Night Images in Black and White

[blackcloudbrew]

I'm starting another photo class and again shooting film both 120 and 35mm using my 6x7, 645, and assorted Pentax 35mm cameras. This is an intermediate level class so I have to step up my game. I haven't picked up my K5 for over a week now...interesting. Anyway, here are some of my first images for my mid-term project shot with my slow, heavy, and wonderful Pentax 6x7.

Light Horse - Illford SFX ISO200

120123-2 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

Light Horses - TMax ISO100

120123-1 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

Mane - Illford SFX ISO200

120123-4 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

Head - Illford SFX ISO200

120123-3 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

Fountain Lights (with light painting assist from daughter) - TMax ISO100

120123-7 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

Fountains with a star filter - TMax ISO100

120123-5 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

I think this last one one is overdone by the filter. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[Ron Kruger]

Although I consider most of these shots to be too dark, it does illustrate the mood enhancing advantage of judicious use of shadows. Put that in your high-ISO, shadow-detail pipe and smoke it.

[blackcloudbrew]

Actually Ron, I tend to agree with you that some are too dark. My intention is to work some of these for final prints in the photo lab aka post processing. I was trying for stark b/w contrast on these and I got it although perhaps a bit too much. Thanks.

I also have to say that working with a hand held lightmeter as the 6x7 has no metering at all, is a long remembered slow process of making pictures. I can still remember the day when I got my first real SLR (Minolta SRT-202) that had a meter built into it. The hand held meter went into the storage bag and died there. Now I'm back at it again. What was I thinking?

[Ron Kruger]

Let me rephrase Timmy. I consider most of these images to be a LITTLE too dark, not a lot, and that may be more a product of light angle than exposure. In fact, I think your exposure was probably fine, but the direct overhead light blocked too much detail on the statues and caused the top of the head shot to be a little hot. You probably can't move the ambiant light a few degrees foreward (or the statues a few inches back), but you might consider filling with flash set on low output, diffused and held at different angles, bounced off something, etc. You may consider this overly-critical, but you're creating art here, and that's all about dancing with the light.
I'm not even talking about adding enough artifical light to alter your exposure readings--just enough to fill in some (not all) of the harsh shadows on the statues. That way you can maintain the black bokeh of the background as well for dramatic isolation of the foreground subject. The least interesting shot here to me is the one of the two smaller statues. Good detail on the statues, but the background is distracting.

[blackcloudbrew]

Thanks that helps. One thing you have to understand is that the horses are 6 feet high marble statues outside some stucco wall on a building in the local square. Lighting came from directly above via your plain old light bulbs. If I go back and reshoot here, and I'm considering it as I need more of the nearby fountain, I will do some light painting on with a decent flashlight get some more detail below the statues, although I want the features to be harshly shadowed. I needed to bracket these a bit more too than I did.

[Ron Kruger]

Thanks that helps. One thing you have to understand is that the horses are 6 feet high marble statues outside some stucco wall on a building in the local square. Lighting came from directly above via your plain old light bulbs. If I go back and reshoot here, and I'm considering it as I need more of the nearby fountain, I will do some light painting on with a decent flashlight get some more detail below the statues, although I want the features to be harshly shadowed. I needed to bracket these a bit more too than I did.

Yes, presuming you are using a tripod and long exposure, light painting should work. That's tricky, though, and with film, you don't have instant preview, so you could burn a lot of expensive film to get what you want. What I would try is a flash simply held in my hand, pressing the test button while the shutter is open. This is a little tricky as well, but the light is much more even. I take three shots, holding the flash a little further from the subject with each exposure. After a lot of experimenting on the recent B&B shoot, that's what I finally settled upon.

[blackcloudbrew]

Great tips there. Most of these were shot at f16 or f22 with exposure times between 20 to 45 seconds. That plenty of time to paint them with a hand held flashlight. I like the concept of three shots. I've considered using my K5 to pretest these too. Haven't done it yet but it should give me a reasonable approximation of the result of light painting.

Thanks again.
Earl

[Pacerr]

A coupl'a thoughts here BCB:

- Reflectors (2x3' poster board, sheet of aluminum foil, white umbrella?) to work with existing ambient light. Or add a flash light or two to illuminate the reflector(s)? I've always felt that estimating the correct amount of flash fill was a crap shoot -- especially when it took a trip to the darkroom to chimp the results on film -- whereas fixed lighting offered the opportunity to meter and augment/adjust light as necessary .

