Index

 

 

 

Darkroom Layout and Equipment

Film Processing, Chemicals & Equipment

Theory of Film Development

Structure of Film

Film Types

Film Latitude

Film Spectral Sensitivity

Paper Printing Equipment and Processing

Test Prints

Contact Prints

Dodging and Burning

Toning

Project – Split grade Printing

Personal Project Notes

 

 

Appendixes

 

Examples of Toning

Examples of Paper Types

Examples of Burning In

Examples of Test Strips Print and Contact

Selection of Work Prints

Project Contact Sheets

Spectral Range Experiment Results

Manufacturers Catalogues

Manufacturers Data Sheets

Web Site Pages from DanMassey.co.uk

Processing

 

Darkroom Layout & Equipment

 

For a darkroom to be a darkroom it obviously has to be dark, but how close to the total absence of light the dark is, is very much dependant on the type of work that is being completed in the darkroom. Film and colour papers are panchromatic, i.e. responsive to virtually all light in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Film is more sensitive to the intensity of light than paper and therefore is the most difficult to handle as all processing must be completed in total darkness. This very fact has led to the development of dark bags and daylight film processing tanks. Working in the darkroom with black and white papers can be done with the use of a safelight. Generally black and white paper is not responsive to red or orange light (known as othochromatic) and there fore a red or orange light can be used to assist in the development. Safelights are available in a variety of designs, but by far the most popular is the Kodak beehive design. 

 

 

Patterson Safelight and Kodak Beehive

 

The darkroom needs to be set out to accommodate the photographic processes in the most efficient manner possible. When a custom darkroom is being designed, the designer can split the room into wet and dry areas and track the development of the picture in nice linear patterns. This is shown in the layout of Ansel Adams’ darkroom which is pictured below

 

Ansel Adams’ darkroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ansel Adams’ darkroom                              Ansel Adams’ darkroom

 

However the amateur or home darkroom setup is more constrained by location of water supply and available space. Below is a scheme of my home darkroom.

 

 

 

 

Darkroom equipment can be split into 2 main areas, film processing and paper processing. Each shall be discussed in turn.

 

Film Processing Equipment.

 

It is not necessary to have a dark room to process film, but a basic minimum requirement of equipment is needed. The process of developing a film will be discussed and the equipment with it.

 

The developing tank is purchased as a kit, this will develop 110, 135, 120, 220 films and looks like this:

 

Patterson 4 Developing Tank

 

or for sheet film:

 

Combi-Plan 5x4 Sheet Developing Tank

Stage 1 Film Loading for 120 film

 

A film when removed from the camera looks like this:

 

120 Roll film (Exposed)

 

In dark conditions (which can be either a darkroom or a changing bag) the film must be would onto the film reel.  When the adhesive seal is broken the paper is unwound a few turns to reveal the film.

 

Note: Film is generally panchromatic and therefore must be handled in total darkness, no safelights are available.

 

120 Roll Film (leading edge of film exposed)

 

The leading edge must be threaded into the film reel. I use automatic threading reels for ease of use:

Film leader in reel

 

When the film is fully loaded the film the film must be detached from the backing paper and the paper discarded:

 

 

Fully loaded film reel

 

The centre spindle needs to be inserted into the reel, this stops the reel slopping about in the tank, it also allows rotational agitation device (twizzler) to be used.

 

Film reel with spindle in place

 

Once the spindle has been fitted the reel can be put into the tank:

 

Inserting the reel into the tank

 

Then the top put on:

 

Fixing the top to the tank

Once the top is on, it is now light tight and can be handled in daylight. Either a plastic liquid seal top can be used if the tip agitation method is used:

 

Fully assembled film tank

 

Stage 2 - Processing the Film

 

The film is now ready for development. Depending on which film was selected, dictates which developer to use There are many developers to choose from, here is a small section:

 

Selection of film developers

 

The developer should be mixed up according to the manufacturers direction, which are included with the developer. To mix the developer, some measuring equipment is required along with a thermometer to ensure the correct development temperature.

