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Rangefinder
Magazine Advantages of New Fuji NPH 400
Film by William S. McIntosh
The 400 speed also helps in outdoor portraits made in the shade, because all color negative film loses about one stop on heavy overcast days and in deep shade. The longer [red] wavelengths of light leave the red-sensitive layer of color films underexposed, giving a cyan/blue cast in the shadow areas. I expose NPH film at E.I. 200 in these situations. All the prints in this article were printed by H&H Color Lab.
JoAnn was photographed in rehearsal the morning of the concert. Three strobes were used. The Profoto Compact 300 strobes were used; each being set for f/16. A Mamiya RZ-67, 140mm lens and Fuji NPH 400 film were also used. The audience was photographed just before the curtain rose at 8:00 PM for the evening concert. They were informed that I had photographed JoAnn that morning and the finished result would be a one-of-a-kind image of JoAnn conducting with the audience included in the finished portrait. Four Profoto Acute 2R 1200 strobes were discharged by Pocket Multi Max radio control from the Mamiya RZ-67 camera with a 50mm wide-angle lens and Fuji NPH 400 film. Fuji NPH 400 film was the perfect film to meet the challenge of photographing 2000 people in the audience and lighting them so that you could see their faces in a 30x40 portrait and keep them subdued enough so they would not visually overwhelm the conductor. The film allowed an f/11 exposure, which was just right to get the depth of field needed. The soft contrast of the film allowed me to get more detail in the very dark areas of the symphony hall and the audience. Had I used Fuji NPS 160 film, I would have needed four strobes with 3600 watt-seconds of light. The Fuji NPZ 800 film would have allowed me to make the portrait with 600 watt-second strobes, but the contrast would have been higher. Digital retouching artist Patricia Van Becelaere accomplished an awesome task on this portrait. There were a number of empty seats in the Hall. She moved people that could not be seen behind the conductor and filled the empty seats with them. Patricia spent about 24 hours of art work on this portrait. Some of the people close to the lights were a little light and some in the back were a little dark. I exposed for the dark areas and Patricia evened out the tones to the depth I needed, to show off the conductor and the audience at their best.
For this portrait I combined portrait lighting with architectural lighting. The group was lit with a main light strobe in a 31-in. umbrella, 45 degrees to the right of the group. A similar strobe was set up behind the camera as fill light. A strobe with barn doors was placed in the foyer backlighting the group. Two strobes with barn doors lit the right and left walls of the foyer and the vase with the sunflowers. The room in the back with the red-patterned wall was lit with one strobe bounced off the ceiling. The Fuji NPH 400 film allowed the exposure to be between f/16–22 to get the layers of space in the three rooms in focus. The soft contrast also allowed a good tonal scale with detail in the dark and light areas of this full scale portrait. A Mamiya RZ-67 with 65mm lens was used. Exposure was 1/4 sec. at between f/l6–22 to show up the candles in the foyer and the back room.
The portrait was made in his office. I moved his desk near the archway entrance to the elegant room behind him. The room in the rear was lighted by two strobes with barn doors, one directed on the back left wall and one directed on the back right wall behind Skip. The main light was a 31-in. umbrella 45 degrees to the left of my subject. The fill was also a 31-in. umbrella behind the camera. The strobes on my subject also lighted the wall of his office behind him. The Fuji NPH 400 film enabled me to get a full range of tones with good detail in his dark suit and hair and hold to detail in the light areas. Exposure was 1/15 sec. between f/8–11. The Mamiya RZ-67 and 65mm lens were used.
The statues were lit with lobby spot lights, but the lighting was uneven and the rest of the lobby would be totally dark. I lit four statues separately with a strobe and barn doors. The statue behind the actor was only lighted with the lobby light. I did not want it to detract from the actor. Three strobes were directed onto the actor. The softer contrast of the Fuji NPH 400 film was just right for an interior with high contrast lighting. The 400 speed allowed an exposure of f/16 at 1/2sec. to get the depth of field needed and to expose the ambient light properly. A Mamiya RZ-67 camera and 65mm lens were used.
Elaine was asked to dress completely in black. A black background was used. We attached a 30x36-in frame to two light stands and had Elaine sit behind the frame. She crossed her legs and held a 24x30-in. frame on her lap where, she could hold it and look through it. Four strobes were used, two with barn doors, lighting Elaine from the right and left rear sides to separate her from the background. One strobe was used as the main light with a 31-in. umbrella and was placed 45 degrees to her right. The fill in light was a similar strobe behind the camera. The
Fuji NPH 400 film allowed me to expose at f/22 and get both frames and
Elaine in focus. The full range of tones in the film also enabled
me to get some tone in her black jacket. A Mamiya RZ-67 and 140mm lens
were used.
John liked the idea and came up with the white clothes for he and his wife. The portrait was made on the ocean front at Fort Story, Virginia, the only location in Virginia you can get an automobile with an ocean background. Fuji NPH 400 film allowed me to make the portrait and get the lovely sunset color in the sky just after the sun had gone down. The camera was about 6 feet high and I was standing on a small stool. A Lumedyne Battery strobe with bare bulb was attached to a light stand placed at a 45% angle to the left of the camera. Exposure was 1/4 sec. between F 8 & 11, the strobe exposure matched the ambient light. The Mamiya Camera RZ67, lens 65mm was used. |
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A big advantage of Fuji NPH 400 on location is that
when large areas need to be lighted with strobes, the strobes can be
smaller and less powerful. The same advantage holds true in the studio,
where the approximate two-stop increase in speed gives more depth of
field.
Portrait
of JoAnn Falletta, Music Director The Virginia Symphony 
The Family of Mary Kaye &Jon Huntsmen, Jr. 
Skip Sroka, Washington, D.C., Interior Designer 
Virginia Stage
Company with Actor 
Elaine
Studley, Photographer
Mr. & Mrs.
John Maragon and Their 1965 Mustang