aplumpton
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Everything posted by aplumpton
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<p>In the 1940s, the small camera that he would likely be using would be either a single lens reflex Exakta 9 (introduced 1936), or a rangefinder Contax II or III or a III series Leica (all present in the 1930s and 1940s).</p> <p>As Stephen says, Leica had a 28mm Hektor for the III series RF camera that would have required a separate add on viewfinder. Zeiss made a 21mm f4,5 Biogon lens in 1954 for the Contax RF camera, but in the 1940s also had a 35mm 2.8 Biogon lens, both usable with separate viewfinder.</p> <p>As an amateur architecture photographer, his ability to see his subjects more accurately through the canera lens may mean that he would be using the Kine Exakta I camera and a 1938 40mm f4 Tessar semi wide angle lens, that he might upgrade to an Angenieux 35mm f2.5 lens around 1950, a 25 mm or a Carl Zeiss 20 mm or 25 mm f4 Flektogon in the mid 1960s.</p> <p>Shift and tilt lenses for 35 mm cameras, good for architectural work, apparently did not arrive early enough for your photographer, so he would have to live with tilting tall buildings unless he could use a large camera negative and crop. He might have had a 6 x 6 cm or 6 x 9 cm camera that he could apply only part of the negative area and avoid the keystoning effect, but they would have had normal focal length lenses (For example, the Rolleiflex Wide version with a roughly 30mm equivalent lens, did not arrive until 1961).</p> <p>The medium format Envoy camera mentioned by John (25 mm equivalent lens) and apparently made for Ilford might be a unique model your character might have used, as its 6 x 9 cm negative would also be useful for tilting the camera to avoid keystoning and then cropping the image. From the looks of it its introduction may well have preceded the 1950s (something to check).</p> <p>I enjoy reading upon early cameras and hopefully my curiosity may be useful to you. There were larger cameras suitable for architecture, but it appears that as an amateur photographer he would likely not use that equipment unless he was very committed.</p>
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I have learned two things from my own exhibitions and talking with their viewers and which may be relevant here. The first is that what I see and the way I express my visual creation of a perceived visual event is not always communicated to others as I experienced and conceived it. That I think is a normal situation in photographic art or any art, the power of an image to intrigue, and I am perfectly at peace and accept that "apparent disconnect". The second is that the viewer will often relate what he sees not just to some mathematical or prevailing compositional formula of beauty but also to how the image allows him to reflect on his or her own personal experiences, values and memory. That I see a symbolism of death in the current POW is but one of other possible interpretations (or giving a value to an image) that I may bring to the image, in order to give it life for me. The more experience of one's own life that one brings to a reading, possibly the more varying those interpretations may be. So I take a seemingly different viewing approach than Anders, Julie and some others, who claim that an interpretation is or can be richer than the picture itself (By what measure? Who can effectively so conclude, at least without giving specific reasons?), or that it is not a realistic critique because a viewer does not see that and sees something quite different (Anders, I know you accept different readings, and their subjectivity, as you state, but I already knew the nature of your appreciation without the benefit of having it contrasted to mine). A picture often does not want to be interpreted either in solely impersonal ways or in one unique personal way. The beauty of an image can be its ability to reach different persons and to solicit differing responses. Intransigency of view has little position in a critical process regarding art, in my humble opinion. By the way, none of these differences of perception of others touches me here in a negative way or in any way bothers me, because they do not accord with mine. I value differences of outlook and perception, which I think is inherent in my remarks above, but I am equally ready to support my own critique when it is queried or is directly dismissed in community discussion. I have just read Fred’s general comments, which in large part I find palatable. -
<p>I've used the Sunpak 622 with 160 GN (also available is the Super 622 with 200 GN) with most of its seven flash heads (zoom, bare bulb, IR, diffuse source, macro and standard) and believe it has a dedicated (non TTL) module for Leica. If you need flexibility, and very good (uniform) flash coverage, it might be a possibility for you. </p>
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Thanks to Julie. The Mapplethorpe is beautiful (apart from the composition and excellent use of the B&W medium) because he is both predicting and accepting his own death. Looking again at this weeks image, and the former comments, the hand appears to denote death (already) by its tone and its obscure otherwise expected finger details. Add to that the image of the cane cut off at its second most important point (relating to stability and its attachment to the ground below) further indicates that what we are seeing is effectively an image of end of life. I'm not convinced that the subject and photographer had that particular intention, but that is how it seems to work.