 

For a 120 film in the Patterson System 4, 500ml of fluid is required. Most roll developing tanks use a similar design and therefore similar quantities.

 

During the development time the film or liquid will need to be agitated according to the manufacturer’s directions. This can be completed by inversion or by use of the twizzler.

 

 

Selection of measuring devices for the darkroom

 

When the development time is complete, either throw away the developing fluid or save for further use, this requires careful monitoring. Some manufacturers provide data about how many films each quantity of developer can process, and the number of cycles may affect the development time.

 

When the developer has been removed from the tank, the development process is abruptly stopped by use of a stop solution. The stop solution is mildly acidic and neutralises the effect of the alkaline developer. The stop should be left in the tank for around a minute and then poured out, back into the storage bottle.

 

The stop solution is diluted with water to the manufacturers instructions

 

Barclay indicator stop bath

 

Once the solution has been stopped, the film needs to be fixed. Fix prevents the film prom being reactive to light and any more development process taking place. It also fixes the film emulsion into transparent material leaving only the black silver oxide. Fixing should be for around 2 minutes depending on the strength and age of the fix solution.

 

To test the strength (fixing time) of a given solution of fix, place a film off-cut such as the leader tab from a 35mm film into the fix solution and time how long the off-cut takes to become transparent. The film should be fixed for double this time. The solution can be re-used a number of times.

 

Ilford Hypam rapid fixer

 

Chemicals such as fix and stop bath can be stored for relatively short periods in bottles such as those pictured below. The bottles are black to keep out the light and collapsible to allow the air from the bottle to be expelled.

 

Collapsible storage bottles

 

After the film has been fixed, it then needs to be washed. Washing should be carried out with clean water, prefereably at 20oC, however in most circumstances this is not practical, so tap water through a filter is acceptable. The wash cycle should last about 10 minutes. As tap water contains all sorts of physical impurities such as grit, metal, soil etc a filter is required. Taking the filter out and turning it round illustrates what gets mixed in with the water. When reversing the filter, water should be run through and into the drain to remove the debris stuck in the gauze.

 

Patterson water filter

 

After the wash cycle is complete the film should be squeegied off and hung up to dry, either in a dust free environment or a special cabinet.

 

Attaching film hanging clips

 

Paper processing equipment

 

The Theory of Film Development

 

Although the practicalities of the development has been discussed, the processes involved need to be discussed.

 

In its most basic form, film is made by pasting photographic emulsion onto a transparent carrier. When the emulsion is exposed to light, the silver halide particles in the emulsion are made unstable by the light and form a latent image. The latent image is not visible under normal conditions, so must be enhanced, this is the function of the development process.

 

 

The developer translates the latent image by transferring the chemically altered silver halide particles into black silver deposits. The more development the film receives, the more black is formed until film that had been exposed to very small amounts of light would be rendered black also.

 

The manufacturer provides a recommended film processing time, which indicate the normal development time for the film when used at the nominated film speed (ASA or ISO rating). To prevent the film over developing a stop solution is used which arrests the development process.

 

The fixing process actually prevents the emulsion from being reactive to light. Therefore the film can be handled in daylight once the fixing stage is complete. The secondary function of the fix is to make the un exposed emulsion into a transparent layer which allow light to pass through the negative. In addition to the clarification of the emulsion, the anti halation layer on the film is also cleared in the development process. If fixing is not completed correctly, the film appears cloudy, and can be put back into fix afterwards to finish, even after the wash cycle.
Stucture


 

Structure of black and white film

 

Anti-scratch Layer

This layer protects the emulsion from physical damage

 

Emulsion

This layer contains the halides which form the photographic images

 

Adhesive Layer

This layer bonds the emulsion to the film base

 

Film Base

A transparent layer which supports the image

 

Adhesive Layer

This layer bonds the anti halation and anti curl layer to the base

 

Anti-Curl/ Anti-halation Coating

This layer prevents the film being exposed from the rear and stabilises the laminate to prevent curling.

