Post Your Ultra-Wide Photos

[r.e.]

Joseph,

I didn't know that Bacon's studio had been moved and become an exhibit. The Dublin City Gallery web site says that there were photographs on the walls of George Dyer. Did you notice these, and are they John Deakin photographs? The site also says that they found 120 prints and negatives of Deakin's work in the studio. I have read that Bacon kept some of Deakin's photographs on the floor, the better to walk on them Assuming that the reconstruction is faithful, did you see that?

I like your Stag Head's photograph.

[jb7]

Thanks Rory-

Yes, the photographs are there, but not on the floor of the studio- they're hung as exhibits.

Bacon used them to work from, they're pictures of his portrait subjects, in the main.
A lot of 6x6 contact sheets and enlargements, almost all of them folded, dog-eared, torn, spattered-

Bacon commissioned Deakin to produce some of these pictures to work from-
they don't look much like considered photographic portraits.
There are also some other pictures of people, seemingly more candid.

Peter Beard's photographs are also represented, apparently, he sent prints to Bacon over the course of a number of years.
Some of these were used to work from, the people, others, particularly of African wildlife, were carefully put away, untouched.
There's one big enlargement from 35mm, perfect except for a single vertical fold,
of a family of lion cubs...

Also represented are a room full of Muybridge figure studies, pages torn from books-

The studio would appear to be a faithful reproduction,
and the contents are, of course, authentic-
The steep stair is there, and the picture above is of a view through the door at the top of them.
Access is limited to a plate glass oriel in the doorway, not very deep;
that picture was taken with the camera lens pressed onto the glass.
(in fact, the only picture that used a tripod, out of the 5 posted,
was the Stag's Head one, though the exposures were all long)

A looped South Bank Show interview of Bacon by Melvin Bragg plays in an ante chamber to the studio exhibit,
where Bacon and Bragg walk through the mews house,
and it seems they might have used these pictures to help set up the recreation of the studio-
some of the details are very similar-

It would have been good to take a view to the left, that's interesting, texturally-
and the light from above is wonderful-
but the junction of the plate glass panels doesn't allow it-

Though maybe, the 72xl with a lot of shift....
but getting your legs out in a gallery might bring too much attention-
to say nothing of the monorail.
Better to get the snaps with a point and shoot-

The 65mm ƒ/8 doesn't allow any movements on 4x5, even if I wanted to,
so it suits a point and shoot perfectly-
nothing is wasted...

[John Brady]

I particularly like the middle image, with the tree roots. Care to divulge some technical details? I am impressed by how much foreground detail you retained while not blowing out the background. I'm thinking I would have had to use negative film to retain that much scenery range.

This thread is shaping up to be just what I hoped--keep those images coming.

Rick "who just bought a center filter for the 47 from KEH" Denney

Hi Rick, as one who is obsessed with wide angle I agree this is an interesting thread!
As for some details, I shot this one with my Ebony slw810 and Provia. The provia doesn't have as much latitude as color negative film it still has a greater range than velvia. The sun being behind the clouds helped to evenly light the majority of the scene. I metered the brightest area on the horizon and then opened two stops. My concern in making this image was to capture the sun rays coming through the clouds on the horizon. The detail in the foreground was visible in the transparency but it took a lot of coaxing in photo shop to bring it out. I used the graduated nd tool in photo shop to increase the exposure in the roots and desaturated some of the lower left area because of the color shift from under exposure. This image took many hours, I'm glad you noticed the effort.

www.timeandlight.com

[MenacingTourist]

Flatiron building in NYC. I really love this building and have shot it two different times. I'd like to go a few more times even. This is a full frame 8x10 on the widest lens I own. Just barely covers and when I use movement you get this shot.

[r.e.]

Thanks Joseph,

I'm going to be on Wight for a week just after Christmas and I just might get to Dublin afterward, in which case I'd like to see this exhibit. I saw the Bacon show last year in New York, and I'm intrigued by Deakin's work. I've had a copy of John Deakin: Photographs for some time, and last week I was able to pick up A Maverick Eye, the book on his street photography. The roughness of his images - figuratively and literally, whether the latter was intended or not - appeals to me.

[jb7]

Wight?

as in, the Isle of Wight?
What a coincidence, I should be there too, at least for lunch one day around New Year- weather permitting-

what a small world...

I did get the idea that he knew what Bacon wanted to use the pictures for,
and it seemed to me that no special effort was required,
considering what the pictures were to be used for,
and the treatment he expected them to get...

I could of course, be completely wrong, and I don't know his work apart from the prints and contacts I saw here...

[r.e.]

I have friends in Cowes. I'll be there from the 27th to the 4th. If you're up for it, we've been known to go for the odd pint.

[r.e.]

Re Deakin: Robin Muir, the former editor of the British Vogue, for which Deakin worked and got fired twice, brought out a book of his work in 1996. There's no doubt a copy in one of the Dublin libraries. Have a look at it, you may be surprised. At the beginning of the book there is this quote from Elizabeth Smart: "Who is John Deakin? He is a photographer with extraordinary eyes..." Maybe, all I know is that I go back to this book whenever I want to get photographically grounded.

[jb7]

Very good, will look it out-

will pm you my number,
an odd pint might fit in well between all the even gallons...

[eddie]

SA 72 XL on 4 X 5
rotterdam saturday november 21

hey, i was there! nice one.

Flatiron building in NYC. I really love this building and have shot it two different times. I'd like to go a few more times even. This is a full frame 8x10 on the widest lens I own. Just barely covers and when I use movement you get this shot.

what about the 180mm series V shots? they would cover easily.....didnot you use it on the FI?

eddie