Another Stupid Petzval Question

[DanK]

I hate to ask, but am curious...

With a petzval lens...

Is the swirl visible on the ground glass?

Or is it a darkroom surprise?

Thanks,
Dan

[Andrew]

what you see is what you get... it's definitely visible on the GG

[Andrew]

just an afterthought...

I have heard/ read people suggesting that you extend your bellows till you get maximal swirliness in the background and then position the subject where the focus has ended up sharpest. I guess it'd work best for portraits where the subject is mobile.

Any comments about that idea?

[Mark Sawyer]

just an afterthought...

I have heard/ read people suggesting that you extend your bellows till you get maximal swirliness in the background and then position the subject where the focus has ended up sharpest. I guess it'd work best for portraits where the subject is mobile.

Any comments about that idea?

It presumes you are only interested in showing how much the lens swirls, and don't care enough about the portrait subject to care about how far or near they are in the composition. Not that there's anything wrong with that; I think there's a lot of it going around these days...

Other than that, I guess it works.

[mandoman7]

......and don't care enough about the portrait subject [enough] to care about how far or near they are in the composition. Not that there's anything wrong with that; I think there's a lot of it going around these days...

I totally agree with the inference. If you want an engaged look (or participation) on the part of the sitter its best to convey the sense that they are the star of the show, not your equipment or compositional talent. You can lose them in the blink of an eye...

[Andrew]

I think you're off at a tangent guys. This was a question about equipment and if the original query was whether the swirl can be predicted then surely the next obvious question is whether it can be intentionally manipulated. There was no implication that anyone should or should not do so.

[DanK]

Thanks for the replies....

I wasn't sure if the swirls would be apparent, or just out-of-focus areas on the GG...

Thanks again,
Dan