Jump to content

New website: 12X20 Platinum/Palladium Portraits


nathan_congdon

Recommended Posts

I'd like to invite interested parties to look over my new website,

now up at

 

www.platinumportrait.com

 

(Please note no "s" at the end, in case that doesn't work as a link).

 

These are all Pt/Pd portraits, contact printed from in-camera 12X20

negs, basically a record of my photographic obsession over the last

year! The pix load rapidly using my DSL connection, but might be a

bit slow if you have a dial-up.

 

I'd welcome any feedback, either on the forum or via my email.

 

Thanks in advance for looking.

 

Best regards,

Nathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nathan,

 

Great photographs! First, I love that you did portraits with a 12x20. I would LOVE to see them in person. Second, I love that they are non-traditional poses. The Gulliver photograph especially.

 

You mention on the site that you have traveled to all seven continents with a big camera. Was it always the 12x20? I always travel with a VERY light Ebony kit and I spend two thirds of the travel time cussing the thing. I can't imagine traveling with a 12x20. How do you do it?

 

dgh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nathan,

 

I enjoyed the pictures; playful and beautiful. Obviously a labor of love.

 

I have one criticism of the site, not your pictures. The site is designed for large screens, which many people do not have. I suppose that there is some sort of correlation between negative size and screen size (dare I go on?), but I, like many others, use a laptop; the 35mm of computers. So, while enyoying your pictures I never got a full screen version. Perhaps you could consider designing the site for 800x600 rather than 1024 x 768?.

 

oh, by the way, why only women?

 

great work, I would love to see more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nathan, what a delight to see such fine images crafted with your huge camera! You certainly don't believe in doing things the easy way. Maybe there is no other way to get the results you want.

 

But several of your photographs are vertical. You mentioned in previous posts that you hated to do verticals. Please tell us just how you do them. It seems to me that the camera is too big and heavy to just hang off the side of the tripod like a Nikon. And how did you get the camera to stop spinning on top of your Ries head?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Daniel:

 

Vertical shots can be a real pain with a 12X20! The back does not rotate (that would make the camera twice as big), so in fact the entire camera must flop over on its side and hang next to the tripod. I have only found one head that can reliably do this, the large Ries double tilt model. I now use the super-large Ries legs and head when I am around home, but if I am traveling overseas, I carry the 1548 Gitzo carbon fiber legs and mount the Ries head on that. Makes panning a bit difficult, but it works. You are quite right that rotation of the camera on the Ries head would potentially be a real pain. I've discovered that the tacky white stuff that they put under carpets on wood floors to keep them from slipping works a charm for this purpose. I will also usually use a second tripod (the Gitzo 1228) on the opposite side of the camera from the main tripod, both to prevent the whole shooting match from going over and to further guard against rotation. Sounds a bit involved, but it's not that bad, and the 1228 is so light that I carry it with me even when I am on long trips overseas. Working this way (knock wood!), I have never had a camera spill, though I did have a Ries go down the side of a mountain in the Andes (and survive!)

 

Regards,

Nathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...