Dear FADU members,

[Reginald S]

I really hope to enjoy talking about darkroom specialities, sharing photographs, exchanging prints and negatives here in your clubhouse.

After some decades of bringing photons to 35mm color slides, I changed to exclusively using larger formats and printing myself blacks and whites.

During a short episode in enjoying LF sharpness and this other special LF things I found my way in creating blur, fuzz, glow and swirl, which obvisiously means the opposite of sharpness :-)

Some years later and after fiddling with 12x16" cameras I have heard grumbling a kind of pictorialist, which probably has been lurking for years in my mind.

From time to time I am missing the flexibility of my old Minolta 700si, but no chance to her - the hundredthousand possibilities of large and ultra large format plus darkroom or pencil freaking seem to stay with me til the end of my life.
I didn't choose this - it just came to me, that's it in short:-)

Best,
Reginald

[MartyNL]

Hello Reginald and a very warm welcome to film and darkroom user.

I am just starting to explore the world of large format soft focus / pictorial photography and I'm curious about seeing some of your work and gaining some insight into your material and methods.

[Richard Gould]

Hi Reginald and welcome to Fadu, I love Minolta Dynax, and have a few, 700,800 and 00600si's and 2 of the older 70001's, plus Bronica and Mamiya 645's, and a collection of old folding csmera's, and so am covered for whatever mood I am in,
Richard

[Reginald S]

Marty, soft focus means always looking to the bright side of life
This really will bring the glow to your arrangement:


http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.or...9&d=1647640778


Yes, Richard, my 700si too has been fine until her last slide.
I started up with the 8000i - a more professional, more rigid body, but I preferred the continuous spot metering.

Thisadays I can't imaging photographing without tilt, rise and swing, so I am best preferred to my actual moods, too :-)

[BuzzNL]

Welcome to FADU!

[Paulographic]

Welcome Reginald.
Two years ago just before the covid pandemic started I made plans to do soft focus/pictorialist photography, buying and making various types of filters. I would have been using medium format cameras, both SLR and TLR and to a lesser extent 35mm.
Covid and worsening arthritis, I cant work standing, put a halt to all these plans but at the end of this month I will all being well get a new left knee and after recovery hopefully pick up where I left off.

[Reginald S]

Thanks, Buzz:-)

Hi,Paulographic, concerning soft focus / pictorialist photography I really don't understand "buying various types of filters" .

To my understanding soft focus and pictorialism are not necessarely the same thing.
Soft focus is a great tool for lowering harsh contrast.
SF creates a deeper depth of field than "normal" lenses.
With SF you also can do some magic to old ladies with warts, in bringing them back totally refreshed and with attractive details in their lovely smooth faces :-)

On the other hand I prefer to bring soft focus into my picture, not on top of the picture.
This requires SF lenses instead of SF filters.

The ancient pictorialist has had to show the artistic side of photographing.
(Pictorialistic?) Art has something to do with modifying, creating, and with handcraft.
Handcraft, artistic handcraft means colorizing, real printing ( today socalled alternative printing), mortensening your picture.
Except masking, which may tell about using a selfmade filter, I don't know about pictorialistic filters.

So this themes could become a new and nice thread?

Medium format is fine, yes.
But concerning SLR cameras, I take care of the size a bit :-)

http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.or...0&d=1647686617

[MartyNL]

Indeed. Your Amaryllis photo in the gallery, could be a pencil drawing or etching. This may be helpful when starting out with my own attempts.
http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.or...php/photo/2994

[Reginald S]

Originally Posted by MartyNL

Indeed. Your Amaryllis photo in the gallery, could be a pencil drawing or etching. This may be helpful when starting out with my own attempts.
http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.or...php/photo/2994

Marty, you are welcome to discuss the smooth Amaryllis either in the discussion gallery or in your own thread.

[Miha]

Welcome to FADU Reginald.