Then and Now pictures - advice needed

[Matt_Bigwood]

I'm planning on doing a 'then and now' series of photos, trying to do modern versions as close as possible to the photos of Murray Dowding, a commercial photographer who was active between about 1910 and 1930 in Chipping Sodbury and the surrounding areas north of Bristol: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/pro ... -of-murray

I've had access to his glass plates, most of which are half-plate 6.5inch x 4.25inch, although there are a few 10x8 inch plates. I'm guessing he would have taken everything with a standard lens - on some of the quarter plates there's evidence of vignetting and the lens running out of coverage when he's used a fair amount of front rise.

Would moderately wide or true wide angle lenses have been in common use in those days?

[Neil Barnes]

'Standard' lenses would have been, I think, slightly wide angle by modern standards. Only prime lenses were common. At the time, either RR (rapid rectilinear) or Anastigmats were the best lenses available, probably with a focal length not too much shorter than the diagonal of the plate.

I have 10.5cm lenses intended for 6*9cm roll film, 13.5cm for 4*5, 11.0cm for 5*7, and 13cm for quarter plate - all of about that vintage.

Neil

[Neil Barnes]

Some calculated included angles on the diagonal - only the 110 on the 5x7 would be considered wide angle these days.

Code: Select all

Lens    Film    Diagonal    Angle
105      6x9     108           45.8
135      4x5     160           49.8
110      5x7     215           62.9
130      qpl      116           41.2        

[Joanna Carter]

We did a similar exercise in a village in France last year. They had a load of prints of old postcards around the square; we took digis on a Canon G10 and then walked around looking at the LCD screen until things lined up. We usually found ourselves using the 90mm f/5.6 Rodenstock or the 120mm f/8 Nikkor to match the point of view and angle.

[Matt_Bigwood]

Thanks for the information - I hadn't really considered that wide-ish lenses would have been all that common in those days.

I've got a couple of books about old cameras, and whilst they list manufacturers and types of lenses there's not any info about what equipment was in use at the time.

[Neil Barnes]

Looking at the adverts I found from 1923 (here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2689 ) it's curious that while the maker, type, and f-stop of the lenses supplier with the cameras are all specified, there's no mention of focal length. But I don't think there's been much difference over the the years from the pseudo-standard of focal length approximating the film diagonal.

Neil

[Justin]

Looking at the adverts I found from 1923 (here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2689 ) it's curious that while the maker, type, and f-stop of the lenses supplier with the cameras are all specified, there's no mention of focal length. But I don't think there's been much difference over the the years from the pseudo-standard of focal length approximating the film diagonal.

Neil

The catalogues usually have focal lengths as well as coverage eg http://www.cameraeccentric.com/info.html half plate would be 5-8 inches looking at some examples. I think the earlier you look the longer the lenses are.

[Patrick Dixon]

Is this one of his?



(Sorry about the crappy scan).

The Gatehouse was moved to Berkeley Castle, but the Barn is still here!

[Matt_Bigwood]

Hi Patrick, yes it is a Dowding picture, and I scanned the original plate a month or two ago, along with 300 others that are owned by The Gazette in Dursley. That's what started me thinking about this project.

There are several of theis with captions like 'The ruins of Yate Court, once home to the Berkeleys.'

Do you know where the ruins are/were?

Matt

[Patrick Dixon]

Yeah - we're living in them.

[Matt_Bigwood]

Give me a clue....

[Patrick Dixon]

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=bs37+7q ... k&t=h&z=18

(Perhaps I should also say that the drive and the property is private, although there is a public footpath that runs past. If you want to drive up and look, then just get in touch.)