Large Format Landscapes

[Bill Poole]

Like!

Thanks 6x6 - I'm definitely going to try printing the symmetrical one.

And, I hope you all are still in the mood for some circular images . I went on a short trip to Mississippi this past week. Here's something I just hung up to dry, and grabbed a quick pic with my cell phone:

Davis Bayou, Gulf Islands National Seashore - Speed Graphic / 35mm fisheye / T-Max 100 / Pyrocat

[xkaes]

xkaes, the Pentax has the usual fisheye filter set built-in, but not the rear filter thread. That's interesting, though perhaps not of much use other than the IR filter idea you mentioned (I tend to use R25 myself). I'm not sure what you mean by "full-frame 180 degree fisheye" in context of the 37mm vs my 35mm Pentax - that's exactly what I have here on 4x5 film (scanned and cropped square, of course). Perhaps you thought I meant a 35mm-film-sized fisheye but I mean the one for Pentax 67, 35mm focal length. As usual your website doesn't work - DNS errors on your end.

I was unaware that the Pentax 35mm had filters built-in. That helps, but not with IR, of course. The R25 is the next best thing, but on my lenses that I can't use an IR filter, I combine an R25 with a X11 (green). Together they get rid of most of the visible light. http://www.subclub.org/gallery/laundry.htm

As to the "FULL-FRAME" format, as you know, the Pentax 35mm and Mamiya 37mm were designed as full-frame fisheyes (like the 15mm, 16mm & 17mm 35mm fisheyes), and adapting them to 4x5" makes them CIRCULAR fisheyes (like the 7mm, 7.5 & 8mm 35mm fisheyes). I was just pointing out that the 4x5" circular image with these lenses can be cropped to its original, rectangular 6x7 format -- it's still a 180° fisheye image, just FULL-FRAME, not CIRCULAR. Which to use? Depends on the subject and the photographer.

Happy shooting.

[Willie]

I was unaware that the Pentax 35mm had filters built-in. That helps, but not with IR, of course. The R25 is the next best thing, but on my lenses that I can't use an IR filter, I combine an R25 with a X11 (green). Together they get rid of most of the visible light. http://www.subclub.org/gallery/laundry.htm

As to the "FULL-FRAME" format, as you know, the Pentax 35mm and Mamiya 37mm were designed as full-frame fisheyes (like the 15mm, 16mm & 17mm 35mm fisheyes), and adapting them to 4x5" makes them CIRCULAR fisheyes (like the 7mm, 7.5 & 8mm 35mm fisheyes). I was just pointing out that the 4x5" circular image with these lenses can be cropped to its original, rectangular 6x7 format -- it's still a 180° fisheye image, just FULL-FRAME, not CIRCULAR. Which to use? Depends on the subject and the photographer.

Happy shooting.

If one gets a 47-75 wide angle for 4x5 will it give a full image circle on 5x7 or 8x10 film?

[xkaes]

If one gets a 47-75 wide angle for 4x5 will it give a full image circle on 5x7 or 8x10 film?

Any lens will give you a circular image if the film is larger than the image circle. BUT, the image will only be a fisheye if it is a non-rectilinear optic. For example, in 35mm format, you can have a 15mm full-frame fisheye with a 180° angle of view, and a 15mm full-frame rectilinear with a 110° angle of view. The difference -- besides the angle of view -- is mainly that one produces straight lines as straight, the other, as curved.

So if you like circular images, the world is your oyster -- but there's no need to buy new lenses or a larger format camera! Just put a narrow lens hood on whatever wide-angle lens you have.

[John Layton]

...but to get the "little world" effect a true fisheye is much more effective!

[Daniel Unkefer]

Great Sand Dunes Ntl Monument SW Colorado 1992 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Sunrise at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument SW Colorado late 1980s. 4x5 Sinar Norma, HP5 (not +) PMK+ dev 90mm F8 Norma Super Angulon. Norma Yellow Glass FIlter, 8x10 Foma fibre paper Dektol developer. Omega DII Omegalite head 180mm black Rodagon.

What a lovely experience this was. Quite a long hike to get to this spot. Who says you can't use Monorail View Cameras in the field?

[Daniel Unkefer]

Cuyahoga Falls 8x10 HP5 PMK 240 Symmar Ektalure R by Nokton48, on Flickr

Late 1980s Cuyahoga Falls 8x10 Sinar Norma 240 Symmar HP5 (not +) PMK+ Ektalure 8x10 print Ektanol Print Developer. Using a lot of tilt correction. Focus on the far, then tilt until the near is sharp.

[Vaughn]

Interesting image, Daniel! The way you focused seems to have enlarged the foreground relative to the rest of the image -- giving us a place to stand and look across the water.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Thanks Vaughn!

[Corran]

I was just pointing out that the 4x5" circular image with these lenses can be cropped to its original, rectangular 6x7 format -- it's still a 180° fisheye image, just FULL-FRAME, not CIRCULAR. Which to use? Depends on the subject and the photographer.

Ah, I understand what you mean now. I did notice the 35mm Pentax barely covers the nominal 6x7 image size.

Here's a sheet of Velvia 50 I developed last night, from way back in June. It was agonizing waiting for a family to get out of my frame. I specifically avoided where they were, taking family snapshots, to stay out of their frame. And then just as I got ready to shoot they looked right at me and walked into my shot. They wandered around for almost 30 minutes before finally moving behind the tufa enough for me to bang out a quick color image. The light went from sunset reds to blue post-sunset but there was nothing to do but wait, unless I wanted 4-5 random folks in the midground

Blue Hour at Mono Lake
Shen-Hao 4x5, Nikkor 90mm f/8