My brief life in the studio

by Tony Karp

Portrait of Jane Hsiang

Back in the 1960s, I decided to try my hand at studio photography. The were lots of young models, just starting out, who were willing to pose in return for shots for their head sheets, taken by young photographers, just starting out, who needed shots for their portfolios.

It turns out that I wasn't suited to studio photography, I preferred magazine photography and photojournalism to the make-believe world of the studio. The photos here are the remnants of that brief struggle.

The pictures here are from the black and white prints and slides that still remain in my collection.

I shared a studio with Ira Mazer. Someone sent him this horseshoe wreath and I had him put it on.

An ethereal glow created by a diffusion lens.

An example of "reverse diffusion," with the diffuser on the enlarger rather than the camera.

Not in the studio, but a studio-like setting.

High key, with a fiberglass overlay.

Another shot of Ira Mazer.

The gloves have it.

Portrait of Fred Hammerstein.

Portrait of Jane Hsiang.

A wrestler called The Golden Superman, in high-contrast.

Another example of reverse diffusion.

A portrait of youth.

Another portrait of a beautiful young lady.

A studio shot of the fifth beetle

A young Roz Kelly in a thoughtful pose

Roz Kelly with back lighting

Roz Kelly, making eye contact

An extreme close-up in the studio

Still life of a broken shell

Another still life of a broken shell

Jane Hsiang projected into an abstract version

Portrait of Donna Mitchell with the air around her on fire

Donna Mitchell projected into the 21st Century

A young Donna Mitchell in blue light

Some technical notes: The original pictures were shot with either Canonflex R single lens reflex cameras or Canon Model P rangefinder cameras. The film was most likely Tri-X or Plus-X, developed in UFG. The prints were photographed with a Sony DSC-R1 camera and post processing was done with LightZone 3.

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