A statue near the greenhouse that you can see in my Mini-series portfolio. I used a red filter to darken the foliage in the background, and printed on Ilford Multigrade paper at the highest contrast (the print is actually a bit less contrasty than the scan as it appears on my monitor). Cropped from square under the enlarger.
Thanks Roger. The statue's tendency not to move came in very handy, as it took me a long time to set up this shot :-)
When shooting with the Kiev, I use a Gossen Lunasix F lightmeter with a spotmetering adapter, so there would be no excuse for a badly exposed shot. I took a reading off the background, placing it somewhere around Zone II, and added three stops for the red filter.
I've said before that I prefer statues to people (as models, that is). They're never impatient, and they hold still! I like the way the lion stands out so sharply from his background. Also that despite the very high contrast (which works well, I think), the shadows have quite enough detail. Suggests a spot-on exposure.
Thanks Christian. I originally wanted a more head-on view, but the bushes didn't extend to cover the whole background from such an angle. However, back then I was thinking in terms of full-frame composition; now that I have found cropping to be a good option for this particular subject, perhaps the background would be sufficient. I will try again the next time I visit this place.
The contrast is of great interest here as it boosts the animal symbolic strenght. The use of a red filter was very appropriate for that matter. I could suggest a 3/4 angle to see a bit more of the mouth and the crest.
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