Jaime Keller, Viena Oct. 2005

A casual portrait. Please write comments, critiques and complaints, or

simply throw some poison arrows...

Interesting perspective. Maybe a more vertical framing would have worked out even better?... Alex

I see what you mean but am not sure. I selected the framing according to his body and head more than to the background... Symetrie sometimes makes the pictures bohring. But I also wonder how it would have been here. I have a couple of pictures in color with a slightly different angle and framing. If I remember well, there should be a more vertical one there. Maybe I'll post it for comparison. Regards, Alejandro

I like the image a lot, the tones, the mood, the guy...I would prefer I think a more vertical framing or a bit more wide angle perspective...

I think this shows the amazing tonal range available with medium format film and those Zeiss lenses. This is a cross between portraiture and the street photograpy epitomized by a generation of Leica shooters. One could split hairs over cropping but I think the whole mood of the image transcends this. Leave it as is. For me the total focus of the picture is the character and the three signs framing him. The rest, the wonderful grey to black tonal range of the walls and steps is the icing on the cake. Wonderful work.

Nice angle

About the framing, my other (color) images are from exactly the same angle so I will not know how it would have looked "more vertical". I did the composition on the view finder and selected the angle according to the subject. You can see, for instance, that he is standing on with one foot on the frame of the picture (that is a part that I personally like a lot ;-))... anyway, the perspective of the building was just a consequence of this.

Milo: I share your view about the tonal range. I personally wonder how so many people try to compare the tonal range (and other aspects) of the digital cameras to this. I do appreciate the digital cameras but think that they still have a long way to go.

What a lucky father!

Tu padre? Impomente!! Excellent! And there's that almost unmistakable Tri-X look from you again. I like the perspective, and wish you could have included the top of the arch of the doorway. But...a minor detail. I agree completely with Milo's comments. Lovely tones.

 

I want to see more photographs of this man, particularly some closeups that show the detail in his hands. The one I can see looks very strong, and I think they would be worthy of closer study.

Thank you both for your comments. You are right, he is my father and also one of my favourite models.

Jim: I can still remember how I thought about including the top of the arch, and did not at the end. My reason was the camera that you can see above. From the esthetic point of view, I cannot understand why anybody would put a camera on the lovely fasade of a historical building. I thought that, including the whole arch, would make the camera more evident than it is now. And believe me, the camera looks worst in color.

You are also right about his hands. They have always been a key point of his apearance. Portraits of him really should include his hands... wait for more posts.

I'm not sure I even noticed the camera until you mentioned it. I see your point now.

You're a master with that 50mm Distagon. The tones are exceptionally pleasing. Well done!

 

BTW, was this a scan of the print or the neg?

good to know that you like some of my images. This one, in particular, is one of my all time favourites... I am not doing darkroom work for the moment, but am seriously considering to start again. Therefore, all the pictures that you see in my PF are scans (the newest with the Nikon Coolscan 9000ED).

 

Thanks for your kind words that you left in some of my images. Alejandro

 

PS The 50mm Distagon is my favourite lens ;)

Ah ... I use the 9000ED & Hassy as well but I'm not getting tones like yours in my B&W. Did you scan your Tri-X as monochrome or color? This image looked like it was in diffused light (cloudy) situation?

Yes, a cloudy day. But the Tri-X was rated 400... I used to be on the side of greyscale scans with the 9000ED. But the problem is that the nikon software, which I use, will then assign a gamma profiles to the images. My impression is that, unless you use a gamma of 1, you will lose a lot of details on the shadows without getting any improovement on the highlights.

 

This particular image was scan as a BW negative in greyscale mode. But I dont do that anymore. My newer images are still scanned as BW negative but using an RGB profile. Some people claim that it is better to scan them as positive but I am not of the same opinion.

 

BTW, I also use wet mount.

I'm not using wet mount but I'm using the optional Nikon glass mounted holder.

 

Thanks, for the info. I'll try that.