I used the Widelux F7 140 degree panorama film camera to capture these images of the Qatar National Library.
This is only the second roll of film I have had processed using the Widelux, and it really is a joy to receive .tiff image negative scans, which I then process in Adobe Lightroom.
Here they are folks, the first images out of the widelux. I was provided with the negative scans as '.tif' files which I then processed in Adobe Lightroom. I was also kindly provided with JPEG's of the neg scans, but decided to try my hand at conversion myself.
All shots are taken at 250th second at f/11. All I wanted to check with these initial black and white shots was that there was no banding occurring, which sometimes happens when the barrel housing the lens 'swings'. If this swing is not at a constant speed, then banding can occur where the film is unevenly exposed...
Film stock used this time was: Kodak TRI-X 400TX.
Katara's Amphitheatre
Taken with the first roll of film I've used in over 3 decades!
Katara's Force of Nature 2
By Lorenzo Quinn
Testing light and shade
How would the camera and film hold up?
Full sun above
How would the film and camera hold up when pointed directly into the sun?
Dear friends,
Today is the last day of my "Desert Rose" exhibition in Katara Cultural Village in Doha, Qatar. Building 19, Visual Arts Studio.
I'll be there from 3pm to 10pm tonight, when the photographs will be taken down and moving to a new home..?
Please come along and say hello, I would love to meet you!
Photographer, Richard Bentley.
You can see my interview with Al Jazeera and see images from the gallery in this wonderful story created by the team from 'Al Marsad'.
Watch it by clicking on the image of me below:
Click to watch...
Al Marsad
This morning I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Olive Radio here in Qatar. I was interviewed by two hosts, Neeti Sharma and Station Head, Aniruddha.
You can hear the whole interview by clicking here!
The interviews will be broadcast tomorrow morning (23rd July 2018) and at the weekend. Such a lovely team of people. Professional, funny, smart and WOW! What a bright studio! Sure did wake me up this morning. I am sure this is a fun place to work.
They are also running a photography competition called 'Through the Lens' UPLOAD your BEST images today for a change to be featured!
Have a great day and enjoy your photography and Olive Radio, the first Hindi FM channel to be aired from the State of Qatar!
Richard.
So, the first roll of 35mm black and white film has just gone for developing, after shooting my first 20 images with the Widelux camera.
Because of the 24x58mm nature of the negatives produced by this 140 degree panorama camera, only 20 shots are possible on a roll of film that would usually give 36 shots...
Not having built exposure metering, only 3 shutter speeds and f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8 and f/11 as f/stops, it has been a real challenge. I only shot in the middle of the day and at night and I expect at least 50% of the images to be dreadful!
Nothing quite like starting from scratch again and learning to be a photographer all over again!
I love it.
Back to the future
Black and white film stock - like gold dust.
The Widelux F7
Like learning photography all over again.
There are many similarities between photography and cuisine. Think about it for a moment...
Any good chef will tell you that a plate of food is only as good as the ingredients used.
What we focus our lens on, are the 'ingredients' for our final image. If the subject is not interesting, then we will struggle to make the final image pleasing to the eye. Similarly, if the raw ingredients for the chef's food are poor, then no matter what his or her skills are with the knife and the seasoning, the meal is not likely to meet the chef's vision or meet the expectations of the person eating the food.
Be like the chef. Become familiar with your tools, using a sharp knife can be hazardous if placed in the wrong hands and mistakes using your camera will likely result in a poor image. Using your camera in fully automatic mode, is a bit like the chef asking their assistant to prepare the food for them, whist they oversee the proceedings. Learn to use your camera in fully manual mode ('M' mode on the dial), and after a while, you will become the master of your camera.
Post-Processing. This is when you 'bake' your image. You need to make sure you are shooting in 'Camera RAW' format on your camera to make full use of software like Adobe's Lightroom and Photoshop to truly add that 'special touch' to your image. This is when the true magic can happen. Taking this raw ingredients captured with your camera and turning them into something special.
Presentation. You have used the best ingredients, you have worked out post processing workflow and style and now it's time to present your final 'dish' to the viewer. Are you ready?
Timing. A plate of food should be served just in time, in the right atmosphere and with all the right ingredients in place. Very often, this is what will make you image stand out from the crowd. To be a 'michelin starred' photographer, you will need all of the above and a large sprinkling of luck and timing on your side.
Be unique, learn the basics, the advanced techniques and then break all the rules. Most of all have as much fun as you can on the journey.
Be the chef.
Master your tools.
Your camera is a tool.
Be creative with it.
The day has come, and the Widelux camera is loaded with a roll of 35mm 400 ISO film. I look forward to sharing the results with you in a few weeks!
We live in a digital age. No doubt about that. But, having come from an 'analogue' age and having used film cameras, played my music on vinyl and climbed trees instead of computer game levels, I wanted to get back to that time and age. That nostalgia.
