Sionnachuighim, "I play the fox"

Excerpts from 2 years

2010-03-19T15:25:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pix from the last two years!

Back

2010-03-19T15:20:00.002-05:00

Been a while since I did anything here so I'll start anew- it's funny I have mastered the negative development bit in the meantime but did not chronicle my success- now i am taking a printing class and am about to start B&W wet printing at home so I guess I'll take it from there ;)

I just tided my darkroom space to make more room for chemicals and my recently acquired Prinz 66 enlarger. A work friend is about to give me everything else including the trays, safe-lite etc and maybe even a steel sink!! I'll post some pictures to show the darkroom at this stage- i also hope to be shooting in the next few weeks with models for various projects but notably my Zodiac one! Stay tuned you impatient millions!!

Home Film Development Debut!

2008-12-23T15:30:00.005-06:00

Finally got it going- just 2 rolls so far- Fuji Acros 100 and Fuji Neopan 400 both with Diafine and Kodak Rapid Fixer and dried with Rexton Flash Dry. I also used the Arista old-school style development tank with apron which left marks on the sides and also may have led to the visible streaking on these pictures! Better luck next time! The Acros came out great and that is what you see here but the Neopan is too poor to show so I am going to experiment with the development method on that film. At least I am started ;)

First Hollywood Style Shoot

2008-11-21T08:40:00.003-06:00

Ok no Film developed yet- I won't be able to for a few weeks as I am in the boonies now- bring on my darkroom!!! But here are some digital captures from shoot 1. Thanks Melissa!!

And color:

First Test: Self

2008-10-28T21:36:00.003-05:00

Using a small focusing fresnel to left of my position with barn doors in horizontal plane and then some very mild flood light from rear right of the camera. The camera was my old trusty Olmypus 5050z digital set to monotone and operated by remote. looking promising!!! Now a Model please!!! :)

Light Blockers Created and Hung!

2008-10-26T20:26:00.006-05:00

Okay so here is what you get if you combine black foam core bought on ebay, painters tape, a box cutter, a ruler, wall hooks from Walmart and a couple of picture hooks:

Wall Hook detail.

Two foam core sheets joined to hang in front of long window. Can also be interchanageably hung in front of outer door window.

Here is the system I taped together for the 2 large sheet windows (45" by 48"):

Overall view of hanging foamcore blocker.

Detail of hooks- made from picture hangers!

And the side windows:

So now I can hang and rearrange these blockers for privacy during shoots or to precisely control incoming daylight! Now last thing I need is to set up intial lighting test and get some 'prop' furniture!!

Darkroom Separated from Studio!

2008-10-26T14:28:00.003-05:00

A temporary set-up but I think it will be effective to allow me a dark-room space and a functioning stuido until I can build a proper wall between them. I maybe should have made the dark curtain longer but I did not want it touching the ground so I'll probably load film in the developing reels after dark just to be sure! But I am most excited that i will be able to start shooting now! Last project today is to start working on the foam core window blocks and maybe start setting up some lights! I guess I need furniture too! Tricks!

Darkroom side:

It will do!

With just daylight- considerably more dark! :D

Painting done!

2008-10-23T21:21:00.004-05:00

Finally I am ready to block off the darkroom windows and doorway and set up my studio for real:

I will use black paper which i am measuring and cutting to go around the duct work and wiring. I will use tape and black foam core to make hinged and foldable light-blockers for all the windows to control daylight and privacy.

Starting to organize my equipment to other room- lighting equipment on top and cameras and back-drops, assessories on the bottom at the doorway bench:

Painting: Halfway

2008-10-12T23:36:00.003-05:00

This was the scene this morning:

Then by this evening:

Definitely needs a 2nd coat- probably tomorrow evening if the weather holds. That side wall is very porous but it will be eventually covered with drywall anyway ;) Almost there!

Ready to Paint!

2008-10-08T22:58:00.008-05:00

So I just finished sanding and tomorrow after a damp wipe-down I should be able to paint the black section of my studio- I am doing 2 walls in matte black and 2 in matte white to give me some flexibility and so i don't have to always rely on backdrops.

