Panoramic Photography: From Composition and Exposure to Final Exhibition

179 Pages·2007·25.89 MB·English

by  Arnaud Frich

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Arnaud Frich
From Composition and Exposure to Final Exhibition
Translated by Alan Greene
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS
SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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Translation from the French language edition of: La Photographie Panoramique, copyright © 2004, Eyrolles, Paris, France
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frich, Arnaud.
[Photographie panoramique. English]
Panoramic photography : from composition and exposure to final exhibition / Arnaud Frich.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80920-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-240-80920-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Photography, Panoramic. I. Title.
TR661.F7513 2007
778.3(cid:2)6—dc22
2006100489
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publishing Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80920-5
ISBN 10: 0-240-80920-3
For information on all Focal Press publications,
visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com
07 08 09 10 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Printed in China
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Acknowledgements
To the photographers who agreed to participate in this project, I Thanks to my teacher of color management, Gérard Miemetzky. My
express my gratitude. long training with him has been very valuable, both before and dur-
Writing this first book has been a real honor, a unique experience, and ing the realization of this book.
a real team effort. Thanks to the Internet surfers whose remarks and warm, friendly mes-
Above all, I am extremely grateful to Stéphanie Poisson, my editor, for sages on my Web site have given me the energy to write this book. I am
her encouragement and kindness, her critical but just attention, and equally grateful to many members of various discussion groups for their
her valuable work in proofreading. Without her, this book would not exchanges on panoramic photography and color management.
be the same. I am most grateful to the photographers whose work inspires me
Most sincere thanks to my French publisher, éditions Eyrolles, notably each day, notably Ansel Adams, who has influenced my manner of
Éric Sulpice, for giving me the chance to write this book and for allow- viewing since I was an adolescent.
ing me real freedom of choice. Warmest thanks to all the people who have taken an interest in my work
Thanks to all the people behind the scenes at éditions Eyrolles, who and have been so very kind, particularly Vincent Luc and Jimmy Peguet.
have helped me in the realization of this work and who have allowed Thanks very much to Nadine Beauthéac-Bouchart for having granted
its publication; special thanks go to Isabelle de Robillard, production me permission to publish the photographs of François-Xavier Bouchart
head, in this regard. and for having made this a very easy task.
Many thanks to the graphic design team Nord Combo, Ludovic Févin in Thanks to Hervé Sentucq for his support, friendship, and valuable
particular, for the remarkable work they have done. They have known technical assistance.
how to listen to my concerns and made this book more elegant. Thanks to Bernard Martinez for his material aid and, in moments past,
Warmest thanks Alain Quintin, Loïc Blevenec, and the team of MMF- for having enjoyed listening to music together.
Pro for their material aid and support, ever since my first beginnings Thanks from the bottom of my heart to my grandmother Denise
in panoramic photography. Cervera, Suzan Beaudry, and Valérie Beausoleil, without whom this
Thanks to the different equipment and software makers for their book would not have seen the light of day.
help, notably Catherine Gautier of Manfrotto France, Gilbert Morin of Enormous thanks to Delphine for her love, support, and valuable aid,
the Panavue company, and Dominique Massot and Patrick Dumas of whenever I have needed it most while writing this book.
the Realviz company.
To my parents and little sister, thanks from the bottom of my heart.
Thanks as well to the stores Le Grand Format (particularly Daniel
I dedicate this book to François-Xavier Bouchart, for he has given direc-
Gadat) and Le Moyen Format, and AMC. All three are located in Paris
tion to both my overall approach and my panoramic way of viewing.
and have allowed me to create photographs of their equipment.
For me, respect for the Other – that is to say, harmony between
Thanks very much to Emmanuel Bigler and Yves Colombe for their
Humanity and Nature – seems the best solution.
technical explanations and specific knowledge of optics with regard
to the method of joining photographs. Arnaud Frich
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P a n o r a m i c p h o t o g r a p h y
Contents
Preface....................................................... VIII Composition..................................................... 22 Level........................................................... 51
Rule of Thirds................................................. 23 Light Meters.................................................. 51
Placing the Horizon Line..................................... 24 Filters.......................................................... 52
Shifting the Lens............................................. 25 Lens Filters.................................................... 52
Chapter One: Symmetry..................................................... 27 Conventional Filters.......................................... 53
Composing with the Sun.................................... 29 Other Accessories............................................ 53
Solutions and Formats
............... 3 Composing at Night......................................... 32
Taking the Picture............................................