 

Film Types

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

35mm Films

 

 

 

 

 

120 Films

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5x4 Films

 

 

 

 

Formats

Description

APS

Advanced Photo System – The film self loads and will produce a variety of picture shapes

35mm

The most popular format, sprocketed and supplied in a canister

110

A small format cartridge film

120

Roll film for medium format cameras

220

A longer version of 120 film

Sheet

For technical, monorail & field cameras etc

 

Black & White Print Film

Black and white print film produces a negative for printing onto photographic paper

 

Black & White Transparency Film

Black and white transparency film produces a slide for viewing through a projector or high resolution scanning

 

Colour Print Film

Colour print film produces a negative for printing onto photographic paper

 

Colour Transparency Film

Colour transparency film produces a slide for viewing through a projector or high resolution scanning

Film Speed

 

Film speed in measured by a number of scales but the most common is the ASA (American Standards Association) or ISO (International Standards Organisation) depending on the country you are in. Each time the film speed doubles or halves, it is equivalent to 1 stop. A shot taken at f2.8 for 1/60 sec on Technical Pan could be taken at f32 on Delta 3200.

 

General Film Speeds are:

 

ISO

Example Film

25

Kodak Technical Pan

50

Ilford Pan-F Plus

Fuji Velvia

100

Kodak T-Max 100

Inford Delta 100

Fuji Provia

Kodak Gold

160

Fuji NPS

Kodak Portra

200

Kodak Gold

Fuji Superia

Kodak ED

400

Ilford Delta 400

Kodak T-Max 400

Fuji Provia
Kodak Portra
Fuji NPH

Fuji Neopan

800

Fuji NPZ

1600

Fuji Superia

Fuji Neopan

 

3200

Ilford Delta 3200

Kodak TMX 3200

 

Film Latitude

 

The latitude of a film is the amount of exposure error the user can make before the picture degrades noticeably.

 

Black and White Print and Colour print film have quite a high latitude ie at least a full stop either side of the ideal. However slide film has a latitude of about 1/3 stop either side of ideal.

 

Film Spectral Sensitivity

 

Film is receptive to certain regions of the electromagnetic spectrum

 

Panchromatic Film

 

Colour Films are generally sensitive to the whole of the range of visible light, however some films are balanced for specific lighting conditions which ‘corrects’ the film to show what we as humans would see. Examples are:

 

EXAMPLES OF COLOUR FILM FOR TUNGSTEN

 

Black and white films are, in the main panchromatic, which means that they are equally sensitive to light across the spectrum. Some examples are:

 

EXAMPLE B&W FILMS

 

Orthochromatic Film

 

Orthochromatic film is sensitive to the blue end of the spectrum, reaching the wavelength which produces green light, but not red. This film is still used today for line drawings and some graphic arts applications as well as the medical industry. Examples are:

 

Fuji UM-MA – Mammography film

Kodak Precision Line Film LPD7 – Duplicate Film

Kodalith Ortho – Lith printing film

 

Infra Red Film

 

Infra red film is used in both scientific and creative photography. It is a panchromatic film which has sensitivity skewed to the red end of the spectrum. Examples of Infra red film are:

 

Kodak High Speed Infra-Red

Ilford SFX 200

Konica 750nm 120 Infra-red Film

 

 

Paper Printing Equipment

 

The explanation of paper printing equipment will be on the same lines as the film process, ie by example. The first piece of equipment required is an enlarger. In its most basic form, an enlarger is a machine which shines a bright light through a negative and into a lens which focuses the image at the plane in which the paper is positioned. This is a diagram of a condenser enlarger:

 

   

Condenser Enlarger (BW)                               Colour (Scatterbox) Enlarger

 

The condenser enlarger differs from the colour enlarger in the way that the light is delivered to the negative. In short the colour head uses a box which scatters the light which prior to entering the box is passed through filters. The light is then passed to the negative and onto the lens for focusing. The condenser enlarger is more complex and looks like the diagram below:

 

The condenser enlarger is traditionally used for black and white printing, but can be used for colour with a set of slide in filters.