- Use your DSLR meter and chimp to "proof" the film exposure and take advantage of the metering you're familiar with -- hey, it's a learning experience and using Polaroid "proofs" in that manner was a common technique in the large format studio.

- Here's your excuse to acquire a Pentax Spot Meter to go along with the MF film gear. I still use mine often even with TTL metering bodies because it's so precise in positioning the meter-spot and it damps down the urge to just hose it down for later PP-ing without thinkin'.

- A while back I recall Ron using his auto headlights for fill flash on a river bank too.

I recently acquired (for non-photo purposes) one of those Black&Decker AC-rechargeable, 12 volt auto battery boosters that includes a USB port. It's occurred to me that combined with various automotive lamps and reflectors that would make a very convenient field lighting kit and utility battery charger. Wish I'd had something that convenient 35-years ago for a portable field kit.

[blackcloudbrew]

Holly crap! That's quite a list of stuff.

I have several 5-in-1 reflectors (36 and 48inches). I had given them some thought afterwards (duh!).

I have a nice Sekonic flash meter which gives me incident or reflected light so I metered right on the surface of the statues with it and it read what I shot and see in the negatives. I just should have metered more in the shadows a bit.

I have an old spot meter somewhere. I know the principle of them but I've never tried to use one.

Quite a lot to taking one or two night shots of a horse, isn't it?

However, this is exactly why I began my exploration back into film. If I can learn this stuff such that I'm doing it or thinking about doing before I take the shot, that should help me learn and get what I'm aiming at.

Thanks.

[davidhampshire]

i like these,  bcb.    it would really be cool,  if they could get the cost down on the medium format digital cameras,   instead of coming out with tens of little compact cameras,  all the money that goes into that,   and the image quality is not that great,   too bad the camera makers don't put that money into the really good cameras to bring the cost down.    i'd buy one.   still,  there is something cool about the film though,   something more subtle in the image,   i don't know what it is exactly.       dave

[blackcloudbrew]

David, that is exactly why I started shooting film again because of that 'I don't know what it is exactly' quality.

Medium format was always more expensive, it's a much smaller market too so mass marketing doesn't work.

[Ron Kruger]

It is that quality I get by shooting and processing a certain way with my K10D and K5, especially with Reversal Film mode, at least for color.
Still, I think shooting film and scanning provides the best b/w.

[blackcloudbrew]

Another image from this series.

Athena at night, Illford HP5, ISO400, Pentax MZ-5n, F17-28

120125-1 by blackcloudbrew, on Flickr

[JIMBO]

I don't think this web site is doing your B&W justise Tim. For me, when looking to shoot or convert to B&W, its all about the shadows and light position. Many times I will move around a foot or two to catch different light. The other key is to make sure there is no distractions around the main focal point. [sounds like a standard for most images] I have never used a hand held light meter but I have been eying one for a year or so just to confirm what the camera is saying versus a hand held one.

I think the most important part of this thread, really is, your continued dedication to this art form. You continue to push yourself to better understand the whole shooting process. This will help in your search [which I work on everytime I am out] of light and how it plays with the overall senses. Cheers JIMBO

[blackcloudbrew]

Good thoughts there Jim. I appreciate that. The last shot has the distraction of the flag coming out of the top of the head which was something I wanted with my fisheye lens but it's clearly a distraction. This particularly subject I have shot 3 1/2 rolls of film on and I have a quite a number of different views of it. I liked this one because it was fun but not the best. I'll post some more as I get the negatives scanned and processed. I'd like to put up a really good one or two. It's a fun subject.

As far as light meters go, I used to use them in the 1960's with old Leica rangefinders, you just had to. Although the above shot was with a MZ-5n 35mm camera which has a meter of course, my 6x7 camera has no metering at all so a hand held meter is necessary. Mine is a Sekonic flash meter like this:

http://www.sekonic.com/Pr...ucts/L-308S/Overview.aspx

I like it because it will meter both reflected and incident light and can be sinked to strobes for flash metering. My original intent was for flash metering but with the 6x7 its found new duty. For the subject in the photo, I could place the meter on the statue where I wanted to meter for and get a reading to expose it the way I wanted where I wanted. Very cool actually.

I'm learning a lot with this new class already and these shoots are making me 'work the image' a lot more than I traditionally would.