Paul Strand's Lenses?

[PViapiano]

Then you've never heard the Cartier-Bresson documentary.

You mean "The Impassioned Eye" documentary...?

It's all Bach piano music...!!!

[Bill_1856]

You mean "The Impassioned Eye" documentary...?

It's all Bach piano music...!!!

No, the Sarah Moon one.

[claudiocambon]

No, the Sarah Moon one.

Which I am not fond of either. I suppose she wanted to emulate his jaggedness and spontaneity by jumping all over the place, but it is in fact a bit enervating, partly because of the music.

The one with the Bach music is wonderful.

[PViapiano]

HCB says of Bach, "It's music to dance to, before you die."

[Bill_1856]

I was just reading through the Aperture book, "Paul Strand Southwest," about his relation to New Mexico.
According to it he used a 4x5 Graflex until he got the 5x7 in 1931 (masked to 5x6), and the 8x10 was a Corona View with 16" Tenor lens.
Does anybody know what a "TENOR" lens is?

[Bill_1856]

Correction: that should have read "TENAR" not Tenor. I find a reference to an Italian Tennar lens, but not a Tenar.

[Michael Graves]

Wilhelm, I think the Tenor lens is a design that renders exquisite highlight detail at the expense of the shadows, while a Basso lens really digs deep into the lower zones, but sacrifices highlights.

However, I, too have a reference that indicates much of the great man's early work was on 4x5.

[Pete Roody]

Ernest, according to Richard Benson a 12" lens is the shortest focal length Dagor that will clear the swinging mirror on a 5x7 Graflex.

There are two factors with using lenses on the Home Portrait. One is clearing the mirror and the other is being able to focus at infinity. With the 12" dagor, you can do both with a normal flange mount. The normal lens supplied with the camera was a 10" Kodak lens and this focuses at infinity also. Shorter focal lengths may not focus at infinity but you can use them for portraits/close ups.

[Bill_1856]

Wilhelm, I think the Tenor lens is a design that renders exquisite highlight detail at the expense of the shadows, while a Basso lens really digs deep into the lower zones, but sacrifices highlights.

Michael, God will get you for that one!