Bruce Barnbaum - Advisory Board of Photographic Professionals

Bruce Barnbaum has been working in the photographic field for more that forty years, and is regarded and one of America's top master photographers and printers, in both black & white and color. His photography expands upon the dynamics he finds in both nature and the works of man, relating forces to the sweeping forms that dominate his vivid imagery. Long an advocate of both photography and environmentalism, Barnbaum has produced images which convey an intense love for the landscapes which have inspired him for decades, much in the same vein as the great Ansel Adams.

An accomplished author, Barnbaum's internationally-acclaimed works include Visual Symphony, The Art Of Photography, Tone Poems - Books I & II, and more. He has also taught photographic workshops around the world, and founded the famous Owens Valley Photography Workshops, which enjoyed international acclaim from 1979 through 1990.

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Ask the Expert Question/Answer

QUESTION:

Bruce, My question is this am I missing something by not doing my processing at 68 degrees. Do the chemicals behave any better at that temp?? Would I get better prints or negatives with a cooler lets active developer?

Mr. Barnbaum's Answer:

Dan, Not a bit. If youve altered everything to accommodate the higher temperature, youre fine. Go forth and be fruitful and produce good prints! ...full answer

QUESTION:

Hello Bruce, What confuses me in your manual is normal negative development and how you think of this when you are place an object on a zone prior to exposure. You say that normal development is the amount of time needed for each zone to reach its proper density level. Thus if you meter something as a Zone VI in the field, it should print as Zone VI, yes? But your actual field procedure is to meter something as say Zone VI, but it will print (using normal development) as Zone VII since you halved the film speed. So my question: When you meter something are you saying to yourself Im metering it as zone x but I know its really a zone y. Seems an awkward way to do zone placement so I must be misunderstanding something. Thanks! Joe

Mr. Barnbaum's Answer:

Hi Joe, Not really a problem. If I expose it in Zone 7, then I expect to develop it to Zone 7 density. Period! Now, I may want to print it as Zone 6, and I can always do that by giving it more time under the enlarger. But the real crux of ...full answer

QUESTION:

Hi Bruce, I have a question about using a Toyo 4x5 camera with Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Film. I am photographing two subjects in different Lighting situations for a Large Format Class and not sure of correct exposures for both. One is a Chef at a restaurant and the other is a Radio D.J. I have tried to ask my professor for the advice, but he makes me feel dumb for asking such a question. I hope you will be able to help me with my dilemma. Thank you, Marie A.

Mr. Barnbaum's Answer:

Let me try my best to deal with your question: Hopefully you have a light meter-a reflective light meter, not an incident meter-to read the relative brightnesses of objects within the frame of your composition. Since I have no idea what those may ...full answer

QUESTION:

Hi Bruce, Id like to use Rodinal 1:100 on TMax 100 8x10 film with a Jobo 3005 tank. Ive used Tmax RS developer before but have repeatedly seen streaking across the darker areas (especially the sky). I figure a more diluted developer may resolve this issue as once the developer is poured in, the diluted amount may not affect results as much. Can you recommend starting times for Rodinal at the dilution above at constant agitation? Regards, Shailendra

Mr. Barnbaum's Answer:

Shailendra, Rodinal s not really made for the T-grain films (i.e., Kodak T-Max or Ilford Delta films), and doesnt really do the best job of developing them to their potential. It sounds to me like the Jobo may be the roblem, but without knowing mo...full answer

QUESTION:

Bruce, I really love your work! My question is this. I am getting back to printing. I have a Omega d5xl emlarger with a v54 cold light tube. I am wondering if I should invest in the VC papers vs the graded papers. Which in your opinion yield better result with gallery presentation in mind. Thank You, Dan

Mr. Barnbaum's Answer:

Dan, If you use a cold light head, variable contrast paper is difficult to work with because the cold light head is missing segments of the viual spectrum. Thus, moving from one contrast level to the next tends to be erratic. I believe youd do ...full answer