Beyond infinity? Not quite.

 

I have had an idea running around in the back of my mind for ages that's not quite right there is a lot going on in my mind creatively speaking it is a bit like watching those lottery balls bouncing about in the mixing chamber. When all of a sudden one drops into the rack then another. That is what happened with this project.

I shell explain, sometime ago I was introduced to Hiroshi Sugimoto's work in-particular his book named Architecture. I have a soft spot for well made images of buildings, the pictures that had come to my notice made me curious enough to get a copy of said. What I did not know was that all the photographs had been made using an old large format camera set to twice infinity giving the images a soft tonal look. They had enthralled my imagination.  

Now to the second ball in my lottery of creativity. I can say that I do not have an effervescent attitude toward camera kit. I buy what I need to do a job and get on with it. That is until I saw an article on mirror lenses a long time ago. Ever since I have wanted one.

A while back that want had been stated with the purchase of a rather wonderfully designed lens by Tamura Uhyoe founder of the Tamron lens company. When this mirror lens was introduced it was a ground breaking design making it lighter and smaller. It was that cutting edge that some of the major players in the photograph industry came to Tamron to produce there lenses.

The lens I'm taking about is the Tamron adaptal 2 SP 500 mm mirror. I was surprised when I purchased it how little money they wanted for it in almost mint condition. It just go's to show how silly we are just because it has not got an OE name on it, it is classed as second rate. Which in this case is missed placed as Tamron are responsible for making OE kit for Cannon and Nikon because of there lens designs were ahead of anything the major manufactures were producing.

I have never had a lens of this size before so spent time getting to know what it could do on a camera without film loaded. One of the first things I notice was that it needs to be mounted on a tripod as it magnified the slightest movement. The other is that it is set to an aperture of F8 meaning that the shutter speeds would become very slow as the level of light reduced. 

 It was while playing around with the lens that a kernel of an idea came to mind. I clocked that the depth of field was very narrow and that as it came into or out of focus the light started to circle. It is a consequence of using a dished mirror to compress the focal length. This took my mind back to Hiroshi Sugimoto's book of double infinity Well! I could not do that with this lens but could do something a long the line of out of focus. I have to say it is counter intuitive to purposely not fully focus or over focus a lens especially one as good as this.

With the project formed I wanted to get the camera loaded with film, to start experimenting. I was stopped in my tracks slightly as to what speed film to use seeing as a tripod was necessary then a slow speed film would be the obvious choice or would it? With shutter speeds being the regulators of light in this case it would mean that in some cases the under, over focused images may become blurred with movement. Not something I really wanted.

What only took seconds in my mind to decide on is taking far longer to write I'll cut this short, I opted for 200 ISO As chance would have it I have no film rated at this speed typical! Push a 100 ISO or pull a 400?

Bill hooks! I'll pull some 400, I have some Kentmere 400 I have not used before lets pull the boat right out and fall over the side with a sink or swim attitude to the whole thing. You are going to be in big trouble if the propeller fall off and the trial does not work but that is what it is for.

Some weeks later I'm pleased to say that part of the evaluation has worked I have some negatives hanging up to dry. Lots of little oblongs with varying amounts of contrast on show. While we wait I should tell you that they were developed using HC110 B mix for 4 minutes and not the 3.5 suggested I don't like half minutes so round the time up.

The one thing that concerns me is a while ago I pulled a roll of Bergger Pancro 400 down to 125 ISO and found it a little on the grainy side compared to box speed. My expectation is for Kentmere not to be the same.

I have been itching to expose another film but have restrained myself until I have some prints to look at. I'm pleased I did. Although some of the photographs worked others have not. Partly because of subject matter but also focus. There is a very fine point of focus that the circles of light are most prominent.

If you are thinking that this article has ended a bit abruptly it has the project is on going I was hoping to have shown you how the results looked in colour, the picture below explains all. 

35 mm Slide film Fuji Prova  

Technical Data:  

Scanned from Ilford multigrade gloss RC photographs. Film Kentmere 400 exposed at 200 ISO developed in HC110 B. 

