Crazy Movements of View Cameras

[snommisbor]

I have seen pictures of view cameras with the bellows all twisted and turned and tilted. Is there ever a situation that you would do something that extreme or is it just showing how much movement a particular camera can do? I might do rise and tilt and maybe a little swing but my camera never looks that contorted.

[kenj8246]

By and large, that's hype. If you got an image from those contortions, it'd be amazing. IMO.

[Luis-F-S]

By and large, that's hype. If you got an image from those contortions, it'd be amazing. IMO.

++1 Plus I've always thought they're made by individuals with none or for those with no view camera knowledge.

[xkaes]

View camera makers and users like to show off what they can do. Most of the time, only one movement is needed -- and occasionally pretty extreme -- and sometimes two movements are needed, but less extreme. But before most photographers would ever get close to the contortions you mention, the Image Circle created by the lens would not even hit the film!

[Doremus Scudder]

I end up using pretty extreme movements more often than I'd like. I define extreme as 1) being at the very edge of a lens' coverage and/or 2) pushing the limits of what my camera can do. I shoot field cameras, so there are more limitations as concerns movements than a monorail. Still when you run out of both rise and shift and have to add tilts and swings in order to get enough of both, that's rather a lot of movement. Below is a shot of my Wista SW with both rise and shift at maximum and added swings and tilts to get a bit more of both. Note the angle of the bed.



The shot was successful, but right at the edge of the lens' coverage. This is about as far as I ever push movements. I don't know if you'd call it "crazy," though.


Best,

Doremus

[Leigh]

The shot was successful, but right at the edge of the lens' coverage. This is about as far as I ever push movements.

Hi Doremus,

Why don't you show us the image that resulted from those movements?

- Leigh

[Doremus Scudder]

Hi Doremus,

Why don't you show us the image that resulted from those movements?

- Leigh

Hi Leigh,

I looked to find the negative here in Vienna, but, alas, it's in my Oregon darkroom waiting for me to get back and print it. I won't be there till June... It was a building façade with windows. I had to move myself way off-center in order to avoid my own reflection in the windows; that's why all the shift. The amount of front rise I used was a bit more than usual for me too, as I wanted to include details up high. If this thread is still active when I get to my neg, I'll post the image.

Best

Doremus

[Pfsor]

I have seen pictures of view cameras with the bellows all twisted and turned and tilted. Is there ever a situation that you would do something that extreme or is it just showing how much movement a particular camera can do? I might do rise and tilt and maybe a little swing but my camera never looks that contorted.

The meaning of these pictures is indeed to prove/show the mechanical possibility of camera movements. Nothing bad with it. The way you recognize this sense of the pictures is the photographically often illogical nature of the movements that are shown. The front left swing and upwards tilt combined with right back swing with downward tilt etc.

[Graham Patterson]

You know the movements were set up for marketing when the light would never reach the film...unless the inside of the bellows was reflective!

[Pfsor]

You know the movements were set up for marketing when the light would never reach the film...unless the inside of the bellows was reflective!

Once, in a photo shop I overheard a son looking at such pictures and asking his father with a 35mm camera - how can you take pictures with the lens going in that direction? The father answered - the bellow must somehow reflect the light...