Stanmer House

Another picture taken in very low light using the Arax tilt adapter

and Mir 26b medium format lens on the Canon 10D. ISO400, 1/6sec

(hand held), f3.5, and 8 degrees of lens tilt to the left. I decided

to go symmetrical on the entrance of the house so the house isn't

completely central in the frame due to the extension of the house on

the right hand side. But the tilt seems to help make this less of a

distraction. Any thoughts on composition and overall presentation

would be much appreciated.

 

I am only just starting out using this technique and am aiming for

an "older" look to the pictures as opposed to many pictures where

tilt is applied and the colours over saturated to give a "model

village" type look.

 

There has been no post processing other than levels, conversion to

BW and sepia tone. No Photoshopping at all.

 

Thank you.

An interesting image, sounds like fun using the lens tho!

 

I have a perception of space, which may be caused by the focus/softness effect.

Nice exposure, and crop. too - well done mate!

 

 

Shaun

Pete. what is an Arax tilt adapter?

 

I like the light and the placement of the house on the frame, what is disturbing compositionwise to my eye, is the upper part of the trees nearly at the same height level of the roof, and the big empty FG.I don't know if another angle was possible,but I would have liked the trees behind the house higher, even without the sky, and less empty space in the FG. what do you think? does it makes sesnse to you?

 

The sepia tone and the light on the house, create a very nice atmospher.

Hi Shaun. Thanks for popping in and having a butchers at this. You mention the feeling of space - this I think is partly down to using the tilt lens. It kind of makes a scene appear bigger by throwing bits out of focus in a way that wouldn't normally be expected I think. So the sides of the house, and the sides of the foreground and the background have the illusion of being further away it would seem. You can see just how big this effect can be by looking at tilt images taken of towns and villages from higher elevations. They literally make bits of the scene look like small models with loads of space around them.

 

Cheers again. Look forward to meeting up when the disposable camera arrives!

Hi Pnina.

 

Thank you also for dropping by. When I took this picture last night it was getting late and I was in a rush as had to go and pick my wife and one of the kids up from a party, and I was chasing the dogs around in the dark. Composition was therefore a little rushed. I did try a crop first of all with less of the foreground, but then I reverted to this as I like the feeling of space it gives the image, with the clear focused part of foreground almost appearing like a pathway to the entrance of the house. Also, for me, it better represents the area where the house is, with vast areas of open grassland. I agree with you about the line of trees in the background and I may have been able to avoid this with a lower angle to shoot from, but the grass was very wet! I can see a potential problem though in that the tone of the house is similar to that of the sky, and the light coloured parts of the roof may not show up too well against the sky. It's certainly something I'll give a go next time.

 

Re the Arax tilt adapter, it is an adapter that allows a medium format lens (with a Pentacon 6 mount) to be fitted to an SLR or DSLR, and permits the lens to be tilted in any direction by up to 8 degrees. This alters the plane of sharp focus so it no longer goes parallel to the film or sensor plane. A picture I have just taken of it is above, connecting a medium format Mir 26b lens to my Canon 10D. In the photograph here of Stanmer House, I have tilted the lens by 8 degrees to one side which results in a plane of sharp focus all the way from me to infinity. If you type "tilt photography" into Google you will find lots of explanation, perhaps with some in your language that you may find interesting.

 

By using the tilt adapter it is easy to produce images like those that are made with a "view camera" in which the lens is movable in relation to the film plane to effect focus on the desired subject. You probably already know this....

 

Many thanks again.

 

 

Pnina, info on the Arax tilt adapter is here http://araxfoto.com/accessories/tilt/

The cost was especially good for me as the pound sterling to USD exchange rate is so good. I paid 60 pounds sterling for a US dollar price of about $120!

 

The use of a medium format lens is also partly what acounts for the large amount of foreground - I couldn't get any closer to the subject to fit it all in even though the medium format lens was only 45mm focal length. This is so much bigger when fitted to the Canon 10D with the smaller sensor!

Well dear Pete :) I love everyTHING in this Photograph :) So well taken, love your experiment, and the sepia tones really give it a real old Vintage Look :) It looks ages old :) like from the 20s/30s :)

 

But, one question more,even I, why We all Love so much the OLD VINTAGE STYLE?

This 21st Century is not good, nor beautiful, so we have to go back, in the old time of happiness!?!! Just wondering over your beautiful, aged feel photograph :)

 

Thank YOU :)

 

Biliana

Biliana, thank you so much for letting me know how much you like this picture. I also like it a lot, and the more I look, the more I'm enjoying it :)

 

Your question about why we like images that look old has me thinking. For me, I think it has something to do with the feeling that there seems to be some permanent pressure on us to produce images that are "perfect" - you know, all this pressure from development in camera technology that captures images in finer and finer detail, and boasts that such and such camera produces perfect skin tones and perfect colour rendition and perfectly sharp focus and so on. It's the same with audio where technological advancements mean audio rendition is being improved all the time.

 

But with all these technological advancements we seem to be trying to produce perfect renditions of something that is not perfect - a person's skin isn't perfect, the bricks and joints in a building aren't perfect, the sound from an electric guitar when distorted isn't perfect - yet we are often pressured these days to produce perfect renditions of imperfect things and to remove the blemishes that make them imperfect.

 

Although I marvel at how well equipment can produce close to perfect renditions of the subject, I often feel that this perfection lacks warmth and comfort. So now I marvel at how well and easily this modern equipment can allow me to use an old technique (with the tilt lens) and help me produce something that looks old, and warm, and comfortable!

 

Sorry I have spoken so many words Biliana, but every day I pick up my camera and think about what to do is a day that I will always remember - I'm finding my journey very exciting :)

THANKS !!great information, photo of adapter, and link. I'm very busy now with work I have recieved, but I keep the link to read it again. thanks for the explanation given on that image. Even my reservation above, I still like the house , light, and your technic.