Beyond the Frame 21/
In this edition (deep breath) Darkroom prints, Focal lengths extra, a Prize Competition, a Photo-sharing app, a superb Photography Documentary, and how to recover $25,000 of stolen camera gear.
Beyond the Frame is 21 today! Time flies. Thanks to you, the readers and subscribers, for all your encouraging feedback. You’ve made a happy man very old. 😬
Magnum Darkroom Prints
First up, I’ve been exploring Magnum’s collection of darkroom prints. They show the scribbled notes photographers made to indicate darkroom exposure times for classic photographs.
Dennis Stock‘s 1955 photograph of James Dean walking through Times Square in a long overcoat, a cigarette clamped between his teeth as he navigates the rain, has been described as one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
The annotated darkroom prints show the level of detailed exposure control achieved in the darkroom. In the James Dean photo, we can see how the exposure time was adjusted for the buildings, the reflections in the street, the long sidewalk and the hunched figure of James Dean walking through Times Square.
You can read the full description of Stock’s meetings and photo sessions with James Dean on the Magnum website.
There’s also a great example of Thomas Hoepker’s portrait of a leaping Muhammad Ali.
Rachel Brewster-Wright hosts an excellent video tutorial where she demonstrates the dodging and burning techniques referenced in these annotated prints. You’ll see Rachel using the darkroom-safe Darkroom Clock app to time exposures, just in case you’re in the market for a darkroom timer.
Rachel also co-hosts a podcast about analogue photography , Sunny16, which I’ve just started listening to. It’s a bit like overhearing people chatting about a shared passion in the corner of a pub, and when the shared passion is analogue photography, I’m here for it.
Focal Lengths - Sidney Lumet and a Prize Challenge
In last week’s paid newsletter, I wrote about the factors that influence a photographer’s choice of focal length.
Coincidentally (or maybe not coincidental because, you know, my range of interests is narrow), I was reading film director Sidney Lumet’s book, Making Movies, and came to a section where he speaks about the lenses used for the classic film, 12 Angry Men.
It’s a perfect illustration of how the choice of focal lengths can affect the mood of the image. I’ll be watching 12 Angry Men again now I’m armed with this director’s insight.
Competition - win Pete Souza’s retrospective
To illustrate last week’s article, I used one of my magazine assignments as an example. For paid subscribers I offered a prize, Pete Souza’s excellent The West Wing and Beyond retrospective, to the first person who correctly identified the focal lengths I used to make these two pictures.
What focal lengths were used to make these two portraits?
Was it 15mm and 300mm? Well, no, it wasn’t but now I’ve eliminated one incorrect answer, what do you think? So far there have been no correct suggestions so I’m opening the competition up to all readers, one guess each. Don’t be shy, you only have to click the button above and type in two numbers and you might win Pete Souza’s impressive, coffee-table, photo book.
Baato — An Update
You might recall I mentioned the documentary film Baato, about the affect that a Chinese highway project has on a Nepalese community.
I’ve been in touch with the film’s director, Lucas Miller, again and he’s made progress with showing the film outside the United States. I pointed him in the direction of the British Film Institute and he’s going to put the film up on Vimeo’s OTT platform so it may be available to a wider audience soon.
Incidentally, the poster for Baato won Best Poster at the International Film Market this year!
Fotos - Limited accounts available now
More good news, the new Fotos app is available as a public beta from today. I’ve been involved in the closed beta and have been impressed by the development.
Your reaction to learning about yet another social media platform might echo that of the now-famous Brenda’s from Bristol. 🤣
However, before you run for the hills… Fotos is a photo-sharing platform without advertising, images are uncropped and unfiltered. It’s what Instagram briefly promised to be.
The app has been developed by photographers for photographers (ugh! I know, but even though it’s a corny line, it’s also true), the road map promises to deliver a straightforward image-sharing platform where the photographs are more important than the sponsored content.
I particularly like the ability to filter the feed by category; Travel, Culture, Landscape etc.
You can register on the Fotos website and you’ll receive a link to download the Apple or Android beta app. If you join, you’ll find my account at, somewhat unimaginatively, @gavingough.
Recovering $25,000 of stolen camera gear
Mrs. G sent me a link to a video by photographer Benj Haisch.
Haisch’s camera gear was stolen by opportunistic thieves. He’d previously attached Apple AirTags to the cameras so was able to track the gear with his phone, confront the thieves and recover his gear.
I keep AirTags in my camera bag but after watching Haisch’s video, I’ve ordered some Citymore AirTag holders and SmallRig Quick Release plates to attach to my cameras and bags.
Attaching an AirTag to your gear might prove to be worthwhile insurance. I once dropped an AirTag when pulling out my passport at a Security Checkpoint. Mrs. G. was able to recover it the next day. She did accurately point out that the AirTag wasn’t attached to anything so it was a largely fruitless endeavour but I prefer to see it as a successful Proof of Concept exercise!
This clip begins at the point at which Haisch tracks down his stolen camera gear.
Haisch manages the situation with impressive calmness but, as he says, approaching the people who took the gear was probably not the wisest decision. If you find yourself in that unenviable situation, it would be best to contact the police and let them recover the gear.
We do love a happy ending.
Photographer — A National Geographic TV Series
I’ve reached the final episode of National Geographic’s documentary series, Photographer.
There are six episodes featuring a very eclectic mix of photographers. Every episode is, as you’d expect from a National Geographic documentary, engaging, educational and beautifully made.
The episode with Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen, which I’m watching as I write, is intriguing. You can follow Muhammed Muheisen on Instagram.
What I’ve enjoyed most about this series is that it’s mostly concerned with the photographers’ stories, so it’s often very personal and sometimes surprisingly emotional.
Photographer is available to view on: Disney+, Hulu, NGTV
There’s a delicious, melty Brie in the kitchen and it’s calling my name. I recently found Jacobs Crackers and Branston Pickle in a local supermarket (a joyful discovery for a British expat) so I’m going to pour a glass of refreshing Ginger Kombucha, arrange a desktop picnic and watch the rest of the Nat Geo documentary. I hope that whatever plans you have this week bring you as much glee as my Brie brings me.1
Beyond the Frame 20/
Focal lengths. What are they and how do we use them? With examples from India and Thailand.
For portfolio management and cloud storage, I rely on Photoshelter and Backblaze.
I am a poet…
PS love the newsletter
35 and 50. (What a fun exercise!)
I love that you included Benj Haisch video with the story. Wow, that's really unbelievable, and def a commercial for putting air tags directly on gear. I have them on my dogs, why not on my gear lol.
And isn't Photographer such a great series! I hope they continue it with another season. So interesting.
Love your newsletter!