BLUES LEGENDS

TECHNICAL SECTION

All of the Blues Legends Series work was made using the Mamiya RZ-67 camera system.
My most frequently used lenses are the excellent 90mm and the 143mm Macro.
Contact Mamiya America for further information.

Generally this work is made on location where I set up my "studio" consisting of my
backdrop on a pole supported by two Matthews C stands and one
Balcar 2400 w/s electronic flash. I use a medium umbrella in most cases.
I've had to work outdoors frequently for this series
and in these cases we take along plenty of stakes and rope to
give the light stand / umbrella stability. The same is true for the backdrop.
We cover the shooting area with a black duvateen cloth to keep sunlight off the subject's heads.

Many of these photographs were made at the House Of Blues
in Los Angeles and Chicago. Some of this work was made during the Long Beach Blues Festival,
held each Labor Day on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Others were
made at radio station KLON during the "Nothin' But the Blues" radio broadcast,
and others were made at my studios in Los Angeles, B.B. King's club in Universal City, California,
The Ash Grove in Santa Monica, California and the King Biscuit Blues Festival
in Helena, Arkansas

I use two films exclusively on this project: Agfapan 400 and
Kodak Tri-X. They are not interchangeable in my mind. Each has
its own unique characteristics that "season" the image
in their own way. I would like to thank Agfa GmbH
for the generous support I've received from them over the last ten years.

I process my films in my own lab using 3 ½ gallon deep tanks.
I use Agfa Rodinal or Kodak T-Max RS depending on the film.

My prints are made using Forté VC papers developed in a
combination of Kodak Selectol Soft and Dektol developers. After development
the prints are toned in a preparation including copper and selenium toners.