Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

Let’s just say I was bored the other night. I decided to shoot a self portrait.

The idea was to capture an image of myself off the ground glass in my Hasselblad 500 C/M. I had done something similar when I was testing the Hasselblad.

Looking down at the ground glass of a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at a stream in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

So, I began to setup.

I sat the Hasselblad on the table and aimed it at my recliner. It was important to have both the focus of the Hasselblad and the capturing camera, my Canon 1D Mark II, sharp. To pre-focus the Hasselblad, I laid a newspaper over the headrest on the recliner. The contrasty text made for a great focus chart.

Next was to position my 1D Mark II.

I knew I would need a unique positioning so I took out my Magic Arm, a multi-jointed camera mount. I carefully positioned it directly over the focusing screen of the Hasselblad.

I was shooting with the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L lens. This gave me a bit of versatility once I had the Magic Arm locked down.

I wanted the image to be spot lit. I put my Canon 550ex Speedlight on a stand and attached the Gary Fong PowerSnoot. To fire it, I used my Pocket Wizards.

I took a few test shots to fine tune the exposure.

The portrait itself looked okay but I wanted to see more of the Hasselblad. I took out a red LED flashlight and sat it on top of an old cheapo zoom lens to angle it at the lens of the Hasselblad.

Here is what the setup looked like.

The setup for the self-portrait. ©2010 Max Gersh

The flash is to the left and about eight feet up.

I was worried about the Magic Arm tipping over so I placed a somewhat heavy box on the back of its tripod base as a counter-weight.

When all was said and done, the portrait turned out kind of cool.

A self-portrait of Max Gersh seen through the ground glass of a Hasselblad 500 C/M. ©2010 Max Gersh

It was completely overkill and unnecessary.

But like I said, I was bored.

If you read my last post, you know that I was testing out a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M.

The results are in.

Photos shot on a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Photos shot on a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Photos shot on a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Photos shot on a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Photos shot on a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Not too shabby. This is looking more and more like it might be the next camera added to my collection.

I shot one roll of 120 Kodak TMAX 100. The only problem was that I was running that through a Hasselblad A24 back , designed for 220 film. It seems like the first few frames didn’t wind fully and overlapped. Afterward, it was fine.

I’m excited to get this camera and push it to its limits. Hasselblads are rugged imaging devices. They’ve been to the Moon and I think I can find a way to put this one under just as much stress as space travel. I look forward to posting more images from this camera.

I shoot a ton of pictures on my Canon digital system. I have probably shot over one million frames in the last eight years. As much as I love digital photography, it is hard to beat the look of black and white film.

The texture. The latitude. No instant results. It makes you appreciate the roots of photography as well as where technology has taken the medium.

I haven’t shot 35mm film for a while. I have a cheapo Chinese Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) called a Mudan. It shoots on 120 film. However, letting go of a camera that is not on a strap is never a good thing. Bye bye ground glass.

I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a Hasselblad - the supreme camera for shooting 120 film (medium format). I found a used one that I took out for a test drive yesterday.

It is a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M. On the front, I was shooting through a Carl Zeiss 60mm f/4 Distagon lens. Inscribed on the lens mount, it says “MADE IN GERMANY WEST FOR HASSELBLAD.” This camera and lens is a piece of history that will keep on recording.

I took a road trip down to Potosi, MO to visit the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to run a roll of film through it. I fired off twelve frames of Kodak TMAX 100 and I can’t wait to see the results.

A Hasselblad 500 C/M set up on a tripod overlooking a stream in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh

Trying to replicate the image I was about to make on a Hasselblad 500 C/M in Potosi, MO at the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch. ©2009 Max Gersh

Looking down at the ground glass of a 1976 Hasselblad 500 C/M at a stream in Potosi, MO. ©2009 Max Gersh