This camera has become my main workhorse. I’ve been using it for everything. Portraits, street work, events, landscapes and so much more.
It is one of my all time favourite pieces from my collection, which is a good thing considering how much effort is required to use it.
So this camera came into my collection about 4 years ago. And during that time, it had mostly been sat on a shelf as something interesting to… Read more “Hairdressers journal panoramic”
a moment to my childhood
All images shot using Ilford HP5+ 400ISO on Mamiya RB67. Hand processed using Ilford Ilfosol 3. Printed using home darkroom setup on Ilford Multigrade IV RC deluxe… Read more “The wasteland lookbook”
amazing what you can find in a charity shop.
A few weeks ago a really interesting project landed on my desk. A box of glass plate negatives were anonymously donated to Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil.
In the past I have been contracted to archive and retouch family photo collections. This experience coupled with my already extensive experience with analogue film processes, made me the perfect candidate for the project. The image on the left was taken on my smart phone and then converted to negative in order to give us a better idea of what images we were dealing with.
The negatives were stored in a curious wooden box and were separated by the pages of a book. they had such a ghostly feel about them due to their age and content. In my own opinion I would date the negatives from between 1890 and 1920 due to the fact that they are dry-plate glass negatives and the kind of clothing worn by the subjects. The subjects of the images ranged from portraits to street scenes, landscapes, graveyards and even a shotgun!
While searching the box I came across this one image which simply looked menacing with the pages of the book underneath.
To start the scanning process I had to ensure that I could create the highest quality images from these negatives. To achieve this I started by deep cleaning the Epson V700 Perfection flatbed scanner and preparing a program
The process took roughly 45 minutes per image as they each had to be cleaned, scanned, processed and retouched. The process of retouching the images was left up to my own discretion; the authenticity of the images being a key part of my ideals, I decided to only retouch the faces of the subjects in the images and leave the rest in the original condition. By doing this I believe a good balance has been struck between restoration and the retention of authenticity. I also scanned with the intention of keeping the whole negative intact with no cropping; whoever shot these images really knew what they were doing.
The intention of scanning these negatives is to hopefully create an exhibition from them, possibly at Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil.
If you feel you have information regarding these images then please contact me as I would love to help create a full account to accompany these mysterious images.
These images were taken during the open evening of the Inside out exhibition at the Oriel 4 Gallery space at The College Merthyr Tydfil. The exhibition was… Read more “Sian Thomas, Portrait Artist.”
A few days ago I had a burst of creativity, one of my regular models wanted her hair styled like Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.
The style was a mix of techniques which was emphasised by her ombré hair. The mix of red and blonde was perfect for the shoot.
The location we used was a plain of unused ground on top of the valley between Merthyr Tydfil and Fochriw, a stones throw from the open cast mine.
The outfit and styling were a collaboration of our combined efforts, mainly a skirt and assorted scarves used to achieve a very natural and earthy aesthetic, and therefore giving of a very Daenerys vibe.
RPeterThomas Photographic 