Quick visit to Birmingham

[Charles Twist]

I had a few hours and a few sheets of film to kill in Birmingham recently. Never been before but I found it an interesting place. Here be a couple of my more personal shots. Both are taken on Adox CHS25; the first with an ApoSymmar 210mm and the second with a Petzval 8".


To outer space



From outer space

Any comments on the technical appearance?
Any comments on the treatment of the subjects?

Thank you.
Charles

[Andrew Plume]

Hi Charles

I like the second one -plenty of people have already shot the mosaic appearance on what I believe is the Selfridge building but I haven't previously seen an architectural 'comparison' between that building and St Martin's in the Bullring before, so good to see

my only thought on the 'does it require any change/cropping etc' side, is that I would crop out a small amount on the left hand side of the image - up to the start of the walkway

regards

andrew

[Neil Barnes]

Would it be uncivil of me to point out that the focus doesn't seem to include the apex of the steeple nor random discs of Mr Selfridge's wonderful emporium? This is probably my fault but I'm having some difficulty identifying the plane of focus.

Neil

[Andrew Plume]

Hi Neil

This is possibly due to Charles' use of a petzval, rather than, say a Rapid Rect'r or a modern optic - the effect will be completely different, there may also have been no desire to obtain 'a plane of focus', perhaps

I'm probably opening myself up here to be proved wrong but that's the whole point

best regards

andrew

[Charles Twist]

@Andrew:

Yes I can see your point about the left being unnecessary to the story. I don't think I should include any more of the Selfridges bldg, so if I stay in the 5x4 format, then I'd lose the top of the Selfridges bldg. I think the "returning" curve holds the composition together, so I'd have to use a wider focal length and move nearer to the subject. Then you'd lose more of the roof of the church. It's a good idea but requires a move away from 5x4.

@Neil:
Andrew is on the right track. When you shoot a lens with a Petzval formula, the focal plane is curved (section of sphere). This is especially noticible at the wider apertures, such as I have used here. If you photograph a flat facade, you can't have all of it in focus. So I would struggle to get the whole of the steeple sharp. The Selfridges bldg is curious in that it has a curved exterior. So there is a coincidence of two curved planes in this picture. There is some swing on the rear to hold parts of the Selfridges bldg and the steeple both sharp, but I believe it's impossible to have them both entirely sharp at f/5. I would have to stop down to achieve that - then you lose the curious character of the Petzval, which still fascinates me enough to indulge it. One day, I'll grow up. Right now, I am enjoying myself. You'll also see that the corners of the picture are soft - that's due to the image circle.

Regards,
Charles

[Andrew Plume]

Thanks Charles

regards

andrew

[Neil Barnes]

Cheers, Charles. Makes sense now!

Neil

[dave_whatever]

I like the second shot a lot, very nice composition and lighting.

Just out of interest why did you go for the petzval on this rather than the symmar? The falloff in the corners works well, but the out of focus areas/corners seem to distract rather than add to the shot, for my taste anyway.

[Charles Twist]

Hello Dave,

Thanks for the kind comments.

The reason is more for the narrative than the result. I can see what you mean about the out of focus areas creating a distraction or generally unsettling the viewer. But I wanted to show the space from the perspective of the church and so I chose a Victorian lens to suit its age. For me there is something menacing in the way the Selfridges bldg is portrayed, like it is invading our heritage (the blob from outer space, in B-movie parlance). In my mind, a Symmar would be associated with the modern world and that would go counter the narrative: like the invader talking about the plight of the invadee. What I should do more, is use Waterhouse stops to temper the idiosyncratic look of the Petzval.

Best regards,
Charles