Anonymous Vernacular

We just moved and I’m getting my alt process lab up and going again. These are palladium prints (hand-coated emulsion consisting of noble metal and an iron-based light senstizer on watercolor paper) of the outside of the Louvre museum in Paris that I made last night.

Rolleiflex
Tmax 100 in TMax Developer
10 minutes, 1:7 @ 24C

*click image above for larger view*

Contact sheet from a Rollei. Need to shoot some more rolls to see what caused the lack of density. Exposures look pretty good for just guessing (no meter) while shooting a new film (that was expired) and developing in a completely new way: 1:1:100 at 75F for 15 minutes in Pyrocat-HD using semi-stand.

*click image above for larger size*

• Chamonix 4×5, 135mm Symmar-S, FP4+ in Pyrocat-M 3:2:100 for 7′30″ @ 72F

I’ve started a re-photographic project in Fort Worth, Texas, based on a book of souvenir views, circa 1909. This image is not part of the project, but something I couldn’t help but make as Mark, David, and I passed in front of the entrance doors at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

• Canon 1Ds Mk2n with Nikon AiS 50mm f/1.2.

Hoover dam was a great place to shoot with the road and subsequent light trails arcing to and fro across the frame. This was one of those times, though, that reminded me I need to get another quick release for my tripod head as I just balanced the Canon on a rock using the self-timer.

Canon 1Ds Mk2n with Nikon AiS 50mm f/1.2 lens.

• 4″ x 6″ platinum / palladium print on vellum subsequently dry mounted to watercolor paper and waxed.

The above image is an example of a new printing method I have been working on where I contact print onto a drafting vellum (Clearprint is my vellum of choice, though Staedtler works well; Bienfang is a trip down masochistic lane, though, as the stuff disintegrates when wet), dry mount the print to watercolor paper (I have a stack of white Stonehenge Rising–note: the version I’m using is no longer made, but any paper will work as it is just a backing to mount the vellum print to), and then wax it using Renaissance Wax. The prints are 4″ x 6″ with a slight black border and are floated in a 6″ x 9″ window cut into 8-ply 11×14 matboard from Frame Destination. I haven’t decided on a frame for them yet, I have 10 matted images for a small solo show in June at UNT’s Union Gallery.

• 8×10 Calumet C-1, 360mm f/6.3 Fujinon, Delta 100 developed in Pyrocat-M.

• 8×10 Calumet C-1, 240mm f/9  Fujinon, Delta 100 developed in Pyrocat-M.

I recently ventured out into urban Fort Worth, TX, with an 8×10 Calumet C-1, which won’t happen again. The combination of the C-1 mounted to a Majestic Tripod is ~40lbs or over a quarter of my body weight. On top of this you add the rest of the items you need such as 8×10 holders (bulky and the weight adds up), lenses, and dark cloth and we’re talking a not fun experience. From now on I’ll be saving the 8×10 camera for studio work/portrait sessions only until I have a project calling for 8×10 over using the 4×5.

I began photographing around my home with the 4×5 as we will soon be moving. When I return from Europe my wife will have already moved us to a different apartment complex that is closer to school for her. I am retreading the same areas I have photographed while working on my “Walks with Maia” series of photographs, but exploring with the 4×5 always gives me new eyes.

Chamonix 45

135mm Schneider Symmar-S

FP4+