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Several from the Orchard

by Andre Costantini

For the past 11 years, my brother, sister and I have taken an annual portrait during autumn, in the same orchard while enjoying some apples. The images here are taken with the Bronica 6 x4.5 Rangefinder of that gathering.

We found this old jalopy in the back of our favorite orchard and figured it would make a nice prop. I mounted the 45mm lens and moved in real close, if I can correctly recall, it was to the minimum focusing distance of the lens (about 3 feet.) The original image was shot on Fuji RDP and then scanned. It wasn’t until a couple of years later when I was experimenting with the Nik Multimedia filters that I settled upon this version. Using a slight amount infrared filtration fading into a desaturated version of the original image yielded this image, which looks reminiscent of a still from some 50’s B movie.

Apple Double

These were taken two years later on our annual apple-picking venture.

Both images were taken with the RF outfitted with the 100mm lens. The image on the left was taken by engaging the self-timer button and then tossing the camera up in the air, by holding the barrel of the 100mm lens and hurling it upward creating a forward motion for a 360 rotation. With several steps leading up to this exposure, it took multiple tries to get it right. First I had to engage the self timer and count down until two seconds before the shutter was released, then toss the camera up and have my brother toss the apples up, careful not to hit the flying camera with the flying apples. I have to say, a straight up lateral toss especially with the 100 mm lens proves how very well balanced this camera actually is. It should be noted that this technique is not endorsed by Tamron USA and may void warranty in the event that you miscalculate and drop your RF. The image on the right was taken by the traditional technique of holding the camera with two hands, looking through the viewfinder, focusing and pressing the shutter release button. Both these black and white images were shot on Ilford’s 3200 ISO black and white film. Because of the fast film speed, I can set the camera on aperture priority at f22 or f16 and get between 180 and 500 th of a second shutter speed on a nice sunny day. This allows me to pre-focus the camera with enough depth of field based on my estimated distance and a shutter speed fast enough to freeze multiple fast motions. Even though the film is rated at 3200, I rate it at 1600 ISO for normal processing; this achieves a greater density to the negatives.

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