Noting Location.............................................. 35 55
A Variety of Approaches.................................... 5 Framing....................................................... 56
The Panoramic Image........................................ Chapter Three: Light Metering and Exposure............................... 58
6
Angle of View.................................................. 6 Flatback Cameras and
Different Aspect Ratios........................................ 6 Chapter Four:
Format Size..................................................... 8 Picture-Taking................................
39 Picture-Taking with
Influence on Image Detail..................................... 8
Influence on Depth of Field................................... 9 Conventional Cameras...................................... 41 Swing-Lens and
Hyperfocal Distance.......................................... 11 Throwaway, APS, and Compact Cameras.................. 41
Rotational Cameras
35mm and Digital Cameras................................. 42 .................... 61
Medium-Format Cameras................................... 43
Chapter Two: Large-Format Cameras....................................... 44 How Do Swing-Lens and Rotational
Cameras Work?.............................................
Specialty Cameras............................................ 64
Framing and Composition...... 13 24mm(cid:4)65mm Cameras............................................. 4444 When the Lens Rotates...................................... 64
Framing........................................................... 6(cid:4)12 Cameras............................................................. 46 When the Camera Rotates.................................. 66
15
Viewfinder.................................................... 15 6(cid:4)17 Cameras............................................................. 48 Camera Types................................................... 66
Flatback Cameras............................................ 16 Accessories....................................................... 49 Swing-Lens Cameras......................................... 67
Swing-Lens and Rotational Cameras....................... 18 Camera Bag.................................................. 49 Rotational Cameras.......................................... 70
Photographic Assemblage................................... 20 Tripod......................................................... 49 Digital Cameras.............................................. 72
VI
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C o n t e n t s
Accessories....................................................... Light Metering............................................... Chapter Seven:
73 103
Level........................................................... 73 Color Temperature.......................................... 103 After the Exposure
Filters.......................................................... 74 Determining Exposure...................................... 104 .................... 129
Light Meters.................................................. 76 Localized Metering – Differences in Contrast............ 105
Traditional or Digital Prints?........................
131
Taking the Picture............................................ 78 Taking the Picture.......................................... 105 Traditional Prints............................................ 131
Hand-held or Tripod?........................................ 78 Rotation...................................................... 106 Digital Prints................................................. 133
Framing Options.............................................. 78 Exposure Correction........................................ 106 Presentation of Panoramic Photographs.........
Depth of Field and Hyperfocal Distance.................... 79 136
Light Metering and Exposure............................... 80 Distribution of Images on the Internet.................... 136
Spot-Meter Reading......................................... 82 Chapter Six: Books and Display Cases................................... 140
PDloacdignign gth..e. .L.i.g.h..t............................................................................................ 8823 Photographic ESxlidheib Pitrso..je..c.t.io..n............................................................................................. 114411
Movements................................................... 83 Assemblage...................................... Archival Storage of Originals.......................... 142
109
Starts and Stops.............................................. 83 Negatives..................................................... 142
Changing Exposure Times................................... 85 Preparing the Photographs............................. 111 Color Transparency Film....................................... 142
Light Level................................................... 111 Storing Digital Files............................................ 143
Chapter Five: White-Balance............................................... 112
Optical Distortions.......................................... 112 Appendix A: Resources................. 144
Joined Panoramas............................. Image Size and Format..................................... 114
87
Retouching Tools............................................ 115 Directory of Photographers............................ 144
The Principle.................................................... 89 Stitching......................................................... Sources of Supplies......................................... 148
Steps in the Joining Method................................ 90 115 Bibliography...................................................
The Principle................................................. 116 150
Photo Equipment............................................. 90 Tiled Connections........................................... 116
Appendix B: Photographic
Camera........................................................ 90 Orthoscopic Connections.................................. 117
Tripod and Level.............................................. 91 Creative Connections....................................... 117 Credits......................................................
152
Panoramic Tripod Head...................................... 91 Software Programs......................................... 119
Hand-Held Light Meters..................................... 93 Joining with the Realvis Stitcher.................... Index............................................................... 154
Accessories.................................................... 94 120
First Step: Distortions....................................... 122
Prior to Taking the Picture.............................. 95 Second Step: Joining....................................... 122
Framing Decisions............................................ 95 Third Step: The Result...................................... 123
Entrance Pupil................................................. Joining with the Panavue ImageAssembler.....
