Florian Weiler photography | Portrait » Portrait Photography

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Filed in: 35mm | Analog | Contax 645 | Leica M7 | medium format | Nikon F4 | Pentax 67

Now and then I ask myself whether I am a “digital” photographer who just sometimes likes the world in front of his eyes to be interpreted by photographic film, or whether I am a “film” shooter who occasionally prefers the simplicity and convenience of his digital camera.
When Lili and I arrived at our first shooting spot, I might have got an answer – at least for that day. As usual I wanted to check out the light with some digital test shots, but when I took my camera I realized that I had not a single SD card with me. Five different cameras and about a dozen film rolls, but not a single data storage medium. Interestingly, I wasn’t so much annoyed that I couldn’t take digitals, but more that I carried a heavy and completely useless camera with me during this hot summer day.

Anyway, we had a great afternoon. Lili is not only a pleasant and beautiful model, but also a nice and intelligent young woman who gave me some very interesting insights into her work on and behind the stage at the theater.

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  • Sherwin Herana24. Juli 2014 - 23:27

    B E A U T I F U L
    love it.ReplyCancel

  • Bonyo Bonev25. Juli 2014 - 14:04

    Very nice photographs. They are a job of a real professional. Nice and clean website design to support all the photos.

    Keep it going.ReplyCancel

  • Henk27. Juli 2014 - 20:55

    Beautifull girl , beautifull pictures. Wel done.ReplyCancel

Filed in: 35mm | Analog | Contax 645 | Leica M7 | medium format | Nikon F4

Lilly was by far the youngest model I have ever worked with, but certainly not the most inexperienced. According to her portfolio, she had several quite different shootings before we met. However, I was somehow concerned that she might become impatient when things go a little bit slower with film, so I took my digital to show her a few of our first shots. But my worries were completely unfounded. She was just great – uncomplaining, pleasant and very open-minded.

Beside my digital, we took a Leica M7 (0.95/50), a Nikon F4 (1.8/105), a Contax 645 (2/80), a few Fuji Acros, some Kodak TriX and a lot of Portra 160 with us. Portras would do perfect with Lilly’s light skin and the afternoon sun, I thought.

But the sun didn’t last for long. Fortunately we already had a few good shots before the mild summer storm came up which brought our shooting to an early end. Right before this happened, I asked Lilly for a last few shots for which she shouldn’t consider the rising wind as a bunch of annoying air, but as a friend to enjoy and play with. She did and out came my two favorite images of this day which I like to start and end with.

 

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  • Patricia12. Juni 2014 - 20:34

    Love all you series a lot, but I think this one is my favorite so far. Very simple surroundings, but sooooo beautiful :-) ReplyCancel

  • Leonardo B.12. Juni 2014 - 21:18

    Your model is a really gorgeous young lady. I guess I love 29 most. Very direct and expressive.ReplyCancel

  • Lavilotte-Rolle Frédéric12. Juni 2014 - 23:47

    Wonderful serie as always :)
    I’m found of your portraits.ReplyCancel

  • Antonio Correia24. Juni 2014 - 22:58

    I am really impressed with the quality of your work !
    Very well done. Excellent ! :) ReplyCancel

  • Emma18. Juli 2014 - 3:16

    Thank you for all you so kindly share with us … ♥
    Your work with Lilly is most enchanting!!

    Have a wonderful day and weekend Florian Weiler …
    And if you’d like to write, I would cherish the opportunity.
    ~ emma :) ReplyCancel

Filed in: 35mm | Analog | Leica M (240) | Leica M7 | Nikon F4

It was beginning of May when Edith and I met. After some nice days, the weather had turned cold and unsettled again, so we decided to shoot in my studio.
Edith was great. Whenever I suggested a pose she did not simply strike it, but turned it into something much better. So I could fully entrust her with this part and focus myself more on perspective and light.
In total I used three light sources – mostly simultaneously. A big soft box and a spot on the one hand which were tungsten lights, and the little but still considerable natural light which was peeking through my small roof windows.
I was confident I could turn the two tungstens into great light, but when we started I wasn’t quite certain how. Especially due to the variable and therefore pretty unpredictable daylight. So I took quite a lot digital test shots with a Leica M before I started using film. Some of the digitals turned out really great. And because I don’t want to keep them from you, this post will show a mixture of digital and analog shots.