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<p>I think they mention that the tags are of various sizes, but the ones shown appear similar sized and unnecessarily large for a lot of equipment or parts. Otherwise a reasonable approach, at least for those who really need it.</p>
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UK photographer David Hamilton dies at 83 amid rape scandal
aplumpton replied to JDMvW's topic in Casual Photo Conversations
<p>Les, from your Guardian account: "Under France’s statute of limitations, charges must be brought within 20 years for rape and 10 years for sexual abuse." If these charges are valid, as they seem to be and will possibly be supported by Hamilton's apparent suicide, it is unfortunate that the young women were not counselled earlier in order to bring charges against him.</p> <p>I realize that there is much difficulty for young women of that period (even today) to do that, which is understandable, but hopefully those psychological barriers are disappearing. Whatever the facts are in this case, situations of inequality where one person is in a position of power and abuses the other can only illicit hate for the former person.</p> <p>I think that what I appreciated when looking at his early atmospheric and blurry photographs was solely his technique. His artistic approach and communication was perhaps important for others.</p> -
<p>Avi, I once had a problem where the shutter of my 50 mm lens was not opening and it required servicing. Something to do with the solenoid in the lens that activated the in-lens shutter. This may not be your type of problem, but should your continued successful tests with your 50 mm (and the 150 mm lens if you have it as well) show that the problem is in the lens and not in the camera, it may be best to make arrangements with the seller regarding that lens alone.</p> <p>If it is required, servicing the lens will require a technician familiar with the Mamiya G lenses, and perhaps more important, one having access to its parts if one needs to be replaced. The seller should either refund you for the lens and take it back, provide an exchange lens, or provide the cost of the repair. The Mamiya is a fine camera and a pleasure to use.</p> <p> </p>
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<p>Gordon, Bones is instructive in terms of technique used, and subtely impressive in terms of composition, texture and tonality. </p>
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<p>First time I've heard of this. Maybe they will eventually include a run emanating from the east of Montreal (Quebec, Truro, Halifax, etc.). They announce a US train through northern states that includes a stop in Chicago. Evening stops may be the best for photo ops.</p>
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<p>Sometimes it takes a while before others will pursue a certain approach. The important thing that Anders has done is to communicate the possibilities such that others might try this approach. There are several portfolios where post exposure creation leads to surreal like or fantasy images based on figurative elements. As those are claimed as photography there is no reason I think why abstracts so made cannot be. I think the first image is a particularly successful one as the juxtaposition of the cylinders, in one case diagonally, otherwise in seemingly more arbitrary positions, activates the viewer's curiosity. This occurs in this essentially monochrome image, without requiring recourse to an extended colour palette. Bravo.</p>
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<p>Interesting option, Peter, and a lens not often really used at full aperture for best macro results. Interesting at half the price of the 55 mm Sony/Zeiss FE lens, but how it compares with the cheaper new 50mm Sony FE lens (f1.8) will be of interest to learn someday as well, for Benjamin and for those interested here (John speaks well of its performance vis-à-vis the 55mm lens).</p>
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<p>To Michael, Sanford, Anders and Sally, thank you for posting some interesting images that suggest motion. My first witness of photographs in that sense were those of Ernst Haas (using blur) and Martin Munkacsi (humans jumping). Sense of motion may sometimes obscure reality and thus add to the abstract expression.</p>
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Can anyone identify that double hot-shoe
aplumpton replied to eric_antonelli's topic in Leica and Rangefinders
<p>It's a Voigtlander-Cosina double accessory shoe product from around 2000, without hot connections, once available in different configurations to fit different (mainly rangefinder) cameras, all of which are now discontinued. If you really need one, you might try contacting Stephen Gandy at Cameraquest.com.</p> <p>I just saw Stephen's link and the reply in Gus Lazarri's former post, which gives more details.</p> -
I have more fun with film than with digital
aplumpton replied to robert_marsch's topic in Casual Photo Conversations
