Senjougahara
“If I kill you, that means I'll be the one closest to you when you're on your deathbed. Isn't it romantic?”
Cinestill 800T
Character: Senjougahara
Sauce: Bakemonogatari
Cosplayer: @kappitancos (IG)
Bakemonogatari - a mashup of two words meaning “monster” and “story”. Indeed, the story is one of a supernatural nature. The studio responsible for the animation, Shaft, certainly worked to express that. The startling, atypical compositions and stripped colors is often an unexpected sight for viewers of anime. I found this to be massively inspiring from an artistic perspective, but never felt capable of replicating the awe I experienced. When Sharon asked to book her Senjougahara cosplay, I knew I couldn’t say no. Cowardice would get me nowhere. Alas, I did not feel I could get the results I desired on film; so, this shoot was done primarily on my D800, with my FM2/T taking secondary duty. Two films came to mind for the analog portion of the shoot: Kodak Ektar 100 and, of course, Cinestill 800T. The cinema tones of 800T and the higher speed won me over.
Odd perspectives and color framing are common in the Monogatari series.
Cinestill 800T
We choose two locations over two days for this shoot. The first planned location was intended to take advantage of the architecture and the summer solstice. The Burton Barr Library in Phoenix was built in a manner to cast particular lighting during the solstice. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule to a time after the solar noon a few days after the solstice and missed 90% of what I had hoped for. Despite that setback, the library offered an excellent set for this shoot. We accomplished some fantastic shots in several different areas of the library. The second location was a sunset shoot in a private business zone. Again, we had a setback. A storm rolled in and it was quite dark for the shoot. I had planned to make use of the long shadows and golden glow cast by the low, setting sun, but alas, it was not to be. The location itself offered several opportunities; however, and we created several photos encompassing the tone and composition style of Shaft.
Lighting opposite the lens is the way to go, although a bit more contrast would be nice.
Cinestill 800T
800T was certainly the right move. 100 asa would have been too slow for most of the lighting circumstances we encountered, although the color and contrast would have been welcome. I shot entirely with natural/ambient light, as I typically do. I very rarely employ controlled lighting into shoots for a variety of reasons. The two biggest reasons are to avoid encumbrance and to hone in on the environment. Relying on the environment to provide me with opportunities encourages me to think outside of the box. I am less focused on a technical creation of a shot and more involved in the organic development of it. I used only my Voightlander 58mm F/1.4 on my analog system and left the Nikkor-O 35mm F/2 on my digital. Both lenses were equipped with Black ProMist diffusers to soften skin tones and bloom the highlights. It is pretty rare that I don’t have at least the 1/4 on a lens while shooting most anything.
Bakemonogatari has many unique framings as well as orientations and perspectives.
Cinestill 800T
The digital images can be seen in the digital gallery on my site. Film has spoiled me in terms of how little work there is to do in post. I generally adjust the exposure, color balance, and contrast based on the film. Scans are not always perfect; I only touch color in the slightest to remove any green/magenta cast that may have cropped up. My most significant edits are generally the cropping; I typically crop vertical orientation to 4:5 and horizontal to 21:9 or 16:9. I shoot with these crops in mind, so the native 3:2 is never the “right” photo. I have done a little dodge/burn in images (not this set), but typically very minor touches. The ability to complete a 30+ photo set in 10-15 minutes is always rewarded to myself and the client. Digital often has me spending 30+ minutes on a single photo, as I am quite the sucker for post-processing and digital art renditions.
