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Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 9/480mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
October 18, 2009
October 18, 2009
Let me put it straight: I don't care if my photographs look old-fashioned; I don't mind if the cameras (and film) that I utilize to expose them may be considered by some as obsolete.
I don't give the smallest damn if some may think that I start looking and smelling like a dying dinosaur...
Just let me be me, because I get a kick out of it!
I don't give the smallest damn if some may think that I start looking and smelling like a dying dinosaur...
Just let me be me, because I get a kick out of it!
Rodenstock Apo-Sironar-W 5.6/210mm, Fomapan 100 in Kodak D-76 1+1,
November 16, 2008
November 16, 2008
Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 9/480mm, Fomapan 100 in Kodak D-76 1+1,
November 16, 2008
November 16, 2008
Largo General Humberto Delgado. The small monument honours the Portuguese soldiers fallen in World War I.
Schneider G-Claron 9/305mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
August 30, 2009
Schneider G-Claron 9/305mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
Schneider G-Claron 9/305mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
All three photographs above were made in Largo Alexandre Herculano, not more than a hundred steps or so from my studio.
The nearness was rather welcomed that day, as it was very hot and dry. Schlepping such a heavy camera (and its paraphernalia) under such heat is not always delightful...
You gotta dig it!
The nearness was rather welcomed that day, as it was very hot and dry. Schlepping such a heavy camera (and its paraphernalia) under such heat is not always delightful...
You gotta dig it!
Schneider G-Claron 9/305mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
October 19, 2009
October 19, 2009
Everyday I walk this street (I did it again tonight), bringing our dog Charley for a walk (I named the dog so, after reading the travelogue by John Steinbeck "Travels With Charley").
The two ladies are actually neighbours. On warm winter days they like to bring their small chairs and sit outside, chatting and knitting, watching who passes by.
Their homes are so small, they must enjoy the fresh air and the sun warming their bones.
The two ladies are actually neighbours. On warm winter days they like to bring their small chairs and sit outside, chatting and knitting, watching who passes by.
Their homes are so small, they must enjoy the fresh air and the sun warming their bones.
Rodenstock Apo-Sironar-W 5.6/210mm, Fomapan 100 in Rodinal 1+50,
October 24, 2009
October 24, 2009
This is Teatro Curvo Semedo. That's where I made the color photographs of "Sevilhanas" on a former post. The church in the back is Igreja do Calvário.
All sheet film was rotary processed in a Jobo CPP2, and scanned in an Epson Perfection 4990 Photo.
All sheet film was rotary processed in a Jobo CPP2, and scanned in an Epson Perfection 4990 Photo.
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"Let me put it straight: I don't care if my photographs look old-fashioned; I don't mind if the cameras (and film) that I utilize to expose them may be considered by some as obsolete.
ReplyDeleteI don't give the smallest damn if some may think that I start looking and smelling like a dying dinosaur...
Just let me be me, because I get a kick out of it!"
Well, I don't care too, Rui! Because here I am, feasting my eyes on these beautiful images and I really don't give a hoot if your equipment is obsolete! Your images make me dream of visiting Portugal - of course, I still remember you said I could try your cameras :-). Just a question, Rui - do you adjust your images at all? Is it possible to do that with film? Please excuse my ignorance.
Wishing you and yours a blissful Sunday.
Esther
Another set of wonderful images, I'd love a Gandolfi although I think I may have to explain it to the wife...
ReplyDeleteI also get comments about being a Luddite or dinosaur mainly on forums. When I'm out with my Rollei loads of people are very positive though I think I only get 1 in 10 people I meet are digital evangelists asking when I'm 'going to move up to digital'
Have fun
Mark
Hello Esther and Mark,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to "see" both of you around, looking through these humble pages of mine.
A lot stays forgotten and untold, a lot is not visible. I myself have long lost track of hundreds or 1000s of images that I can't recall. Scanning is rather boring and time consuming, but every now and then I am rewarded (I hope you too).
About beeing a dinosaur: I already was one even when I was young. I never was that much mainstream, so I got used to be looked sideways. For some I am too fashionable, for others too old-fashioned; for some too arty, then again for others too documentary...
As I said: I don't care that much...
Esther, I tweak mainly levels for tonality (a scanned image to have lots of information is usually flat) and unsharp mask for sharpness. I usually fight dust spots with clone stamp tool. I try to keep it simple, mainly because I don't know better... Theorecticaly, after scanning, you have a digital file that you could treat like any other digital photograph (so they say, I am not that sure).
I am very primitive: I only use Photoshop Elements...
Yes Mark, explaining things to the wife can get complicated... And carrying a Gandolfi needs a lot of explanation to your back too!
Esther, coming to Portugal from the other side of the world is easy: you only need to take an aeroplane... The Leicas are waiting. You will be wellcomed!
Greetings to both of you.
Have a nice weekend,
Rui
Lovely work Rui. I love the 10x8 images. May I ask why you use Rodinal to dev your fomapan negs?
ReplyDeletekind regards
Matt
Hello Matt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, and I beg you to apologize for taking so long to answer. It took me a long time to see your comment, and I have been away from the blog scene, mainly for health issues and not finding much fun doing it. I will try to answer your question, although it is not so easy, because it is a mixture of decisions (simply including some wish to change). I will try:
Rodinal is probably the oldest comercial developer formulae around. Through the years it was almost unchanged. So we can say that it is a true "classic" (whatever that really means...). Fomapan 100 also seems to give me a certain classical look, that is, a look different from "modern" technology films like T-Max, Delta, etc. As I tend to prefer the old-fashioned look, I thought that it might be a good marriage to use Rodinal and Fomapan 100 together. I must say that, although that experience is far from conclusive, it is a combination that pleases me. I had already tried to develop this film with my old favourite developer Kodak D-76, and Adox Adolux ATM-49, also with good results.
In the past, I had already used now and then Rodinal (see my last post about Nene Valley Railway), but found it to be not very suitable for 35mm, as it seems to produce some grainy negatives. Fine for medium format, and surely irrelevant for 8x10 inches!
I also wanted to try a highly diluted developer, so that I could better control and avoid very dense highlights on the negative, to avoid that they would "block", so to say. In other words, I also was looking for a certain compensating effect: develope well the shadows without overdeveloping the highlights. Remember that the white houses and walls that we usually find in Montemor reflect a lot of light in sunny days... (It is raining for weeks now, but that is not normal...).
Furthermore, Rodinal is easy to mix (not so viscose as Kodak Hc-110, for example), and as I am actually shooting little stuff, I don't need to prepare "big" quantities of developer, that would oxidize from staying around. Rodinal also keeps well, after you open the bottle.
Last, but not least: here (I mean in Lisbon) things are getting scarce, and you have to live with what you can get. Since the advent of digital, the analogique market offerings has schrunk a lot. So we have to live with what we can get, or order from outside. So maybe it is wise to try different stuff just in case. Rodinal has also a very acceptable price.
So I hope to have answered your question, and I hope that I didn't forget something.
I wish you the best.
Kind regards,
Rui
P.S.: Thanks for sharing your work. I like your blog very much.
Hello again Rui.
ReplyDeleteI too have taken ages to respond to you again. Thanks for your great thorough explanation of "why you use rodinal" ! I now use mainly tri-x, fuji acros neopan 100asa and fomapan 100 asa films for 35mm format and mostly tri-x and neopan 100 for medium format, and I use D76 developer mainly because that's what the lab uses that I go to.
I have been impressed with Fomapan, especially the low prices.
I do hope you are in good health and thanks for a brilliant photoblog here, and, YES, we do need a blog like yours !!