Guy Tillim's Work

[CooperS]

Hi there all,

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this. But I am sure most RF users know of Guy Tillim's Jo'burg series by now.

http://www.michaelstevenson.com/contemporary/exhibitions/jhb/jhb1.htm

I find these pictures amazing. Not only in content and composition but the way light has been managed using an M6. What I love most (and these are not the only type of photos) is the way the contrast is very high and colours are rich. There is also a slight grainy feel to the image.

Since I am a newbie, I would appreciate any advice on a technique (if there's any) on how to capture the photos like these using non-digital cameras.

Is it a kind of film or slide negative? Is is processing? Or is it just plain ol skill?

Thanks all.

 

[Terence]

It is an interesting series. The images on the Leica site are a truer representation of the images in terms of color reproduction and contrast. The images on the exhibition site seem a little desaturated, possibly due to compression. Anyways, I don't know the exact details but I'd hazard a guess and say that such images are possible through a combination of film type and correct lighting.

Transparency film like Velvia, Provia and 100VS tend to produce highly saturated colors and higher levels of contrast compared to negatives. The grain is often due to the speed of the film (generally faster film produce grainier images) and possibly the processing method too. Many of his more contrasty images were taken indoors. Often when the light comes in at a lower angle, that itself creates a high contrast situation e.g. one side of a subject's face is brightly lit than the other.

Wonder if anyone else can chime in?