Studio Work (Sheet and roll film)

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Some people have the rather erroneous idea, that the life of a professional photographer has a lot to do with easy-living and glamour.

While some certainly achieve such a wonderful status, I guess that the vast majority gets to know very little or no bright life at all.

Antonioni's "Blow Up" is a faraway mirage, continuously vanishing a little further away from our dreams and expectations. The girls just don't show up for a private dance, and very few of us drive Rolls-Royce convertibles...

Instead, we have every month to deal with our taxes and our costs, as any other business.

Crisis can take away all our wish to laugh and dance...

Beeing in a dark studio for endless hours, trying to make some ordinary objects turn to gold, can be a very frustrating and boring activity: "A little more light here, a little less light over there, a reflector here, that flash head a little further away, now that bottle just a little bit to the left, that shadow is too dark, the reflection is too strong", and so on and so on...

A shot looking simple and straightforward can take an eternity.
When you finally go back home you suddenly understand that it is long past midnight...

Sinar F2 + Horseman 6x12 back

Sinar F2 or Gandolfi Variant + Horseman 6x12 back

Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches + 5x7 inches reducing back

Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches

Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches + 5x7 inches reducing back

Of course, if the products look good, you can have a lot more fun, even if the shots are relatively straight and simple.

Beeing a hi-fi and music fan myself, I did really enjoy doing these images.
Somebody made a review about the equipment for a magazine article, and I did the shooting. As I usually didn't get a lay out, I had the freedom to do as I pleased.

Nice, although the costs had to be kept to a minimum...

(You seldom can have the whole fun...).

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches + 5x7 inches reducing back

Watches can be something very challenging to photograph in 5x7 inches...

You really need a long bellows draw to be able to fill the frame with an interesting image.

Reflections can get you into serious trouble and you really have to master your lighting.

It is kind of funny to have a little watch facing a really big camera, surrounded by lots of lights...

You got to keep cool, or you quickly mess it up...

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

Now, glass can be rather tricky too.

It reflects your lights, your camera, your whole paraphernalia and yourself.
Maybe worst of all, it also reflects the dark corners of the studio.

In the examples above, and in the case of the "floating" watch, the background was also made with light.

Please keep in mind that all these photographs were shot with analogic gear, and that what you see is what the transparencies show.

All these images are not manipulated (except for some minor corrections like dust spoting, etc).

Basically, you see what I got in camera.

Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches + 5x7 inches reducing back

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

The perfume bottle above and the two cameras below, were not shot on assignment. I just made them for myself. On the photograph above, I was experimenting with colored light to produce a background.

Sinar F2 4x5 inches

No, it is not a Leica, and the lens is not a Leitz Elmar!

It is just a fake Leica made by the russians, probably a FED or a Zorki I.

On the top plate a swastica is also engraved with the word "Bildberichter" (photo reporter).

Looks nice, but the shutter doesn't work...

Gandolf Precision 8x10 inches

My lovely Rolleiflex 3.5 F, that you should already know by now.
It graces my profile, and you also can see her around my neck in the portrait I posted some time ago.

Now you can watch her in all her beauty...

The images on this post were shot in my former studio in Lisbon, using flash equipment from Hensel Studiotechnik, Würzburg, Germany.

My cameras were equiped with Schneider and Rodenstock optics.

Light meters/Flash meters from Sekonic and Gossen.

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International Worker's Day - (Gandolfi Precision 8x10)

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I dedicate this post to all the immigrants
 

"I Pity the Poor Immigrant" - Bob Dylan

I pity the poor immigrant
Who wishes he would've stayed home,
Who uses all his power to do evil
But in the end is always left so alone.
That man whom with his fingers cheats
And who lies with ev'ry breath,
Who passionately hates his life
And likewise, fears his death.

I pity the poor immigrant
Whose strength is spent in vain,
Whose heaven is like Ironsides,
Whose tears are like rain,
Who eats but is not satisfied,
Who hears but does not see,
Who falls in love with wealth itself
And turns his back on me.

I pity the poor immigrant
Who tramples through the mud,
Who fills his mouth with laughing
And who builds his town with blood,
Whose visions in the final end
Must shatter like the glass.
I pity the poor immigrant
When his gladness comes to pass.

(From the album “John Wesley Harding” - 1967)

 

 

The above photograph was shot in the studio with a Gandolfi Precision 8x10 inches on Fujichrome Velvia film.

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Assorted Moments

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I have been turning the pages of an old book that I bought in Cologne, Germany, in 1982. Every once in a while I like to glance through it.

