Christopher Burkett Interview on PBS

[Drew Wiley]

I suspect that if you saw Burkett's prints in person you'd understand the role of detail that just doesn't come across in a tiny website image. The pseudo-photographer who comes across like Kincaid, and has adopted both his shady business model and little old lady imagery is Peter Lik. Burkett is a serious practitioner of darkroom craft and not just a chimpanzee turned loose with a Photoshop program and some LSD tablets in his hands. One is striving to present his actual visual experience, the other is trying to market highly altered sugary stereotypes. Genre is your call. My own Ciba work was more metaphysical, and some people didn't like that, and would have preferred something more postcardy. Whatever.

[Thad Gerheim]

"It seems so utterly naive that landscape-not that of the pictorial school-is not considered of 'social significance' when it has far more important bearing on the human race of any given locale than excrescences called cities. By landscape, I mean every physical aspect of a region-weather, soil, wildflowers, mountain peaks-and its effect on the psyche and physical appearance of the people." (Edward Weston-1938)

[Pere Casals]

the permanent solution to the up-n-down motion is to check that the QR plate is firmly tightened each time the camera is to be mounted on the tripod.

Hello Thomas,

Let me point a way to measure well the steadiness of our setup.

.. just placing a toy laser pointer in the front standard and aiming some 20m far (or 100m...). This is useful to know how much time takes the vibration to stop after inserting the holder, and the effect of wind.


I'd say it is not necessary using that tools often, but IMHO it's really useful to understand how our setup behaves when we have wind.

I've been playing with that and I found interesting information, this is something I'd recomment to anybody who is worried by steadiness.

If we see the laser spot oscilating we know the detail that will be blurred. Even we can calculate what amount of blur is genearted on film, for example a test I made (a windy day) was showing a some 2mm oscillation at 20m, with the magnification calculated for a 210mm lens this resulted in 0.021mm on film, this 1/50mm, so 50 lines/mm, so limiting the shot to some 25 Lp/mm (lines vs line pairs).

Of course ultimate resolving power can be absolutely irrelevant in an LF shot, but if we want extreme image quality we need to know where minimal blur comes from, we have other factors like film/GG matching, lens sweet point, diffraction... so removing the steadiness factor (with a toy! laser pointer) simplifies the diagnostic a lot. This is the view I have as a learner, other very experiented photographers (like you) may know about the steadiness of their setup from practical results, anyway when one wants to go lightweight for sure that this toy is what says if a vibration is there.

Also an smartphone can be placed on the camera and can be used to measure vibrations, but the laser shows explicitly the movement on the subject.

I used the smartphone to measure the Hz of the vibration, to know if a full oscillation cycle fits in the exposure time, and to know if a shorter exposure can freeze the shot to some extend, when the exposure goes bellow 1/2 of the vibraton cycle time we are start lowering blur, at 1/4 we may have 1/2 of the blur.

[Drew Wiley]

Sometimes I've almost gotten seasick watching photographers fiddling with big flatbed cameras wobbling atop toyish flimsy tripod assemblies. It's as if they're bobble-headed watching the stock market continuously go up and down, waiting for a predictable moment.

[Pere Casals]

Drew, what I found is that a camera vibration that downgrades a LF shot is not seen or perceived, we have to guess it.

With the laser pointer in the front standard we have to see a vibration of the spot at 20m that's under 1mm, this is with a 210, to not limit the shot under 50 Lp/mm. Then there is a proportionality... if the focal is the half, say 105mm, then you can allow a vibration of the spot that's 2mm at 20m far, or 1mm again at 10m.

Of course a vibration that provocates 2mm vibration of the spot at 20m it cannot be perceived by looking the camera. Because that the laser toy is really useful.

Single problem, if shooting a 8x10 is not drawing attention enough... just place some laser pointers on it, and it will look an starship

Another thing I found, tripod steadiness is a bit secondary, if no wind a light tripod works perfect, if there is some wind (specially in 8x10) no heavy tripod will make an steady shot, so the wind speed range in what a heavy tripod makes a difference it's narrow.

I think it would be interesting measuring and comparing the vibration that different tripods allow with different wind speeds...

[Tin Can]

Ok Pere.

I’ll try the laser bit. I have a laser inside a Focus-Spot RF on a Speed.

I documented it here in DIY years ago.

Have you any documentation?

[Pere Casals]

Ok Pere.

I’ll try the laser bit. I have a laser inside a Focus-Spot RF on a Speed.

I documented it here in DIY years ago.

Have you any documentation?

Randy, I do that with a $3 laser pointer, I attach it in a cold shoe I've in the front standard



For my tests (as a learning exercise) I used the tripod head to aim to a suitable surface some 20m far, better in the shadow, then I placed a ruler on the spot and used the focusing magnifier (inverted) to see well the movement of the spot on the ruler.

This would be the way to take accurate measures to make calculations... in practice, and in case of doubt, IMHO its enough to place the pointer in the front standard, aiming at 20m and viewing the vibration of the spot...

That's my rule of thumb:, for a 210mm lens, from a 1mm spot vibration at 20m it starts limiting IQ under 50 lp/mm. At 40m far you can allow 2mm, this is proportional. With the focal it's inverse proportional, if twice the focal you can allow half of the vibration...

There are a lot of opinions and urban legends about tripods... a $3 toys says the truth. I'm very happy about what I learned with that, becasue now I've no doubt about the effect of wind and time to wait after inserting a holder, my Bilora tripod with the Norma 45 vibrates less than 3 seconds.

[Tin Can]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!

I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.



You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

[Pere Casals]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!

I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.

You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

Randy in that case one has to go 20mm far by foot to see the spot with the loupe I use it reversed to not cast a shadow in the laser beam...

As I use a Nikon D3200 as spot meter, with the 55-300 I can see well if the spot moves... any mini telescope could also be used if not wanting to travel until the spot.

You are right, I should make a doc collecting all that information in a practical way, IMHO it's someting that could be useful, with that rule of thumb that I pointed IMHO it's enough in practice, but a PDF showing sample image crops and even more or less blurred 1951 targets vs spot vibration it would be good source of information.

[Pere Casals]

I can’t see 1 mm movement at 20 m with a reversed loupe.

Using a FocuSpot laser makes focus at night possible for me. Aligning 2 dots into one.

You could have shot video for documentation. Just a suggestion.

Randy in that case one has to go 20m far by foot to see the spot with the loupe, I use it reversed to not cast a shadow in the laser beam...

As I use a Nikon D3200 as spot meter, with the 55-300 I can see well if the spot moves... any mini telescope could also be used if not wanting to walk to the spot.


You are right, I should make a doc collecting all that information in a practical way, IMHO it's someting that could be useful, with that rule of thumb that I pointed IMHO it's enough in practice, but a PDF showing sample image crops and even more or less blurred 1951 targets vs spot vibration it would be a useful source of information.

Just wait until I get my cateracts and lens implants. Soon!
I have 90 days to get that done. Hopeful.

Randy, you will be refurbished to "like new" condition with that CLA.

This will have a cost, now you will want expensive glass for the 1010 enlarger !