Used equipment: Leica M, Leica M7, M0.95/50, R2.0/180, Nikon F4, 1.8/105, Kodak Portra 400, SanDisk Extreme  ;-)

Leave a Comment
  • Andrea16. Mai 2014 - 7:33

    …langsam weiss ich nicht mehr, was ich als Anmerkung zu Deinen Bildern noch schreiben soll! Ich habe das Gefühl mich ständig zu wiederholen da mir die Superlative ausgehen. Diese Serie ist atemberaubend… Du hast wirklich ein Gespür für den Moment und ein besonderes Händchen bei der Auswahl Deiner Modelle!!!!ReplyCancel

    • Florian Weiler16. Mai 2014 - 17:10

      Danke Andrea, ich freue mich immer sehr über deine netten Worte :-) ReplyCancel

  • Theodor Yemenis17. Mai 2014 - 22:50

    Hey, Florian,

    everything very mystical and beautiful! Also a very nice model! Personaly I prefer the less lit ( darker ) pictures. The atmosphere is kind of magic … I have the impression, that soon a mystical ceremony would begin …

    keep on going with this kind of series … it is always a plesure to see the pictures … ( your comments and explanations about the techique are also very helpful )

    kind regards
    TheoReplyCancel

    • Florian Weiler19. Mai 2014 - 18:38

      Thanks Theo, and same for me, the darker ones are my favorites, too :-) ReplyCancel

  • Pete20. Mai 2014 - 16:18

    Marvelous work! Like the first one most. I can’t say exactly why, but it kept my attention for minutes. Might be the light. This is just fantastic.ReplyCancel

  • Luka28. Mai 2014 - 22:06

    This is a nice work. Love it.ReplyCancel

  • Werner23. Juni 2014 - 7:34

    Ansel Adams hat es mal so schön ausgedrückt: die Aufnahme sei die Komposition, die Noten. Der Print oder “post processing” (wie es heute so “schön” heisst) die Aufführung. Sie meistern beide fabelhaft und dazu finde ich immer wieder Inspiration in ihre Bilder.
    Dieses (vor allem grosse) hier oben atmet Licht, es ist fast als ob man die Person anfassen möchte, als wäre sie wirklich da … (A. Adams musste damals zwischen eine Karriere als klassischer Pianist oder als Fotografen wählen).ReplyCancel

  • Marc8. Juli 2014 - 10:21

    absolute fantastic scenes… what else is a man with a camera waiting for…?ReplyCancel

Filed in: Aero Ektar | Analog | large format

I don’t know exactly when and where I saw portraits taken on large format for the first time, but I remember I was deeply impressed by the beautiful tonality, the smooth gradation and the shallow depth of field. Now, after getting comfortable shooting medium format, I thought it is time for me to give it a try.
I decided for a Graflex Speed Graphic with a Aero Ektar 2,5/178 mm lens. Using f/2,5 with 4×5″ sheets, it’s like having a f/0,65 lens when shooting 35mm, at least with respect to DOF. But the really cool thing is that you can get very creative with this shallow focus by customizing its location using the tilt and swing capabilities of the camera. Or you can use them the “right” way, such as getting the subjects eyes back into perfect focus when his or her head is turned sideways.
For my first portraits, I would need a very patient and cooperative model, I thought. Someone who doesn’t wiggle between focusing or gets impatient when things take ages. I immediately thought of Astrid who I worked with before. And I was very happy when she agreed to visit me at my place.
We started with a few polaroids, or better said Fuji instant films, but most of the time the surroundings and light were not suitable for color. As negatives I had five holders filled with two sheets of Kodak TriX 320 each, resulting in ten shots in total. I exposed at ISO 200 and developed in Xtol 1:1 for 10,5 minutes at 20°C.
And that’s it. My first portrait shooting on large format. I think we could have done worse :-)