Then I can block out the 'windows' (marked with green X's in the photo below) into my planned darkroom area with black paper for now (permanent new walls later). I am going to use a system of homemade hinged window covers made from black foamcore board(just bought a case of 10) to control light from all the windows. I may put up a curtain at the entrance to the darkroom temporarily before I put in a dividing wall to split the darkroom froma corridor back and up to the house above. I will post again once painted and windows are blocked! Then hopefully a first test shoot!

Huffing and Puffing

2008-09-15T20:45:00.001-05:00

So here is what a small hammer and a lot of determination will do in 30 mins- but I gota few scrapes along the way. - I have now removed the debris and wood as well as swept and mopped- more to follow!

Studio: Beginnings

2008-09-11T21:56:00.003-05:00

So here are the initial pictures of the studio to be, which was a specially built walk-out basement for a print-maker who was friend of the family- first thing is to remove the pesky built in work-bench, shelving and large plywood pin-up board so I can paint the walls! See next post for the destruction wrought!!

Move-In

2008-08-27T09:50:00.003-05:00

I am just in the process of settling into my new home and starting to work on setting up my studio! I shall document the process with photographs shortly but first I must get internet at home!!! :D

George Hurrell

2008-08-19T22:32:00.016-05:00

A great bloke, George Hurrell, and probably one of the most unrecognized photographers who has had a huge impact on the history of photography and indeed film. He is one of the acknowledged masters of the Hollywood glamor lighting style for stars of tinseltown: "The Hollywood Photography of George Hurrell" is a good starting point. Above are some fine examples of the art.

Hurrell came close to a nude version of this technique with this portrait of Anna May Wong:

I have been trying to emulate this method with the nude with varying degrees of success due to perhaps uncontrolled settings, incorrect lighting devices and inadequete preparations. Control of the lighting set-up is key! Here are examples with the model's Daphne C and Sarah Ellis:

I was not wholly satisfied with these images- not enough control of the lights - barn doors, focusing spot and dimmer were all absent but are actually essential and the backgrounds were too uncontrolled. The camera was good- Yashica 124 tlr but not ideal so I looked back at what a consider an better but earlier attempt at the style with Megan:This was a more controlled background and with better light arrangement (although just basic lamps!) and it was also with a Mamiya RB67. I just recently bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro-SD which is the most up to date iteration of this venerable line. I was much happier with these captures as I think it approached the elegant spirit of Hurrell more closely.

So now I have the lights, the camera and the know-how (a few books and movies later). All I need is the models and the studio. That should not be too hard in rural Illinois right? :) Should know about a studio Friday. Once I am up and running the progression and development of this pursuit in both nudes and portraits shall be posted here!

Working with Waternight

2008-08-05T20:38:00.010-05:00

Working with Waternight was the culimination of finding the right type of model and the right setting in Chicago to emulate the sometimes crude backdrops used by Newton in his work - a hardness in contrast to the somewhat soft nature of the female nude. However, he often used models with shorter hair or some cross-dressing to bring in some androgny and ambiquity to his work. This I tried with Waternight too with her great poise and presence as well as her short hair coupled with the softness of partial undress and eroticism of lingerie. She is great model with a great intellect as well as her obvious beauty with a nice dash of sassiness and humor too. Great to work with! Black and White was most suitable for this shoot but I did use some color too which you see below as well as a little digital to cover my bases.

I used a Yashica 124 tlr for the film- Konica Centuria Pro 400 for color and Ilford HP5 400 for B&W. Besides ambient existing lights, I did use a flash sometimes too. The lighting is important to me as I have experimented with some harsh but classical hollywood style lighting more and more and wish to take it to its zenith in the next shoots I do. More on this in my next post. I also used a Nikon D50 for some digital shots with Waternight:

Helmut Newton Inspirations

2008-08-01T17:35:00.012-05:00

Here are some images from my last nude shoot with statuesque Chicago model, Waternight.

WaterNight

I would be remiss to not acknowledge my influences and in fact my last nude shoot was definitely a partial homage to Helmut Newton's style and mood. These are some shots that definitely were in my mind at the time in terms of mood and setting as well as statuesque model.

Shenanigans in Cyberspace

2008-08-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

Shenanigans is derived from the Irish sionnachuighim, meaning "I play the fox." This seemed an apt way to explore blogging as a means to get my images out there for comment- I've had my own site, I use flickr and I used usefilm.com, not all to satisfactory effect. So let's see how this goes.....