African Twin Pin, St. Louis Art Museum

This small wood carving from 19th century Africa is has eyes that seem to follow as you walk past it in the basement of the St. Louis Art Museum.  Identical twins have symbolic meanings in most cultures, and I think this piece is supposed to look somewhat sinister.

Who remembers Kodak 2475 High Speed Recording Film?  It had a nominal ASA of 1000 and golf ball sized grain, especially when processed in Kodak HC-110, dilution A.  A number of figure photographers, like Robert Farber and Pete Gowland, used 2475 rated at ASA 1600 and processed in formula DK-50 to shoot nudes.  The extended red sensitivity, grain and low resolution immediately signals a pictorial intent and reduces the need for body make-up.  I've been experimenting with film grain styles in Nik Silver Efex Pro, and I think this picture comes close to the 2475 look.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4G, ISO 800, f/2.0 @ 1/6s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, then edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Canoe Prow, 19th Century Africa

This is a detail from a canoe prow, collected in Africa in the late 19th century, on display at the St. Louis Art Museum.  I'm still working on the look of pictures made with Leica I in 1925.  There is something very romantic about photographs from that era.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-f4, ISO 800, 66mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/8s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6, the converted to monochrome in Nik Silver Efex Pro using the blue filter with the Kodak Tri-X film setting.

African Mask #3, St. Louis Art Museum

One scary dude is lurking in the basement of the St. Louis Art Museum.  Luckily it sits behind thick glass.  The textures on this guy are amazing.

Technical:  Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.4 G, ISO 200, f/2.8 @ 1/8s, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.4 to adjust white balance.

African Mast #2, St. Louis Art Museum

This fierce and beautiful mask is one of the more elaborately carved examples in the collection on display, this subject presented a number of challenges.  First it is behind glass with a number of reflections.  Second, it is really dark, despite the spotlight.  Finally, the color balance of the spotlight is odd, maybe 3000K.  Since this is typical of the kind of shooting I like to do in a museum, I purchased the new Nikkor 50mm f1.4G.  With this lens, the veiwfinder is bright enough to see potential issues.  Shooting at f/2.0 kept the glass reflections at a minimum.

Technial: Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-S 50mm f1.4G, ISO 200, f/2.0 @ 1/20s handheld, auto white balance. RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.4.  The primary adjustment was finding the odd-ball color balance.