Today, with digital photography, we can take hundreds, if not thousands of photographs and choose from the 'best one' to display (usually on a social media platform). I remember all too well, the discipline of only having 24 or 36 available shots per roll of film. If you messed up, you messed up, simple as that. There was no second chance.
I feel that today, all to much of that 'discipline' has been lost, or at least never learnt. And I'm not just talking about photography, I think it is true for many things in life. Patience, deferred gratification and focus, are at least to me, some of the ingredients to success.
Back in 2012 I was working on the Olympic Games in London, with a good friend of mine called Justin Fraser. He had recently been married and showed me (on his iPhone) his wedding photographs. They looked to me like something from a movie set. They were in black and white, the blacks were a rich, dark inky black and the whites softly graduated off, rather than being 'clipped'.
Later, he told me the photos had been shot using his 'Widelux' camera. An old school 140 degree panorama film camera. I was intrigued... fast forward to 2018 and I find a group of gentlemen in Qatar using Leica cameras and developing their own film. This all coincided with my photography exhibition in Katara Cultural Village, the "Desert Rose". That nostalgia came again, this time in a way all too powerful to resist.
I emailed my friend Justin and asked his advice about purchasing one, his reply was both knowledgeable and well written, and he pointed me to the direction of the great actor Jeff Bridges. He was and still is an amazing actor and, an incredibly gifted photographer. He used the Widelux. I read an article he had written about the camera here, and I was hooked. I had to have one!
Jeff 'documents' the films he works on from behind the scenes using his Widelux, and creates a book of his work to give to cast and crew after the filming is finished. Imagine that! What a great guy! One of my favourite is his behind the scenes photographs of the making of Iron Man, shot using his Widelux. You can see it right here.
There have been some great articles written on the use of this magnificently designed camera. Some of which I will share shortly (I am about to take my lovely daughter swimming!). This particular model, the 'F7' was manufactured between 1979 and 1988 in Japan. I was lucky to find one (and had to dig deep into my pockets!).
I'll be posting some images taken with this beauty over the coming months... keep an eye out!
Great write up from Qatar Tribune about my photography exhibition in Katara. Runs to 25th July 2018 in Katara, building 19. All welcome!
Press release from Gulf Times in Qatar about my "Desert Rose" photography exhibition in Katara, Qatar.
Wonderful to see the local press covering the event.
After weeks of preparation, including finalising the photographs and the final selection of images, working with the printing company and the wonderful people in Katara Cultural Village, Qatar, we finally opened the doors to show the photographs to the public. As always, I was thrilled to have my wife and baby with me during the opening night. My family is the cornerstone to everything I do.
You know, there is a HUGE difference between a 'like' on social media and a 'like' in person. To have the privilege of being present with those viewing your work, is truly magical. It is a visceral experience, a tangible experience and one I will never forget, as this was my first solo exhibition. If you are a photographer, I encourage you to have your work printed and displayed, even if only at home, it will make a huge difference to how you view your work.
I want to personally thank everyone that came on the opening night, and in particular Mr. Ahmad Al Sayed, Deputy General Manager of Katara Cultural Village, Qatar and the rest of the wonderful staff from Katara.
The exhibition runs to 25th July, 10pm, building 19 Katara Cultural Village, Qatar.
Huge thanks and and a great honour to meet with Mr. Ahmad Al Sayed again during the opening of "Desert Rose" photography exhibition in Katara.
We are ready to launch!
Simple Planning
Simple things like printing the images at home and creating a floor plan made all the difference when it came to hanging in the gallery...
On a hot day!
The day had arrived and we were unloading the photos ready to be hung in the gallery.
"Desert Rose"
Katara had created this lovely wall introduction next the the entrance to the gallery.
Lovely banner.
Katara created this wonderful banner from one of my images outside the gallery, There is an English an an Arabic version.
Made to measure!
Checking everything was perfectly aligned during the installation was important to me.
'Pearl essence' is the name of this photo. Qatar has a rich history of pearl diving, I I wanted to show this with the contrast between the old dhow boat and the modern architectural lines of the Qatar skyline. It is also the image on the banner outside and on the front cover of the catalogue.
Install team.
The Katara installation team worked long and hard. We are very grateful for their efforts.
Many of the photos were printed at 2 meters wide, like this one called 'Ripple in time' over in the black and white section of the gallery.
I have been honoured with the chance to display my photography at Katara Cultural Village in Qatar this summer.
Entitled Desert Rose, the exhibition will be held in building 19, gallery 1 of Katara Cultural Village with the opening ceremony at 7pm on 1st July. The exhibition runs until 25th July and is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Admission is absolutely free and I will be there most evenings to discuss photography and life in general.
I will be showing 34 images printed on canvas on wooden frames, up to 2 meters wide and we will also feature time-lapse films on monitors in the gallery.
My wife and I would love to see you there!
All the best,
Richard,
