Medium Format Camera

I decided I wanted to try out a Medium Format Camera as I have seen the quality they produce and knew that portraiture was the perfect opportunity with which to experiment. I borrowed a Bronica ETRS and a Mamiya 645 on separate occasions in order to see which one I preferred. When I first tried to borrow a Medium Format camera, I took it to one of the tutors so that he could show me how to load the film. It wasn’t long before it became apparent that the camera wasn’t working properly so I took it back and exchanged it for the Bronica. I was glad that my first experience was the Bronica as I found it very straightforward to use. I had actually videoed the tutor loading the film so that I wouldn’t have any problems when I loaded it myself later – a good idea even if I do say it myself as I would have been buggered otherwise! I ran a few films through the Bronica as I was only able to borrow it for 24 hours. I developed the films the following week and was very pleased with the results. Considering it was the first time I had ever used a Medium Format, I think I did ok and though I haven’t yet done any prints, only the contact sheets, I was really amazed at the quality. I borrowed the Mamiya for a weekend and took it along to the Tattoo Studio. I managed to take a few shots whilst I was there, though not as many as I had planned. I had set the camera up on a tripod and took the shots after I had used the digital camera. The time factor was a problem as mentioned previously when talking about my first experience in the Tattoo Studio. As I had not time to get to know the subjects, it was difficult to get them to hang around for too long after having being tattooed for many hours, so I was only able take a couple of the subjects with the Medium Format. I am not sure it will work for my independent project but never say never, I will see how future shoots go.

I developed the films from both cameras on separate occasions and have included the results. I was very pleased with the Bronica shoot as previously mentioned but the Mamiya shots were not so impressive. The first negative taken from in the Tattoo Studio was very thin and though I used a proper lighting setup and a light meter in order to ensure the exposure would be spot on, something obviously went wrong along the way. I suspect that I had mistakenly set the meter for the wrong ISO setting but I am not entirely sure. I will try to work with the negatives but am not sure they will be of high enough quality. I also had problems with the next shoot with the same camera. I decided to photograph my nieces and nephews in their house. I set up the camera on a tripod and used a light meter in order to achieve the correct exposure. When I posed the subjects however, and looked through the viewfinder, I did find it hard to focus the shot. I kept fiddling with it but couldn’t seem to get it right. There was a small hole in the middle of the viewfinder and I was trying to focus the subjects through this. I think this was a mistake as you can see in the resulting contact sheets, the subjects are totally out of focus. The exposure seemed ok this time as shown with the second contact sheet. Anyway, the whole experience of using this camera was not so positive as it was with the Bronica. I will borrow it again now that I am aware of my mistakes, to see if it was my inability to get to grips with this model, or a case of a few fundamental errors on my part, with setting up the shots, I have since bought a Bronica as I had such a good experience with using it and have run some films through in order to see if I achieve the same kind of shots as before. I will definitely continue to experiment with the Medium Format though as I still love film photography, particularly black and white. 

 

Inspiration

I borrowed The Fuji Association of Photographers Assistants’ Awards books, 1995-1999 from Andrew Sanderson, one of my tutors, to browse through for inspiration in portraiture photography. They might be over a decade old bit I think that portraiture is never outdated. I love black and white photography particularly and found quite a few photographs in the brochures that I liked and some ideas that I might well use. I liked Alan Clarke photographs though quite a simple concept, they imply movement and I have experimented somewhat in this field and want to explore it further. I also liked the stark, almost inmate style photos by Rik Pinkcombe. I particularly love the portrait of the old couple by Jonathan Andrew. It is almost as if the lighting has been set up specifically in order to photograph as many people as possible and the couple were just passing through! Love it! Also included the photograms by Kirsty Mackay as I found the idea really interesting. I am intrigued to know how she did them. 

