Black & White Is Colorful In Hollywood Style
When you think of Hollywood in the 1930’s, you think of photographs by people like George Hurrell.Amazing shots of the great stars of 30’s film… Harlow, Bogey, all of ‘em… the actors who filled the screen in the 1930’s. But the painstaking technique that went into such shots doesn’t seem to be seen much in this digital era.
From the Hollywood of the 30’s, Dallas Photographer Mark Oristano has created “Hollywood/1935″.”
“I always loved Hurrell’s work,” says portrait photographer Oristano, “and a couple of years back I studied with Michael Grecco, the great portrait photographer from L.A.Michael showed us Mole-Richardson’s and other old, constant-style lighting. When I got back home, I hit ebay and found some old lights and went to work with them.”
But to get the true effect, Oristano decided to step back from digital and return to the film camera. But not just any film camera.
“It’s a 4×5 Speed Graphic from the US Army Signal Corps from World War II. It’s the same model camera that Joe Rosenthal used to take the famous Iwo Jima photo.It’s well over sixty years old and it still takes great photos.A 4×5 negative gives a detail and a softness you don’t get digitally.”
The old-time look has begun to catch on in Dallas, where former sportscaster Oristano has been shooting engagement shots, senior portraits and more in the Hollywood/1935 style.
“The big reward comes when they see their final result. After working with my stylist, and going through the shoot, when they see a 17×22 fine art print of their shot, they’re just speechless.”
The shoots take about twice as long as an average portrait session given the delicacy of the lighting. The techniques, while fairly simple to figure out from the old Hollywood photos, are often difficult to replicate. But with enough practice, you can be throwing shadows with the best of them and making anybody look like a star.
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