Maternity ward / Hospital Film & Developer Advice Needed?

[Chris Lange]

You can easily get the speed you need in 35mm by shooting Tri-X or HP5+ and processing in Acufine as well.

That said, I just made a 15x22.5" print from a Delta 3200 neg I shot with my Nikon a few months ago, and it looks beautiful. Grainy? Yes, but less than you would think, and it's gorgeous.

[Steve Smith]

I want to use an RZ67 but dont want to be a burden with a tripod

Left hand grip!


Steve.

[Henry Carter]

Lovely photo David! And congratulations J on the twins! Photographing a birth is challenging with one, I cannot imagine two! I hope that the staff are cooperative. It will help to bend over backwards to be nice to them without being too intrusive.

Much depends on what format you are using. The following I have used for hand-held 6x9 and 4x5 shooting with MF and LF Linhof Technikas.

If you are shooting MF, do not discount the possibility of using indirect flash, even if just to fill in the shadows and add a little light while still using a faster film/developer combination. If you are in a room with light coloured walls/ceiling you can bounce flash off the wall behind you or the ceiling above you, thus avoiding direct flash on the infant. If you balance this with available light, it will give you an extra stop of light while evening-out the contrast range (ie filling in shadows) while still almost looking like natural available light photography. This is a powerful tool for low light situations where and extra stop gives you the necessary depth of field to capture the subject(s), and you can tame the exaggerated contrast range.

I am partial to Ilford products - HP5 @ 800 in Microphen is a good combination in lower light situations as is Delta 3200 in DDX (or Microphen) @ 1000 or 1600 (but I find this last combo a little flat).

The key is to practice, practice, practice....

Good luck!

[J Rollinger]

From a technical stand point, you would probably be ok with the RZ handheld if you shot Delta 3200 with a lens like the 110/2.8. You would be able to get a speed of 1/125 or 1/250 fairly easily I would think at that point. The biggest remaining obstacle would be your ability to track focus.

Thanks Chris.. I have a 110mm 2.8 for my RZ.. What would recommend it shoot it at.. 3200? What developer would you recommend? I would prefer to use my Rz but i dont want to irritate my daughter, son in-law and the staff by bringing a lot of equipment.

[StoneNYC]

Just go to the hospital and explain and ask if you can have a minute to check the light in the room, meter around all the shadowy things you may encounter and you'll have a good sense of what your aperture/shutter speeds should range from.

Are you shooting the actual birth? Head coming out and all? Or just the baby once he/she is already born? Congrats!


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[J Rollinger]

Lovely photo David! And congratulations J on the twins! Photographing a birth is challenging with one, I cannot imagine two! I hope that the staff are cooperative. It will help to bend over backwards to be nice to them without being too intrusive.

Much depends on what format you are using. The following I have used for hand-held 6x9 and 4x5 shooting with MF and LF Linhof Technikas.

If you are shooting MF, do not discount the possibility of using indirect flash, even if just to fill in the shadows and add a little light while still using a faster film/developer combination. If you are in a room with light coloured walls/ceiling you can bounce flash off the wall behind you or the ceiling above you, thus avoiding direct flash on the infant. If you balance this with available light, it will give you an extra stop of light while evening-out the contrast range (ie filling in shadows) while still almost looking like natural available light photography. This is a powerful tool for low light situations where and extra stop gives you the necessary depth of field to capture the subject(s), and you can tame the exaggerated contrast range.

I am partial to Ilford products - HP5 @ 800 in Microphen is a good combination in lower light situations as is Delta 3200 in DDX (or Microphen) @ 1000 or 1600 (but I find this last combo a little flat).

The key is to practice, practice, practice....

Good luck!

Thank you Henry!.. I just remembered that i have 6 rolls of HP5 in my freezer, i can give them a try while waiting for some Tri-x from B&H..

[J Rollinger]

Just go to the hospital and explain and ask if you can have a minute to check the light in the room, meter around all the shadowy things you may encounter and you'll have a good sense of what your aperture/shutter speeds should range from.

Are you shooting the actual birth? Head coming out and all? Or just the baby once he/she is already born? Congrats!


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you Stone! I will be shooting after they are born, the delivery will be for my son in-law, hes already freaking out about that..

[J Rollinger]

Would this be the correct Aucfine/ They also have Diafine & Acu-1..

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ne_AFD128.html

[jp498]

My experience with this is that it's generally pretty low light. If you look on flickr or other people's digital photos of the same things, you can often see the exif data so you can figure out what you're looking at for light level/exposures. Probably 35mm would be ideal pushing tmy2 or tri-x to 1000 or 1600.

[cowanw]

Its hard to find scientific literature fast on the web but there is no evidence of injury to babies eyes from flash photography and neither pediatricians nor hospitals forbid it. A bad reference but it is a start
http://www.richardbarryphotography.com/flash-baby-phot