[pure-silver] Re: Karsh

DEAR RICHARD,
        White 8X10 cameras??? I WANT ONE!  ;-))
                HOLIDAY CHEERS!
                        BOB

-----Original Message-----
From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Knoppow
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 9:01 AM
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Karsh



-----Original Message-----
>From: joe mcguckin <joe@xxxxxxx>
>Sent: Dec 17, 2007 2:36 AM
>To: Pure-Silver Free <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [pure-silver] Karsh
>
>I was perusing a Karsh book of portraits this evening. Karsh really  
>likes to accentuate skin detail. Generally, every wrinkle and pore is  
>visible. One portrait was quite different.
>Audrey Hepburn's portrait looks almost like it was done with chalk or  
>pastel pencils.
>
>Any idea how this was done? Was this using one of the soft portrait  
>lenses?
>
>
>Joe McGuckin
>
   I don't know for certain but can guess at a couple of things. First of
all his portraits of women generally are much softer than his male
portraits. I think for men he used an orthochromatic film. This, in itself,
tends to accentuate skin blemishes and textures. Also, I think he used a
film with an upswept curve similar to the sort of curve current Tri-X
ISO-320 film has. Both Kodak and Ansco made both ortho and pan films with
this type of characteristic. The effect of the increasing contrast in the
highlights is also to accentuate textures. Straight line films tend to
reproduce mid-grays lighter than very long toe films so skin value is a bit
lighter. The other factors are lighting and makeup. Women were generally
made up while men were not plus the character of the lighting can make an
astonishing amount of difference. In his book on motion picture lighting
_Painting With Light_ academy award winning director of photography John
Alton says the first excercize in portrait lighting for women is to learn to
light an orange so that the pores don't show. Of course, I am leaving out
retouching. Doubtless Audry Hepburn's portrait received some retouching
(maybe a lot). 
    I believe he studied classical art, his lighting and posing certainly
suggest this. 
    At any rate, all of these are factors. When I was in my teens I tried to
duplicate Karsh's work by experimenting with lighting. At that time I didn't
know about the effects of film sensitization and type of curve. 
    BTW, Karsh worked mostly in 8x10. I saw a blurb in some early 1950's
photo magazine showing him taking delivery on a couple of custom built Ansco
view cameras, they were painted white because Karsh thought they were less
intimidating to the subjects. 


--
Richard Knoppow
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Los Angeles, CA, USA
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