Update 9 September:

This project is on going and a part two to this article is being worked on. I have moved the light sensitivity of the film up to 400 with the use of Kentmere 400 and Bergger Pano 400 to improve the shutter speeds. 

 

All words and images are the copy right of Mitch Fusco all rights reserved 2022.

 

Ansel Adams collection of Portfolios

On one of the many trips in to London many years ago I found myself strolling down Tottenham court road which meant that a detour into Foils Books Store was on the cards before travelling on. It was a warren of floors dedicated to the written word. A discombobulation of a place for those that did not know where their category of interest was held. Fortunately for me this was the umpteenth visit and I knew which floor I needed. Needless to say that getting there was an endeavour in it's self.

Onward and upward to the art/photography department on arrival I stopped momentarily to catch my breath, take in the smell of new books and wonder at the sight. Shelf upon shelf almost to the ceiling of publications standing like solders side by side. Titles like faces undulating along the shelf's as you pass. 

I had just dropped in for a look, I had no particular book in mind it was a destination in its own way, away from the frantic streets outside. A moment to feed the mind. As I looked through the sections I came across The Portfolios of Ansel Adams. “That interesting I thought” and flicked through the pages looked at the price put it back on the shelf and moved on looking at and replacing a number of books. It is interesting to note that all the time I was looking at other volumes my mind kept coming back to the Ansel Adams book it had left an impression.

A short time later I was back in the mix of hurrying people in the street with a bag containing the Adams book. I cannot remember why I was in London, where I went next or if I had my camera with me. The only thing I can be sure of is that a tube ride would have been part of my getting home. With a chance to get a proper good look at my purchase. 

Recently the book is off the shelf and on the coffee table waiting for me to re-antiquate myself with Mr Adams images. I don't know what others do but I like to kick back on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea and spend time with each image studying it in detail. In this case putting the book down at the end of each portfolio to come back to another day.

According to the write up in the book these reproduction are as close as you can get to the original photographs. This I can vouch for having compared images with the same pictures that appear in Ansel Adams 400 photographs book.

Looking back I was fortunate to happen upon the collected portfolios book as I do not think I will see an original and or one of his prints in the flesh. But never say never.

This article is the copyright of Mitch Fusco 2022 all rights reserved.

Is it normal?

A while a go I was reading one of Tim Clinch's articles, in it he suggested that If you were thinking about becoming a professional photographer you should read Annie Leibovitz at work as he considered it a must. This prompted me to re-read it. Being well written, it is easy going taking me no time at all to get through it. 

When Annie was young she was obsessed with making pictures so much so it was impossible for her to leave the house without a camera. Annie learned later in life that it was OK not to have a camera in front of her face all the time and that some images should remain untaken.

Annie Leibovitz started as a photo journalist progressing to commercial and magazine work. The latter requiring a different approach which she had trouble adapting to. This was because she liked the spontaneity of photo journalism's, capturing the moment rather than having to make up images to fulfill a brief.

One of the things that struck a cord with me was the way she used her medium format camera, she suggested it was unorthodox to hand hold and move about the way you use 35mm. I have always used my Bronica SQAi hand held in the way she mentioned. I have never considered it to be unusual. Thinking on it, my Bronica has been swung through the air unsupported from the first day I picked it up. It has been held at arms length above my head to make a picture over the heads of a crowd and out over the side of a bridge to look down on its side at arm length so I can frame the picture. It has been up mountains, round lakes, along coasts and beach's, through cities and on long walks across country. All without the sight of a tripod. Admittedly by the end of the day my arms feel like I have been weight lifting - more so since I fitted a motor-drive to get round a problem and added an eye level viewfinder. What I'm getting at is it is OK to read and take note of what others do but do not let it stop you thinking outside the box.

The Bronica maybe my favourite camera to make images with, but sometimes I long for days past when life was less weighty and the camera was a Nikon FM.

Fg1

Fg2

Technical  data:

Fg 1, FP4+ ISO 125, Developer ID11, Printed on Ilford Multigrade RC Gloss.

Fg 2, Out of Date Fujicolour, Edited in Photoshop elements.