Professional photographer, late 1940s
Vintage camera enthusiasts, help me out! My character is an American documentary photographer in 1949. He specializes in location work, nearly always outdoors and often in rough conditions. He's taking a solo trip to Mexico (probably by bus and train rather than by car, though that could change) to scout and shoot various subjects. I'm trying to determine what sorts of cameras/film/lenses he might haul along and what other supplies and tools he might need to do his work.
He goes for action shots and often does photo essays on occupations like mining, logging and deep-sea fishing, or sports like boxing and big game hunting. Occasionally he would want to take some architectural and scenic views for which he could haul along a tripod if necessary. I haven't quite determined whether this trip is on a specific assignment for a magazine or photo agency, as I'm still getting a sense of how a professional photographer of this general description would have done business in this time period. He is single and has no fixed abode, so he could well be just indulging his wanderlust in going to Mexico to shoot whether or not he had an actual assignment.
He needs to shoot in both color and B&W. By googling around, I’m gathering that he’s going to need to go for medium format (probably 120?) rather than 35mm, since he’s selling his photos for print. Is a classic press-photographer Speed Graphic with a roll film back a good choice as his main camera? What lenses might he find most useful? Some other model of camera to suggest?
He’s also liable to do some candid ‘street scene’ type shooting where he wants to be less conspicuous, so a twin-lens reflex where you shoot from waist level seems useful to sub in for the big Speed Graphic. Possible makes and models for a pro who isn't rolling in cash?
Mexico City in 1949 seems to have been well stocked with camera suppliers and film processors, so he can probably buy everything he needs along those lines. It looks like Kodachrome is the color film standard, but what's going to sound middle of the road yet professional-level for B&W? I'm thinking he'll be able to do at least some of his own B&W processing in hotel rooms to save some cash, but he'll have to rely on labs for printing and for his color processing.
My photographer is a big, physically fit man who can carry a fair amount of weight, but he doesn’t want everything plus the kitchen sink just in case -- he’s a practical guy and was a soldier, so he’ll leave behind anything he doesn’t truly need. He intends to stay at least a couple of months and possibly longer, basing himself in Mexico City and making side trips out to more remote areas by bus or train. Basically, I’m thinking both versatile and stripped down to the essentials. At this stage of his career, this photographer considers himself a craftsman rather than an artist; he learned his trade working for newspapers before the war and in the US Army Signal Corps in Europe.
Research already done: A lot of varied reading on Mexico. I learned photography on a 1950s-vintage camera and did a little darkroom work while I was learning, so I have a general idea of what’s required for developing and printing B&W 35mm film and dealing with non-electronic SLRs. I don’t know very much about the operation of medium format or twin-lens cameras, though I’ve been googling to find out more and am feeling a little flummoxed by all the technical detail on sites meant for vintage camera enthusiasts. I’ve read some articles on several comparable photographers of the time like W. Eugene Smith and Walker Evans, but those are mostly about their artistic qualities and don't mention much about their equipment and methods. (Ansel Adams and his giant view camera are not very comparable, just for instance.) Can anyone recommend good photographer's biographies or autobiographies along the right lines?
Please mention anything definite that you may know about this era of photography or any directions that I could pursue to help make this fellow's equipment bag and way of working sound authentic.
He goes for action shots and often does photo essays on occupations like mining, logging and deep-sea fishing, or sports like boxing and big game hunting. Occasionally he would want to take some architectural and scenic views for which he could haul along a tripod if necessary. I haven't quite determined whether this trip is on a specific assignment for a magazine or photo agency, as I'm still getting a sense of how a professional photographer of this general description would have done business in this time period. He is single and has no fixed abode, so he could well be just indulging his wanderlust in going to Mexico to shoot whether or not he had an actual assignment.
He needs to shoot in both color and B&W. By googling around, I’m gathering that he’s going to need to go for medium format (probably 120?) rather than 35mm, since he’s selling his photos for print. Is a classic press-photographer Speed Graphic with a roll film back a good choice as his main camera? What lenses might he find most useful? Some other model of camera to suggest?
He’s also liable to do some candid ‘street scene’ type shooting where he wants to be less conspicuous, so a twin-lens reflex where you shoot from waist level seems useful to sub in for the big Speed Graphic. Possible makes and models for a pro who isn't rolling in cash?
Mexico City in 1949 seems to have been well stocked with camera suppliers and film processors, so he can probably buy everything he needs along those lines. It looks like Kodachrome is the color film standard, but what's going to sound middle of the road yet professional-level for B&W? I'm thinking he'll be able to do at least some of his own B&W processing in hotel rooms to save some cash, but he'll have to rely on labs for printing and for his color processing.
My photographer is a big, physically fit man who can carry a fair amount of weight, but he doesn’t want everything plus the kitchen sink just in case -- he’s a practical guy and was a soldier, so he’ll leave behind anything he doesn’t truly need. He intends to stay at least a couple of months and possibly longer, basing himself in Mexico City and making side trips out to more remote areas by bus or train. Basically, I’m thinking both versatile and stripped down to the essentials. At this stage of his career, this photographer considers himself a craftsman rather than an artist; he learned his trade working for newspapers before the war and in the US Army Signal Corps in Europe.
Research already done: A lot of varied reading on Mexico. I learned photography on a 1950s-vintage camera and did a little darkroom work while I was learning, so I have a general idea of what’s required for developing and printing B&W 35mm film and dealing with non-electronic SLRs. I don’t know very much about the operation of medium format or twin-lens cameras, though I’ve been googling to find out more and am feeling a little flummoxed by all the technical detail on sites meant for vintage camera enthusiasts. I’ve read some articles on several comparable photographers of the time like W. Eugene Smith and Walker Evans, but those are mostly about their artistic qualities and don't mention much about their equipment and methods. (Ansel Adams and his giant view camera are not very comparable, just for instance.) Can anyone recommend good photographer's biographies or autobiographies along the right lines?
Please mention anything definite that you may know about this era of photography or any directions that I could pursue to help make this fellow's equipment bag and way of working sound authentic.