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Lex Jenkins · 11-07-2003, 11:04 PM

Yup, it was a swell time and I'd do it again. Lee's good company and seems to know just about everybody - or else they seem to think they know him. So, Jimmultiplenumbers, if you happen to be in the area...

There were far too many great photographers' work being displayed at the Afterimage for any one to stand out in my mind. I do seem to recall spending a lot of time sitting on the floor sifting through a dozen or so by one particular fellow, tho'.

David Donovan, whom Lee mentioned, uses a technique with Tri-X and Microdol-X that has influenced me to rethink some of my approaches to exposure and development. I thought EI 200 was conservative for Tri-X but David shoots at EI 100 and the tonality of his informal portraiture is palpable. (I forgot to ask if he's shooting Tri-X Pan or Pro, tho' - it's in 6x6cm format.) His results were most definitely not mushy, which is one of the common myths about Microdol-X.

The Kenna show, well...what can I say? In between swooning over the quality of his images I'd try to stop my head spinning just long enough to try to figure out some of his tricks.

The highly selective burning, dodging/masking is pretty easy to spot - it's part of his "look." I suspect there's some bleaching going on in his snow images, possibly those with water too. Who knows?

I'm pretty sure the prints are selenium toned only, nothing fancy. However it definitely ain't KRST - it's pinkish, not purplish. I suspect Paterson Acutol, which I just happen to have in my darkroom. Lovely stuff.

The blacks in his prints are not always featureless, as they usually appear in online jpegs. While sometimes he'll print solid black treelines, fences, etc., just as often his rocks, bricks, etc., will have a whisper of detail.

And his prints making use of large expanses of seemingly white negative space are not really featureless whites either. When mounted, borderless, against a white mount board/mat the slightly warm tone is distinct. There's one of a snow fence, half buried in snow, snaking off into the distance. Incredible. The fence not only shrinks in perspective but receeds in actual presence until it's almost a mirage - you think you see it after it's gone.

Kenna seems comfortably swinging between fine grain and very apparent grain, as necessary to suit the contrast he desires for a particular image. And his taste in how the final image appears is usually dead-on.

The resolution of fine detail, as rendered by his Hasselblad gear, also makes me question whether my Rollei TLR is up to the task. However even his earlier 35mm work has extremely fine resolution so I suspect I just need to work harder on my overall technique.

Anyway, it's inspiring, not disheartening. That's important.

11-07-2003, 11:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lex Jenkins Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 229	Yup, it was a swell time and I'd do it again. Lee's good company and seems to know just about everybody - or else they seem to think they know him. So, Jimmultiplenumbers, if you happen to be in the area... There were far too many great photographers' work being displayed at the Afterimage for any one to stand out in my mind. I do seem to recall spending a lot of time sitting on the floor sifting through a dozen or so by one particular fellow, tho'. David Donovan, whom Lee mentioned, uses a technique with Tri-X and Microdol-X that has influenced me to rethink some of my approaches to exposure and development. I thought EI 200 was conservative for Tri-X but David shoots at EI 100 and the tonality of his informal portraiture is palpable. (I forgot to ask if he's shooting Tri-X Pan or Pro, tho' - it's in 6x6cm format.) His results were most definitely not mushy, which is one of the common myths about Microdol-X. The Kenna show, well...what can I say? In between swooning over the quality of his images I'd try to stop my head spinning just long enough to try to figure out some of his tricks. The highly selective burning, dodging/masking is pretty easy to spot - it's part of his "look." I suspect there's some bleaching going on in his snow images, possibly those with water too. Who knows? I'm pretty sure the prints are selenium toned only, nothing fancy. However it definitely ain't KRST - it's pinkish, not purplish. I suspect Paterson Acutol, which I just happen to have in my darkroom. Lovely stuff. The blacks in his prints are not always featureless, as they usually appear in online jpegs. While sometimes he'll print solid black treelines, fences, etc., just as often his rocks, bricks, etc., will have a whisper of detail. And his prints making use of large expanses of seemingly white negative space are not really featureless whites either. When mounted, borderless, against a white mount board/mat the slightly warm tone is distinct. There's one of a snow fence, half buried in snow, snaking off into the distance. Incredible. The fence not only shrinks in perspective but receeds in actual presence until it's almost a mirage - you think you see it after it's gone. Kenna seems comfortably swinging between fine grain and very apparent grain, as necessary to suit the contrast he desires for a particular image. And his taste in how the final image appears is usually dead-on. The resolution of fine detail, as rendered by his Hasselblad gear, also makes me question whether my Rollei TLR is up to the task. However even his earlier 35mm work has extremely fine resolution so I suspect I just need to work harder on my overall technique. Anyway, it's inspiring, not disheartening. That's important. __________________ Three degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.