I am talking about a little volume with photographs by André Kertész, called "Americana", edited by Nicolas Ducrot and published in 1979 by Visual Books Inc., New York City.

I must confess that I am not necessarily a great admirer of Kertész, although I find some of his images absolutely outstanding.
It is such a case with this book, and also with the book "Of New York", for example.

Both show some extraordinary work, and both also display some images that look almost commonplace...

My humble opinion...

But doesn't that happens to all of us? Don't we all have our very special days?

Minolta SRT 101, HP5 in Emofin, Bretagne, France, February 1977

Without daring to compare myself with this exceptional photographer, I feel that many of my images are rather average, too much trivial, too much "bread and butter"...

To discard our own not-so-much-interesting images is not an easy task for sure, as they are a good part of our own memory, of our own heritage, our legacy for the future.

Having said that, life has shown me that the patina of time suddenly can turn a common photograph into one deserving better attention.

Minolta SRT 101, HP5 in Emofin, Bretagne, France, February 1977

Minolta SRT 101, HP5 in Emofin, Bretagne, France, February 1977

Minolta SRT 101, HP5 in Emofin, Mont-Saint-Michel, France, February 1977

Minolta SRT 101, HP5 in Emofin, Normandie, France, February 1977

These are images from my "Minolta Years", from my beginnings as a photographer.

Amateur photographer, that is...

Amateur in the true sense of the word: I ate and slept photography. I nourished my body and soul with it.

I was obsessed and passionate about it.

I was in love with it!

Leica M4-2, Strasbourg, France, April 1982

In the meantime, I had traded all my Minolta equipment for the Leica rangefinder system (except for the light-meters. I still use a Minolta Spotmeter).

As far as I can recall, I was by then only using Leica / Leitz cameras and lenses. It simply better suited my street-photography style, that I used to practice almost exclusively in those days.

I still miss my Minolta XM and the very fine Minolta Rokkor f1.8 35mm, though.

I should have kept them...

Leica M2, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

Leica M2, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

Leica M2, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

Leica M3, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

Leica M3, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

Leica M2, HP5 in D-76 1+1, Bremen, Germany, March 1984

As far as I remember, I only went once in my life to Bremen. From these short visit, I don't have much memories left, but some photographs...

Hasselblad 500CM + Carl Zeiss 60mm Distagon C, TMY in D-76 1+1,
Lisboa, Portugal, August 1988

Hasselblad 500CM + Carl Zeiss 60mm Distagon C, TMY in D-76 1+1,
Lisboa, Portugal, August 1988

When I took these photographs in Lisbon, I also was already using medium format on a regular basis.

I found it to be a nice complement to my 35mm rangefinders.

There was still a lot to come, though...

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I am ashamed

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On the 25th of April, Portugal will celebrate thirty five years of democracy.

So they say...

On that April morning, young army officers finally put an end to Salazar's dictatorship.

A new era had began...

But the dream of equality, fraternity and mutual respect has long faded away.

We now have to deal with lies, greed and corruption.

We lost our dignity.

For some months now, almost everyone who crosses the door of my studio is struggling for surviving: they beg for something, or try to sell something.

I wish that I could give them a helping hand, but I struggle too.

The clients are long gone, the telephone seldom rings...

I am ashamed of beeing part of this society!

Each day I have a little faith...

Dear Landlord

Please don't put a price on my soul

My burden is heavy

My dreams are beyond control


When that steamboat whistle blows

I'm gonna give you all I got to give

And I do hope you receive it well

Dependin' on the way you feel that you live


Dear Landlord

Please hear these words that I speak

I know you've suffered much

But in this you are not so unique


All of us at times we might work too hard

To have it too fast and too much

And anyone can fill his life up with things

He can see but he just cannot touch


Dear Landlord

Please don't dismiss my case

I'm not about to argue

I'm not about to move to no other place


Now, each of us has his own special gift

And you know this was meant to be true

And if you don't underestimate me

I won't underestimate you.


Bob Dylan, "Dear Landlord"

(from the album "John Wesley Harding", 1967)

Some information about the photographs: the hand was pictured in Mannheim, Germany, September 1986.
I shot with a Rolleiflex 3.5 F equiped with a Carl Zeiss Planar 75mm lens, and loaded with Kodak Plus-X, developed in Kodak Microdol-X, 1+3.

My portrait was shot February 2009, and is courtesy of Helena Roque.

I happen to have on my neck the Rolleiflex that made the image above, and a Leica M5 with 50mm Summicron lens.

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Landscape Photography

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All photographs shot in Portugal on various occasions along the years.

