Museum Shoot...Advice Needed.

[dazedgonebye]

We’re planning a little get together and shoot in the Phoenix Art Museum in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what the light will be like. Yes, I’ve been there before, but I never brought camera or meter.
So, even though you don’t know that particular museum…any advice on film speed for this sort of thing?
At this point, I plan to bring either the 15mm Heliar or the 21mm Color-Skopar on the Bessa-L and a Jupiter 8 on the Bessa-R (or maybe the 35mm color-skopar). As you can see…no fast glass.

I won’t be shooting black and white. Push processing will not be an option. At present, I have a few rolls of Kodak Porta 800 and a couple of Fuji 1600.

 

[DougK]

You might want to pick up tungsten-balanced film or make sure you have the appropriate filter on your lens. I made the mistake of using regular slide film in an art gallery a while back and, predictably, the shots came back with a color cast. Disappointing, but at least the shots looked good converted to black-and-white.

 

[dazedgonebye]

You might want to pick up tungsten-balanced film or make sure you have the appropriate filter on your lens. I made the mistake of using regular slide film in an art gallery a while back and, predictably, the shots came back with a color cast. Disappointing, but at least the shots looked good converted to black-and-white.

I'll almost certainly be converting to black and white with everything...so this should not be a problem for me.
Thanks though.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

You'll find the 15, even the 21 a little too "slow" for dim museum conditions. If the museum is dim, of course, which they usually are.

If you are bound on either, then I highly suggest to you that you get some Ilford Delta 3200, and shoot it at ISO 3200 with those two lenses.

Otherwise, let's say you'll be using the 35 "classic" Skopar, and you *really* want color. Use Fuji Superia 800. Cheap, and surprisingly good grain for that speed. It handles mixed lighting well.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Also, the Kodak Portra 800 will do well only if you have the right light for it. If you must use the Portra, and it's only daylight film you got there, get a blue (~ 80A) filter.

Otherwise, the Fuji 1600 is pretty decent; handles mixed lighting well too.

 

[dazedgonebye]

Also, the Kodak Portra 800 will do well only if you have the right light for it. If you must use the Portra, and it's only daylight film you got there, get a blue (~ 80A) filter.

Otherwise, the Fuji 1600 is pretty decent; handles mixed lighting well too.

As far as the porta is concerned...are we only worried about its color handling indoors? If so, since I'm going to convert to BW, that won't be a problem.
Or, is it just not that good at all?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Yes, it's mainly the worry about handling the color temperature/balance indoors if you don't have the "right" Portra type.

Hmm...if you are not that concerned with color, and only want B&W images, why, in my opinion, waste such good color film (Portra) when you can get great B&W, which is what you want, out of Tri-X pushed at 800 or 1600, or even Fuji Neopan 1600? I'm guessing it's the time and availability (and $), but if it isn't, really, save the Portra for a good color opportunity. im(v)ho (I hope Magus doesn't faint again)

 

[fishtek]

Hi, Steve!

DO make sure and inquire about the museum's policies regarding photography. Some will give you unlimited opportunities, some limit you to hand-held (no tripods, even monopods), some allow flash, some don't....etc. I often rig a mini-tripod as a chest-pod, which gains me a stop or two, and have even been known to attach a collapsed monopod, and stick the end in my pocket, until the gallery is empty, at which point I extend it, and use it in it's intended fashion. All the posts above offer solid advice. Watch out for reflections, tungsten fixtures with UV guards on 'em, and over-protective gallery guards.

Sometimes, you can gain access by contacting the proper curatorial staff, and offering to duplicate photographs of objects and donate 'em to the museum. Lots of museums don't have "house" photographers, and appreciate images for their registrar's files.

Regards!
Don

Regards!
Don

 

[DougK]

Given your end goals, I think Gabriel has the best solution assuming your budget allows.

 

[dazedgonebye]

Yes, it's mainly the worry about handling the color temperature/balance indoors if you don't have the "right" Portra type.

Hmm...if you are not that concerned with color, and only want B&W images, why, in my opinion, waste such good color film (Portra) when you can get great B&W, which is what you want, out of Tri-X pushed at 800 or 1600, or even Fuji Neopan 1600? I'm guessing it's the time and availability (and $), but if it isn't, really, save the Portra for a good color opportunity. im(v)ho (I hope Magus doesn't faint again)

I don't do my own developing. So, black and white means driving across town to one of the two labs that do...or waiting a week or two for it to come back to me in the mail. Neither option excites me.

 

[dazedgonebye]

Hi, Steve!

DO make sure and inquire about the museum's policies regarding photography. Some will give you unlimited opportunities, some limit you to hand-held (no tripods, even monopods), some allow flash, some don't....etc. I often rig a mini-tripod as a chest-pod, which gains me a stop or two, and have even been known to attach a collapsed monopod, and stick the end in my pocket, until the gallery is empty, at which point I extend it, and use it in it's intended fashion. All the posts above offer solid advice. Watch out for reflections, tungsten fixtures with UV guards on 'em, and over-protective gallery guards.

Sometimes, you can gain access by contacting the proper curatorial staff, and offering to duplicate photographs of objects and donate 'em to the museum. Lots of museums don't have "house" photographers, and appreciate images for their registrar's files.

Regards!
Don

Regards!
Don

No flash, no tripod and no shooting items on loan.
I've thought about the monopod, but I'm too much of a bull in a china shop to risk carrying a stick through a museum. 😱

 

[35mmdelux]

What happened to fast lenses? At the Louvre Paris I used 100asa and 35mm/2.0. Alot of it depends on the particular museums lighting. Some museums are very low light. Take a hand held meter and push it 2 stops.

 

[dazedgonebye]

What happened to fast lenses? At the Louvre Paris I used 100asa and 35mm/2.0. Alot of it depends on the particular museums lighting. Some museums are very low light. Take a hand held meter and push it 2 stops.

Please send your fast glass to me right away. I'd like to have it before January 13th, if you don't mind.
If you do...then I'll have to make do with the slow stuff I have.