Richard, A number of years ago, a photographer friend of mine obtained several dozen of Hurrel's LF negatives of "unknown starlets". They were extensively retouched. Prints made from them were beautiful. I believe that the Imagon lens is the type of lens currently use for controllable soft focus with a sharp basis. Jerry Richard Knoppow wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Don Williams" <dwilli10@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 12:52 PM > Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Scanner advice needed, please > > > I was sure you and Slobodan would be one among the > > responders. > > > > I wanted to say something very similar but just couldn't > > think of a > > way of expressing it. > > > > With respect to PhotoShop, I am a complete failure at > > defining an > > area to mask, I suppose because I use a track ball. I > > would guess > > that a mouse with a large range of physical travel would > > help. > > > > Thanks, > > > > DAW > > > > > > > > Don Williams > > La Jolla, CA > > > First of all, I am no expert with Photoshop. People who > are experts make a very good living off of it. There are > ways of getting the program to draw lines around things but > it is something like chromakey where there must be a > definite separation of brightness or color. I can sometimes > make it work. > A mouse may help although a pen table is better. I hate > trackballs. I have a very good friend who is a computer > expert and loves them, I find them clumsy. To me the > movements of a mouse with relation to the screen are > completely intuitive. > > I have been enthralled with Hollywood portrait technique, > both still and motion picture, since I was a kid. The use of > both soft focus and selective focus is fascinating. Some > photographers, Hurrel is a well known example, made pictures > which look very sharp but on close examination one can see > where detail has been suppressed. Hurrel was supposed to > have used mostly retouching to achieve his effects but I > don't know if this is true or only myth. > Lighting has an important effect on soft focus effects. > One must have fairly sharp, bright, highlights to get the > effect of a "pearly" highlight. If done right brighter areas > have a sort of glow without actually looking blurred. > There were lenses designed in the teens and twenties > intended to reduce the amount of retouching necessary. To my > eye they tend to be too soft, the sort of effect I like can > be had with lenses like the Dagor which has enough residual > spherical to give this effect when wide open or near it. > Sometimes very soft focus can be interesting as in some of > Edward Steichen's early work which has a dream like quality > which I find intriguing. Probably this is partly due to the > printing methods he used but the originals must have been > diffused in some way. > The Rollei soft focus attachments are interesting. They > are optical glass with rings of some other material, perhaps > a different glass bonded to them. The effect is probably a > combination of some spherical aberration and some diffusion. > Diffusers of this sort can be made so that the effect > changes very little with f/stop. > All sorts of things can be used as diffusers, both on the > camera and on the enlarger. One can spend hours > experimenting. Probably every Hollywood cinematographer had > some secret diffusion technique or lens. Have a look at any > of the Greta Garbo films on Turner Classic Movies. Many of > the silents and all of her sound movies were photographed by > William Daniels, one of the great masters. He was also > assigned to photograph Norma Shearer, the boss's wife, so he > must have been good. Note especially the closeups where the > style of portrait lighting and use of soft focus and > diffusion is appearent. > > --- > Richard Knoppow > Los Angeles, CA, USA > dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > --- > Rollei List > > - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' > in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org > > - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with > 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org > > - Online, searchable archives are available at > //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.5/403 - Release Date: 07/28/2006 --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list