Large Format Film Portrait Photography

First sheet of film processed in our Jobo Film development tank

Family portrait photography old 5x4 large format

The fogging was probably due to light leak from the dark slide. I don’t mind it and I think it adds to the look like old photos I see of my parents.

Camera: Toyo Large Format 5×4 view camera/ 90mm Schneider-Krueznach Lens
Film: Macophoto Orthchromatic film 25ISO Black & White negative
Jobo CPP Processor / Rodinal developer @1:100 ratio
Scanner: Imacon/Hasselblad Flextight Precision II

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Jobo Film Processor for B&W Film Developing

We’ve just installed a Jobo CPP film developer in our West Melbourne Studio for developing 5×4 negative film. Currently it’s set up for black and white film processing /development but in time we will have it ready for colour (C-41) development.

Our current favourite film is 25ISO Orthochromatic film. We found it the best film for scanning because of its low grain when compared to standard ISO100 films. Orthochromatic film is a high contrast film and to get a richer tonal range we have been processing it in R09 (Rodinal developer)  at 1:100 for 12mins compared to the 1:50 mix for 8mins.

Ivan@ijproductions.com

 

 

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Going Back to Traditional Film Photography

When today’s Photographers are constantly upgrading their equipment to the latest in digital technology, we recently completed a photo shoot for Seven/Seven Magazine using a 40yr old Toyo Deluxe 5″x4″ view camera. Click here to view images from the photo shoot. We have invested in high resolution Digital SLRs and Medium format cameras in the past but the view camera has been the most exciting camera we’ve used in a long time. It would be hard to find a digital camera that is older than 5-6 years still in service today.

5x4 Toyo Large Format View Camera with Schneider kreuznach Lens

5x4 Toyo Large Format View Camera with Schneider kreuznach Lens. This camera was purchased 2nd hand in the early 70's by Bayswater Photography Studio and was used until 2003.

This technical camera is a pleasure to photograph with and it captures an amazing amount of detail with it’s 5×4 inch negatives or transparencies. We are also installing a Jobo film processor to go along with our Hasselblad /Imacon high resolution film scanner. This allows for greater quality control as every step is done in our West Melbourne studio.

Traditional Colour or Black & White Film for Creative Fashion Portrait & Advertising Photography

Traditional film is rarely taught in photography courses which means young photographers don’t have the technical knowledge of shooting film. It’s very hard to recreate the tonal range of black and white film from a SLR or medium format digital camera which makes photographing with B&W film unique in photography today.

Traditional film fashion portrait photography

Contact us if you would like to have your next portrait or campaign captured with traditional film.


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Paul C Buff Einstein Monoblock Flash Duration Test & Review

I’ve been searching for studio flash equipment with very fast flash duration. Most of what is on the market has the flash duration of 1/200th-1/500th of a second at full power.

The  two studio floor packs that have flash duration up to 1/10,000th of a second is the Broncolor Scoro & Profoto 8a. Both Studio floor packs & flash heads cost above AU$10,000. $10,000 is a lot of money but it’s beneficial to have  fast flash duration when you are photographing anything with movement (water, sports & action)  the slower the flash duration the more blurring of edges. In most cases increasing the shutter speed does not help.

Even at 1/800th second it does not help slow flash duration

Paul C Buff Einstein  640W monoblock

What got me interested in this flash head was the 1/10,000th flash duration and price- AU$709.50

Global Plug–&–Play from 95-260VAC
Enormous All Digital 9 f/stop Power Variability (2.5WS to 640WS)
Accurate & Repeatable flash consistency within 0.10 f/stop
Revolutionary Action Stopping up to 1/10,000 Flash Duration (t.1)
Absolute Color Consistency plus or minus 50K at any power
Bright 250W Modeling Lamp tracks flash within 0.2 f/stops

Pros: Small, price- you could buy 12 Einstein units for the price of 1 Broncolor or Profoto pack , fast flash duration at low power. Better flash duration than the similar priced Elinchrom BXRi 500w monoblck.

Cons: Heats up during shooting even without modelling lamp on, no fan, at full power flash duration isn’t that fast, not as powerful as the Profoto and Broncolor units, Navigating the digital screen on the back.

My concern with the Einstein is over heating and what it will do to the unit over time. I was told that the earlier models of the Einstein flash heads did have that issue and they have taken steps to solve the problem.  Shooting all day in the studio without a modelling lamp, the head did heat up but after 500-600 flashes the mono block did not over heat. I would recommend the Paul C Buff Einstein flash head to Professional Photographers and students.