Canon EOS-1n + 17-35mm f 2.8, Almograve

Canon EOS 1n (crop), Castro Laboreiro

Horseman SW612P, Meadinha, Serra da Peneda

Canon EOS 1n, Pitões das Júnias

Gandolfi 8x10 inches, Branda da Aveleira

Sinar F2 + Horseman 6x12 back, Serra da Peneda

Horseman SW612P, Branda da Aveleira

Horseman SW612P, Branda da Aveleira

Canon EOS 1n + 17-35mm f 2.8 (crop), Castro Laboreiro

Horseman SW612P, Castro Laboreiro

Horseman SW612P, Serra da Peneda

Horseman SW612P, Castro Laboreiro

Gandolfi Variant + Horseman 6x12 back, Serra da Peneda

Minolta XM (?) + Rokkor 21mm, Vilarinho das Furnas

Gandolfi Variant + Horseman 6x12 back, Rio Sado

Canon EOS 1n, Almograve

Me and my trusty "Defy", celebrating my birthday a couple of years ago.

Since several years now, she helps me travel to such beautiful places.

Good to mount a tripod or lay a sleeping bag...


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Horseman SW612 Pro - Photo Gear (5)

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"I told you about strawberry fields
You know the place where nothing is real
Well here's another place you can go
Where everything flows.

Looking through the bent backed tulips
To see how the other half lives
Looking through a glass onion."

Glass Onion, The Beatles
(The White Album, 1968)

Horseman SW612 Pro + Rodenstock Apo-Grandagon 35mm f 4.5

Yes, I told you about my "Cory" and some places we can go.

Now I will tell you about my "Horsy"...

The Apo-Grandagon 35mm without Center Filter, maximal fall

The last two posts where entirely photographed with another relatively scarce camera, the Horseman SW612 Pro.

SW must stand for super-wide, 612 stands obviously for the biggest format this camera is able to deliver, and the Pro part of the name makes the distinction between this model with shift capabilities, and the simpler model without.

I must say that it is a kind of denomination that somehow I dislike... To call something Pro doesn't make it Pro...

Nevertheless, I can assure you that this camera genuinely deserves the qualification of professional!

I also must add, that I can't understand why Horseman keeps both versions of practically the same camera on their catalogue. After the introduction of this refined, better version, the model without shift capability became rather uninteresting. That is, at least, my opinion.

The Apo-Grandagon 35mm you see above is really a super, super-wide lens! Too wide for most situations, I could say...

It consists of 8 elements in 4 groups, and is incredibly distortionless for such a lens.

The image circle is 125mm, what means that you can use the entire 6x12 format with it, if you don't use movements.

Nearest focusing distance is 0,3m.

I absolutely recommend the use of a Center Filter with this lens!

The Apo-Grandagon 35mm with Center Filter, maximal rise

The Apo-Grandagon 35mm with Center Filter, maximal fall

Maximal rise and fall with the Apo-Grandagon 35mm is only possible if you use the 6x9 or 6x7 magazines, that are also available for this camera. I wouldn't find the 6x7 magazine (10 frames each roll) very attractive, but I own and use a 6x9 magazine (8 frames each roll).

Obviously, for the greatest part I use the 6x12 magazine (6 frames each roll of 120 film). This format really makes the best out of this camera!

Notice, please, that I have painted the extremity of the dark slide red. It comes in black plastic and is sometimes very hard to see, mainly when you are photographing in dark places or interiors.
In former times, the Horseman magazines had such pieces made of red enameled metal.

They seem to want to save on production costs...

These are the small annoyances that make our lives a little harder in the field: if you forget to pull the dark slide before you make your exposures, you will not have any exposures at all!
Just as simple as that...

Please Horseman, make it a shining fluorescent color that we can't overlook!

(I tend to think that equipment manufacturers must often be shy to try their gear in real-life situations. They usually seem to overlook small but important details).

That little red ribbon I've added to the dark slide serves the same purpose of remembering me to pull it.

I also use it to hang the dark slide from my Gitzo tripod. Doing so, I don't need to search for it around the whole place...

(Getting older doesn't help my distraction...)

I like to concentrate on my photographs, not on the action of making them.

Horseman SW612 + Rodenstock Grandagon-N 75mm f/6.8

Although on these photographs I prefer to show the Grandagon-N 75mm without a Center Filter, I also generally use one with it.

I know that there are photographers who don't bother to do so, excusing themselves with light-loss, but I get really disturbed by looking at a color photograph of a white wall, and seeing it turning dirty white or gray in the corners of the image.

