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Notes on Black & White Images
Most of my work is done with Kodak T-MAX 400 Black and White print film. I have
a penchant for "available light" photography, so a higher film speed is a must. On
ocassion I use T-MAX 3200P for work indoors or at night. The tradeoff with using
faster film is larger grain. Were I to use TMAX 100 and a tripod I could get a
more refined image. However, a tripod is hard to lug around, and not very
spontaneous. Strobes, in my opinion, are pure evil. But then again, that may be
what marks me as an amateur and not a pro.
These notes are separated from the images because they're about what I
think about the images. Viewing my work is supposed to be about what you
think (and feel) about the images.
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- Nighttime image of the William Benton Museum on the Storrs campus of the
University of Connecticut. Kodak T-MAX 400, five minute exposure at f22.
- U.S. Capitol building, March 1994.
- Vietnam War memorial, Washington D.C. The insterst of the child and the
aparent disinterest of the adult are what caught my eye.
- Lightning, South Glastonbury, CT. Approximately a 15 second exposure.
This was a long, slow-moving, storm that allowed me to get a feel for
when the next strike would be, and thus keep the exposure short. The
image on the left is an example of a longer exposure, the one on the right shows the crop
lines for the final image. Remember, this was at nine o'clock at night.
- Cheryl, closeup of hand and neck of viola
- Cheryl playing viola. My goal with this image was to present my subject
as an almost etherial figure, hovering ghost-like in the darkness. TMAX 400, 60th sec.
exposure, with about 600W of lighting against a black seamless background.
- Dorm room at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. This was my home
for three and a half years -- Crandall B209. The smooth tones are what
make the image for me. Prudence Crandall Hall (and the rest of South Campus) has
been demolished to make way for more modern dormitories.
- Cleaning lady, Crandall B 2nd floor. The original print is on Kodak AZO
paper -- a very slow paper (exposure in printing was seven minutes) --
which allowed me to capture both shadows and highlight detail (some of which
is lost due to the limited range of greyscale .JPGs)
- Jeff -- it's the grin, man. Kodak T-MAX 3200P
- Hosta being forced for the Hartford flower show. Grain the size of boxcars
-- dig it! TMAX 3200, probably 1/1000 at f22 given the bright lighting.
- Sarah, an unexpected shot at the end of a portrait session. The sharpness
of the wood floor and Sarah's right hand, combined with the motion of her
left, is what makes this image stand out to me. TMAX 400, 1/60th with available light.
- "Egg Head" and Jennifer, the the puppet lab at the University of Connecticut.
The accidental mirroring of expressions are where it's at.
Send comments to: seshipma@syrinx.org.
© 1998 Stephen Shipman | Created 11-27-98 | Last updated: never
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