99 124
Definition..................................................... 99 First Step: Lens Wizard..................................... 124
Finding the Entrance Pupil................................. 101 Second Step: Series Assemblage.......................... 125
Importance of the Entrance Pupil......................... 102 Creating a QTVR Sequence................................ 126
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P a n o r a m i c p h o t o g r a p h y
Preface
W
hen éditions Eyrolles, my French publisher, asked me to write a book on
panoramic photography, I accepted right away. At the time, I wasn’t
sure of how much work it would entail, but I was sure about one thing:
I was going to speak about a subject that had fascinated me for more than
20 years. Actually, it was during my first trip to Rome at the age of 14 – equipped
with the family camera, a Kodak 126 Instamatic – that I first perceived to what
extent I “saw” panoramically, since I could not stop myself from wanting to crop
my photos this way! It is impossible for me to say why; I simply believe that this is
the natural format for me. I love to recreate the emotion that a place instills in me
while viewing it.
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P r e f a c e
Preparation of the Fireworks and Decoration for the Feast Given in
Piazza Navona, Rome, on November 30, 1729, for the Birth of the Dauphin,
on the Occasion of the Birth of the Heir Apparent, by the painter
Giovanni Paolo, Louvre Museum. The painter has chosen a panoramic
format to show all of the famous Roman square in turmoil.
The story behind a book starts long before a publisher’s contact, particularly with
regard to certain experiences that are more important than others. Without a
doubt, the first of these for me was reading the book, Marcel Proust, la figure des
pays, by François-Xavier Bouchart, at the Nanterre public library when I was an
adolescent. I had the strong sensation that a door had just opened wide for me.
This was because a great photographer had published a book containing only
panoramic photographs – and more importantly, ones that were so close to my
own sensibilities – thus, permitting me to express myself more in this format than
in any other. the not-so-distant past, was often cumbersome and costly. However, the recent
My second important photographic encounter concerned the work of Ansel arrival of lighter panoramic cameras, compatible with journalistic photography,
Adams. His black-and-white photographs of American landscapes and architec- and the maturity of the promising joining method have begun to change this pre-
ture, taken with a large-format camera, were unlike anything I had ever seen conception.
before (indeed, I continue to admire them). At the time, I knew that I wanted to It was during a visit to the Louvre that I first entertained this idea. While visiting the
wed the vision of panoramic photography to the richness and detail of large for- different rooms and artistic periods, I noticed that this elongated format was always
mat. But it was only much later that I heard about a new, swing-lens panoramic present there as well. This does not seem so astonishing when one realizes that
camera, the Noblex 150, first produced in 1992, which is the one I used until 2004. many panoramic artists have shared the opinion that this style of vision worked best
Two technical photo books had an effect on me as well: La Photo, by Chenz and because it was the most natural. How could it have been different when the Italian
Jean-Loup Sieff (because a sense of humor was always implicit), and La Prise de painter Lorenzo di Credi (ca. 1460–1537) painted the Annunciation in the fifteenth
vue et le développement, by Thibaut Saint-James (for its remarkable text and the century?
richness of the ideas expressed there). It was with the latter book that I patiently Personally, I love this format, this privileged means of providing a sense of the
learned the Zone System, and perhaps even more, to control light. This is why I entire harmony and ambiance of a place rather than just an isolated detail. This is
continue to think that the Zone System is an important school of thought, even at equally the case in a painting from the eighteenth century by Giovanni Paolo
a moment when automatic light meters are achieving real miracles. Why do I say (1691–1765), representing preparations for a Roman fireworks display in 1729.
this? Because without the Zone System I never would have had the idea and the Nevertheless, it was not until 1799 that the word panoramafirst appeared, coined
requisite technique to achieve my nighttime photographs and color photographs by Robert Barker (1739–1806).
of twilight. However, far from being a die-hard supporter of the Zone System, I
So it is hardly surprising that the first panoramic cameras should arrive shortly
have just taken what was useful, and modified it to suit my working method. I like
after the beginning of photography in 1839. As early as 1843, Joseph Puchberger
this combination of tradition and modernity.
of Retz, Austria, was making his first panoramas on curved plates measuring 24
Ever since I bought my first Noblex six years ago, I have not stopped hearing that inches, with the aid of a swing-lens that had a focal length of around 200mm.
panoramic photography is à la mode. But why should this type of photography be The angle of view was 150 degrees, the same as a Noblex or a Widelux built 170
in fashion, and therefore, destined to disappear, when art history, notably painting, years later. And in the musée Carnavelet(museum of the history of Paris), one also
shows us that artists, albeit a minority, have never stopped expressing themselves finds a panoramic daguerreotype view of Paris, View of the Pont-Neuf, the quays
in this format? Panoramic photography depends on a type of camera that, even in of the Louvre and the Mégisserie, dating to around 1845–1850.
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