I have two V System cameras - a 501CM and a 500ELM. This spectacular camera is officially done.
Analog and Digital Photography. Several anamorphic prints are available at: Chicago Art Source. Ask for the prints by Mark Messerly. Electronic projects: Anachronous Technology
Monday, April 29, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Pullman Exploration
I've been rescanning a few images from a trip to the Pullman factory site - this is a mix of imagery from a large format camera, and a Leica IIIf. This opportunity was part of an excursion with members of the Midwest Large Format Asylum - http://www.midwestlargeformat.com
Get To The Point
Leica IIIf, 50mm Summarit
Some Round, Some Square
Leica IIIf, 50mm Summarit
Inside, Outside
Horseman 45HD, Schneider Super-Symmar XL-105
Misplaced
Horseman 45HD,Schneider Super-Symmar XL-105
Further information about this historic neighborhood can be found here - http://www.pullmanil.org
I hope to add an image of the Hotel Florence soon.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Composition, and cold weather
Several years ago I was intrigued by the long winter shadows at the historic Graue Mill, in Oak Brook Illinois. http://www.grauemill.org
I put a wide angle lens on a Hasselblad - the old 40mm C Distagon. A dark orange filter was placed up front, to enhance contrast. There was some Ilford HP5 film rolling around in my collection, so I loaded it up and drove to the mill.
It was brutally cold. After each exposure, the lens would stop down, but did not return to its wide open f4 aperture. I had to manually open it up in order to compose the rest of the images.
The equivalent view of this lens in 35mm terms, is in the range of 25mm. With a very few steps, the image composition changed radically.
I put a wide angle lens on a Hasselblad - the old 40mm C Distagon. A dark orange filter was placed up front, to enhance contrast. There was some Ilford HP5 film rolling around in my collection, so I loaded it up and drove to the mill.
Hasselblad 40 C Distagon
Click for larger view
It was brutally cold. After each exposure, the lens would stop down, but did not return to its wide open f4 aperture. I had to manually open it up in order to compose the rest of the images.
The equivalent view of this lens in 35mm terms, is in the range of 25mm. With a very few steps, the image composition changed radically.
Click for larger view
Click for larger view
Click for larger view
Batteries can also be problematic in cold weather. I've used a motorized Hasselblad a few times, and the internal battery failed quickly when used during a 15 degree day. I rigged up a small 6 volt lead-acid battery, kept it in a pocket inside my coat, and ran a wire to the camera. This worked well. Always carry extra batteries.
The Graue Mill is a favorite location of mine for photography. There are scenic trails through the adjoining natural area, and numerous events are held throughout the year.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Abstraction of an abstraction
Looking through some older negatives, I found misplaced images that I thought had been lost. I had a low resolution jpeg, and a left/right pair from a flatbed scanner that I could stitch together for a reasonable version for the web. I'd sent three negatives to a lab that provides high resolution drum scans, so that I could print large versions of the images for display in juried art shows. At some point, cleaning my desk, I managed to misplace the DVD, and the negatives...
In 2005 - 2007, I had the opportunity to exhibit several of my large anamorphic prints in the juried Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival. Hundreds of artists filled the Flatiron Building and adjacent commercial locations in Wicker Park.
I was intrigued with the possibility of creating large versions of the imagery, since details in smaller prints I had made with inexpensive consumer scanners and printers could not produce the desired results.
The negatives produced by the Omniscope camera could be difficult to work with. One issue is the variation of the exposure. Across the face of the film, there is roughly 1.5 stops gradient between the edges of the film. This will be explained in a separate post on the camera later. The negatives are from medium format film, and approximate the 6cm by 17cm format.
Once scanned, the high-resolution images were printed, using a LightJet printer that fires lasers to expose either Kodak Endura or Fuji Crystal Archive photographic paper. For each show, I had to produce two or more new prints. Three candidates were missing, and I was stuck using the consumer-grade scanner. The prints from the LightJet were acceptable, yet didn't have the look I'd hoped for.
Pinhole images can be surprisingly sharp. They are diffuse by nature. This characteristic, distortion, or whatever you prefer to call it, can be used in creative ways like any other optical property. Control of the depth of field is commonly used to emphasize a face in portraiture, as the eye is drawn to the detailed parts of an image. Another characteristic of pinhole imagery is a near-infinite depth of field - in relative, practical terms. My Nikkor-M 300mm large format lens has an aperture ranging from f9 to f128. At f128, the lens is approaching the relative size of a pinhole aperture, and has an amazing depth of field. I'll post an image using the lens at f128... when I find it... showing a fence with adequate focus at about three feet from the lens, with a building in sharp focus about a half-mile away.
Here are the three 'lost' images. They are not particularly impressive in this small format for the web, so you'll have to imagine the detail and subtle nuances of a high resolution print at about 40 inches wide. The original files are scanned at 300 dpi with an image width of 65 inches. Imagine that on display - I may try one that large. I will not pay for the framing, however... I'll settle for a few tacks.
In 2005 - 2007, I had the opportunity to exhibit several of my large anamorphic prints in the juried Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival. Hundreds of artists filled the Flatiron Building and adjacent commercial locations in Wicker Park.