 

 

Leave a Comment
  • thodoris markou10. März 2014 - 19:01

    great light, great frames, excellent work. keep it up with the Aero. ;-) ReplyCancel

  • David10. März 2014 - 21:59

    Absolute gorgeous image gallery. I know how tedious large format can be, but you did a great job – both of you!ReplyCancel

  • anh cuoi11. März 2014 - 8:30

    nice shot with great model,
    so difficut for lowkey shottingReplyCancel

  • Patricia11. März 2014 - 21:04

    I love number 5, the one with the big tilt. But the others are great as well. Fantastic bw. Thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel

  • yashasvi12. März 2014 - 14:58

    man these are amazingReplyCancel

  • Ken Thompson13. März 2014 - 23:54

    You must have the register of the film holders and ground glass really accurate on your camera and have a first class lupe. Congratulations on superb results.ReplyCancel

    • Florian Weiler14. März 2014 - 9:11

      Thanks Ken, I think I was lucky and found a good camera/lens combination :-) ReplyCancel

  • Bayron E Mejia21. März 2014 - 4:11

    Enjoying all the images but the 2 and 5 totally gets my eyes perhaps because they are in color and the way its compose.ReplyCancel

  • Konstantinos Besios16. April 2014 - 19:25

    Wonderful set of images, large format portraits are always fascinating.ReplyCancel

  • Theodor Yemenis30. April 2014 - 23:41

    Hi, Florian,

    really nice and very inspirative work! Keep on going and sharing!

    If you have the time to answer two questions I would apreciate it very much.

    First I would like to know ( and maybe also ohters ) which developing technique are you using? Manual agitation or a processor?

    Second how do you scan your negatives?

    kind regards
    TheoReplyCancel

    • Florian Weiler7. Mai 2014 - 22:27

      Hi Theo, I do manual agitation every 30s and scan my negatives with an epson v750pro. The scanner is great, I even use it for 35mm.ReplyCancel

Filed in: 35mm | Allgemein | Analog | Leica M7

Being on vacation is always a great opportunity to take pictures, especially when using the time to travel through foreign lands. This September, Julia and I have been in Australia. What a great country! We started in Cairns and headed more or less south to Sydney in a 4WD Camper Van.
It was the first time after the “digital revolution” that I took a film camera with me. I decided for a Leica M7 with a 0,95/50 and a 1,4/24 lens. This should be sufficient for the one or another  portrait shooting, I thought. Altogether we stopped at three different locations where Julia put on her beautiful white dress she had just bought a few days before we left Germany. This is one of the moments when I realize how happy I am having such a gorgeous girl at my side while travelling around the world or at least some part of it.

Leave a Comment
  • Matthias Stiller7. Januar 2014 - 19:20

    It’s just wonderfull!!!
    I love the whole serie.ReplyCancel

  • Andrea Richey8. Januar 2014 - 9:10

    wunderbar <3ReplyCancel

  • Jonas8. Januar 2014 - 15:23

    Wow! Hammer StreckeReplyCancel

  • Alex22. Februar 2014 - 21:41

    Wow, absolut klasse. Jedes einzelne Bild ist auf seine Art und Weise faszinierend. Darf ich fragen wie du die 35mm Negative scannst?ReplyCancel

    • Florian Weiler9. März 2014 - 20:37

      Danke :-)
      Ich scanne alle meine Bilder mit einem Epson V750pro (35mm bei 3200dpi) und bin mit den Ergebnisse stets sehr zufrieden.ReplyCancel

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