Bird Watcher
Here’s my father, as a bird watcher and adventurer. He has been a very kind model as I figure out how to use my wooden 4x5 camera. I’m sick that I messed up the second image by pulling the dark slide out too soon while processing the film.
The afternoon was bright and I had HP5+ loaded in the film holders. I placed a reflector on the ground to fill in the shadows and overexposed it with a plan to underdevelop the film. This combination is a technique called “pulling,” which I used to soften harsh contrast from the midday sun. I also set my shutter to f8 to ensure his whole body was in focus while keeping the background a little soft. In previous attempts, his face was in focus, but his feet were blurry due to being closer to the camera.