I was intrigued with the possibility of creating large versions of the imagery, since details in smaller prints I had made with inexpensive consumer scanners and printers could not produce the desired results.
The negatives produced by the Omniscope camera could be difficult to work with. One issue is the variation of the exposure. Across the face of the film, there is roughly 1.5 stops gradient between the edges of the film. This will be explained in a separate post on the camera later. The negatives are from medium format film, and approximate the 6cm by 17cm format.
Once scanned, the high-resolution images were printed, using a LightJet printer that fires lasers to expose either Kodak Endura or Fuji Crystal Archive photographic paper. For each show, I had to produce two or more new prints. Three candidates were missing, and I was stuck using the consumer-grade scanner. The prints from the LightJet were acceptable, yet didn't have the look I'd hoped for.
Pinhole images can be surprisingly sharp. They are diffuse by nature. This characteristic, distortion, or whatever you prefer to call it, can be used in creative ways like any other optical property. Control of the depth of field is commonly used to emphasize a face in portraiture, as the eye is drawn to the detailed parts of an image. Another characteristic of pinhole imagery is a near-infinite depth of field - in relative, practical terms. My Nikkor-M 300mm large format lens has an aperture ranging from f9 to f128. At f128, the lens is approaching the relative size of a pinhole aperture, and has an amazing depth of field. I'll post an image using the lens at f128... when I find it... showing a fence with adequate focus at about three feet from the lens, with a building in sharp focus about a half-mile away.
Here are the three 'lost' images. They are not particularly impressive in this small format for the web, so you'll have to imagine the detail and subtle nuances of a high resolution print at about 40 inches wide. The original files are scanned at 300 dpi with an image width of 65 inches. Imagine that on display - I may try one that large. I will not pay for the framing, however... I'll settle for a few tacks.
Abstraction of the Abstraction
Under the Cloud Gate sculpture, by Anish Kapoor, is the omphalos, a highly polished concave chamber that distorts and reflects. It looks like this...
Under Cloud Gate, prior to polishing the seams
Leica IIIf
Click for larger view
Click for larger view
I wondered what this distorted world would look like when imaged with the Omniscope. An abstraction of an abstraction...
An Alien Presence
Omniscope, Ilford FP4 Plus film
Click for larger view
This was taken after the seams were polished. The camera was on a low tripod near one end, where I had to stoop low enough to stay out of the way. Tripods are not welcome under the sculpture - I happened by when it wasn't noticed, or they didn't care since I was well out of the way.
The Other Ones...
Alien Presence II
Click for larger view
Gehry Bandshell
Click for larger view
Next - the Omniscope.
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Jewel in Rural Iowa
This past Thanksgiving, I was visiting relatives in central Iowa. I planned the last segment of the trip to pass the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa, near the town of Madrid - accent on the first syllable. http://www.iowatemple.org/
Photography is all about the light - and this spectacular structure faces east, perfect for reflecting the glow of the morning sun. The light was not promising, as the sky was overcast. There were a few gaps in the clouds, so I was hoping to set up the camera and wait for a brief opening, allowing the sun to cause the Temple to glow in contrast to the gentle dark rural backdrop. The other problem was the temperature. When I left home, I was counting on temperatures in the 40s for the trip.
The wind chill was about 11 degrees, in part due to strong sustained winds. My fingers were numb within minutes, as I assembled the camera and tripod. The clouds did not cooperate that morning. I made an exposure anyway, knowing that it would simply serve as a reference for a future attempt.
This stretch of rural two-lane highway features numerous photographic opportunities. If the light isn't great for one site, there are other attractions along the way. I stopped in Boone, Iowa, to check out the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad - http://www.scenic-valleyrr.com/ - the result in a future post.
That evening, I was returning to Des Moines, Iowa, reversing the path along Highway 17. It was about 7 PM, pitch black in the rural Iowa rolling terrain - and I started to think about revisiting the Temple - what did it look like at night? As I crested a hill, it came into view. It was aglow in the light - against a perfectly black rural sky!
I assembled the camera inside the car, a simple cold weather tactic used in Boone earlier in the day. The camera was in a compartment that was relatively cool, so I had the windows open a bit so that temperature differences would be less likely to cause glass to fog, the film to pop, or some other annoyance due to condensation. Since I had made an exposure earlier in the day, I knew exactly where I wanted to set the camera.
The next trick was to figure the exposure. There are no meters built into large format cameras. I have enough experience guessing exposures - and due to the cold, I wanted to make a decision quickly. I settled on an estimated Exposure Value (EV) of 6, choosing f5.6 for 1/2 second. More on metering and application to modern cameras in a future post.
Part of the attraction of digital imaging is the instantaneous result. I could have quickly bracketed the exposure, dialed in exposure compensation, and invoked all of the magical little technologies that make digital imaging so intriguing.
I settled for about six weeks of wonder - waiting for exposure of more film in order to send a larger batch to process, the lab time, and the shipping time... anticipation like when I was a kid waiting for a holiday or birthday!
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa
Floodlights erased via Photoshop Elements
Click for larger view
Original Scan
I am not an expert with Photoshop. Friends that viewed the unedited version suggested getting rid of the two spotlights.
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