A Different Way To Photograph
June 3rd, 2011
When Brooke was here visiting I drove her up to Cleveland so she could work with a friend of mine, Herb Ascherman. Herb is a fine photographer with quite an international reputation. And he works in the classic manner, using black and white film in an 8×10 view camera and making his prints using the platinum/palladium process. I can tell you first hand that those platinum prints are wonderfully beautiful objects…a real joy to see.
Now, I’ve worked with an 8×10 view camera. But when I did it I had to use many more four-letter words…in fact, I don’t think I heard Herb curse or snarl at the camera even once. He worked the ground glass, shutter and those giant 8×10 film holders like it was second nature for him…which of course, it is, since he does this all the time. He did take many fewer photos than I usually do on a shoot…but then again those sheets of 8×10 film are a lot more expensive than the electrons I use to record photos.
The sky was overcast on the day we were in Cleveland, and Herb prefers to work with natural window light. But there wasn’t a lot of that light, so the exposures ended up being four seconds long. That’s a really long time if you are trying to hold completely still. But Brooke is an amazing model and did a great job.
Below you can get an idea of what things looked like from where Herb was standing. I took all these photos with my little Canon S90. Herb has shared his photos with me and I’ll share a few of them with you in my next post. Stand by for beauty…and maybe a little bit of beast.
2 Responses to “A Different Way To Photograph”
1Lin
June 4th, 2011 @ 1:39 am
I’m currently reading a history of the Magnum photographers which includes a great deal about working with the 8×10, so your post is fascinating. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing Herb’s photography.
2Erin O'Brien
June 4th, 2011 @ 7:46 am
I adore Herb. I’ve seen him at work and you’re right, he’s as at home with the 8 X 10 as he is with all those beautiful nude women.
Thanks for a fun post. Can’t wait to peruse your blog.
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