Get Featured: Jeff Cloutier
I like this feature and I know it takes a lot for people to share their work online, so I really appreciate all of the support this has received so far. This time Jeff shares with us his 8×10 portraits. Come and check them out.
According to Jeff:
“I value an artisan approach when working in the medium of photography. Taking my time, putting my heart and soul into my imagery. The darkroom also being an important tool provides me the ability to create a print that will last for several generations. And of course, knowing my work is well received by collectors brings me a sense of joy and accomplishment.”
Jeff currently resides in Colorado Springs where he continues his love of photography.
This project, is called “Magnify.” 25 Portraits, shot using an old 1904 8×10 view camera. These digital copies are direct from the contact prints.
About the project:
The collection is about the process and the faces/portraits of a variety of people, all men.
The amount of detail the 8×10 inch negative provides is astounding. Shooting sheet film of this size takes time and patience.
Nothing can be rushed, as mistakes can ruin the single shot captured. I allowed myself one box of Ilford FP4, 25 sheets and very carefully captured each person. Allowing each person to be unposed and show a sense of their character.
Each negative developed one-by-one, in complete darkness using trays. Kodak HC-110 was my developer of choice, however on two of the images I had used a custom hand-made developer that I created. You may notice that one of the images is spotted with dust. This is due to one mistake that I made early in the process; I forgot to stop the lens down. The problem meant I had to pull my development by 4-4.5 stops!
Creating low contrast and amplifying the dust. So you can see that one mistake can cause some serious drawbacks.
I hope that the viewer becomes more aware of the process of shooting large sheet film and the steps involved… Also, the uniqueness of each individual and all of the beautiful differences we all share.
Thanks,
Jeff Cloutier
site :www.jeffcloutier.com
twitter: jeffcloutier
instagram: jeffcloutierphoto
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Cloutier-Photography/160733857001?ref=hl
blog: http://jeffcloutier.wordpress.com
Thanks for sharing your work with us Jeff. Very interesting, keep it up.
Come on, share with us what you have and get yourself featured.
Click on this link and send in your project/work: Get Featured. *I am looking for mainly projects, not individual images*
Oh, and click here to see a few of the photographers that have been on the site before https://www.japancamerahunter.com/?s=featured
Please make sure you come and comment. Polite and constructive critique is welcome, offensive and disrespectful comments will be removed.
Thanks
JCH
Very sympathetic and interesting portraits. I’m a big fan of FP4(+), though I can’t imagine what an enormous sheet of the stuff would look like, especially with regard to tonal range. HC-110 works well here, though I’d be tempted to play with a pyrogallol developer or Clayton F76+. Hmm, maybe not pyro in a tray in the dark . . .
Thank you Alan. I have no experience with the developers you speak of. Heard of
Pyro though. If you give that a try, please contact me. I’d love to see your images.
Subtle and beautiful photos, great subjects.
Thank you for your comments Sam. Much appreciated.
Very beautiful and quiet portraits! Great imagery.
A question: what was your set up? Flash or studio light, natural light? What exposure times and aperture did you get/used?
Thanks, Rolf
Thank you Rolf for your comments. The setup consisted of one light; six foot parabollic reflector, powered by speedotron blackline – 2400 watt seconds. Producing f32 @ about six feet. The lens has a “X”sync plug and was connected via a cord. I wanted to stop down far to maintain maximum depth of field, since DOF falls off quickly with a large negative.
F32 @ 1/125th, ISO 125.
If you visit my blog, I posted some “behind the scences” pics.
Thanks again Rolf.
Jeff
Correction, “behind the scenes.” One other note, the lens I chose was an old Kodak Ecktar, f6.3-f45, (300 mm equiv.)