. Last one I watched was him walking with a mate the length of Skye. One promontory they visited features in an Apple TV screensaver: a stunning coastline.

Heaton will often double the hyperfocal distance focus just to be sure the stream in the distance is sharp. Does seem they are indeed a bit too happy with hyperfocal distance these landscape photographers. My shot above was inspired by something I read here a year or two ago about abandoning hyperfocal distance rules and focussing much closer to infinity for many scenes, ensuring pin sharpness for the small elements at a great distance, and accepting a little out of focus close up, which psychologically we tolerate better in the larger foreground objects.
 
^ Hi Richard!

I’m a big fan of Thomas Heaton's YouTube channel. He puts a lot of effort into each episode while making it look effortless at the same time. I guess the best compliment I can give the guy is that he inspires me to be a better photographer.

All the best,
Mike
 
Yokosuka_Mike said:
^ Hi Richard!

I’m a big fan of Thomas Heaton's YouTube channel. He puts a lot of effort into each episode while making it look effortless at the same time. I guess the best compliment I can give the guy is that he inspires me to be a better photographer.

All the best,
Mike
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Thanks Mike. Glad to find another adherent. It is exactly as you say it. As you know he bought a Hasselblad 501c and has a Sonnar 150 as well as the 80 and he makes some great points about the square composition and what that does with and to content of the image. His exploration of the limits of Provia is very instructive. And the variation and self deprecation and the many technical aspects of getting the job done are all inspirational. "Looking for compositions." That's a great concept to have.
 
Vince Lupo said:
If you're gonna be into Hasselblad, may as well be a bit stylish about it 🙂

Hasselblad Fashion by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

Sorry I can't tell you what time it is, but I can give you an exposure readout!
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Victor would be proud of you. I hope you don’t have one on the other wrist. What they say about a man with two watches never knowing what time it is applies to light meters too. I wonder how many use the metered winder.
 
It hasn't been quite 40 years but I also dreamed of a Hasselblad as a youth. A Mamiya C22 was more within my means and that camera went everywhere with me through high school and college and onward until I started concentrating mostly on 8x10. Last year my first Hasselblad fell into my lap and it's exactly what I'd imagined it would be like. I've been enjoying it a lot, and mostly handheld, mirror slap be damned. I found it fits perfectly in a Peak Design 6L sling with very easy access so it's not even a pain to carry while wandering around.

https://flic.kr/p/2nocVeb

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I bought a 32mm extension tube and took some shots with the 150 Sonnar mostly. This one is the best of them. It was taken with the camera resting on the table, focusing by moving the body then mirror up and cable release. This is1/2s f11 in south facing (Southern Hemisphere) window light.



Nautilus by Richard, on Flickr
 
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