 

Controls on the Enlarger

 

I have a colour enlarger so will concentrate on the controls of my enlarger which is the Opemus 6 pictured above.

 

Head Elevation is operated by a crank handle on the stem. The elevation is used for setting the magnification of the print. The biggest size of the print is dictated by the size of the stem and the focal length of the lens. As the largest sizes are approached, the design of the stem and the amount of overhang over the base board is important as part of the image will be projected onto the base of the stem. For very large prints, the head can be rotated for horizontal enlargement on a wall.

 

The negative carrier is where the negative is placed for enlargement. My carrier is a glass carrier, this has advantages and disadvantages, but if the carrier can be kept clean and free of dust, the glass gives support and helps the geometric integrity if the negative. The carrier can be adjusted for any size of film upto 6x6. Some manufacturers supply a negative carrier for each format of film.

 

The scatter box is polystyrene and is specific to the format, in my case either 35mm or 6x6. As nearly all of my film is 6x4.5 I am limited to the 6x6 box.

 

The focusing knob adjusts the distance between the lens and the negative. Depending on the type of lens used, the lens mount may have to be changed. With my setup, a 70mm lens is used on the 6x6 carrier and a 50mm lens is used for 35mm work. This enables the 35mm work to be enlarged to the full 12” x 16” of the base board.

 

The base board supports the machine and also forms a flat surface on which to mount the easel. In addition there are various adjustments which allow correction of parallels etc.

 

Timers are used to turn the enlarger on and off at set periods. This makes the production of test strips easy. This timer also has an exposure meter, which indicates paper grade and times. However I have found this unsatisfactory and have not used it for many months. The alternative to a timer is a metronome, which was how my initial prints were made.

 

 

 

Making an Enlargement

Firstly, the daylights must be turned off and the safelights turned on. Place the negative in the carrier after ensuring that it is clean and free from dust. Switch on the enlarger lamp and size the image on the easel by moving the head up and down the column. When the image is around the correct size, use the focus control to render the image sharp. There are devices called focus finders (pictured), which allow users to focus on the grain of the negative. These are very useful when the negative contains a lot of out of focus detail, prominent in macro photography.

 

At this point the grade and type of paper can be selected. Normal photographic paper is classified as grade 2, the grading system which currently runs from 00 to 5 is a method of controlling the contrast of the print. The lowest contrast or softest prints are made at grade 00 and the highest contrast prints or hardest prints are made at grade 5. The grade is selected for one of two reasons, either the contrast of the negative or artistic interpretation. If the negative is very high contrast, then a soft paper is needed to allow the tonal range to be rendered, if the negative is very low contrast then a hard paper is required to stretch the tonal range across the range of the paper.

 

Most photographic paper is now classed as multi-grade or variable contrast. This allows the photographer to change paper grade by use of filters which are either dialled into a colour head or used in a filter drawer on the enlarger. Pictured is a set of Ilford multi-grade filters. These can be used above the lens in drawer or below the lens on a holder. Above the lens is preferable as the problems of dust and dirt are eliminated.

 

Once the choice of paper grade has been made, the type of paper must be selected. The two choices are Resin Coated and Fibre Based. Resin coated papers are much easier to handle as the paper is essentially encapsulated in a plastic envelope and the emulsion stuck on the outside of the resin. This construction drastically reduces processing time, especially in the wash stage. A resin coated print takes about 4 minutes to wash in an archival washer, a fibre based print takes at least 30 minutes. Drying resin coated papers can be completed in a simple rack and does not require glazing. Resin coated papers are available in a variety of finishes including Gloss, Lustre, matt, stipple and so on. The paper can also be purchased in a range of sizes ranging from 4” x 5” up to 20” x 24”

 

Fibre based papers are the traditional style of paper, processing takes longer, more chemistry is wasted and the equipment to handle it is more costly. However it gives a far better result than the resin coated. Speciality papers are generally fibre based and fibre based papers react much better to toning and other special effects.

