David Hamilton - Wie hat er seinen Effekt erzielt? - How did he achieve his "special" look?

[CHK]

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Hi allerseits!

Ich beschäftige mich eine Weile mit dieser Frage und konnte manches fest stellen:

1. Er verwendete definitiv keine Gaze/Strumpfhose
2. Er verwendete sehr wohl Filter, auch wenn er anderes behauptete. Siehe folgendes Video zwischen 7:26 und 7:41. Dort sieht man in Zeitlupe (ich habe es Bild für Bild analysiert) ganz klar eine plane Fläche vor einem Minolta 1,7/85mm und in diesem Bild auch vor einem Minolta 1,4/58mm PG. In diesem Bild sieht man das auch von der Seite ganz klar. Ja, ich habe natürlich all diese Objektive, die Profis hier wissen natürlich, dass Leica und Minolta sehr sehr eng verbunden waren.
3. Vaseline, Haarspray o. ä. auf einem UV Filter sind am wahrscheinlichsten

WEISS jemand (bitte mit Quelle), wie er es gemacht hat?

Ich hatte schon versucht, von seiner Assistentin Jelica Bujic etwas zu erfahren, da warte ich allerdings (schon eine Weile) auf Antwort.

Bitte bleibt sachlich, wir kennen alle die Vorwürfe die gegen den Herrn erhoben worden sind und dass ich nach seiner Methode frage, heißt nicht, dass ich seine Bilder toll fände. Lassen wir das bitte außen vor und konzentrieren wir uns auf die technischen Aspekte.

Liebe Grüsse und vielen Dank schon mal für eure Infos

Chris

Hi folks!

I dig after this technique for quite a while and this is, what I already found out:

1. He definitely didn't use gauze or pantyhose
2. He indeed used filters even if he stated something else. This Video shows the clear proof of it between 7:26 and 7:41. In slow motion you can clearly see the UV Filter in front of the lenses (I analyzed the clip picture per picture). He used a Minolta 1,7/85mm.  In this image (Bild) you can see the same in front of his Minolta 1,4/58mm PG. In this picture it can be spotted, too (Bild). And yes, I got all of this lenses - the pros in this forum know about the close collaboration of Leica and Minolta in the past.
3. Vaseline or hairspray on an UV Filter are most likely what he used

Does anyone KNOW (please with a link as reference) how he achieved his look??

I also tried to get some more informations by his assistant,  Jelica Bujic, but I still wait (unfortunately for some time) for the answer.

Please stick to the technical aspects of this question - we all know about the allegations against him and I really don't like all of his stuff. But this is about a technique and not any moral aspects.

Best regards and thank you very much in advance

Chris

 

[adan]

Part of Hamilton's technique - in his color pictures - came from choosing the early and very grainy higher-ISO E4/E6 slide films that were naturally lower-saturation, added a lot of "glow" and diffusion around highlights even without filters, and often had low D-max (thin, pale shadows that never reached "black"). High-Speed Ektachrome (native ISO 160, pushable to 400, where it had even more grain and foggy shadows), Ektachrome 400 (late 1970s) and GAF/Anscochrome 500 (the first slide film with a native ISO above 200 - c. 1974 - which was unbelievably grainy).

Unfortunately, that was reported in a Camera 35 magazine article accompanying some of his pictures in the 1970s, long, long before the internet arrived. So no links to the article available. I just have a really good memory and read (past tense) C35 religiously.

Equally unfortunately, if you want to add that character, more modern color slide films are much "improved." But New Ektachrome 100 or Provia 100 shot at EI 400 or 800 and push-processed 2-3 stops, or not-too-out-of-date Ektachrome 400 or Provia 400 (perhaps also push-processed), might pick up some of the paleness and desaturation that came naturally to those 1970s high-speed films. Really out-of-date modern films may also produce less saturation and contrast, but may produce unpredictable color shifts as well.

Example of Anscochrome 500 (coincidentally, also with a Minolta lens):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/badwsky/5531852309

Edited May 28, 2019 by adan

[stray cat]

I concur with Adan's as usual erudite observations about film and seem to remember from way back in the day from reading the "minolta mirror" magazines that it was his "thing" that he used steel wool to score the front element of his lens to get that diffusion. I remember because my teenage, money-challenged self of the time thought "why would you ruin a perfectly good lens by scratching it up with steel wool"? I guess now I'd think that you'd find a technique that worked and stick with it. Maybe Minolta hoped everyone would start doing that in which case they'd sell more lenses? Don't think I'll be doing it with any of my lenses anytime soon though.

 

[adan]

BTW - and I have no knowledge that this was Hamilton's method - when I was in college and experimenting with soft, glowing arty photo effects like his, I simply rubbed the tip of a finger on the side of my nose, and then rubbed the nose-grease onto a plain UV filter on the lens. That would be very much in line with using Vaseline - except a slightly less viscous and more delicate grease. I could wipe it off here and there to control where the picture was normal, and where it was diffuse and glowing.

Nose-grease had other photographic, err, applications. It has an index of refraction close to that of plastic film base. So if a negative's base has a scratch, rubbing some NG onto the base, and then wiping if off (leaving grease, intaglio-fashion, only in the scratch), will make the scratch disappear when printed. In fact, there was and is a commercial product (Edwal No-Scratch) that does the same thing - but I was a starving student, and cheap.

Less honorably, in the 4x5-press-camera era with no ttl viewing, photojournalists at a news event would sometimes nobble the pictures of the competition, by discreetly greasing a fingertip and then rubbing it on the other guy's lens. This would not get noticed until the film was processed, and all the straight news pictures were found to have a "Hamilton Glow."

[CHK]

Hi!

Thanks for your informations... this is a lot the way, we also do this thing and it is really gut to get some confirmation about what is known about his techniques...

I think he didn't want people to know too much about it, because it was kinda of his "sellingpoint"...

[farnz]

In addition to what's written above I suspect (but have no evidence) from the characteristic look of many of his pictures that he might have used a Fresnal lens to light his sets.  It's typical of the warm, glowy light and soft shadows.

Pete.

[Nathalie86]

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Ask this guy!
He was a friend of David and worked together with him.
If someone knows it from first hand, than he.

https://www.maxstolzenberg.com

Nathalie