Whilst on a road trip from Lake Isabell to San Francisco, Eugene Nikiforov came across this beautiful scene and chose to capture it on ILFORD SFX 200 film. Learn more about his technique in our latest 'How I got this picture post below.

Image Title: 

Central Valley, California

Technical info

Film Used :  Ilford SFX 200   

Format: 6x17

Camera: Linhof Technorama 617s III

Lens : Schneider Apo-Symmar L 180mm f/5.6

Exposure time: 2 seconds  

Other equipment : R72 Infrared Filter

Location: Woody, California

Black and white shot of Central Valley, California by Eugene Nikiforov. Shot on ILFORD SFX200 film

Tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot it?

On our road trip from Lake Isabell to San Francisco, we climbed through many mountains and then found ourselves in an endless valley. The landscape was a beautiful mix of yellow soft grass and firm dramatic road. I was struck by how perfectly symmetrical this scene was.

Did you come across any challenges?

First, I had a dilemma infrared vs color, but the choice was clear in several minutes, Ilford SFX infrared film really works well for dramatic landscapes, also metering is always a challenge, especially with a coyote nearby. I usually meter at ISO 3 or 6, I measured for shadows and got the correct exposure with my Pentax Digital Meter.

What process did you use (Tripod? Set exposure time? Filters? Lighting?)

I used my Leofoto tripod and Arca Swiss Geared head for leveling, also Hoya R72 filter and mechanical shutter remote release, 2 second exposure.

How did you process it?

I used HC-110 (1+31) in Jobo CPE3 for 9 minutes which is my usual time for Ilford SFX 200 development

After drying I scanned it using my drum scanner Scanmate 5000 which gave me 460 megapixels scan.

What about printing? 

I did initial print on aluminum it was sized 48x16 inches but I am planning to print this much bigger in the future.

Which paper did you use and what was your printing process?

I still need to get 5x7 Enlarger, I have only smaller one but, I would usually use ILFORD Multigrade FB Classic Matt.

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