Thodoris Markou 1/13/14 Thodoris Markou 1/13/14

samira

a portraiture session: twenty images of samira, captured on black & white kodak tri-x and t-max film with the pentax 67.

this portrait session took place on a very busy afternoon, in the mohxa headquarters. I used the pentax 67, with three rolls of kodak tri-x 400 (2) and kodak t-max 400 (1) films. the corridor lights were quite weak, so I pushed the films to ASA 1600/3200 during development (t-max developer at 24c for 9 1/2 mins, for both films). judging by the negatives, the t-max came out a little better than the tri-x films, though this difference was negated during scanning.
I made the legendary mistake of forgetting there was a film loaded in the camera and opening the film back. I lost one and a half frame of the first film, but I am proud to present you the other half. another legendary thing is the pentax 67 viewfinder, which shows only 90% of the total frame. this is okay, because you are expected to crop a bit (and a 56x70mm negative is large enough for a lot of cropping), but I decided to keep the frames exactly as they came out... moreover, some frames have "white streaks", that were done by me - the tri-x films proved extraordinarily curly when I was loading them in the development tank.

meet samira carvalho, courtesy of the ford models brasil agency.

[pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak tri-x 400 & t-max 400 push-processed to 1600/3200 ASA]

pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak tri-x 400

pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak t-max 400

pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak tri-x 400

pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak t-max 400

pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak tri-x 400

Thodoris Markou 12/31/13 Thodoris Markou 12/31/13

thirteen film portraits for 2013

a series of portraits taken during 2013, using analog cameras and film.

13 portraits taken during 2013, using analog media.

the images follow a timeline - first portrait was shot in february, last one in december. the hardest part was to choose the best (as in "most representative") portraits of the year, while also trying to include images that I hadn't posted in the blog before (or anywhere else, for that matter). keeping the number to 13 was also quite difficult, I had to remove a lot of good images. I also couldn't show a number of portraits that are yet to be published.

[ alkistis | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 ]

[ vinyl love | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 ]

[ nafsika lalioti | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 ]

[ magda | speed graphic | aero ektar 178mm/f2.5 | kodak vericolor III s 160 ]

[ theodoros chliapas | speed graphic | aero ektar 178mm/f2.5 | kodak ektachrome 6121 4x5 x-pro ]

[ sophie | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 ]

rolleiflex t | rollei retro 400s [ mary retsina | rolleiflex t | fomapan 200 ]

rolleiflex t | fomapan 200 [ fou mal | rolleiflex t | rollei retro 400s ]

[ fiona | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 ]

[ tamta | rolleiflex t | kodak portra 400 ]

Thodoris Markou 12/12/13 Thodoris Markou 12/12/13

ozonized: dimitris mavrokefalidis

a portraiture session: dimitris mavrokefalidis of mad tv, shot with the pentax 67 and the leica m4, for ozon magazine.

ozonized: dimitris mavrokefalidisco-host of the breaking mad show at mad tv (along with fotini korre)

black and white images shot with the pentax 67 and the 105mm/f2.4 lens, on kodak tri-x 400 film color images shot with the leica m4 and the voigtlander 28mm/f2, on rossmann 400 film

dimitris mavrokefalidis | pentax 67 | 105mm/f2,4 | kodak tri-x 400

dimitris mavrokefalidis | leica m4 | voigtlander 28mm/f2 | rossmann 400

Thodoris Markou 10/7/13 Thodoris Markou 10/7/13

sophie

a portraiture session: eight images of sophie, captured on kodak portra 400 film with the pentax 67.

the 2013/2014 portrait season opened up with sophie's photoshoot for fashionism.gr. we had little available time, since sophie's visit in athens was what someone would call "lightning", and I was really busy with the upcoming athens international film festival. a couple of evening hours were sufficient to complete a set of four outfits. I wanted to do a fully analog photoshoot, using the pentax 67 and the wonderful takumar 105mm/f2.4, but time was tight and the sunlight was fading, so I also brought the sony a99 with the minolta 85mm/f1.4 along. I shot all poses with both cameras, just to be on the safe side. the last shots were really tricky with the pentax, since the sun had set: I had to keep a 1/60 minimum shutter speed, fully open the 105mm at f2.4 and rely on the film's latitude.

