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Derailleur

© John H. Siskin

Derailleur

Uploaded: October 05, 2006

Description

Exif: FNumber: , ExposureBiasValue: , ExposureTime: , Flash: , ISO: , WhiteBalance:

Comments

Joan E. Hoffman June 22, 2008

WOW... I know its a bicyle, but my first impression was an alien space centre... I really have been around my husband for far too long LOL!. Love the intricate detail, clarity the slightly off diagonal perspective, and most of all the duotone! #946871

John H. Siskin June 22, 2008

Hi Joan,
This image was made with a Bausch and Lomb Portrait Plastigmat, a lens that is about a hundred years old. The lens is designed to be soft focus at it’s maximum aperture. I usually used it at the sharp aperture and then took a second exposure wide open to create soft highlights on top of detailed midtones and shadows. The shot was made with a Toyo 8X10 Field camera onto 8X10 T-max film. Needless to say this is a process which requires attention to detail.

The original print is a cyanotype. The process was first developed by Sir John Hirschel in the middle of the 19th century. The original print is quite striking, with a very deep blue, almost black, background. The shadows are much deeper than the copy here at BetterPhoto. The deep tones tend to set off the glow from the lens.

Thanks for your enthusiasm!
John Siskin
#6094095

Sherry McClead June 22, 2008

Wow John you have the most wonderful toys and the talent to use them... I don't know what most of them are... but love what you share with us.
Sherrybear :} #6094557

Joan E. Hoffman June 22, 2008

LOL John... I only have a vague idea of what you just said... however, in the digital day... YOU are a pioneer of what went before, which I think is wonderful! Too many techiques of years gone by have fallen to the wayside, I admire you very much for your interest and talent in preserving this one! #6094592

John H. Siskin June 22, 2008

Hi Joan & Sherry,
Long ago I decided that I wanted to create images rather than just capture them. It is therefore important to know a lot about process. This applies to digital as well as film, but there are options for film that are difficult to create for digital. For instance there are no classic soft focus lenses for digital, and they do have a unique way of seeing. If you wanted to adapt a lens to a digital slr you might look at this article on building a digital view camera: www.siskinphoto.com/camera4a.html.

The 8X10 camera shoots a piece of film that is 8X10 inches, since film is an information storage device; a piece of film this big provides massive information. Like a 200 megabite scanning digital back on a 4X5 or a Phase 1 back, something with a lot more information than 10 megapixels.

I really wish that more people would become more involved in creating images. This is why I teach lighting, control of light is control of your image.
Thanks, John Siskin
#6094852

M.Christine Duncan June 23, 2008

The control of light... sorry, writing that one down, lol. It really does go far beyond just setting up a "good" shot doesn't it? I once had the pleasure of following around my photog teacher for a day and watching him "create" images... it impressed upon me that it involved time, and time, .... and more time. He had a camera very very similar to yours and I remember him saying the right light was always worth waiting for... even if it felt like forever, you'd never regret it later. Thanks for the reminder John! And fabulous image by the way... wish we could get the full effect of the original now. #6096941

John H. Siskin June 24, 2008

Hi Christine,
There are many people who see a good shot and press the button. Some of them expand on the capture in Photoshop. But there is a significant difference when the picture begins in your head, then you create it. Too often, we as photographers are too lazy to make pictures; we just want to take them.

There is tremendous value in examining original photography. The monitor and a web version of a photograph are really pale imitations of the original work. You can’t know what the experience of standing in front of a mammoth plate image by Carlton Watkins until you find a print to stand in front of. Please make time to go to good museums and view originals. Books are often much better than the web, but the print made by the hand of the artist is his/her intention for the image in the world.
Thanks, John Siskin
#6101645


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