okay then, here is another shot from the same day as "holding... waiting...", with the same olympus camera and the same tmax 100 @800. i'm pretty pleased with the tmax here.

this is my own son in the playroom at the hospital. we had him there for tests concerning an irregular heart rhythm, and when he had an episode of that, he crawled into this playtube thing and got very still for a few minutes. nothing i can do but stay close and watch him, so.... i took his photo. i like this a lot because he looks so safe and protected there.

-- susan daly (slascaux@aol.com), March 08, 2001

Answers

Amazing....

-- Chris Yeager (cyeager@ix.netcom.com), March 08, 2001.

I have to echo Chris's sentiment! Amazing... OK, I'm really taken with TMX at 800. What developer/dilution/time/temp are you using?

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 08, 2001.

Your digital conversion is very good, too. Nice job with that. Hope to see lots more from you.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 08, 2001.

Please give us your secrets...time, temp, developer, the whole bundle!! These are beautiful. You are a hidden talent waiting to explode!

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), March 08, 2001.

thanks for the kind words, i appreciate it :o)

as for my "secrets"..... ha! nothing secret going on here, it's all straight out of the Kodak Darkroom guide. Tmax Developer, 1:4 at 75F for 10 1/2 minutes.

-- susan daly (slascaux@aol.com), March 09, 2001.

Just clapping my hands along with all the applause above. I love this shot and I wish I had the guts to shoot B&W more often. I love your framing and the fact that I can't really tell what it is he's playing in (and the edges are not included in the shot). The lighting just looks fantastic. Was this in front of a large curtained window, or did you just happen to bring along a large softbox with you? ;-)

-- Steve Murphy (stephmur@hotmail.com), March 09, 2001.

Hi Steve, and thanks!

why does shooting b w take guts???? c'mon..... jump in, the water's great!

you asked about that lighting... this was a large 'tube" in a children's play area which was brightly lit. the inner lining of the tube was painted with an almost silvery looking paint which attracted my attention right away, thinking that the film would love that... notice the reflections.... so it was just bouncing a lot of light around in there because i didn't use and sort of supplemental lighting or reflector.

thanks for commenting, now go get some b w film :o)

-- susan (slascaux@aol.com), March 10, 2001.

If I may comment further. Interestingly, this photograph is strikingly reminiscent of the grand prize winner in the current issue (Mar/Apr 2001) of Photo Techniques magazine by Montano St. Jules. The winning photograph is of a baby being held with two sets of hands in a bowl shape. Extremely evokative photography, both. As for your son here, I have re-looked at this photograph many, many times since it first appeared on this board with total - and I'll say it again - amazement (and envy). I find also the near ominous looking black spot in the middle as not only an interesting aspect of the photography, but as a parallel of sorts to some looming fate in the children's hospital (not necessarily with your son, thank Goodness). Your son, facing the dot, seems to be strangely protected by it.

OK, OK. It's obviously time for bed. I'm taking an aspirin before I go. :-)

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 11, 2001.

The ambiguity of the black spot is crucial to making this photograph a success. First, it contrasts with the silvery reflection of the child, and emphasises the contrast between the child and this environment. Second, it appears both protective and sustaining (a watching eye, a nipple, etc.) and partly threatening (a surveillance device in what could be a cell).

-- fw (finneganswake@altavista.net), March 12, 2001.

wow.

-- shawn (seeinsideforever@yahoo.ca), March 13, 2001.

i don't know what i can say except that this is simply a beautiful piece of photographic art. this is the sort of image that should appear in anthologies.

-- wayne harrison (wayno@netmcr.com), March 18, 2001.