Tag Archives: Pyrocat HD

Portraits of a friend, and street photos

Here are two portraits I took of my friend Wanchuk, who is co-owner with Sam Huang (photo posted previously) of Mad Momos Restaurant & Beer Deck. I’ve known Wanchuk for nearly a decade. He’s from Sikkim, which is now a province of India in the Himalayas between Nepal and Bhutan, but used to be an independent kingdom with close ties to Bhutan.

Wanchuk T., at Mad Momos
Wanchuk T., at Mad Momos
Wanchuk T., Close-up
Wanchuk T., Close-up

We met through a common love of photography – at the time he was still in post-college bum-around-the-world mode, and wanted advice on how to take better pictures in the places he was going. Now he’s running a restaurant and giving me a show of my photos. The exhibit will open on August 2nd and run through the end of October. Details about the opening reception will be posted separately.

I took those photos of him after we finished a meeting about the exhibit, then went for a 15 minute walkabout in the neighborhood around the restaurant to see what I could find. There’s an old bar/club across the street called “The Pinch” – I so want to photograph the front door because it has cool architectural detailing and some nifty graffiti, but from the looks of the folks hanging out by the front door, I may have to come back and shoot that early in the morning when they’re closed -their patrons may not take too kindly to being photographed.

Here’s their logo on the wall facing the side street – it has a very 70’s look to it, but the paint seems very recent.

The Pinch
The Pinch

Pivoting to the left of the Pinch logo, I saw this lovely vanishing-point perspective of the building walls, dappled in evening sunlight. As I was composing the shot, this man hauling a gigantic cardboard box over his shoulder walked into the frame. Taking advantage of the serendipitous perspective-giving presence of the man, I waited until he was about 2/3 of the way in the frame before shooting.

Walking WIth Boxes
Walking WIth Boxes

Yet More Faces of Photostock 2013

Here are some more (the last batch, actually) of my “Faces of Photostock”. In no particular order:

Kerik Kouklis
Kerik Kouklis
Kris Johnson
Kris Johnson
Jim Russell
Jim Russell
Robert Bender
Robert Bender
Dennis Wood
Dennis Wood
Andrew Moxom, Guitar
Andrew Moxom, Guitar

Well, no particular order other than I bracketed the series with folks not looking directly at the camera. I’m including these shots for sentimental reasons more than for the quality of the portraits.

All shots taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E, on Ilford Delta 400 developed in Pyrocat HD. That Rollei is a fantastic portrait camera, considering it has a fixed “normal” lens on it, isn’t it?

Silver Gelatin Printing- a Personal Refresher, With Experimentation

I’ve gotten back into doing a little sliver gelatin printing and enlarging since I’ve been shooting the Rolleiflex like a madman. I wanted to try something out with my printing, so I was doing split development of my prints with both warmtone and cooltone developer. The way it works is I have two developer trays, one for each kind of developer. I’m using the Ilford Warmtone and Ilford Cooltone (a now-discontinued product that I was given a case of some years ago). I want the shadows cool but the mids and highlights warm, so I start my development cycle with 30 seconds in the cooltone developer, then move to the warmtone developer for the remaining minute and a half. The below examples are printed on Ilford Warmtone paper (if you want a warmtone image, you have to use a warmtone paper – you can make a warm paper go cool with a cool developer, but you can’t warm up a coldtone paper short of sepia toning).

Window, Graffiti, 15thStreet
Window, Graffiti, 15thStreet

This is the warmest I can get in my highlights and mid tones using this process. The Ilford warmtone paper doesn’t seem to get very warm at all.

Here’s another in my series of Everyday Objects – the near-apocryphal payphone. In trying to find one, it actually took some looking! They’re not completely vanished from the landscape, but you actually have to go looking in somewhat rougher neighborhoods now to find one because anyone living above the poverty line these days has a cellphone, and nobody wants to carry around a pocketful of quarters AND dimes to make a call.

Everyday Objects - Payphone
Everyday Objects – Payphone

I was getting a little nervous about making enlargements as it has been forever and a day (at least five years) since I last made an enlargement. Turns out it’s a skill like riding a bike – once you learn, you never really forget.

Both shots were taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E, on Ilford HP5+, developed in Pyrocat HD. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but Pyrocat is my go-to developer, even for small and medium-format negatives to be enlarged (or scanned!). Pyro developers in general have great built-in contrast masking from the stain, so it is possible to retain detail in highlights in images that would require burning and dodging were they processed in another developer.