© Alan Stone

© Anthony Hill

© Caroline Molloy

© Helen Marsden

© Alan Clarke

© Dinu Li

© Hussein Burra

© James Lampard

© Rik Pinkcombe

© David Woolfall

© Kirsty Mackay

 

Saturday 12th February

Went to the studio today with the intention of setting up the lighting in order to take photographs of as many clients as possible. The idea was to use both the digital camera and a medium format camera in order to see which one would work best. As one tattoo can take several hours, I had the idea that I might potentially be able to photograph three or four people in the one session. I knew I would be sitting around for a long time so brought my computer with me in order to get on with work whilst waiting for subjects.

Managed to set up the lighting relatively quickly which was good. The first client of the day was called Rebecca and I chatted to her before Louis got started on her tattoo. She was really nervous as she remembered the pain from a previous tattoo and was not looking forward to it. It has been so long since my last tattoo that the pain element is not in the forefront of my memory so much. I was very sympathetic though as I do remember that it did hurt! She agreed to be a subject and after an hour or so came out of the back room, newly tattooed on her back. She was very happy with the result and posed for a number of photos for me. I wanted her to be relaxed in front of the camera and tried to talk her through it. This isn’t always so easy in a situation where you have just met someone for the first time. When working with individuals in a photographic project, I totally understand why the photographer gets to know his/her subjects first. This helped me when I did a project on Irish Identity. People are always more comfortable in from the camera when they have some connection with the photographer, unless of course they are regularly photographed and can ‘perform’ at the drop of a hat. I realised that it would be difficult to achieve the kind of photograph I wanted but decided to use the first session as a kind of test run in order to see what is achievable in a short space of time. I wanted to take perhaps half a dozen shots max as there would be no point in keeping the subject for longer than say five minutes. Having a tattoo is a long and painful process and although there is often a sense of euphoria once the tattoo is complete, there is an element of discomfort in the process and I realised that I had to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. I also interviewed her to find out why she came to this particular parlour and why she chose the design she did.

The next of Louis’ clients was due for a four-hour session so I prepared for a long haul. Half an hour in however, Louis suggested that I talk to a woman called Nina in one of the other studios who had been tattooed the week before. Coincidentally, she was the girlfriend of the subject being tattooed and they had travelled down from Peterborough in order for him to get a tattoo. This seemed to work more in my favour as she had plenty of time to kill and I felt that she was more relaxed.

Next I met some other clients, Sue and … who were waiting for another person to be tattooed and they too had time to spare and were willing to participate in my project. I decided to photograph them together as well as separately as they were sister-in-laws. They were quite amiable and good fun so easy to work with.

The last subject that I photographed was the second client of that day, Michael. After four hours, he was ready to be photographed and interviewed but was sporting a large bandage on his new tattoo. I decided to photograph a tattoo that he had received some months before and used both the digital and medium format camera as he was a very willing participant.

There were another couple of subjects that I encountered later in the day who seemed willing to participate but when it came to the actuality of taking the photographs, they were not suitable as seemed in a rush and not at ease with being photographed. I had expected that some individuals might not be suitable which was why I wanted to try to use as many participants as possible.

I managed to get five good candidates in the one session, which I was pleased about. I do feel however that I was unable to photograph them in the manner that I intended. Though the photographs serve their purpose, I had hoped that some of the subjects might be budding actors or I could somehow manage to coax them into becoming Britain's next top model :-).  

I think it is a case of working with the clients and coming up with a way of getting the most out of them. It is very hard when you don’t have time to get to know the client at all but due to the time factor of the project, there is really no way round that. I have asked Gary, the general assistant at the parlour if he could get in touch with any of Louis’ more regular clients for the next session on the 7th March. He has agreed and if there are a few people who are able to visit the parlour in order to participate on the project, it might work better as there wouldn’t be a problem with the time factor and also they wouldn’t be in any discomfort from being recently tattooed. Once I have confirmed the date with Louis then I will see if I can arrange for some other potential subjects at the same time. 

