Comments on: Using Film for Portraits of a Highway Patrolman

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Hi Rob. Thanks so much for the kind words. I really appreciate that. I am trying to set up additional 11×14 shoots now. I’ll post more soon.

Thanks again!

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Hi Greg. Thanks for the comment. Sorry to take so long to reply. I typically overexpose b/w slightly. You definitely want to err on the side of overexposure, rather than under. Back when I was processing my own film, I would always overexpose, then underdevelop my film for a greater tonal range. I would test films to see how far I could take this. Sometimes a 400 speed film would be rated at ISO 125 or a 100 speed film at ISO 40 or 50. If you underexpose and have to push the film, it could get unnecessarily grainy. Thanks!

By: Rob Luckins

Rob Luckins — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:19:00 +0000

Hi Milton,
What a great image and thanks for sharing your set up.
I wasn’t even aware that you could get 11×14″ film as i’ve stopped at 5×4.
I think the whole not knowing what you have is part of the fun of shooting film and that a lot of people have lost sight of this over time, myself included.
Shooting large format really makes you slow down and look at every subtle little nuance of a scene and whether it’s financial (they know how much one sheet costs) or just the respect that people have for these cameras when they’re being photographed by them, the images always seem to have a dramatic weight to them like a painting.

That’s my ramble over, keep up the great work and keep submitting as I would love to see more as you shoot them.

By: Greg Brophy

Greg Brophy — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Why do you rate the film iso 250?

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:54:00 +0000

Just realized I didn’t answer your second question. Sorry. In this case, I didn’t shoot any digitals since it was just a test shoot. I explained to my friend that I was trying something new and that it may not work. Fortunately, both sheets were in focus. I just need to adjust the lighting. Thanks.

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:51:00 +0000

Hi Mike. Thanks so much for the compliment. I have shot one other portrait on 11×14 since doing this one. I’m still tweaking the light, etc. I’ll make another post when I have several to show and maybe some behind the scenes images. Take care.

By: Mike_Kelley

Mike_Kelley — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:35:00 +0000

The lighting on this portrait is really exceptional. I like it quite a lot, hope to see more!

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:48:00 +0000

You may be right. It’s hard not to keep tweaking – whether it’s film or digital. As I replied above, I sort of missed on the background exposure and had to do more burning that I would normally like to do.

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:46:00 +0000

Thanks for the compliment on the portrait. I had to do more burning on this than I would have liked to. The background was much brighter than I wanted.

By: Milton Morris

Milton Morris — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Hi Roman. Thanks for the compliment. I too would like to see a very large print from this – either from the scan or directly from the negative. So far, I haven’t had anything large made.