 

Once the image has been set up and the lens has been stopped down to about half of its maximum aperture, the test strip can be made.

 

The test strip is either a full sheet of paper or a strip of the photographic paper. The paper is placed on the easel and preferably secured. The timer is set to an arbitrary figure, which is known by experience of using the enlarger. In addition the time interval is dependant on the magnification, ie the distance from the lamp to the paper (inverse square law). On my enlarger at f11 or f8 a test strip interval of 5 second when enlarging a 645 negative to 10”x8” is appropriate. In the case of this example, grade 5 paper was used which requires more processing, and greater enlargement was required, so 15 second was used. Set the timer to 15 seconds and give the test strip one exposure cycle. When the light goes out, take a piece of cardboard or similar and cover ¾ of the test strip. Start the enlarger again and wait for the cycle to finish. Repeat this until the last quarter is covered. This will give a test strip, which has 4 zones at 15, 30, 45 and 60 seconds. Here is a picture of the completed strip, although prior to development there is no visible image.

 

 

The chemicals for development are used in trays such as the one illustrated.

 

Developer – reacts with the latent image to produce the black silver which forms the visible image. The time spent in the tray should be as per the manufacturers instructions, for Ilford multi-grade developer with resin-coated paper this is about 2 minutes. The longer the print stays in the developer, the darker the print becomes, however, the results tail off after a while.

 

Stop – The stop solution arrests the development of the image.

 

 

Fix – The fix neutralises the effects of the developer and the paper. The fix also stabilises the paper and renders the emulsion inert. Improper fixing will leave archival problems and will also be apparent if toning is used. Normally about 3-5 minutes in the fix is sufficient for resin coated papers.

 

         

Ilford Multigrade Developer                                 Ilford Print Fix Solution

 

The washing cycle follows the fix stage, washing can be completed in cheap tray as per the Patterson print washer (pictured) or in the much better archival washers manufactured by Nova. The wash cycle time is dependant on the type of paper used. Resin coated papers only require a few minutes, and in fact extended washing will damage the paper. The recommended wash time for Kentmere Art Classic (heavyweight fibre based paper) is 30-40 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Print Drying is an important part of the process, resin coated papers are very easy to dry, they just dry naturally in a rack as pictured:

Fibre based papers need to be dried on a drying mesh and then on a print glazer/dryer. These are quite expensive and not normally used by amateurs and home photographers. It is obvious to see why the majority of photographers prefer resin-coated paper to fibre based, as every step of the process is more difficult and or more time consuming. The purist however will always choose the fibre based paper.

 

At the end of this process the test strip should look like this:

 

 

From this position we can analyse the strip and say that the print should be exposed for 60 seconds. A full sheet of paper is then loaded into the easel and exposed for 60 seconds. The timer would need to be programmed to reflect the new time. The process of exposure, development, stopping, fixing and washing is repeated exactly as when producing the test strip. The final print looked like this:

 

 

 

Contact sheets are a snapshot of the entire film. The phrase contact means that the film is indirect contact with the photographic paper. Obviously this means that there is no magnification involved. To assist making contact prints a contact printer is available for most film formats. Mine is a 6x6 contact printer, pictured:

 

                  

The negative strips are places into the slots in the glass top. The emulsion side should be facing downwards. The paper is placed on the foam backing and the lid shut.

 

The enlarger head is raised so the light covers the contact printer completely and suitable aperture selected. The time is set to a suitable time for test printing and the test print procedure is followed to produce a print which looks a little like this:

 

This test print was at grade 5 which was the grade at which I wanted to make the final prints. I exposed in 8 zones for 10 second increments which means the bottom zone has had 10 second and the top zone has had 80 seconds.

 

The final contact print looked like this:

 

 

 

 Of coarse having all the prints the same way up is convenient, but not essential. A lupe can be used to examine the prints from here:

 

Gepe 8x Lupe

Basic prints are produced in the same method as the test strip, however I prefer to do a full size test strip so as to see the bigger picture hence:

 

There are many examples of straight prints in my work prints section.