 

Flash at full Power f8@1/800th sec

Flash 1/2 power f5.6@1/800th

Flash at 1/4 Power f4.5@ 1/800th - Note the sharper edges on the fan

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Seven/Seven Magazine | Traditional Film Fashion Editorial Photography

Client: Seven/Seven Magazine
Talent: Milica Vujic (Scene Model Management)
Hair & Make-up: Nathalie Prince
Stylist: Louisa Para
Label: Australian Fashion label APOM (A Part of Me) is a women’s fashion label known  for its creative use of handcrafted techniques.

Camera: Toyo Deluxe 5×4 view camera
Film: Orthochromatic 25ISO Black & White Negative.
Scanner: Flextight Imacon Precision II

Recently Ivan purchased a 2nd hand Toyo view camera because he wanted to shoot film again. The camera produces 5×4 inch negatives (12.7cm x 10.16cm).

We developed the film in our bathroom and scanned then on our Flextight scanner- a high resolution scanner by Imacon/Hasselblad. Orthochromatic film is a low ISO fine grain film ideal for copy and reproduction work but because of it’s fine grain it captures amazing detail. The benefits of using ortho film is that it can be develop under a safe light (red) without fogging the film.

 Check out the behind the scenes photos from the shoot.

Traditional film fashion portrait photography

We decided to keep the lighting simple by mixing the natural daylight in the studio with strobe lighting

Traditional film fashion portrait photography

The blurring of the image is caused by tilting the front lens on the 5x4 view camera.

Traditional film fashion portrait photographyTraditional film fashion portrait photographyTraditional film fashion portrait photography

Check out the latest issue of Seven Seven Magazine at www.sevensevenmagazine.com.au

Traditional film fashion portrait photography

Special Thanks to David White for helping out in developing the negatives & Steven Ma for the behind the scenes photography

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Seven Seven Magazine | Fashion Editorial Photography | Behind The Scenes

Seven Seven Magazine Editorial.
Stylist: Louisa Para
Hair and Make-up: Nathalie Prince
Model: Milica Vujic
Behind the scenes photography and video: Steven Ma

For the Editorial we photographed Melbourne Fashion Label APOM. We were given the opportunity to shoot on film – It has been a while since Ivan has used a 5×4 technical camera (at least 10 years) but with the help of David White (who did an amazing job loading the film and help work out exposures) we were able to get the +40 year old Toyo camera working.

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Wedding Photography | Digital Medium Format

Wedding Photography by MElbourne portrait photographer Ivan Lee

Photography: Ivan /www.themelbournewedding.com.au
Equipment: Hasselblad H2D Digital Medium Format + HC80mm
Elinchrom Ranger + S head

Exposure: f11@1/350th

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Posted in: Photography, wedding photography by ij productions No Comments

L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival | Photographers Pit

L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2012 Paris Runway 2

Loreal melbourne fashion festival photographers pit

Photographer's Pit March 10th 2012.

 

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Louis Louise Champagne Bar | Interior Architecture Photography

Louis Louise Champagne Bar – Westfield Doncaster Victoria Australia
Client: Mesh Design + Projects
Photographer + Digital Retoucher: Ivan Lee
Photographers Assistant: Abraham Arboleda

 

 

IJ Productions was recently asked to photograph Louis Louise Champagne bar in Westfield Doncaster shopping centre. Louis Louise is the first champagne bar kiosk in a shopping centre in Australia. The client was looking for images that were elegant and stylish. Photographer Ivan Lee came up with the idea to light the bar with multiple spot lights but due to limited time, Ivan and Assistant Abraham had to light the sections individually.

Lighting the different sections of the bar

The images were then merged together to make 1 final image. Up to 30 layers were needed to create the image below.

Interior architecture Photography by Australian Photographer Ivan LeeInterior architecture Photography by Australian Photographer Ivan Lee

Interior architecture Photography by Australian Photographer Ivan LeeInterior architecture Photography by Australian Photographer Ivan Lee

Equipment: Hasselblad H2D / HC28mm, Elinchrom Digital RX2400, Macbook Pro 15″ Quad Core

 

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Mary Ellen Mark talks about taking iconic images

I remember dreaming about owning a Mamiya 7 medium format range finder in photography school and to see her shooting with one makes me want one now. I’ll be searching Ebay for one.

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Posted in: Photography by ij productions 2 Comments