Black and White Photography

I have many people ask on a regular basis why I am still using film, printing in the darkroom and working with analog processes.  I don’t think there are any right or wrong answers to the reasons why a photographer/artist uses particular tools because it is his choice, and his choice alone.  I think back to the turn of the 20th century when many photographers were likely going through the same kinds of struggles and quandaries.  The only difference is the medium (e.g, wet plate collodion, dry plates, sheet film, etc).  Photographic technology will continue to evolve for as long as I can imagine in my mind.  I don’t think it will ever really stop because that is simply how the world works.

But, for me, film is the single best answer to vision whether it be for commercial architecture, black and white fine art, or even every day photography.  Forgetting about all of the technical jargon, I just think the results whether they be analog prints or scanned digital images from the film, just looks better to my eye.  I have a more emotional connection and response to photos, images, and prints that sourced from film.  Its organic, somewhat unpredictable, and yet perfectly tamable as well.

Most Frequently Used Equipment & Mediums

I get a lot of questions about equipment and mediums so I thought I would cover some of the most frequent combinations that I am currently using.  As with anything, a tool is a means to an end, and in my case, it is a means to creating an image or print for a specific purpose.

Commercial Architecture – I frequently use my Ebony SV45U2 large format view camera (pictured above at top of article and directly to the left) for my commercial architecture work.  Clients want color images for this type of work so I typically use Fuji Provia 100F slide film in 4×5 sheets or 120 roll film when I use my 6×9 roll film back.  The most frequently used lenses with this setup are the Schnieder Super Angulon 47mXL and Rodenstock 75mm, and Nikkor 90mm.  These lenses and camera will last anyone a lifetime and more than a lifetime if cared for properly.  The view camera is the perfect tool and was the standard for decades for architectural photographers for good reason.  It allows you to control perspective and plane of focus.  By altering the plane of focus using the Scheimflug principle, a large format photographer can have every detail in focus at wide open apertures and not have to stop down to achieve this result.  You have the ability to do rise and fall movements to eliminate the keystone effect (distortion of image from not keeping film plane parallel to subject).  I develop all of my own E-6 slides in a Jobo processor so I can still deliver same day images if my client needs that, therefore eliminating a lot of the argument to move to a digital solution.  I scan the slides and edit in my normal workflow using Photoshop for key edits and Lightroom as the catalog.  I use a Canon 5D Mark III and Canon’s Tilt-Shift lenses when digital is a requirement for the job.  I also carry and Canon EOS 1V with me and use the tilt-shift lenses on it as well when 35mm is appropriate.

Black and White Fine Art – For my black and white fine art work it is more about the film and paper than it is about the camera equipment.  As a general rule I standardize on Tri-X in all formats (35mm, 120, 4×5, 8×10).  The only exception to that is if I want to make a large optical print in the darkroom (16×20, 20×24, etc) when using 35mm and I don’t want the grain structure of Tri-X, I use Pan-F 50 Plus.  Otherwise Tri-X in large format can print as big as you want and grain is never an issue.  In fact, when I want grain, I go to my small format cameras and use methods to exaggerate the grain.  By the way, compairing film grain and digital noise is like comparing character and insanity in my opinion.  In my current projects I use wet plate collodion, and large format Tri-X for the most of the work, but a few are 120 medium format and a couple 35mm using Pan-F 50.  I leverage the zone system in my exposure, developing and printing processes.

Landscapes – For all serious landscapes I use large format, either 4×5 or 8×10 and depending on my vision, I will use Tri-X or T-Max for black and white work and Velvia 100 or Provia 100F for color slides most of the time.  I have some coveted Velvia 50 in 8×10 large format that I use on the right occasion.  I will use my Mamiya RZ67 Pro II and my Mamiya 7 Rangefinder as well when medium format is the right choice and portability is required or needed. I am not afraid to shoot square for some landscapes and will use my Hasselblad 503CW or 903SWC.  I can crop my Hassy square to traditional aspect ratios if I prefer to do that.   I don’t find any printing limitations using medium format 6×7 over 4×5 in most cases.

Historic Architecture – Historic architecture is a personal passion for me.  I get lost in the history and beauty of historic architecture.  For my historic work I like to try and photograph the subject is the relevant medium that would have been appropriate for the structure, if that is possible.  In the United States we don’t have a tremendous amount of architectural history and predates large format photography processes, so it usually isn’t too difficult to use the appropriate medium.  In other cases, I just use whatever film camera I have on me at the time.  For architecture work I always try and use large format when I can to eliminate distortion and keystonning problems, but I am not afraid to use whatever I have in my hand and try and make it work.  Most of this work is done with Tri-X film and hand printed in the darkroom.  When I am out walking and scouting I typically carry the Mamiya 7 Rangefinder or the Nikon F or Leica M3 with me and if it makes sense I will return with the large format equipment.

Street Photography – In my spare time I love to roam the streets and photograph everyday people doing everyday types of things.  I think people are extremely interesting from a subject perspective and I enjoy trying to look inside the minds of random people based on their exterior presentation.  I am rarely ever right probably, but I have fun and enjoy the journey.   I typically always use Tri-X for this type of photography and will use anything from my Leica M3 with a classic screw mount lens to my Hasselblad 503CW, Nikon F, and even my Mamiya C220 TLR.

I always like to hear your thoughts and comments so send me an email or submit a comment.

Tim

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