Dupont Circle Evening, in Black & White

Violinist, Dupont Circle
Violinist, Dupont Circle
Guitarist, Dupont Fountain
Guitarist, Dupont Fountain

The first two were shot on Kodak Tri-X, developed in Rodinal 1:25. I was actually kind of hoping to get sandpaper-y grain with that combination, but no such luck. It’s ok though, because it isn’t that far off the rest of the images, so the change in film and developer isn’t that noticeable. All the rest are on Ilford HP5+, developed in Pyrocat HD.

Dupont Pedestrians
Dupont Pedestrians
Three Bikes, Dupont
Three Bikes, Dupont
Dupont Metro Meditation
Dupont Metro Meditation
Dupont Musicians
Dupont Musicians
Dupont Metro Guitarist
Dupont Metro Guitarist

All photos taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E.

Fire Hydrant, K Street

Mueller Hydrant, K Street, DC
Mueller Hydrant, K Street, DC

Just a simple photo of a fire hydrant. It’s possible to make portraits of things, not just people.

Taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E, Ilford FP4+, developed in Pyrocat HD.

Portrait, Sam Huang, Mad Momo’s Restaurant

Sam Huang
Sam Huang

This is my friend Sam Huang, one of the owners of Mad Momo’s, a Himalayan/fusion cuisine restaurant and beer deck in the Columbia Heights neighborhood here in Washington DC. He and another friend of mine took over a partially renovated space, finished the build-out, and turned it into this really cool restaurant with sidewalk seating, a dining room, lounge space, two bars, and front and rear roof decks. The food is inspired by traditional Himalayan dumplings, called momos, thus the name of the restaurant. I took this portrait of him in the front window of the main room using my Rolleiflex. Someone commented to me elsewhere seeing how much I’ve been using the Rollei lately that I’d better not wear it out… well, it’s only 57 years old now, so I figure as long as I do proper maintenance on it, it will outlast me.

Shot with Kodak Tri-X, developed in Pyrocat HD.

DC Bikeshare

Wet Bike Seat
Wet Bike Seat
Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare

Two photos showing different perspectives on the Capital Bikeshare bikes. Shot with my Rolleiflex 2.8E on Kodak Tri-X, developed in Pyrocat HD. I had previously experimented with Rodinal as a developer for Tri-X trying to bring out the grain Tri-X is famous for. I don’t know if there was something I did wrong, or if my developer was old and no longer at full strength (Rodinal allegedly lasts forever, but mine was oh, a good eight years old, and the negs came out kinda flat). I ordered some new Rodinal to replace it to try at higher concentrations to see if I can get the look I was after. It’s nice to see though that if I switch to my tried and true Pyrocat, I can get negs that are as grainless as I want them to be on Tri-X.

White Tree, Franklin Square

White Tree, Franklin Square
White Tree, Franklin Square

Just a single image today – I see this tree almost every day when I go to lunch. Taken with my Rolleiflex on Ilford FP4+, developed in Pyrocat HD.

DC Street Photography in b/w

Chickass Jeans
Chickass Jeans
Pan Lourdes, 14th Street
Pan Lourdes, 14th Street
Street Snack, 14th Street
Street Snack, 14th Street
Philip Seymour Hoffman and My Shadow
Philip Seymour Hoffman and My Shadow

I called this one Philip Seymour Hoffman and my Shadow because the guy sitting against the Metro entrance wall just kinda looks like him, in full-on Method acting mode studying for a role.

Standing in the Doorway
Standing in the Doorway
Together, Apart
Together, Apart

This was taken around 10pm on the subway on my way home from Chinatown. I suspect these two were heading home after dinner and a long day (perhaps week!) at the office.

Oncoming Metro
Oncoming Metro
Chinatown Arch, Sunset
Chinatown Arch, Sunset

This image has me on the horns of a dilemma- would it have been better in color or as it is in black-and-white? I think it has a certain character in black-and-white that it wouldn’t have in color, but the western sky would definitely look different. Comments?

Today’s Darkroom Work

20120429-130221.jpg

Here’s a 14×17 portrait I shot a while ago and just got around to developing. I love what I can do tonally with FP4+ and platinum/palladium, but when you are shooting this big, the slow speed starts to hurt – its tough getting the f-stops you need when a headshot is also a 1:1 macro and costs you two stops (or MORE) just from the bellows extension.

20120429-130855.jpg

Here are the first few from my outing to the Arboretum with one of the camera clubs I joined recently. These are 6.5×8.5 (whole plate) sized negatives.

I’d been in a bit of a blue funk as far as darkroom work was concerned, but getting ready for Artomatic has helped me find new motivation to get back in there and start working again. That and teaching my class this coming weekend. Can’t wait to finish developing all my film and see the results!