I was very pleased when I scanned the negatives. kodak portra 400 really is a wonderful film (the last two frames were pushed three stops during scanning), and - contrary to popular belief - 1/60 is a hand-holdable speed with the pentax 67. I shot two films, a total of twenty frames, and I had the 8 images I wanted. I didn't even look at the digital stuff.

[pentax 67 | takumar 105mm/f2.4 | kodak portra 400 | september 2013]

sophie | portrait | pentax 67 | takumar 105mm | kodak portra 400

Thodoris Markou 5/16/13 Thodoris Markou 5/16/13

mesogaía: a new topographic journey

a fast, early-morning, new topographic exploration with the pentax 67.

tuesday, 14/05/2013, 07:00 to 08:30. rain, clouds, moody spring weather. mesogeia, a land where agriculture meets suburbia. one roll of film, a maximum of 10 6x7 exposures. a new topographic journey. [pentax 67 | smc 55mm/f4 | kodak portra 400]

pentax 67 | takumar smc 55mm/f4

Thodoris Markou 3/27/13 Thodoris Markou 3/27/13

vinyl love

fashion meets vinylio club meets the pentax 67.

fashion meets vinylio club meets the pentax 67.

makeup: Emmanouil Apostolakis for Makeup Forever hair: Roula Marinopoulou models: Nelly B, Elena, Apostolis, Isidoros (Fashion Cult) fashion director: Konstantinos Koutsomichos designer: RATT (Rita Attala)

a couple of weeks ago I was asked by the wonderful miss tina sardelas to photograph her fashion video shoot at vinylio club. I told her I would only be shooting with my analog cameras, and she liked the idea. I wanted to use my latest baby, the pentax 67, but I also brought the faithful bronica sq-a along.

I loaded up the pentax with the new kodak portra 400 and fitted it with the takumar 105mm/f2.4, a truly great portrait lens. the club was quite dark (well, it's supposed to be this way) and I had to put the pentax on a tripod, shoot at really slow speeds (1/15-1/60) and wide open apertures, and rely on the film's wide latitude. I shot a total of 24 frames (two and a half rolls) with the pentax, before switching to the bronica.

pentax 67 | 105mm/2.4 | kodak portra 400 6x7

pentax 67 | 55mm/4 | kodak portra 400 6x7

using the pentax 67 was a joy, as I have grown accustomed to the 6x7 format for portraiture (very close to the 4x5 of large format cameras), but the slow speeds and the need to use the camera on a tripod (it really is not a camera you want to handhold at speeds below 1/125) were tiresome, so after Ι did a number of pre-imagined shots, I switched to the bronica and kodak tri-x 400. black and white meant that I could stop worrying about color rendition and combination, and kodak tri-x meant that I could push it a bit and achieve 1/60-1/125, which are handholdable speeds with the bronica sq-a. with the tripod gone, I was able to move freely, get tighter framing and different angles. two rolls of film went through the bronica although, to be honest, I had grown weary and repetitive by the first roll.

bronica sq-a | 80mm/f2.8 | kodak tri-x 400

some of the presented images (both from the pentax and the bronica) are quite alike but I didn't want to throw any of them away. in total I shot 48 frames in a space of a couple of hours. the bronica sq-a I have grown to love and knew what it would deliver, but the pentax 67 is a new acquaintance to me, and I was quite pleased with its handling and the resulting images. the takumar 105mm/f2.4 lived up to its reputation: it is a magnificent portrait lens, small, normal-to-kinda-wide focal length, fast, not too sharp but not too soft either. instant love.