<p>Robert, I found that with digital I am much better to do a lot of image previewing (perception, followed by some form of image conception) outside of the EVF or monitor, for the reason you mention. Film and darkroom permit a lot of time to do those things. Despite the lower availability of materials, it is still a route I like to take when a photo project in black and white does not impose time constraints on the shooting part. However, I love digital for the ability to redo the image capture or provide alternative results at the same time as the original image capture. I wonder though if I always apply the same quality of seeing as I do when using the film medium.</p> -
<p>Perhaps we should be more worried about the shift away from the use of the word in regard to natural ecosystems to a more generalized use of it. As Colin says, the latter may well be appropriate in terms of original meaning of the word. Apple apparently uses the term in regard to the interaction of business units and their products. However, since the mid 1930s man has considered ecosystem to mean a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Today, ecosystems are greatly affected by external non natural causes of global warming and it is perhaps important not to dilute the more than 80 year plus meaning of the word and remove focus on the natural ecosystems which are to a large degree victims of those non natural causes of climate change.</p>
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<p>Not very important to the discussion, but I meant to say... a Loxia 50mm on a Sony A7RII.</p>
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<p>I use the Loxia 50mm on an ATRII and am impressed by its rendition and resolution, although it is a more or less traditional lens formula and non autofocus (not essential in my work; in fact I prefer the manual focus). If you need autofocus, the FE 55mm is an alternative.</p>
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<p>Anders,<br> Thanks. I guess that the violins are a suggestion (intimation) of geese (If one turns the image upside down the violins seem to even more closely resemble them, although a second intimation is in the form presented by ensemble of multiple violins). In this case I think my image accords quite well with what you suggest.</p>
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<p>Laura, the word was intimation and not imitation, two quite different things.</p> <p>Anders, thanks for your comment and question. You may well be right to classify my image as surreal (which can also be abstract of course), but I think also that we often evoke the term surrealism for subjects that are not principally in that category and also we apply other categories to images that are clearly abstract (or an abstraction of nature or whatever, if you will).</p> <p>To me, my listening to "The lark ascending" on violin by Vaughan-Williams triggered my creativity and simultaneously (within a few days of the former) seeing the yearly migrations of more than a million snow geese that stop over "chez nous" (yes we are lucky).</p> <p>So I went into the darkroom for a few evenings to produce (arduously, as a multiple enlarger projected impressions on the same paper) this "photographic collage" to make this abstraction of nature. I love this kind of process that is less accidental than stumbling upon something in nature that appears to us as abstract or an abstraction. I think it embodies art in the (or as the) photographic approach.</p> <p>Did I address your question? I admit to often going off in other directions of interest when stimulated by one.</p>
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<p>Intimations of nature<br> Couldn't find my original print easily, so here is a copy from a book frontispiece.</p><div></div>
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Exposure Date: 2012:11:13 15:57:01; Make: Leica Camera AG; Model: M9 Digital Camera; ExposureTime: 1/45 s; ISOSpeedRatings: 250; ExposureProgram: Aperture priority; ExposureBiasValue: 0/1; MeteringMode: CenterWeightedAverage; Flash: Flash did not fire; FocalLength: 0 mm; FocalLengthIn35mmFilm: 0 mm; Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 14.0 (Macintosh); -
Exposure Date: 2007:04:29 06:12:24; Make: Leica Camera AG; Model: M8 Digital Camera; ExposureTime: 1/1000 s; ISOSpeedRatings: 1250; ExposureProgram: Aperture priority; ExposureBiasValue: 0/1; MeteringMode: CenterWeightedAverage; Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode; FocalLength: 0 mm; Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 14.0 (Macintosh); -
<p>FIRE</p><div></div>
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<p>Light projection called "night train."</p><div></div>
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<p>Movement can be inferred by blur, chromatic contrasts and vibrancies, the suggestion of geometry, and other. Have you a static photographic image that somehow suggests movement?</p><div></div>