Tattoo Studio

Project

I have chosen to do this project on a particular Tattoo studio in Middleton as it was the one that I visited many moons ago when I had my tattoos done. I had originally decided to do it as an independent project last semester and I contacted the tattooist, Louis, back in September to find out if this was in fact feasible. I was not sure he would agree to the project as he is very busy but he did get in touch and subsequently arranged for me to visit the studio in between Christmas and New Year. I wanted to meet up beforehand in order to sort out a workable plan so that I wouldn’t impose on him too much but manage to complete the project successfully. When I went to the studio and told him my intentions he seemed very enthusiastic. He admitted that he himself had a great interest in photography and if it wasn’t for the fact that he was incredibly busy as a tattooist, he would perhaps become a photographer instead. I discovered that he had a Canon 5D, lighting and a backdrop set up in the studio as well. He showed me his extensive range of art and photography books and talked about some of the projects that he had done and indeed aspired to do. 

History of tattoos

The practice of tattooing dates back to ancient history. It is a cultural and tribal form of marking identity, rank, victory and status. It also represents rites of passage, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, pledges of love, forms of punishment, amulets and talisman and marks both outcasts and convicts. I want to study its history and consider how the principle of tattooing has seemingly remained unchanged for thousands of years since the days of clay disks to hold red ochre pigment and sharp bone needles to pierce the skin. Incidentally, the oldest known human to have preserved tattoos on his body is ‘Oetzi’ a Bronze Age man found after 5,500 years in the Tyrolean Alps between Austria and Italy. Interestingly, study of his skeleton indicated the presence of arthritis and the location of a number of the tattoo marks corresponded to accepted acupuncture points for the treatment/relief of this ailment suggesting a further dimension to the practice.

Ideas

I want to do a project on people who actually get tattooed from the perspective of identity. I really enjoyed a previous project on Irish immigration and wanted to use a similar formula for a totally different clientele. The idea would be to visit the studio on a number of occasions in order to photograph and interview a number of clients to try to build up a narrative as to why they have particular tattoos. I remember when I was considering the design I wanted, I thought long and hard about it as it would be a permanent form of decoration and if I wasn’t happy with the end result, then it would be painful and costly to erase.  

© Rankin

I want to photograph the individuals in a way that will show a side of their personality. I am obviously interested in the tattoo but would like to use creative cropping and closeups in order to get a particular perspective. There is a particular image of David Bowie taken by the photographer Rankin that I like as his perspective is somewhat distorted but it works aesthetically for me. I want the shots to be funky and quirky rather than just a straightforward shot of someone showing off their body adornments. I am also thinking of using a medium format camera though I will have to consider this carefully first. I wasn’t sure about using a black and white format but the tattooist suggested it would work. I much prefer portraits to be in black and white as a general rule anyway.

© Bernard Clarke

I intend to look at the work of professional photographers who specialise in tattoo photography, I have found a couple, Lionel Deluy and Angela Boatwright and will research their work more. One photographer who immediately appealed however is Bernard Clark as his photographs are completely different to the ones I have come across so far. He installs a background post-production, which looks to be HDR and the contrasting colours and shapes initially seem to clash with the model, but they actually work very well and indeed complement the model. I would consider employing a similar method in my photographs but would fade the background more than Bernard Clark does. If I choose to use black and white format, I think this would suit the aesthetic better.

Timeline

I will have to rely on the Louis’ goodwill in order for me to complete the project. As previously mentioned, he is incredibly busy and though there is a room where I can keep out of his way, I am very aware that I might be imposing on both him and his clients. The idea is that I hang around for lengthy periods of time so that I can potentially use a couple of his clients in a day, perhaps three. I will set up the studio in the back room so that it is ready to shoot straight away, as unlike the Irish identity project, where I visited the same people over a long period of time, I will only get to meet the client for a very short time. The Tattooist is confident that people will willingly have their photograph taken. I will wait to see if this is the case. I am going on Saturday with the intention of taking photographs, though if this doesn’t happen I will check out the lighting kit he has installed there. Whilst I am waiting for potential subjects I can look through his many books for research purposes.

I did a practice shoot at  home with my husband as the 'model'. He could not be serious at all and most of the shots I took are really not worth publishing as they are so bad! Here are a few that I took that I actually like though, strange as that may seem...

© Andrea Percival