I guess that I am too much of a perfectionist...

I don't really understand why, but Horseman stopped offering this lens for the SW612. My guess is that it must be because you can't use the full shift movements with it. There is some vignetting caused by the lens mount. Maybe it is also because of the maximal aperture of 6.8.

In my opinion, it is a very fine lens giving a very pleasing field of view (identical to 24mm on 35mm film): wide enough for most subjects without excess.

The maximal aperture of 6.8 doesn't bother me: I mostly use it at f 22 anyway...

Notice that you can see a different mask in the optical finder, to adapt to the field of view of the lens.

The finder is very clear, but doesn't follow the field of view of the lens when you apply movements.

If you remember my former post about a similar camera I use (Photo Gear 3), the finder of the Corfield WA67 does...

I usually compose using the ground glass, but sometimes it is handy to have the finder though. Photographing in a crowded place for instance, it allows me to control if people are inside the image, and what position they may have within the composition.

Dark places is another situation that usually sees me mounting this "eye" on top of the camera.

Planning my trip across the USA and Canada, to photograph the works of Mies van der Rohe, I quickly realized that it would be very hard to carry a lot of equipment over there.

I started thinking that I should better leave my Sinar, and all the lenses I use with it, at home. The multitude of different buildings I had to photograph, dictated that bringing only my Corfield WA67 would be an impossibility.
Non-shift medium format equipment, like the Hasselblad, wouldn't be an option either.

So I started thinking about alternatives.

To substitute the Sinar, I decided to get a Gandolfi Variant in 4x5 inches (my Gandolfi Precision 8x10" was out of question for obvious reasons...). I got the model with more features, the so called Level III, in MDF.

Not the lightest camera, but with lots of movements and very sturdy.
Enough bellows draw, to allow me to use my Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 480mm.
Enough wide-angle capability to use my Schneider Super-Angulon 58mm.
Capable of accepting my Horseman 6x12 roll film back and my Linhof Rapid Rollex 6x7.

What could I wish more?

Yes, you guess it right: the Horseman SW612 Pro!

Nice format for double-pages spreads in square books, interchangeable high-quality lenses, shift capability, very good engineering and build quality.

Add a couple of lenses for each camera, plus a Gossen Variosix F and a Minolta Spotmeter, plus focusing clothes and lupes, loads of film and some other paraphernalia and you get the picture of what we had to carry around... Oh, don't forget the Gitzo tripod and the Manfrotto 410 geared head!

Happilly, in those times I was stronger than today, and I had the good helping-hand of my older sun Jorge, who assisted me on the trip.
He shared duties with me on carrying, driving, eating fast food, sleeping in cheap motels, looking for the places to photograph and, most of all, having lots of patience for solving shooting permissions and assorted problems. I can imagine that without his help, I would certainly be in serious trouble.

While staying at the Illinois Institut of Technology, when it was raining and we could not work, we used to jump in the car and drive for endless hours across the Southside of Chicago.
Killing time, we found out that we were the only white people we could see around.
White people in America don't seem to cross the afro-american territory, they drive around, speeding down the highway without looking.
White people don't seem to know how blacks live in America.
Black people seem to know how whites live: they clean their homes, they drive their cabs, they fight their wars.

At night we used to sit around Seven-Eleven, inside the campus in Commons building, again killing time and watching. It seemed to be the only place in all Chicago where you could see a certain coexistance between various types of people. The cops and the ambulance drivers, the southsiders and the students, the beggars and the rich, they all came for a cup of coffee, for something to eat.

Then, we would go back to our room in the student's residence, having to go through a kind of check point where we had to show our ID to a student. Most of them didn't even say hello or wish good night, the only exception beeing a very nice and young black lady.
We were always happy to meet her.
One night she didn't notice that we were coming and she just kept dancing. We just waited awhile before knocking, delighted with the beauty and elegance of her dance. Needless to say that she got a little ashamed when she understood that we had been watching her for a while.
Since then I called her "Night Dancer" and she always gave back a beautiful smile.
That lady was a nice human beeing...

On our flight back home, via London, we had the chance of meeting some very nice people again: the crew of British Airways proved to be of exceptional kindness.
We got along with each other so well, that when we were getting ready to leave the plane, some members of the crew came to us and presented us with two bottles of Champagne!
Amazed, I just could say that it had been a pleasure to fly with them. They replied that if they always had such nice passengers, their job would be wonderfull...
Of course, we were flying economic, make no mistake.

These are the little stories that touch our souls, these are the true reasons why I love life.

Photographs are just photographs!

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