A portrait of Rose with the old brass B&L

[john_golden2]

<p>I was doing some senior pictures of this young lady today and i asked her if she would mind if i took her picture with an old camera like that use to be used way back in the day, (people understand when you explain a field camera like that) she said sure that would be cool, so i used the old soft B&L </p><div></div>

[john_golden2]

<p>im going to do an 11x14 silver print for her as a thank you</p>

[MathewDH]

<p>That painterly effect will be a winner as you find more subjects for it to capture. Pastoral landscapes and portraits should prove interesting. Have you done any color yet with this lens?</p>

<p>CHEERS...Mathew</p>

[doug grosjean]

<p>That's beautiful, John. So soft and dreamy. Older cams / lenses sure are a nice contrast to modern ultra-sharp and over-saturated digital gear, aren't they? It's just so nice to have more than one flavor...</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Lovely quality, just right for portraits, I'm sure the print will look great. These old lenses are getting popular, great to see....in your ear F64 group!</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Great to see something a little more romantic than today's norm...We'll be back to smearing Vaseline on our filters in no time! Nice study, <strong>John</strong>.</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>Awesome result, Did you use natural light for this?. I like the feel of this shot. Just for kicks did she have to stand still for 15 minutes while you made the exposure? I couldn't stop myself.</p>

[john_golden2]

<p>thanks for the comments, we were standing on a pier and i told her that this was going to take a min or two so just stare at the lake and she did, she was actually watching this fish swim around. : ). no i havnt done any color with it yet but that would be interesting, i think i do have some fuji 160 in my freezer though. </p>

[john_golden2]

<p>hi kris, yes it was natual light, she had to stand still for a few lol, she was having a hard time thats when i told her to just stare at the lake, pose seemed to work well. </p>

[cliffmanley]

What is written on the lens? Is it a soft focus portrait lens proper? I get almost that same effect with my setup. I use a 90 year old B&L RR with a yellow filter and a #1 diffusion filter on paper negatives (which are basicly ortho) and this is what it looks ilke with some toner.<div></div>

[cliffmanley]

Here is one more spanning a few generations I think<div></div>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>wow by the lake? this is great at first I thought it was shot in studio on one of those painted muslin backgrops. Great work. I have to try this type of shots with my old 1936 Bessa. I know not the same as old brass lens but 40 or so years difference.</p>

[david_smith110]

<p>Wow, that photo of Rose is....impressive. Very well done.</p>

[david_l3]

<p>A memorable photo indeed, kudos. Great job, John. </p>

[gnashings]

<p>John - I was really hoping you would be kind enough to satisfy my craving (and I am sure many other CMC members') to see some portraiture after the initial shots form this lens. Great results, I think she will love that print more than the "actual" photos. </p>

<p>Cliff - Very interesting work, and especially the second image - a treasure for sure, any photographic criteria aside.</p>

[cliffmanley]

Peter, what does this mean, "any photographic criteria aside". I don't understand what you are saying ?

[tom_mann1]

<p>John G, that is an absolutely stunning photo! ! ! </p>

<p>By any bizarre chance, might you have the same model / scene / lighting captured using a modern lens / camera? It is very rare one has the chance to see the difference between old and new technologies, but it occurred to me that since you were shooting seniors, you might actually have a comparison shot using modern technology that you could post.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance,</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

[john_golden2]

<p>interesting tom after you made your post i thought i do have one of her in almost the same pose but just a little closer, this was shot with the nikon d200 before skin softening, lighting fixed, stray hair out of face, blah blah blah, the things we have to do now days to make a portrait lol. thanks for the idea tom</p><div></div>

[john_golden2]

<p>hey cliff, no it doent say anything on the lens,, i contactd jim galli about it and he said these lenses dont even begin getting sharp till around f16 or so, this one does not have an aperature setting so its stuck at around f8. it will cover 8x10 but i have only used it on 5x7 and 4x5. </p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Well done, John. I like the dreaminess. I'll bet she'll like it too. </p>

[chuck_foreman1]

I saw this a few days ago John.. I think Tony said it best... it's time to get back to artful approaches the Group F64 club and the photo succession have run their course. The dreamy state of the lens is exciting and cool! Interesting there is no name but don't mess with success.

[cliffmanley]

<p>I'm really surprised nothing is marked on it. If anyone would know what you have it would be Jim. What ever it is, it is a great portrait lens, and even the RR that I showed results from, was also made by B&L and probably designed about the same time, but is completely different, pretty sharp, and even with the diffuser it is not as confused as what you have there. How many elements does it have? Do you or Jim have any idea what type of lens it is? Whatever it is, I hope to see some more portraits from it as you find the time. They are a delight to behold, as opposed to the sterile digital world that surrounds us today.</p>

<p>As you likely know, the prints I posted were made with paper negatives, and developed and contact printed on site in a dark tent. I intentionally try to make them look old. The people love it to see you go under a tarp in the middle of a field and come out with a wet print and hang it up to dry. I have two wooden tripods with wires running across them and wood clothes pins, one for the negatives and one for the finished prints. I tell the people to keep coming back and look on the print tripod for their photo, and when it's dry they can take it. So you know that they hang around and create quite a crowd just waiting for their print. That would be really cool for you to do something like that for the next wedding or event someone wants some antique type prints made. Just do them right there, just the way they did 100 years ago. That lens would be great!</p>

[john_golden2]

<p>cliff that sounds like a pretty cool idea,i have another b&L RR that is razor sharp then fades off, its pretty cool too but i really like this one alot, it is made my b&L but sold under the name Andrew J Lloyd of Boston. i think its from around 1891 but not really sure, it has both a front and rear element, Jim told me that he has a couple of lenses that give that exact look and they are wide angle lenses on an 8x10, maybe back in the day they were used for group portraits or something. i shot a couple more tonite of my niece, i have already dev. them im just waiting for them to dry.</p>

[john_golden2]

<p>here is the one of my 6 year old niece</p><div></div>

[gnashings]

<blockquote>

<p>Peter, what does this mean, "any photographic criteria aside". I don't understand what you are saying ?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Cliff - it means that even if you take any technical aspects out of the equation, the pictures represent a treasure. Perhaps, now that I think about it, that IS a very "photographic criterium". Anyways, it was a compliment.</p>