 

Print manipulation is the process of changing a straight print into a more appealing image by exposing some parts of the image for different lengths of time. Extra time is known as ‘burning in’ and reduced time is known as ‘holding back’ or ‘dodging’. Of course the relationship between burning in an dodging is only the percentage of the print which is involved in the operation. Below is a demonstration of burning in:

 

 

 

The picture above is reasonably well exposed but there is no apparent sky detail. By burning in the sky using a piece of cardboard, the cloud detail can be brought out.

 

 

As can be seen the cloud detail can now bee seen and the exposure of the foreground is unaltered. Note the bright line along the horizon which is indicative of sloppy burning. By giving more movement on the holding back cardboard the horizon feature can be eliminated and a more realistic look achieved:

 

To illustrate the mechanics of the process, here is some work by the Master (Ansel Adams)

 

 

The Ansel Adams book – basic techniques of photography shows the following example:

 

Straight Print

 

 

Dodged Print

 

Print mounting is the process of sticking the print to a base of some description. The most common base is cardboard, and for the beginner level photographer is adequate for most purposes. The adhesive can be spray mount, photo mount, dry mount or double sided adhesive. Each of these has pros and cons, which are described below:

 

Spray mount is cheap, readily available and can be repositioned, but it is not a permanent fix

 

Photo mount is also aerosol and is easy to apply, however the adhesive does go off quite quickly and cannot be repositioned.

 

Dry mount tissue is the method of choice for the decerning photographer as it is clean, accurate and archival. It does however require the use of a large heavy press and a considerable investment in money and space.

 

Double sided adhesive is the method used in the print industry and is quick and effective. However the operator must be reasonably skilled and the machinery costs 10k +

 

The base board should be non acidic and special rag board can be purchased for archival purposes, from a personal point of view, if anybody other than me wants to see my current selection of prints once an assessor has looked at them I would be very surprised, so archival permanence is not important.

Toning and Finishing of Prints.

 

There are many toning kits available for toning and effects.

 

The toners I have experimented with are:

 

Blue Toner – A single solution, which replaces the silver with a cobalt blue colour. The intensity of the colour can be increased by extending the toning time. There are examples of blue toning in the Toning section of the workbook.

 

Sepia Toner – A two part process where the silver is bleached away with the bleach solution and replace with the sepia solution. I am not a fan of the colour so always gold tone afterwards which makes the print a lot warmer. There are examples of sepia/gold toning in the Toning section of the workbook.

 

Selenium Toning – mainly used as an archival process but in extreme circumstances gives a distinct colour cast. There are examples of selenium toning in the Toning section of the workbook.

 

Gold Toning – again is an archival process, but also gives orange/pink cast to prints which have been sepia toned and a blueish slate colour to not toned prints.

 

Research Project: Split Grade Printing

 

 

Split grade printing is a process which enables the photographer to produce reasonable prints from difficult negatives, in particular those which require dense black and very subtle lighter tones. This may be a landscape with bold foreground but has a weak skyscape.

 

It should be noted that this process can only be done with multigrade paper.

 

I have used the process for high key portraits where the background is predominantly white but I require the skin tones to be rendered. The first job is to asses whether the photograph will benefit from the process, not all negatives are suitable. Once this is established a test print needs to be made on grade 4 or 5 paper which will produce results which may look quite stark. The print should show the black areas as very dark and will probably not show much detail in the lighter areas, this is normal.

Here is an example:

 

Note that the jeans and the sweater and some of the facial features are present, but there is no skin tone. The child is looking quite ill, but does have good definition. The original of this picture is in the workbook under toning examples

 

When the test print is has been assessed and a full print has been made making note of the development time and settings a second print should be exposed but at ¾ of the original time ie if the first grade 5 print was for 60 seconds then the next should be for 45 seconds. When the exposure has been completed, the paper remains in the easel.

 

Reset the enlarger for the softer grade, which will be around 0. Set the enlarger timer for an appropriate time such as 5 seconds and make a test print across the pre exposed paper.

