[Leica] Playing with Medium Format

Wed Sep 7 02:20:29 PDT 2022

Don,

 I sugggest you take a look to Emmet Gowin works at www.artsy.net

https://www.artsy.net/search?metric=in&term=Emmet%20Gowin

there are several of his works I’ve viewed the real prints, much more better to watch at them on a monitor. 

I’ve read about his technique on the Darkroom book 2, he worked with four trays, one with plain water and other with Amidol, Selectol Soft and Dektol, he uses the Renaissance painters  technique doing a previous map of the photo before to enlarge it to distribute the lighting and shadow areas with the desired intensity…. really exciting!

Best!
Lluis 

> El 6 set 2022, a les 21:46, Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> va escriure:
> 
> Thank you for the suggestion to look at Emmet Gowins images.  I took a
> quick look at MoMA and found this image:
> 
> https://www.moma.org/collection/works/94495
> 
> I think images like this would work very well with the Super Ikonta, it is
> not about the sharpness but the image itself and the subject matter
> treatment by the photographer.  I am reminded of a comment about Edward
> Weston's negatives.  They were intentionally very dense allowing great
> control over the tonal scale but difficult to print without having printed
> them under his direction: mostly his son prints them.  He was working with
> large format so grain wasn't especially a concern.
> 
> I do think that traditional silver photography allows a creative approach
> very different from digital.  While I have 14-15 stops of information to
> deal with and discern silver has a completely different tonal range
> natively: you mentioned this in Chicago as to why you preferred your film
> M's to the Monochrome.
> 
> All the best.
> 
> On Tue, Sep 6, 2022 at 1:26 PM Lluis Ripoll via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Don,
>> 
>> Thanks, very interesting your comments and based on these tests I see that
>> there are many possibilities of images depending on the intended purpose. I
>> think from this point I need to follow these steps:
>> 
>> - Check in the darkroom the real aspect of the copies.
>> - Check again the Super Ikonta with the rangefinder adjusted.
>> 
>> An important fact that I didn't mention. I took the pictures with the
>> Rollleiflex with a tripod and placing a 10x magnifying glass on the
>> focusing screen, with the Super Ikonta they were taken hand held.
>> 
>> I don't know the F64 movement but now I think I should experiment with the
>> tonal range. Two days ago I had the opportunity to visit a photographic
>> exhibition in which there was a small and wonderful collection of Emmet
>> Gowin's prints, extraordinary prints! I stayed a while examining them and
>> remembered that I had already seen some of them. Last year I bought two
>> books from the publishing house “Lustrum Press” founded by Ralph Gibson, in
>> these books, which I think are essential for anyone who wants to do serious
>> work in the darkroom, great masters of photography talk about their
>> techniques, it is exciting, although you can not apply their techniques
>> exactly, you become aware of the importance of the basis of the tonal range
>> and it is to admire the artistic work of these true craftsmen of
>> photography, far from what is done today and without the need for giant
>> enlargements to large size in which you can count the hairs of the hair. I
>> recommend these books if only to get an idea of what photography was like
>> 50 or 60 years ago.
>> 
>> Saludos desde Barcelona
>> Lluis
>> 
>> ISBN : Darkroom 1:  CLOTH 0-912810-20-3  PAPER 0-912810-19-x
>> ISBN:  Darkroom 2:  HARDCOVER 0-912810-22-x  PAPER  0-912810-21-1
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> El 6 set 2022, a les 19:17, Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> va
>> escriure:
>>> 
>>> The 80 planar is an incredible lens in medium format and you have used it
>>> well.  You know I can't resist tree roots and rocks so the Rollei series
>> is
>>> appealing to me.  Your texture and selective focus is very poleasing.
>>> 
>>> The Super Ikonta seems better suited to images that work better when
>>> romance, gradations, and a less crisp view is appropriate: the antithesis
>>> of the F64 movement.  I am thinking more in the vein of Geogia O'Keefe's
>>> flowers where the gross shape and very rough texture are the important
>>> features.  I think someone's suggestion last week to look at some of the
>>> Voightlander rangefinder offerings in medium format might give you a
>> medium
>>> format rangefinder that is possibly less expensive than the Fuji's.
>>> 
>>> Another thought is to use the Super Ikonta in low light with highly
>> pushed
>>> Tri-x or HP-5 using the grain and softness to effect the feel of night.
>> My
>>> suggestions are really me working out using some of my less advanced
>> gear:
>>> I have struggled with the first generation Zeiss 35mm on a Contax II as
>> it
>>> is not a very good lens at least in my sample.  At least in 35mm I can
>> use
>>> a 1600 or 3200 speed film.
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Sep 6, 2022 at 6:18 AM Lluis Ripoll via LUG <lug at leica-users.org
>>> 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> All the pictures with Ilford FP4 EI 100, D-23 1:1
>>>> 
>>>> The first 5 with the Rolleiflex Planar 80mm f 2.8, the two last with the
>>>> Super Ikonta III
>>>> 
>>>> My forest Fairy
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080407.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Textures
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080401.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Rocks 1
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080403.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Rocks 2
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080404.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Rocks 3
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080405.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> With Super Ikonta III,  Yellow medium filter
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080501.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> With Super Ikonta III, no filter
>>>> <
>>>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Medium+Format/2022F080503.jpg.html
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks for looking, your c&c are welcome
>>>> 
>>>> Saludos cordiales
>>>> Lluis
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Don
>>> don.dory at gmail.com
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Don
> don.dory at gmail.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information