June 2002

Studio

Mamiya 645 + 80mm + Extension tube No 2, Ilford Pan F Plus

12"x16" Resin Coated Print

I watched this lily from its closed state open up after a few days, waiting for the right time to photograph it. It is a natural light shot with a bit of fill in at the front which was used to darken the background. I use a 1200w flash light with just the modeling bulb to achieve this. The use of this method means that my analogue spot meter can be used to check the tonal range of the shot. Darkroom manipulation was used to burn in the background to a full black which was distracting. The lens was stopped down to F22 to get the maximum depth of field, which when using an extension tube is very short. The print is split grade developed to give the full black of the background and the subtle range of the petals.