 

Develop the test strip as normal and examine the results. If the dark areas are now too dark then the grade 5 stage can be reduced a little allowing the grade 0 stage to make up the difference. At this stage we are looking for good highlight definition. Select the time as required, say 30 seconds.

 

Load up a new sheet of paper into the easel, and select grade 5 setting and expose for the 45 seconds. Change the grade setting to 0 by dialling in the new setting or changing the filter. Expose for the 30 second calculated earlier. Remove the print and develop as normal.

 

I have found that on most prints some dodging is required, especially when trying to maintain a base white background. So this print will probably need to be redone this time dodging on the grade 0 stage. When the final print is complete it should look like this:

 

 

This information was gleaned from a photography magazine and tested in my kitchen. The final print can be found in the Toning section of the work book.

 

 

 

Personal Project Notes

 

I have chosen music as the theme for my project. I am a keen classical guitarist and therefore may have a bit of a bias towards the guitar, however, I have shot some easier instruments to balance the project.

 

Clitheroe Music Shop kindly allowed me to use their instruments as models for the project, for which I am grateful.

 

 

Title:

Forte

Description:

Violin

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Kentmere Art Classic

Notes:

Clitheroe Music Shop kindly allowed me to take this print in their shop. I used the modelling bulb from a studio light on a stand as the light source which was complemented by the limited daylight available. I used white card as the background and for reflecting light. This is my favourite out of the 10. The shot is supposed to accentuate the ‘f’ sign on the body, which in musical notation means forte or loud. The design of the violin is complex, but is rarely shown as simply shape and wood, the photo is supposed to show just the shape without the functionality but with the forte notation as the reminder that we are dealing with a musical instrument.

 

 

 

 

Title:

Violin

Description:

Violin

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Ilford FB Multigrade IV

Notes:

As above the craftsmanship of the instrument and complexity of design was what I was trying to convey. I think this shot has lost the element of scale, and whilst still recognisable as a violin, could be a piece of furniture.

 

 

Title:

Trumpet

Trumpet

Trumpet

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Kentmere Ivory tint

Notes:

This view of a trumpet is not usual, I took it to look like the engine block of a car, after all it is the engine of a trumpet

 

 

 

Title:

Push Button

Description:

Trumpet

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Kentmere Ivory tint

Notes:

The trumpet is a complex system of pipes and valves which somehow fit together to produce music. Being a guitar player, and like all guitar players believe that any other instrument is trivial, I selected this shot to say that for all the tube work and valves, there are still only three buttons to press.

 

 

 

Title:

Recording

Description:

Recorder

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Kentmere Art Classic

Notes:

The lady who owns the music shop is quite an accomplished recorder player, and also stocked a range of recorders which I found quite fascinating.

 

 

Title:

Carcassi’s Study in A

Description:

Self portrait

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Ilford Multigrade IV

Notes:

This self portrait was difficult to set up, but with the help of a friend was possible. The chord position chosen was relevant to me, as it had represented a benchmark in my progress as a music student. The emphasis was on the hand rather than the instrument as it is the hand that ‘makes’ the music.

 

 

 

 

Title:

Resting

Description:

Guitar

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Ilford Multigrade IV warmtone

Notes:

I don’t know why I chose this shot, but every guitar player who sees it, likes it, and so do I buy I don’t know why.

 

 

 

Title:

Notes

Description:

Guitar and Music

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Ilford Multigrade IV warmtone

Notes:

Notes – a play on words. Notes on the fret-board, notes on the page and notes being scrawled with the pencil.

 

 

 

 

Title:

Panpipes

Description:

Panpipes

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Ilford Multigrade IV warmtone

Notes:

Although the picture is quite weak, I thought the pipes had a very architectural quality, hence the small depth of field and the repeating shapes.

 

 

 

 

Title:

Bach’s Prelude in D for ‘Cello

Description:

Sheet Music

Camera:

Mamiya 645 Super + 80mm + Ext Tube 2

Paper:

Kentmere Art Classic

Notes:

I liked the picture